Happy Advent to all our faithful blog followers!! Amanda reporting here for a change, having hijacked the blog from Pat. Or maybe Pat didn't have internet connection tonight. I'll let the reader decide. I think I speak for many on the team when I say I am looking forward to this Christmas with more excitement than ever. Not least of all because we can't wait to see our families and friends and inhale a deep lungful of the savory scent of home harbor.
Here's the sisterhood (minus me, taking photo) at West Ed Mall...
The ladies on team are loving our stay with Danica's family this week in Stony Plain, Alberta (just outside Edmonton). We recently held a Team Day here where all 10 of us competed to make the best gingerbread house ever seen in the world of architectural pastry design. The outcome of the competition is still up for debate, the evidence having been long ago digested. Enjoy the photo of the ensuing face-creaming party! (see below) Alberta has provided endless opportunities for team-bonding and memory-making and entertaining photo ops. All enjoyed our first no-obligation day in Edmonton, largely spent at West Edmonton Mall where some of us got ahead on Christmas shopping and others partook of Ron, Harry and Hermione's excellent adventures on the big screen. Bernadette and I recently stayed in Red Deer with a family from Newfoundland where we had oodles of laughs and fun going bowling, gazing at Jupiter and its moons through their telescope, and staying up jamming with our host mom on guitar and djembe (African drum) like a bona fide Newfy kitchen party. 'Twas awesome.
God is on the move here in the wild west. Just yesterday we all sat around after the retreat sharing story after story of teens in our small discussion groups who'd felt encouraged or empowered in their faith through the Encounter day. One girl in my small group had never been to a Catholic Mass before, but her friends helped support her and explain things throughout the Mass we had in the middle of the day. We talked often throughout the retreat and I could see her becoming more and more open to what we were talking about. During prayer time she began to cry and I gave her that space to have her moment with God. Before she left I asked how her day had been and she shared that she had given up on God when a beloved relative passed away. But when being prayed with, she was filled with the sense that her relative wanted her to move on. She was very grateful, and wrote on her feedback sheet that she was considering coming to church! Praise God for turning hearts back to himself. I sometimes think that the work we're doing this year may be something we'll look back on and think of as one of the most important things we ever did with our lives.
Upcoming events on the calendar include a surprise Mexican-themed unbirthday party for Danica tomorrow while we're at her home... sshh! Sombrero and pinata are stored in wait at this very moment. We'll be driving to Manitoba by Friday where we'll do retreats in Brandon (the town, not the team member) and Winnipeg. December 9th marks our very last Encounter day of 2010, then onwards and eastwards to Ontario for a week of December retreat with our much loved and missed fellow Netters, most of whom we haven't seen since training (exception: the Steinbach and Wetaskiwin teams - yay for surprise visits!)
25 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!
God bless ya!Many graces,
Amanda Walsh, Encounter Team 2
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