It was six in the morning when George’s roommate burst into his room and said the words no Catholic expects to hear.

The Pope was dead.

In the days that followed, George found himself grieving more than he expected. And in prayer, a strange idea kept returning, one that didn’t make much practical sense: Go to Rome.

A few phone calls and a very uncomfortable flight later, he was standing in St. Peter’s Square with thousands of pilgrims watching the chimney above the Sistine Chapel.

Before leaving home, he had thrown an American flag into his bag almost as an afterthought.

He didn’t think he’d need it.

Gabe was twenty years old and somehow responsible for directing the music for a college retreat.

It was already more than he felt ready for: new songs, last-minute rehearsals, and a team trusting him to lead the most important moment of the weekend.

Then one of the singers walked up to him at dinner.

She could barely speak. There was blood on the napkins in her hand.

The night’s music depended on her voice.

With the biggest moment of the retreat only minutes away, three students slipped into a back room and did the only thing they knew to do.

They started to pray.

Will and Nicole wanted nothing to do with the missionaries.

They had learned how to survive on the streets of Denver — together, guarded, self-contained. Every offer of conversation met with distance. Every invitation declined.

Then Nicole needed surgery.

The decision didn’t go the way the missionaries had hoped. The recovery was worse than anyone expected. And still, the visits continued.

Not to argue. Not to persuade. Just to stay.

What followed didn’t happen quickly. It unfolded over years — in park lunches, long winters, and conversations that slowly stopped feeling guarded.

Eventually, they asked for something no one saw coming.

Learn More about Christ in the City here: https://christinthecity.org/

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In college, Sam Kolar looked like he was doing just fine.

Good grades. Full social calendar. Fraternity parties. Plenty of friends. No obvious disasters.

But somewhere in the middle of all of it, something felt off — a kind of restlessness he couldn’t explain and didn’t really want to examine.

It wasn’t a crisis that changed him.
It was a conversation.

One friend had the courage to say what no one else would — about sin, about the Eucharist, about the difference between being “nice” and actually loving someone.

This is a story about what happens when someone risks your approval for your freedom.

And what happens when you finally stop pretending you’re fine.

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The underside of the 15-passenger van started screaming halfway down a hill in Western Massachusetts.

They were fifteen minutes from a chocolate factory. On schedule. On mission.

The noise did not belong.

What followed wasn’t heroic or efficient. It was an awkward stop in a place they didn’t expect to be, a handful of small exchanges, and a day that slowly began to feel different than the one we had planned.

Some inconveniences interrupt you.

Others expose something you didn’t know you needed.

It was supposed to be quick.

A knock. A request for gas money. A simple yes or no.

The man standing there was living out of his car. He had a dog. A past he couldn’t outrun. And a story that didn’t fit neatly into the categories Matt thought he understood.

What followed wasn’t dramatic. No big speeches. Just conversation. Hesitation. And a quiet invitation that could have been ignored.

It didn’t feel like much at the time.

It was supposed to be a quiet flight home from Italy.

Early morning. Headphones in. No conversations planned.

But somewhere over the Atlantic, the man in 14C started talking.

He had everything most people are told to chase — success, recognition, a life that looked full from the outside. Still, there was something unsettled underneath it.

By the time the plane began its descent, it was clear this wasn’t just small talk. It was a series of conversations that kept unfolding — each one carrying a question no one was quite ready to answer.

Not every seat assignment is accidental.

Less than a year after becoming Catholic, Caleb said yes to something he didn’t fully understand.

New city. New community. New prayers he barely knew by heart.

He didn’t want to be the weak one. The new one. The one who didn’t belong.

So when training started, he pushed himself like everyone else.

Minutes later, he was walking off the field on crutches.

What followed wasn’t dramatic. It was slower than that. Watching instead of playing. Smiling when he didn’t feel it. Quiet doubts he wasn’t sure how to name.

And somewhere in the middle of all of it, the question shifted.

Maybe he wasn’t there to prove anything at all.

In this episode of Unwritten, host Trevor sits down with Craig Johring, whose life and mission have been shaped by years of walking alongside the poor in Mexico City.

Craig shares the powerful story of Luis — a former street kid whose life was marked by addiction, instability, and survival on the margins. What followed wasn’t a quick fix or a feel-good moment, but a slow, demanding journey rooted in presence, love, and faith.

Through his organization, Hope of the Poor, Craig describes what real transformation looks like when someone is given more than help — when they’re given dignity, accountability, and a community that refuses to give up.

In This Episode You’ll Hear:
❤️ What authentic love looks like when it’s lived daily
🏠 Why a safe place is only the beginning of healing
🤝 How accountability becomes an act of mercy
🔥 Why helping others is often the final step toward freedom
🙏 The quiet, faithful work that changes lives over time

This episode is a reminder that transformation rarely happens all at once — but when someone is willing to stay, to love, and to believe, even the most broken stories can begin again.

learn more about Hope of the Poor here: https://hopeofthepoor.org/

In this episode of Unwritten, a simple act of kindness opens the door to one of the most unforgettable questions ever asked on the streets.

On a cold, gray November morning in Minneapolis, a tired missionary is packing up after a long day of serving the homeless — rejected, exhausted, and ready to go home. Then a voice calls out from behind him:

"Hey… you got any more coffee?"

What begins as a cup of hot coffee turns into a sacred encounter neither of them expected.

In This Episode You’ll Hear:
☕ Why small acts of mercy can change everything
❄️ Life on the streets — addiction, survival, and lost dignity
💔 A mother’s heartbreak over a son she longs to see again
🙏 The Gospel shared in the mess, not after it’s cleaned up
👀 The question that stopped everything: “Does Jesus have eyes like you?”
❤️ What it means to truly see someone — beyond labels, pasts, and masks

This episode is a powerful reminder that Jesus meets us exactly where we are, that no one is beyond hope, and that sometimes the holiest moments happen on cold sidewalks with nothing more than a cup of coffee and a willing heart.

Learn more about Br. Adam and his mission here: https://brotherhoodofhope.org/

In this episode of Unwritten, Trevor Barreca sits down with Melissa Sartori, who shares a quiet but powerful story of how God works long before we ever see the fruit.

While serving on a small Catholic campus in the Northeast, he was tasked with reaching student athletes — a group that made up nearly a quarter of the entire student body. Many were open, curious, and eager. But one athlete, Caitlyn, always stayed just out of reach: friendly, kind, smiling… yet never willing to go deeper.

Despite little visible progress, she never left his prayers. And then, on a cold November night — with plans canceled and Thanksgiving break hours away — everything changed.

In This Episode You’ll Hear:
🏃‍♀️ Life as a campus missionary working with student athletes
🙏 What it looks like to pray faithfully when nothing seems to be happening
🚪 The unexpected knock on the door that changed everything
💔 Caitlyn’s story of broken relationships, addiction, and deep loneliness
❤️ A raw conversation about emptiness, longing, and the desire to be loved
✝️ The simple prayer that opened the door to a real relationship with Jesus

This episode is a reminder that no one is a lost cause, that God is always planting seeds beneath the surface, and that our smallest prayers — even when they feel unnoticed — may be preparing the ground for something life-changing.