In this episode of Unwritten, host Trevor Barreca sits down with Maggie Zarybnicky, a FOCUS missionary whose simple need for a bed turned into a jaw-dropping encounter with God’s unmistakable providence.

After three months on an air mattress, Maggie finally found a last-minute discount on a real bed — but it came with a catch: a 45-minute drive, no truck, and no clear plan. What followed was a night full of strangers, faith conversations, closed stores, and a shocking act of generosity she could never have expected.

In This Episode You’ll Hear:
🛏️ How Maggie’s desperate need for a real bed set everything in motion
🚚 The 45-minute ride with Adam, a complete stranger with a massive rusty-red truck
🙏 An awkward but sincere faith conversation that opened the door to something bigger
🌙 A late-evening stop at a dark strip mall… and a mattress store that should have been closed
🤝 The unexpected connection between the salesman, Maggie’s chaplain, and FOCUS
🎁 The moment Maggie is handed a $450 mattress and bed frame — completely free
💬 Adam’s unforgettable words on the drive home: “You talked about God the whole way up here… but you won’t let Him give you a mattress.”

This episode is a beautiful reminder that God provides through ordinary people, unexpected detours, and wild yeses of faith. If you’ve ever doubted that God cares about the small details of your life — this story might change everything.

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In this episode of Unwritten, host Trevor Barecca welcomes Murphy Tinio, who shares a personal chapter that illuminates the movement of the Holy Spirit today. Murphy opens into a season of his life that felt hard and dry while serving as a second-year missionary and first-year team director in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Grappling with profound loneliness and disconnection, Murphy sought clarity during a silent retreat.

His story is one of simple faith: going to prayer, asking God for what he genuinely needed, and receiving a surprising, clear answer at 3:30 a.m.. The ensuing conversation with a fellow missionary, Noah, became a crucial moment, demonstrating God’s provision for Murphy’s expressed desire for friendship.

In This Episode You’ll Hear:

🏙️ Murphy's struggle with loneliness and disconnection while navigating a new role and a new city, far from his small-town Kansas roots.

🕯️ The challenge of maintaining patience and hope when coming to prayer during long periods of feeling like God wasn't speaking.

⏰ The pivotal moment at 3:30 a.m. in the crypt chapel when God clearly responded to his heartfelt question about loneliness.

🗣️ God’s instruction to Murphy: "Go and talk to them", leading to an "awkward question" posed to Noah at the final meal.

🫂 The joy and support found in the friendship that blossomed from that honest prayer, providing connection in a way he wasn't able to with others.

✨ The realization that God was providing for him in all the little ways he was asking for, confirming that God is good and trustworthy.

If you love stories of finding clarity in difficult seasons, recognizing God’s provision in the details of everyday life, and learning to go to prayer for what you genuinely desire, this episode will strengthen your conviction that God is still at work and shows up as a good father.

In this episode of Unwritten, Eileen Piper shares a story of God’s unstoppable pursuit — one that starts with a young woman’s disappearance and ends in a powerful family conversion you truly couldn’t script.

Eileen walks with Macy, a young woman hungry for faith… until a sudden crisis causes her to vanish. Months later, Macy returns with a life-changing secret — and a courage that draws both Eileen and her boyfriend Marshall into a story only God could write.

In This Episode You’ll Hear:

• 👣 Macy’s journey from Bible study to disappearance to courageous return
• 🤰 The moment Eileen learns Macy is pregnant — and chooses to walk with her
• 📆 How an invite to a SEEK conference set off a chain of miracles
• ✈️ Marshall’s wild attempt to avoid the conference (Florida? California?)
• 🔥 The adoration moment where Marshall encountered Jesus and everything changed
• ⛪ The incredible aftermath: conversion, marriage, children, and a family living boldly
• 👨‍👦 How Marshall now mentors Eileen’s own son — completing the full circle of grace

If you love stories of conversion, providence, and God’s relentless goodness, this episode will strengthen your faith and remind you just how deeply the Holy Spirit moves in ordinary lives every day.

🎉 The SEEK Podcast is now the Unwritten Podcast, presented by FOCUS! Follow us here to keep getting new stories of God's grace active in the world.

On this episode of Unwritten, host Trevor Barreca welcomes Leah Nielson, a missionary who shares a story of radical spiritual transformation experienced through persistent prayer at the University of North Dakota (UND). Leah, a former sorority member, was placed at UND between 2015 and 2017, where she chose to pray daily during her Holy Hour for just three women from the Alpha Phi house. She sought the intercession of St. Philomena, an early Christian martyr, believing her simplicity and love of Jesus were exactly what sorority women needed.

Despite the house being known as one of the "more party type of houses," Leah stuck to her specific prayer. The profound affirmation of this miracle came in the spring of 2017: a woman Leah was discipling revealed something about herself that Leah will never forget.

Join us as SEEK26! Use this link to register: http://bit.ly/3IPoew4

Use Promo Code REPLAY for Exclusive Pre-SEEK Content, and a chance to win one of three $100 vouchers to shopfocus.org

🎥 Also - We are doing a short VIDEO series! Please enjoy visually engaging with some of our storytellers.

🎉 The SEEK Podcast is now the Unwritten Podcast, presented by FOCUS! Follow us here to keep getting new stories of God's grace active in the world.

Join us as SEEK26! Use this link to register: http://bit.ly/3IPoew4

Use Promo Code REPLAY for Exclusive Pre-SEEK Content, and a chance to win one of three $100 vouchers to shopfocus.org

🎥 Also - We are doing a short VIDEO series! Please enjoy visually engaging with some of our storytellers.

In this episode of Unwritten, a podcast dedicated to sharing stories of the movement of the Holy Spirit in the world today, host Trevor Barreca welcomes Ryan Noll. Ryan discusses his experience working in campus ministry at NYU and the difficult lesson he learned about control and faithfulness.

Whether seeking stories of God at work or evidence of the movement of the Holy Spirit, this conversation demonstrates what happens when a campus minister believes that people's encounters with Jesus are "solely dependent on whether or not you are a good instrument in the hand of God". Ryan shares the story of Nick, a new student with blue hair, who found the Catholic Center via a quick Google search and seemed highly intrigued by the faith.

Ryan invested five months into discipling Nick, only to be heartbroken on April 27th, 2017, when Nick delivered a "breakup" gift of chocolates, a letter, and his grandfather's Catholic Bible, deciding instead to join a non-Catholic ministry.

Ryan believed he would never see the "fruit of the work" or know the rest of Nick's faith journey. Ryan's struggle reveals how God works behind the scenes. After a year and a half of silence, Nick reappeared at Mass and asked Ryan to be his sponsor into the Catholic Church that Easter. This powerful encounter affirms that God is faithful and loves people more than we do. Ryan realized he had been entrusted with Nick and with Nick's family heirloom—the word of God—until the right time.

The story encourages listeners to never give up hope on those who seem closed off, reminding us that Jesus is still doing and saying many things in the world through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Hit follow or subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes! Find us at seekreplay.com.

🎉 The SEEK Podcast is now the Unwritten Podcast, presented by FOCUS! Follow us here to keep getting new stories of God's grace active in the world.

Join us as SEEK26! Use this link to register: http://bit.ly/3IPoew4

Use Promo Code REPLAY for Exclusive Pre-SEEK Content, and a chance to win one of three $100 vouchers to shopfocus.org

🎥 Also - We are doing a short VIDEO series! Please enjoy visually engaging with some of our storytellers.

In this episode of Unwritten, a podcast dedicated to sharing stories of the movement of the Holy Spirit, we hear from Niru De Silva to discuss his profound healing journey following profound pain and loneliness as a new missionary. Whether seeking stories of God at work or the movement of the Holy Spirit, this conversation demonstrates what happens when someone who has already given his life to God and moved across the country to serve the Lord on a college campus experiences a crisis of faith.

Despite his deep conviction, Niru endured such hardships and obstacles that he looked up one day and thought, "Why am I doing this?". After multiple rejections had eroded his sense of self-worth, he found his own life felt like a "living hell", even praying in desperation for death, saying, "God, I would never commit suicide, but it'd be really great if the next time I opened my eyes, I was in heaven".

Niru De Silva's encounter reveals how the Lord’s invitation provides a sign that keeps one going, leading to a slow, deep transformational journey of healing that restores identity and affirms that God is the healer.

Hit follow or subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes!

🎉 The SEEK Podcast is now the Unwritten Podcast, presented by FOCUS! Follow us here to keep getting new stories of God's grace active in the world.

🎥 Also - We are doing a short VIDEO series! Please enjoy visually engaging with some of our storytellers.

In this episode of Unwritten, host Trevor Barreca sits down with Lizzi to discuss her profound conversion following trauma and a pursuit of worldly success.

Whether seeking stories of God at work or the movement of the Holy Spirit, this conversation demonstrates what happens when someone overcomes adversity of insurmountable capacity but remains unsatisfied and searching for what they were made for.

Lizzie's encounter reveals how the Lord’s invitation lifts the pressure of expectations and leads to fulfillment through full-time ministry.

What You’ll Hear:

• The disruption of Lizzie's life by a traumatic brain injury led to emotional anguish and a lost sense of identity. Despite achieving success by transferring to UC Berkeley, she felt perpetual pressure, loneliness, and eventually abandoned her Catholic faith.
• How her practical father, who used her as a "guinea pig," arranged a 4-week FOCUS mission trip to Southeast Asia, forcing her to pack a Catholic Bible despite her having abandoned Mass and faith.
• The pivotal moment in a humid Singapore chapel where she was flooded with joy and heard God say something she'll never forget.

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Hang Out With Us at SEEK26: http://bit.ly/3IPoew4

In this episode of Unwritten, Trevor Barreca sits down with John Paul JP Hernandez to talk about how a simple game of Monopoly led a grandson to witness his grandpa's faith journey and miraculous conversion.

Whether you're looking for stories of God at work in the world today, or just curious about the transforming power of divine mercy, this conversation will demonstrate how encountering God's mercy can unwrite years, decades, of habitual ways of living and lead you outside of yourself to give yourself away to others.

What You’ll Hear:

• The story of JP's grandfather, Carlos, who struggled with childhood trauma after his father stepped out on him, but eventually underwent a dramatic transformation from a man of severity to one who was loving, understanding, and empathetic.

• How reading the book The Return of the Prodigal Son helped Carlos gain the capacity to forgive his father and have mercy on himself, leading him to become an "everyday saint" and a man profoundly intimate with God.

• Stories of Carlos' constant evangelization and generosity, including his routine visits to support a struggling single mother with a son who had special needs, how he led a Muslim friend to attribute her healing from cancer to his intercession, and the mysterious final words his baby niece spoke, "For the Lord's sake, amen".

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In this episode of Unwritten, Trevor sits down with Gayle Konderla to discover how the simple, faithful love of one couple transformed generations of their large, loud Catholic family.

Whether you're struggling to stay faithful to God in your time of prayer or in communication with your spouse and loving your kids, or just curious about how simple witness can build a greater impact in relationships, this conversation will remind you that simple and faithful love across your whole life has the capacity to transform generations of people in your family.

What You’ll Hear:

• How Gayle's super faithful grandparents, who raised 12 children (six boys and six girls), including a son who is now a bishop, influenced generations of their family one small witness at a time. Gayle shares experiences of praying rosaries together and celebrating Mass in the living room.

• The family's loving response to tragedy, including seeing their grandmother's fiery and zealous love for God and family deepen as she grew sick with cancer, and the system the 12 siblings created to care for their grandfather after his early onset Alzheimer's diagnosis for about seven years.

• Insights into the grandfather's struggle with Alzheimer's, and the beautiful realization that though he might forget that he saw someone the day before, he never forgot who they were and how much he loved them. The last thing he said to Gayle was, "I love you and I'm proud of you".

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In this episode of Unwritten, Trevor sits down with Jane Voelker to talk about A priest she barely knew confronted her deepest spiritual conviction, sparking a wild journey toward profound healing.

Whether you're someone who is completely stuck in a part of your life with God, or just curious about the movement of the Holy Spirit in the world today, this conversation will offer a reminder that God steps in and changes things when we cannot fix ourselves.

What You’ll Hear:

• Jane's realization that her confessed "weakest point"—wanting to keep people at an arm's distance so they can't hurt her—was incorrect. A priest, who had only spoken to Jane for about five minutes prior to the retreat, told her the truth: her weakest point was believing she was unlovable. The priest had been emphasizing throughout the retreat that knowing one's weakest point is essential because it is exactly where God wants to meet us and where the enemy wants to attack.

• The surprising result of her initial prayer following the revelation, where Jane invited God into her feeling of unlovableness. Jane thought God might shame her for being a missionary who felt unworthy of love, or immediately demand a fix, but instead, God just sat there with her in that broken part of her heart for the entire hour of prayer.

• The unexpected moment of complete healing that happened months later. While brushing her teeth in a little cabin in West Virginia, Jane caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and spontaneously thought, "I'm so good and I'm so beautiful," after which she never doubted it again. This healing shows that God stepped in out of love for her to tell her the truth, without her needing to try to fix herself or grasp for anything.

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In this episode of Unwritten, Trevor sits down with Alex Sanchez to talk about A single moment of radical honesty shattered years of shame and changed the entire direction of one man's life.

Whether you're wrestling with deep-seated painful beliefs or existential shame, or just curious about God's intense and beautiful mercy, this conversation will provide a powerful reminder of God's intense and beautiful mercy for them.

What You’ll Hear:

• Alex shares how deep-seated feelings of failure, disappointment, and not belonging developed in his youth, leading him to compromise his morals, start drinking, and routinely smoking weed for two years in high school.

• The intense, unmistakable internal urge Alex felt to "Tell your parents the truth", culminating in a pivotal confession on July 8th, 2010, and how his parents’ response of mercy and truth—including his father saying, "I failed you as a father"—evaporated years of Alex’s painful beliefs about himself.

• The surprising role of Alex’s mother, who was led to a drug and alcohol counselor via a name that came to her in a dream during one of the sleepless nights following the confession, and how this foundational moment of conversion became a turning point for Alex's entire family.

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