Hannah Banana

      Throughout my time with Kristine, I have learned to believe that there are no such things at coincidences. God’s hand is truly in everything!

     When I first met Kristine, I was a sophomore nursing student at SDSU, struggling to find a desire to grow deeper in my faith. Since I came to college, I had grown complacent with superficial friendships and repetitive falls into temptation. After we first met at a Newman Center barn dance, I knew that Kristine saw something in me that I did not see in myself; I was a beautiful child of God. So, I did what came naturally, and ran away from the Newman Center and back into old habits! But, thankfully, Kristine did not give up on me that easily; she sought me out in the crowded Student Union and asked me out for coffee. Reluctantly, I said yes.

Me and Hannah at our end of the year gathering!

     Through our weekly discipleship dates, I learned that Kristine’s past was not so different than my own and that she also struggled with similar temptations. It was by opening her heart and her life to me that I realized how God CAN and DOES work through the mess of our lives. He has already redeemed us by sending His only Son to die for our sins, all we must do is accept our crosses, open our hearts, receive and follow Him!

     God had big plans for Kristine and me to learn and grow by sharing in each other’s lives. In our short time together, we have traveled to Spain and Rome with the Sisters of the Home of the Mother and learned so much about the love of God the Father, the Mercy of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit! Also, in addition to opening her heart to me, this semester when I had nowhere to live, she opened her home, and adopted me as a roommate.

      I will forever be grateful for the time we all were able to spend with Kristine at SDSU. Her joyful, social, and loving personality has helped so many of us along our journey of faith. I am also exceedingly grateful for her ‘fiat’, her YES to God, in letting Him work through her to touch the lives of wandering students like myself! 

In Christ,  Hannah Sammons

Hannah and I at the Vatican in Rome