On the Farm and Back to Ministry

Hey guys, it's Natalie Senko here in Burlington, Ontario. It's been quite an exciting first week for me and the team.

Last week Riane and I stayed on a dairy farm in Waterford, Ontario, so we jumped into some borrowed coveralls and rubber boots and went to work. Our host sisters gave us a tour of all their barns and even let us feed the baby calves; they were so cute! As we wandered, I kept telling Riane that I wanted to take a calf with us on the road. And maybe a little lamb. And a few barn cats. We decided it might get a little tricky when they grew a bit bigger since both of us are scared of large animals, however my heart was still set on having a calf so I called my finance asked if we could buy one after we get married. He said, "We'll see."

Then we traveled on to Ridgetown and had some great retreats and were hosted by an absolutely amazing family! On one of those retreats we had some boys sitting in the back of the church that just could not sit still. One of the boys grabbed a rosary off the table and started swinging it around and hitting the boys sitting next to him with it. Christian, who had been praying with a retreatant in the pew in front of them, turned around and gently took the rosary from the boy. He started explaining to the young retreatant about praying the rosary and how powerful those prayers are. Then Christian handed the the beads back to the boy and went back to praying. The boy then held the rosary with two hands, and passed it carefully to another retreatant who lightly placed it back on the table. It was amazing for me to witness how a little care and explanation can make such a difference.

Then for team day in London, Ontario we did a Mall Scavenger Hunt. We broke off into teams of four and scoured the mall for Mary, "Canada" and all sorts of other silly things. Some of the teams got super creative and it was so fun to see all the picture documentation!

Anyway, remember it really is the small things that make all the difference.

In Christ,

Natalie

PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE DOYLE!