About David Ancell

Well, either you must be bored, or you have mistaken me for some glamorous person about whom you wish to learn all you can. Then again, I guess if you came to my page, you want to know about this guy who is writing all of this stuff. Well, far be it from me to disappoint you.

I was born 31 years ago in a small town in the southeast part of Missouri known as Sikeston. Yes, it is the home of the restaurant where they throw the rolls. I do eat there occasionally, but it's usually awful crowded. I went all the way from pre-school through high school in Sikeston and graduated in 1993. From there, I went down south to the University of Mississippi, perhaps better known as "Ole Miss," where I received my Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1997 and my Doctor of Pharmacy (aka Pharm.D.) in 1999. I am now licensed as a pharmacist in the states of Mississippi and Tennessee, and I live and work in the Memphis metro area. I worked for seven and a half years at a specialty pharmacy that dispenses products that are very expensive and require special handling. I now work in a hospital pharmacy.

If you've already read a lot of this page or looked at my blog, you are probably aware that I am Catholic. You might not have noticed that I'm a convert. My story is a bit unique in that I didn't belong to another church prior to my conversion. At one time, I prayed that God would lead me to the church that he wanted me to join. Though I had thoughts about becoming Catholic in the past, by this time I doubted that this is where I would end up. Well, thank God I was wrong. I was baptized at St. Francis Xavier Church in Sikeston on March 30, 1991, during my sophomore year in high school. You can see a short video and hear me tell my conversion story by going to this page.

However, my conversion didn't stop there. I had a number of years during college and pharmacy school where, though I never left the Church, my faith was not really growing. I was just kind of there. Towards the end of pharmacy school, God began to awaken in me a new desire for him. I began praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament again. I belonged to a young-adult group named the Frassati Society in which I heard some of the more difficult teachings of the Church presented as good for the first time. Finally, after an encounter with some people who embraced moral relativism, the belief that there is no absolute truth about right and wrong, I decided to do some more studying. I came to understand that indeed we can know and love the truth. In fact, we must do so if we are to fulfill the purpose for which God created us.

I had long understood that the Catholic Church is the Church that Christ founded. Even before I became Catholic, I knew that the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of our Lord and nothing less. It is only natural to see that God who became man whom we can see and touch would leave a visible church to bring the Gospel to all nations. To believe this is not to condescend on members of other churches who have a genuine faith in Jesus Christ and a genuine love of him. Rather, it is a desire for others to have the fulness of truth that sets us free. Yep, you heard me, contrary to popular belief, the truth is not "repressive." It frees us to fulfill our very purpose and attain the supreme happiness that we were created for. For this reason, I believe everything that the Church teaches.

As one who has received much from RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults), I now wish to give back by working with people who want to come in to the Church. I hope to be able to live in a way that demonstrates Christ's love for all. Of course, if you know me, you will no doubt agree that I have quite a distance to go in reaching this goal. I wish to tell others about Christ and his love and help bring others closer to him. Many recall the words of St. Francis of Assisi that said something to the effect of "Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words." My contention is that, in our day and age, words are necessary.

As for my interests, I enjoy playing with electronics, going out to eat with a friend, listening to music, and playing with electronics. I'm an electroholic who might enjoy being plugged into an electric socket were it not for the fatal effects of doing so. I try to use this for others by doing things like recording talks at the RCIA or doing desktop publishing for a good cause. I'm not a big seafood fan, but there is a lot of different food that I can eat. Unfortunately, I have a weakness for sweets that will cause latitudinal growth if I am not careful. I have a rather large CD collection, and I like a lot of different types of music. Today I prefer to download from iTunes or another service. I'm mostly introverted, but I do like to meet people. I like to get some one-on-one time with them and really get to know them. I guess it goes with the aspect of my personality that prefers depth and meaning to superficiality. I find sound bites and slogans annoying. One other thing . . . I'm currently single and hope to marry one day.

On top of all this, I love to study and learn the Catholic faith. I listen to a lot of recorded lectures and read quite a number of books. I must admit that, despite reading quite a bit, I am better at buying books than reading them. I like to teach when I get a chance. I like to pray the Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet, and Liturgy of the Hours. I have an adoration hour at a perpetual adoration chapel in Memphis.

Whew! If you are still reading this, I'm impressed. If you want to talk to me, by all means send me an e-mail. I like to hear from people who have come to visit me.