Sponsorship.

The Church places a large emphasis on community. As I join the faith, the Church asks that I have a sponsor from the Catholic community to stand beside me through this process. A listener, a mentor and a friend.

Only one person crossed my mind: Lilla.

Lilla and I have been friends since sophomore year of high school. We've been teammates, roommates, and now sisters through our sorority. She is my best friend, the one person other than my parents who knows me better than I know myself. I can talk to her about anything and as questions fill my head each Sunday at RCIA, Lilla is there to give me answers.

I can ask her questions that I don't necessarily want to ask in a room with ten other people and she can give me an honest answer. It may not be the same response I would get from the Church, but it's her understanding and opinion.

I cannot imagine going through this process without her. She helps me to wake up for our 10:30 class on Sunday morning and provides me with comedic relief to get through the often tedious sessions.

It's not about Mark.

On the first day of RCIA, we went around the room, introducing ourselves and explaining if we were there because we were interested in converting or just interested in the Catholic Church. At least three or four people said that they were there because their boyfriend/girlfriend or fiance was Catholic.

Yes, Mark, my boyfriend, is Catholic. No, this isn't about him. When you attend Catholic schools for eight years of your life it's more likely that you will meet a Catholic boy.

In the past three and a half years that I have been with Mark, we have only gone to church together once outside of an all school mass. This past Christmas, we decided it was time for him to meet my extended family. Every Christmas Eve, all of my aunts and uncles and cousins and second cousins get together to celebrate and exchange gifts. To make it fair, after spending a few hours with my family, we joined his family for midnight mass.

Does Mark being Catholic play into the many reasons that I am converting? Probably, but if Mark and I ended our relationship, next week or next year, I'd still be happy with my decision.

Support.

All of my life my parents have supported me. When I decided to join the high school cheerleading squad, my parents made a point to attend every game. As a college freshman, when I decided to transfer to MU, my parents stood by me.

I've talked to them a time or two over the years about my interest in becoming Catholic, but haven't had a chance to explain the process of converting. I recently e-mailed them a link to my blog, giving them an opportunity to read about the process and keep up-to-date on what's going on.

A few hours later I received an e-mail from my dad. My dad and I have grown very close in the past few years. Whenever I need to talk to someone, I can count on him to answer his cell phone and make time to talk to me.

My dad grew up in a very active Southern Baptist family. His young brother and brother-in-law are preachers and his childhood was spent a lot like mine - being shuffled off to Church at least twice a week.

In his e-mail he talked about the importance of a spiritual life and no matter what Church I choose to be a member of, he known that it will be beneficial in my life.

My mom and I were able to spend the weekend together - a chance we rarely get. Over dinner we talked about the converting process and what to expect on Pentecost. We talked about the discussions that we've had at our RCIA meetings and I showed her the Newman Center.

While neither of them are considering joining the Catholic Church, they understand my yearning for a better spiritual life and have faith in my decision.