It was late at night on a pitch-black road in the middle of Ukraine . I sat on the side of the road with the priest and religious sister I was traveling with for quite some time because we had run out of gas , and this was a road less traveled . When someone finally came around and got us moving again , I exclaimed to the priest , “ What we have here is a priest , a nun , and a son of a gun !” He laughed out loud ! What I remember most about that missionary trip , almost 25 years ago , was not the harsh conditions the people were left in after the Communist regime , or the so few Roman Catholic priests in such a large country , but the joy of all the priests I met radiating amid the monumental task of rebuilding the Catholic Faith . All of them had this difficult task , yet all of them were so incredibly happy to be one of the chosen to bring Christ to those who have been denied him for so long . I wasn ’ t even considering priesthood at the time , but after that trip , I yearned to have that same joy .