Hey there! My name is Michael Paruank and I am so thankful to become a part of the St. Andrew family. This past year has been a time of learning and growing for me. I went from believing Catholicism was a false religion to being received into the church this week (Feb. 21, 2021). In October of 2019, my dad went to our local library and picked up a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. (Our family was still very much Protestant at this point, so this was definitively the work of the Holy Spirit!) As we read it, we realized that we had a lot of misinformation regarding the Catholic Church. I started to see how the teachings of the Church were more in-tune with Scripture than I had thought, and I started to see some problems with several things in Protestantism. But one of the biggest reasons I chose to convert to Catholicism was the Eucharist. I came to believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and decided that if I was going to settle for anything less, I wouldn't be living up to what God has called me to. And now I will finally get to receive him this weekend! My hobbies include piano, soccer, dancing, video games, and working out. I feel so blessed to be starting this new chapter of my life with all of you.