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.

In this episode of Unwritten, Trevor Barreca sits down with a former Division I athlete (Dylan LaNoue) whose life revolved around performance, medals, and winning — until everything he worked for stopped satisfying his heart.

Raised in a hyper-competitive, sports-centered family, his identity was built on success. Records, rankings, MVPs — all of it came true. But behind the accolades were broken relationships, family pain, loneliness, and a growing realization that achievement wasn’t enough.

What followed was a slow, profound transformation — not through trophies, but through authentic friendship, prayer, and learning what it actually means to be loved.

In This Episode You’ll Hear:
🏅 Growing up believing your worth is earned through success
🏀 A Division I athletic career that still left him empty
💔 Rock bottom moments: family turmoil, heartbreak, and loneliness
🤝 The friend who loved him when everything else fell apart
🕊️ A chapel moment that changed how he understood God — and himself
👨‍👦 A father-son relationship healed through small, faithful acts
✝️ A powerful full-circle moment sponsoring his own dad into the Church

This episode is a moving reminder that identity isn’t built on what you accomplish, but on who you’re loved by — and how God patiently renews the mind and heart over time.

In this episode of Unwritten, host Trevor Barreca sits down with Chase Maly to share a story marked by suffering, mercy, and unexpected hope.

🛵 As a high school junior, Chase was involved in a serious motorcycle accident that left him in the ICU with multiple internal injuries and overwhelming pain. In the middle of it all, he wrestled with loneliness, fear, and the question of whether his life truly mattered.

🏥 During long nights in the hospital, Chase’s family never left his side—but internally, he just wanted the suffering to end.

📉 Years later, after walking away from his faith and chasing success on his own terms, Chase found himself at a retreat, unsure why he was there and unsure if God still wanted him back.

🌊 On a quiet walk down a dock toward the confessional, everything began to change. Through the sacrament of confession, Chase encountered God’s mercy in a way he never had before—and realized he didn’t have to carry his past alone.

🔥 Now a FOCUS missionary, Chase reflects on how God used pain, patience, and people to bring him home—and how those same experiences now shape the way he walks with students who feel unseen, lonely, or stuck in suffering.

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