October 18, 2018 Here I am Lord; I come to do your will. (Psalm 40) This was the responsorial psalm sung beautifully by Jill Swallow during the Mass and final vows ceremony for Gabriela Ruiloba as she committed her life to Christ in the Regnum Christi Movement as a consecrated woman this past Saturday. It was a great honor to attend this beautiful ceremony of a treasured member of the Everest family. The words spoken by Bishop Cepeda, Fr. John Bartunek LC, Nancy Nohrden (Territorial Director), and Gaby’s father were inspiring and thought-provoking. Every morning, as we wake, are our first words, “Here I am Lord; I come to do your will”? Probably not. However, in the past few months, God has opened my eyes to the many examples of Everest students, families, faculty, and staff members answering God’s call, and I am in awe of His ways. Here are just a few recent examples. When inviting Jennifer and Eddie Legg to chair our 2019 Gala their prayerful and humble response was, “If this is what God is calling us to do, then yes!” Three of our new faculty members (Matt Hale, Kell Peterson, and Katie Mauricio) made the move from North Carolina following God’s call to join our teaching family because of our mission and fidelity to the Church. How about our new high school science teacher, Krista Willertz, who travels 80 minutes one way every day to do His will by shaping our students into Christian leaders? Leaving a conversation with Cat Smith, our new advancement director, you cannot dispute she is fulfilling God’s plan in her life, and ours. What if we all start our day (perhaps while still lying in bed) talking with God and simply saying: “Here I am Lord; I come to do your will”? Can you imagine the possibilities? Frankly, it does fill me with some anxiety. What if God calls me to do something of which I am not capable? What if God asks me to make a sacrifice that I am not sure that I want to make? What if I fail doing His will? No worries, peace can be found in St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians: God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called. (1 Corinthians 1:27-29) Instinctively, as parents, we know this since I have not met a mom or a dad – including myself – that felt qualified to be one. As we continue our pursuit of excellence in the four dimensions of integral formation: intellectual, spiritual, human, apostolic, and as valued members of the Everest family, let us all be open to what God is calling us to do on this journey. Let us each, without reservation, declare “Here I am Lord; I come to do your will”, showing our commitment to His plan – for Everest, each child, each family. United in this simple endeavor we will transform society according to the standards of the Gospel. May God continue to abundantly bless you! In Gratitude, Michael J. Nalepa |