Note: this blog post is long, but it is full of stories of God working
in the lives of young people. I hope you read it despite the length.
For the past two months, our Reach team has been traveling across the
Southwest doing ministry. We worked in Grants, NM, Phoenix, AZ, Vista, CA, and
Las Cruces, NM. We have been blessed by so many wonderful schools, parishes and
host families. Our time in the Southwest has come to an end. We are beginning
the trip back to Helena, MT this week. Therefore, as a farewell to the
Southwest, I wanted to write a blog sharing some of the stories and highlights
of our time and our work in this beautiful part of the US.
Our first stop was Grants, NM. During our time there, we worked at two
schools and did a weekend Confirmation retreat at one of the parishes. The kids
and youth we encountered had so much joy and love in their hearts. Here is a
funny story from our time in Grants: We worked at a Catholic school in which we
planned a session for the various grades (K-8). When we worked with grades K-1,
we decided to do an interactive Noah’s Ark, in which the kids pretended to be their
favorite animal. As I was sitting with them to tell the story of Noah, all of
the kids looked at each other and slowly started to crawl like animals toward
me. They then jumped on me! It was so cute but also crazy that they
communicated this plan without using words. Later, I was standing and asking
questions about what it felt like to be on the Ark etc., and they started
crawling toward me again. This time I was worried that I was going to fall on
them because they grabbed my legs. Thanks to my team, everything was fine. I
love telling this story not only because it is funny, but because it is a
reminder that we are called to be childlike in our faith. Children are
beautiful examples of joy, and those kids continually made me smile. Their
laughter, happiness, and joy, radiated the presence of Christ.
In Phoenix, we did some youth group nights, and one of the Youth Ministers
we worked with was an amazing man. He taught us so much. I learned the
importance of being comfortable with being uncomfortable. Our faith is not
always comfortable, but as our Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI once said, “you were
not made for comfort, you were made for greatness.” While it is nice to have a
plan, sometimes you have to be willing to change things and adapt as you go. It
was a great lesson for us to learn. Also, while we were at one of the middle
school youth group nights, the Youth Minister sang “Lord I Need You,” by Matt
Maher. He didn’t know that the kids knew it, and normally when he played songs
and sang, they didn’t sing along. That night however, they were singing! It was
beautiful to hear their voices singing to the Lord.
In Vista, CA, we met some amazing people, including a former Reach
member. She was awesome and shared stories about her time with Reach. It was
great to hear from her and meet someone who could relate to us so well. We also
had the blessing of meeting some lovely women who had done Reach in the 1990s.
They invited us over for dessert and we got to share stories and experiences with
them. It was an evening of laughter and joy. Also, while we were in Vista, we
did a Saturday retreat with Confirmation students. At the end of the night, the
Youth Minister asked if anyone wanted to share an experience from the day. One
girl stood up and said that before the retreat, she didn’t know if she believed
in God, but after spending time in prayer during Adoration, she felt something.
She didn’t know what to think of it, or whether it was God, but she knew she
felt something. She was not the only one who shared about God working that
weekend. God was truly working in their hearts and showing them his love. It
was beautiful.
After that we went to Las Cruces, NM. We did a youth group night and
also a weekend-long Confirmation retreat. It was an incredible weekend with
wonderful youth. The Holy Spirit was definitely acting in their hearts. A lot
of them chose to go to Confession, some for the first time in a while. We also
had Adoration, which was new for many of them. Afterwards, several of the youth
told us that it had been a powerful experience. On top of that, the youth
received letters from loved ones that were written to encourage them and show
them that they are loved. They read these silently during Adoration and most
were moved to tears. There are a lot of stories I could tell but one that
really sticks out to me was that I found out after the retreat that one of the
young men had asked the Youth Minister if he could talk to a priest after the
retreat. During Adoration, he had felt the Lord calling him by name to be a
priest! He wanted to talk to Father about this. God is so so so so so good! At
the end of that retreat, he was talking to Father. I pray that he had a
wonderful and blessed conversation. Additionally, many of the young people on
the retreat said they felt closer to God at the end and wanted to continue to
get closer to God. We did an activity in small groups where the youth picked a
photo from a set of pictures that they felt illustrated what they want their relationship
with Christ to look like. One of the girls in my group chose a picture of a
fishing hook and she said that she wanted Jesus to “hook” her so she can
continue being close to Him. I think this is a good reminder for all of us, we
are called to be “hooked on Jesus.”
have learned so much here and I want to thank all the host families, parishes,
schools, those who hosted us for dinners, and all of those who blessed us with their
presence over the last two months. They have all been amazing examples of
Christ and will have a special place in my heart. God bless you all!
