Let Ministry Being!!

So much has happened in the last two weeks out here and it's just none stop here down in Southern Alberta in Medicine Hat. We've put on our first Unchained high school youth group, our first Equip middle school youth group which is happening tonight, and Family Fun Days are starting soon to! I've always loved Kick Off events, getting to know the youth of the area and get them pumped to come back to more nights in the future. It's going to be an exciting year watching everyone we encounter grow in friendship and our ultimate goal of bringing them closer to Christ. I've heard stories of people's lives being changed from having NET teams in the parish and that just makes us want to be able to work even harder for God cause He is truly the best boss to work for. 

We've been up to Calgary a few times in this past week to meet with other youth ministers from the area for more training regarding the Diocese of Calgary so that was very informative. Many challenges we're laid out for us and making us the best youth ministers we can possibly strive for. Nothing but good stuff for sure. Thank you to everyone who was there, it was great to build up our relationships with one another and share in our years of experience of youth ministry. 

One of my favourite things from going out to Calgary though was being able to see the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Most of the team (except 3 of us, Matt, Jim, and Kyley) had never seen them before so there was much excitement in the van as we saw them come into view. Being in southern Alberta is extremely flat if you didn't know. As in if you wake up in the morning early enough you can see the sun rise in the east and it's still pitch black in the west. Another example you can see a train from start to finish without moving your head. That is how flat is down here but man it is still unbelievably beautiful cause God knew what he was doing when he created the place we call home. 

So with this all said, stayed tuned for more to come. God Bless! 

From the World's Largest Teepee 

Matthew ten-Bohmer

InFuse 2 Medicine Hat

Encounter Team 2's First Video Blog

Bridges, Wind, Retreats, Oh My!

Hi Y’all!

Life in Lethbridge is pretty grand so far! We are starting to get to know the city a bit better, and we are taking less wrong turns now! (Having a GPS is super helpful as well!) One of the cool parts of being a part on an iNFUSE team is the chance to become familiar with a city and the people that live there!

 Fun fact about Lethbridge is that it is the home of the largest and highest steel trestle bridge in North America! It goes across the river that splits Lethbridge into different parts. There is a beautiful park by the river and bridge that we spent some time in as a team! We will defiantly be going back throughout this year!

Another fun fact is that it is windy here. I’m not talking about little winds that blow the leaves around in the front yard or blow your hat off your head. I’m talking about winds that blow your car to one side of the road while driving, or make you to feel the house swaying in the wind!

I wonder if flying around with an umbrella could work….If it did, I would definitely commute to work that way every day!

As for ministry work, we have started visiting the schools in the area during lunch time to hang out and eat with them! The students have been really welcoming and it is a pleasure to spend time with them every week! It can be a challenge to approach people you don’t know, but it is so rewarding when they invest in a conversation with you!

We are starting our Jr. High youth group this week with an overnight retreat on the weekend! We are super excited for it!   Updates on it will be on the next blog!! Stay tuned!

God Bless ,
Amy ten-Bohmer
Infuse 1, Lethbridge.

And So It Begins

Hello all,

So here we are on our first couple weeks on the road, and so far its been fantastic.  In the first week on the road we have put on five retreats in four different towns, Alliston, Bradford, Scarborogh, and Whitby.  In Scarborogh be put on a retreat for an all boys school of over one hundred grade tens.  It was a very bonding experience for the team.

During the second week put on four retreats in the towns of Oshawa, Whitby, and Barrie.  During that time we began to feel more comfortable putting on retreats and speaking to teens about our Lord.

While staying in Oshawa some of the team members received the opportunity to go up flying in a cessna 170 airplane around the CN tower and along the coast of lake Ontario.  It was a bright cloudless day when this took place and it really opens your eyes to the beauty of Gods creation.

Flying over the Toronto skyline

At this time we are back in Scarborogh for the next couple weeks putting on retreats for Pope John Paul 2nd high school.  So far we have just put on retreats for grade tens and they were very enthusiastic and it was an absolute joy for us to put these events on for them.  We are looking forward to our next couple of days because we will be having the grade elevens and twelves.

Saucesome

We feel so honoured and privileged to be doing Gods work and we can definitely see him working in the youth that we are able to work with and in the wonderful host families that we are honoured to stay with.

We hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving and we would like to thank you all for your continued support and prayers.



Sincerely,

Matt Bliault and the Encounter 1 team.

We're Thankful For You!

Hope you all had a wonderful turkey day! We spent our Thanksgiving with host families and their families and completed the evening with a garage party. We even did some praise and worship with our new friends. It’s been really cool learning about their lives and what has made this community what it is today; beautiful and vibrant. The church is full of families with prayer devotion, active CWL and Kof C.

All of the turkey has not kept us from working hard on our upcoming junior high and youth nights, family fun days, music for liturgy and community events. We've been filming promos (super fun!); making ads and surveys; and meeting, greeting and mingling at events throughout the town. I should mention, one thing our team is thankful for is our new vehicle!

This past weekend we spent in Edmonton at the Youth Rally with a few youth parishioners, the Archbishop and Andrew Papenbrock, the Associate Director of Youth Evangelization in Edmonton  It was awesome to see the youth inspired!

The drama we showed at St.Anthony’s parish was received well, and we can’t wait for youth nights to begin.

Blessings!

Stephanie & iNFUSE 3