This month’s current event article has been contributed by Kevin McDermott, 2007-2008 Peacebuilders alumnus from St. John of the Cross parish in Western Springs, IL.

To my fellow Peacebuilder: I want to share with you the importance of the remarkable journey, that is unlike any other, you are now embarking on by telling you about mine. No, I do not mean the kind of journey involving saving the galaxy from the clutches of Darth Vader by blasting away at TIE fighters while traveling faster than the speed of light. I mean embracing a journey that will “force” you to tap into your deepest spiritual, physical, and mental reserves. You will notice that besides filling in the missing gaps with peace for those that you will serve, you also find your own being filled beyond the brim. With your peace project will sprout hope, love, and peace. You no longer have to live in fear of the world’s problems; the world’s problems now fear you.

I want to share with you my own journey to hopefully provide some sort of guideline or maybe even inspiration. To be honest, my project developed quite independently of my week stay at CTU. Through a connection at my parish, I was told that our sharing parish was in need of mosquito nets, an absolute necessity, to help tame the growing malaria epidemic in Uganda. I wanted to do a three-on-three basketball tournament, so I decided to meld that with the fundraising for the nets. I never expected a tournament to be so much planning. Luckily, with the wealth of support from my family, parish, school, friends, and CTU, I was able to reduce the amount of close-to-no-sleep nights towards the day of the tournament to a minimum. In the end, the tournament was an astronomical success. All thirty-four teams enjoyed themselves, while contributed to a very practical cause, raising over $5,000.

I learned how much I could achieve and realized how (essentially) easy it is to make a difference. My connection to my call, naturally, as well as my faith, grew to a point I did not know existed. I credit Peacebuilders for essentially opening my eyes to a world I was blind to/ too afraid to acknowledge existence. I began to realize I am more than just a Stormtrooper and that essentially anything is possible. You only need your faith in God (trust me, He really is on your side!), determination, and the ability to ask for help. Peace is only a jumpshot away.