In the last three weeks since our last blog we have been in Nova Scotia (for two weeks) and the last week has been spent back in Ottawa. We've been having an absolutely marvelous time.
In Nova Scotia we did a lot of evening retreats during the week and day retreats on the weekends. It was nice to have the days to do things with the team, or hang out with host families. While in Ottawa we only have had two retreats so far. The first one was in Russell and it happened to be our 40th retreat AND also happened to be at the exact location that we had our very first retreat: Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church. I had my small group in the same place I had my first. We've come a long way, geographically, spiritually, and as a team since that first retreat. Our second retreat was a weekend retreat that I will tell you more about in a bit.
The first Saturday we were in Nova Scotia we stayed in Dartmouth and us girls stayed at Judith's house! While we were there, we celebrated her un-birthday. The boys dropped us off and drove away, but then drove back about ten minutes later and surprised her! Then all through the evening Judith's friends stopped by to see her. She was completely not expecting it, and it was great to see her reaction. We ate cheesecake, destroyed a pinata, and did the oreo contest, which is where you twist the oreo apart, eat the icing, eat the cookie and then drink a glass of milk. I came in second, beaten only by Jacob. Judiths family is awesome!
We stayed in a lot of places for one night, including Cole Harbour, home of Sidney Crosby. We had our first snow fall when in Truro, NS. It's starting to feel like Christmas. The whole team stayed together at St. Benedict's Church in Halifax for four nights. We had a grand time, as we always do when we're together. Being together in the evenings gave us the opportunity to talk and play games like Mafia and Sardines. I feel like we've been doing a lot of growing as a team lately.
The last week in Nova Scotia we were able to see Massive Worship twice! How lucky are we?! We knew we were going to Mass and then lunch with our contact person, but right before we headed out the door Carissa and Tom surprised by saying MW would be playing at the Mass and then they were going to lunch with us too! It was so great to see their smiling faces. We got to hang out for a while after lunch and then on Saturday they stopped by quickly, just to participate in team prayer with us and talk for a little before they headed off to their next destination.
One of our evening retreats in Nova Scotia was kind of hard. It was a Confirmation retreat and the small group that I had would not talk. So to keep things from being awkward and absolutely quiet, I talked about Saints; how there was a patron saint for pretty much anything and also how you can ask Saints for intercession. At the end of the night, I was a little tired and worried that those girls really hadn't gotten anything out of small group. But Carissa came up later and asked, "Who was talking about saints in their small group? When we were heading to prayer ministry one of the girls behind me was telling her friend how they had heard about saints in their small group. Then she went on to talk about how saints live and how it would be cool to be a saint and be remembered for the good things that you did." That just goes to show that God can work in all situations to touch minds.
The East Coast was lovely, and as a first time visiter I was sad to leave. It was beautiful and a wonderful experience. We drove to Nackawic, New Brunswick last Monday, then on Tuesday we went from there back to Ottawa. I am very happy to be back in Ottawa, I must say. It feels kind of like home.
We just got back from our first weekend retreat and I'm sure I can speak for all of us when I say we are a little tired, but very happy! The retreat was at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Russell, and seventeen youth (Gr. 9-12) came. It was phenomenal. From the very beginning there was great energy. The youth were excited to be there and they really invested in the whole weekend. It was so great to have all that time to really get to know them and have so many small groups. We also had men's and women's sessions which were very well received. It was so amazing to hear what they had to say during the large group discussion. A lot of them said their favourite part was small groups because they were able to talk about things that they normally wouldn't. One girl said, "It's awesome how close you (the team) are because it made it easier for us to come to you and just talk." A grade twelve guy said, "I'm sure I wasn't the only one who came into this weekend thinking it was going to boring. But it was so great and I feel more connected to my faith now that I ever have."
The whole weekend has just pumped me up even more for our ministry. We only have one more week left before Christmas break, but I am so excited for next year to see how God will continue to impact lives.
Till next time, God bless and stay warm!
Maria Kalin
Encounter One
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