Hi Mr. Brucker,

This is Mattea. While I did not set any New Year resolutions, I had an epiphany. I'm not
exactly sure when but one day, I realized that there is nothing to lose from being
Catholic. I used to think that my classmates would mock me for being Catholic because I
have heard many people say that believing in God is ridiculous. Though I do not
commonly share my religion with others, the thought of my peers judging me for having
Catholic beliefs scared me. After starting CCD classes, I realized there is much to gain
and nothing to lose. I could gain a relationship with God which I have found has brought
me more happiness and closure. All that I have lost is the belief that there was no God. I
had a very theodic view of life. I felt as if I was being punished. I felt if there was a God, I
would not be having a hard time, and that life would be perfect. It took reading passages
about Jesus's suffering to know that God does love me. No matter what I go through, he
put his son through so much more pain for all of our sins. He put his son through being
crucified so we could all be forgiven of our sins. I realized that after I had been through
confession, I felt this forgiveness. After I started CCD classes, something in me changed.
I felt a sense of forgiveness for my prior sins and that if I was close to sinning,
something would speak to me. A little voice would come into my head and remind me of
all the things that God has provided me with.

I truly appreciate all of your work Mr. Brucker. I appreciate that you have helped me find
my way to God and overall to a happier life. You have truly been an amazing help and
your classes are a great ending to my weeks. I find that when I am in a dark moment, I
always remind myself that I have a couple more days then I get to go to class. These
experiences have been very healing to me. I do not think that I can thank you enough for
the amazing things that you have done for me. I just want to let you know that you are
truly appreciated. All of your hard work is noticed and just know, even if it didn't
affect the masses, it spoke to me. I felt that God was trying to tell me something: this
wonderful person has taken time out of their busy life to teach you, at least consider
listening. I am so grateful that I did. I still can not express enough the impact that you
have had on me. I hope that you had a truly blessed Christmas and a stellar New Year.

Thank you so much,