TO EVERYONE SUPPORTING ME BACK HOME THANK YOU THANK YOU
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
Hey folks! Haven’t
written anything for a while and I am definitely needing to splurge all over
this word document, so here we go!
A Lot to Be Thankful For
Right Now
Yesterday was American Thanksgiving, did you guys know there
was a Canadian Thanksgiving?? (Me neither!)
And I’ve come to realize I have an awful lot to be thankful for. Granted, every year, hopefully, most of us
can see that, but these crazy circumstances
that I find myself in travelling around Ireland have shown me that I have quite
a bit to be thankful for, including commas,,,.
Take today for example, I’m currently sitting in the study of my host
home, this time it’s the house of Father Phillip, an awesome young Priest that
NET is truly blessed to know. Father has
helped me, and many other missionaries, so much this year and staying at his
house is always such an enjoyable experience.
This is my second time staying at Father’s and, like the last time, he
treated us to a movie at the cinema (something we never get to do). The food is always great, he has hundreds of
great books, AND there’s a chapel in the house!
Today (Saturday) our team is having a rare day off, and I
have chosen to spend mine staying in this awesome house, writing, reading,
guitar’n, business’n, and blogging. I
am so at peace right now, I’m listening to my Rhapsody account (The Weepies),
something I hardly ever get to do, and just enjoying some nice relaxation
time. I am DEFINITELY thankful for
that. Being on the Road Team we’re
constantly moving and constantly with each other, therefore these moments of
peace and silence are treasured. I
seriously cannot stress to yall enough how much I’m loving this right now.
What’s-Up
It’s been about 5 weeks since my last blog post and man have
we been busy. We’re coming up on 40
retreats and OMG I can’t believe I just typed that. Our encounter days have become something
close to breathing for our team at this stage.
We’re getting to the point now
where everyone can basically say everyone else’s testimonies and talks, while
just about every aspect of retreat has been involved in some sort of inside
joke or another. It’s going to be really
weird going back home and nobody knowing the NET Lingo.
Speaking of lingo, I haven’t picked up an Irish accent yet
and have, at this point, officially abandoned hope of that happening. I have, however, noticed myself falling into
using some of the particularly Irish patterns of speech in my daily
conversations. For instance, the Irish
throw “like” around a lot, kinda like us, however they throw it in at the end
of sentences, something that I’ve started doing as well. And besides it naturally coming out, we’ve
all learned enough slang that we’d be able to turn it on at any time. Here’s a few fun words:
- Craic (pronounced crack) means a good time ex. I had some good craic yesterday
- Your Man- used to refer to someone in a story ex. Your man over there running the store
- Bit-o-Banter-kinda like craic, depends on where you are in the country whether or not it’s used a lot
- On the Lash-to be drunk ex. Your man was on the lash last night
- Deadly, Savage-both mean cool
Everyone also says “you’re very welcome” when welcoming
people in. I’ve always really enjoyed
that one. Anyways, there are quite a few
more that aren’t immediately coming to my head right now, but those above are
definitely the most fun. Naturally “craic”
caused a lot of confusion when I first got here.
Back to the overarching topic at hand, I’m thankful for the
wonderful opportunity this year has presented to get away from a lot of the
distractions I had back home. Being
separated from constant internet and TV has really allowed me to pursue the
things I always wanted to give more time to, namely reading, writing, and
music. I’ve read close to 15 books in the past three months and it has been
absolutely wonderful. So far I think my
two favourites are “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis and “He Leadeth Me” By
Walter Ciszick. I’ve found myself
reading a ton of apologetics, partly due to the fact that I want to be able to
answer any questions I might be asked by angsty Irish teens, but I also just
really love learning more and more about my faith. When people think of missionaries they
generally think of all the sacrifices that go into it, and while that is very
true, I’ve also found that the things I’ve gained(while certainly more
abstract) far outweigh the things I’ve had to give up.
Nothing about this year is “normal”, nothing has been and nothing
will be, and it’s through that separation that I’ve been able to shine lights
on all the areas of my life that, because of the conditions I was living in
back home, never really got light shined on them. Out-here I’ve been able to work out parts of
my life that I never would’ve had the chance to back in Texas. I’ve been able to pursue the things that
truly give me peace, and through that, praise God, I’ve found it. I cannot type enough on the amazing impact
personal prayer has had on my life, and I would encourage all of you to set
aside that time in your day for it. I am
doing things out here that I never thought in a million years I would be able
to do, and it is entirely due to the daily grace I receive through prayer. Its not like things have been perfect, there
were a number of things this past month that were tough, hard to take, etc. But being out here, I’ve learned to trust in
Gods providence to a much greater extent.
Through clinging to Him I have the strength to let go of everything
else, and man the joy that comes from that is something else.
Practical
Snippets From The Past Few Weeks
We’ve had so many wonderful retreats lately it’s really hard
for me to pick out any individual stories.
There have definitely been kids this past month that have made leaving
so very hard. I keep a log of all of my
small-groups and try and pray for them everyday, but man, somedays you just
wanna give em all hugs!
Music stuff is still going great, I had a blast the other
day singing “Never Getting Back Together” with about 100 15 year old
girls. I’ve gotten the chance to jam
with a lot of host-families as well, and that’s just been great. I’m writing a lot of songs and stuff out
here, all these emotions and exciting new things make for a lot of good
material!
It’s getting cold!! I
still love the weather but I did have to buy another heavy coat to supplement
my already heavy coat. The kids are
always astonished at our weather back home.
They can’t believe how little it rains, and they crack up when they hear
how happy we are in Texas when it does.
I’m being considered for a job in Dripping Springs (outside
Austin) that would be starting in June!
It’s as the Director of RE and High School Youth Minister for St. Martin
de Porres! I sent my resume and spoke to
the priest (Father Ed K) on the phone already and now I’m just waiting for a
response. Prayers would be seriously
appreciated!
My camera broke but I just got a new one(A thousand thanks
to Dad)! Sadly I missed out on a lot of
great pictures. We stayed in Dublin 3
different times and did a lot of cool stuff, in addition to going to flippin
beautiful monastery’s and castles in Co Wicklow and Meath. Nevertheless, everything here is beautiful
and I’m sure there’ll be plenty more awesome things to take pictures of.
Things I Will Never
Take For Granted Again
- Fires
- Hot showers
- Beds
- Fast food
- Free refills
- Sleeping in til 8
- Internet
- Time to relax
- Sacraments
When did
that happen…
We had a NET Thanksgiving this past Sunday (18th)
and it was such an awesome time. I was
excited going in but I didn’t think it was going to be as wonderful as it
was. We arrived in Co Cavan on Saturday night
and stayed with the local team there at their house. The next day the two other teams and our
staff arrived and we spent the day together eating and having a great
time. Right before everyone went their
separate ways we all went to the small chapel next door for adoration and
worship, in the middle of it I looked around at everyone and really came to
realize that these people aren’t new friends anymore, they’re just
friends. That this crazy trip has become
something closer to just everyday life, and these wonderful people around me
are a lot more like family than I ever thought they would be.
That night we moved on to our next destination, Derry, where
we stayed, for the next few days, in the exact same place we had training. It was so good being back. It felt like a lifetime ago that I was last
there. Being back in Derry, coupled with
seeing everyone at Thanksgiving, just really made me realize what an amazing,
wonderful, life-changing experience this has been and just how truly truly profoundly
thankful I am for this great blessing of service. If you’re even somewhat thinking about doing
NET or any sort of missionary work, I encourage you to keep discerning!! I had no idea what to expect going in, but
like everything in my life since God, with a little trust and cooperation on my
part, its worked out amazing.
I love you guys so much.
Praying for yall.
Peace and God Bless.
P.S. If anyone has
any connections in Paris/Lyon, my buddy and I are looking for a place to stay
around New Years
