First Month of Ministry

First Month of Ministry

            The day after Commissioning Mass, we hit the road to our first retreat. We made our way to the Adventure Retreat Center in Tanagh, Co. Monaghan, blaring Something Beautiful by Need to Breathe in the van to get us pumped up for ministry. At this point, we had no idea what to expect, we only could hope that we were headed the right direction…. Literally. We were all ready for an adventure.

            On our first retreat, we definitely had a few adventures. We went canoeing, swimming, and had a waterslide down a giant hill. That evening, we had a campfire with the firewood the women on team collected during their sisterhood time. We ate popcorn, sang songs, and enjoyed the community that a campfire brings. We could already see the year was getting off to a great start.

            We left the retreat feeling confident, and excited for our year of ministry. We hopped in the van and headed to our next destination.  High spirited, hopeful, and always trying to remember Acts 20:24 which says:

            “Yet I consider my life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the gospel of God’s grace.”

            For the next few weeks, we continued with the adventures. We had our first team day (a day spent as team building community), starting with Mass in Ballybofey, then tea at Michael’s family’s home, and after a visit with staff at the office. For the rest of the day, we traveled all around County Donegal. We went on a hike, had a picnic on a lake, took pictures at a waterfall, and we went to Slieve League, which are the tallest seaside cliffs in all of Europe. We bonded so much that day, truly growing into a family, and just enjoying each other’s presence.

            We’ve had the craic (fun), many laughs, and jokes. We’ve enjoyed watching Michael smear Vaseline all over his face during AME (After Meal Entertainment). We’ve enjoyed the abundance of sandwiches and fruit we’ve eaten, and all the junk food in between. Watching Bambi because that’s the only film we could find, and being creative with what we have for meals. We’ve enjoyed drinking countless cups of tea, lacking sleep and goofing off at the height of delirium. We’ve definitely come across a few bumps in the road, but we’ve persevered and have tried to remember, “it is love alone that counts” (St. Therese of Liseuix).  Although we don’t get to see the fruits of it all, we trust that God has it in his hands.

            Our ministry has become so much stronger, and we are constantly being amazed at the positive impact we have on the retreatants’ lives. The highlight for us is always the prayer time at the end of the day, when we really get to see God work, and we are so blessed that we have the opportunity to bear this message to the young people.

            “Look over the nations and see, and be utterly amazed! For a work is being done in your days that you would not have believed were it told.” 

                                                                                    -Habakkuk 1:5

Road Team Jesus signing out

Road Team Jesus crossing the finish line!

After doing 115 retreats, encountering 6658 students, and being in 75 host homes, we are officially done with our year of ministry. We are now wrapping up our year at Ards Friary.

Stay posted for details of live airing of our NET Thanksgiving mass that will be happening on Friday, May 31, 2013.

Thank you for all your support throughout the year. It meant so much and was essential to get us through the year.

Love in Christ,
Road Team Jesus.

Island Adventures

                While a year on the Road Team is basically always an adventure, the past week was a crazy one even by our standards!  Following a great retreat in Roscommon we left immediately for a ferry to the Aran Islands!  Located off the coast of Galway, the Aran Islands are a popular tourist destination, and after a beautiful drive through the equally touristy Connemara, we were staring our ferry in the face.  With nothing but our backpacks, sleeping bags, and a few retreat supplies, we boarded our ship and set out for our Island home (for the next 3 days anyways).  The island itself is absolutely beautiful, and definitely brings to mind images of a classic Irish landscape, with stone fences crisscrossing gorgeous green fields in a springtime bloom.  We were lucky enough to get to spend an entire day cycling all across the beautiful landscape and had all sort of adventures, some seal related.  Among the other highlights, we went to a Mass in Irish, and had two wonderful retreats at the secondary school.

                Because one island just wasn’t enough, we spent the rest of our week on the island of Aran Mhor, off the coast of Donegal, except this time we got to bring our van!  This island held just as many shenanigans as the last and we had a great time, as always, chasing sheep and playing music at mass, in addition to having an absolutely phenomenal retreat with an entire school (all 50 students!)

                As we continue to draw closer and closer to the end of the year, we find ourselves drawing closer to each other.  It’s been an absolutely incredible year in so many different ways, and this past week especially, as we went where no NET Ireland team has gone before, we can be especially thankful for this amazing opportunity, amazing team, and amazing country. God is good … all the time.

 - Road Team Jesus

 

100th retreat!

Today marks our team's 100th retreat! It was quite an exciting day, we were super pumped to have shared the excitement with the Presentation School in Tralee, Co. Kerry. 

Do Something Amazing!

Please continue to support us through prayer so we can keep reaching out to the youth of Ireland. Also, if you feel called to support us financially, or know someone who would be able to do so, please let us know, or visit www.netministries.ie. Every contribution makes such a difference! Thank you in advance.

God bless,
Road Team Jesus

Basking in Easter Glory

Greetings, dear readers!

We had a very relaxing Easter week. Hold on to your seats....we actually spent the whole week in a single location (Ardee, Co. Louth), in a single house! We were treated like royalty by the parishioners, and we got to go to Mass every day. Meetings, learning new dramas, catching up on all the work that gets shoved to the side when you live in a van....it was a much needed break. 

Road team + one house + one week= Epic gladiator night! Our poor gentlemen were instigated into an evening of battle. Devan was slightly wounded in the sword fight, but he ended up being emperor anyway. Since the swords were made with a lot of care, and have posh names, they have become a permanent part of our supplies.

After Easter we traveled to Derry, then Wicklow.  Then Carlow and Limerick and Donegal and Dublin. Whew!  In C.S. Lewis's book Perelandra, the people of Venus grow older by learning. If the same applied to NET Ireland road teams, each of us would be positively ancient. Ironically, as we are finishing up our final months on the road, the majority of our retreats are with younger students preparing for their upcoming confirmation. It's an adventure, and the groups vary quite a bit in enthusiasm, knowledge and maturity. The common factor is that they are open. They love to hear about the love of God, and when we explain the importance of their confirmation, they are always wowed. Another nice thing about this age groups...they like to give presents. Clay frogs, bracelets, and anime illustrations of the team are just a few of the many gifts bestowed upon us.

The weather is getting warmer; we aren't perpetually huddled into our winter coats, and the windows of the van have gotten some use. There are many lambs to see—even the most hardened hearts can't help but be moved by their cute fuzzy selves running across the fields.

We get emails every once in a while from retreatants who have had powerful experiences, and want to thank particular members of the team for sharing Jesus with them. It's always so beautiful to see the work of God in these young people's lives, but it's also humbling to see how God fits us in a much bigger plan.



Enjoying ourselves at Phoenix Park

Please continue to pray for us and for the youth of Ireland as we continue back on the road!

 

In Christ,
Road Team Jesus!

Happy Easter!

Christ is Risen!!
Alleluia!!



Happy Easter from the team

 If Easter isn't a time of celebration, I don't know what is. Thanks be to God, through Fr. Kelly, we had a wonderful dinner at a Chinese restaurant here in Letterkenny. The meal, the company, and the conversations were delightful!

We've had loads of fun spending Holy Week in Letterkenny doing a parish mission with the youth. Our parish mission was filled with games, talks, and discussions. We also challenged the youth to find something that they are willing to give to Jesus, to ultimately be set free from attachments to the things of this world: He was willing to die for you on the cross, what are you willing to give to Him in return?
The youth also attended stations of the cross on Good Friday, in addition to the veneration of the cross.
Last night, the team attended Easter Vigil mass celebrated by Bishop Boyce, looking fancy as in the picture - it was absolutely beautiful! It was incredible to see the light from the Paschal candle being spread to each person in the Cathedral, reminding us of our mission to spread the light of Christ that we have to those around us.

Before this time, we've spent most of our time in counties Kerry and Cork. The beautiful weather (yes, the sun has come out in Ireland!) has been following us around - no complaints there. We've done many encounter days at different schools, and also been enjoying the scenery especially at Killarney.

Later today we will be heading to Ardee for the week. We plan on making lots of craic as a team, and of course to do some business things ... but always while having fun. There's not a day that passes by that is not fun when you're with Road Team Jesus!

We pray that the joy of the Easter season fills your hearts and the hearts of your loved ones. Please continue to pray for us and our mission - the end is fast approaching with only 2 months left!

In Christ,
Road Team Jesus

There's no getting bored with the road team

Hello dear friends and loved ones! It’s reached our ears that you’ve noticed the lack of updates since the new year has started. I have to say, it was a consolation that so many are interested in what we’re up to and appreciate the regular updates. So, I hope it’s not too late to make a new year’s resolution: we’ll definitely try to keep you more updated with our activities.

Since last time, our schedule has definitely been more varied in terms of the type of ministry we’ve been up to. During the Ash Wednesday/Valentine’s Day week, we were based at Ardee where we put on a parish mission week. It was really fun to experience local team ministry – staying in one house for a whole week, seeing the same youth for the events we put on and around town, and being able to develop a more lasting relationship with the people in the community. The youth we had the pleasure of meeting were class; we had such great craic spending time with them playing games, making music, and sharing faith experiences.

For an early celebration of Valentine’s Day the ladies in the team decided to honour the gentlemen by giving them a fun movie night, where they watched Kill Bill (great movie choice for Valentine’s, don’t you think?). It seemed that the gentlemen had a similar idea for the ladies’ honouring, but they had to slightly modify their plans. You see, Ash Wednesday occurred before they carried out their plan, and our team decided on a media fast for lent. So instead of simply putting on a movie, we (the ladies) got to watch an original performance: The Valentine’s Miracle, written and performed by them. It was sweet, hilarious, fun, and it definitely encapsulates the characteristic of our team. EPIC. That is all.

Note the cave in the background that some of us explored!

After Ardee, we went to Ballybofey for our supervisor visit. In addition to bettering our team dynamics, we went on a fun adventure, as we do. Our lovely supervisors, Juan and Morgan, decided to take us to Ben Bulben: it’s a mountain (hill?) in Sligo with a ruin at its base and a cave located up top. After we’ve had our fun climbing on the ruin and taking pictures, some of us decided to go up the mountain and explore the cave. It was such a fun experience, trying to find our way through darkness within the cave, surrounded by serene stillness. I think we all marvelled at the beauty of nature. I can definitely say that I was filled with wonder and awe at the beauty. The week ended with us traveling to Sligo to chill at the infamous Sligo house.

At the start of last week, we’ve gone back to our road team ministry at Bailieborough. But I have to say, God has provided us ample opportunities to be filled for our ministry these past weeks. Just this weekend we were able to attend a Youth2000 regional retreat in Galway. I think I can safely say that the weekend was perfect in giving each of us what we need. Each of us left the retreat feeling renewed, ready to accept what the last 3 months of ministry has in store for us. We are always in constant need for your prayers though, since challenges do come and face us – we need all the grace we can get!

We have just finished visiting Mitchelstown down in Cork; the craic was mac. We got to encounter many of the secondary school students, as well as the students from the primary school, and they were all incredible. In addition, we got to meet with a retired bishop (Bishop John Magee) who was secretary to Popes Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II, and who was also given JPII’s cassock after his death. And as if meeting and talking to Bishop Magee wasn’t good enough, he let us hold JPII’s cassock! What an end to this week.

Tomorrow we start our personal retreats in Knockadoon, Cork. We ask again for your prayers, so that our time off ministry will be fruitful, allowing us to recharge and grow more Christ-like. Know that you are all in our prayers.

With lots of love,

Road Team Jesus

Happy New Year!

We hope that this post finds you all well! We know that we've been MIA for the past month and you might have been wondering what we have been up. Well, without further ado, let me fill you in!

            These past several weeks have been packed! We have held Encounter Days nearly every day of the week. Needless to say it has been exhausting, but it has also given us incredible opportunities to get to know even more of the wonderful youth here in Ireland. We have had some of our most beautiful moments in these last few weeks and sharing these with one another has brought us closer as a team; and those moments range from spending endless hours in the van to hearing about how one of the kids really felt like their life was changed after encountering Jesus through our team.

            Although we get so much out of Encounter Days ourselves, there are times when we just need to let loose and get our crazy out! And, rest assured, we have had plenty of opportunities for that. Each week we set aside one day to spend together as a team to just have the craic, and we have done some stellar things. One day we climbed the tallest cliffs in Europe. When it is put like that, it sounds pretty impressive but we really drove up most of the way and only hiked a little. But what was impressive was the view (well, what we could see of it due to the fog) and the sound of the waves crashing at the bottom of the cliffs, along with the wind nearly pushing you over! It was just awesome. It is hard to describe it any other way.

Another weekend, we went to a beach and grilled hot dogs together. The beach was gorgeous and the sand was firm so we were able to play a bit of football. We had to be creative though since all we had was a soccer ball. The day was quite an adventure. We ended up on a different beach then we had planned and once we got there and tried to light the coals for the hot dogs, we found that it was much easier said than done. Speaking of hot dogs, did you know that hot dogs do not exist in Ireland as they do in the States? There is nothing in the store called a “hot dog” so instead we bought the sausages that looked most like a hot dog. Adventures are the best kind of fun.

 

On a different occasion, we decided to skip the outdoors and headed for a roller disco. If you want to hear about funny things we have done, that was hilarious. There were plenty of falls and attempts at roller derby-ing, conga lines and some pretty funny “special moves” (which consisted of sliding around on the floor of the rink and spinning around).

 

            So, all in all we have had a beautiful balance in our lives. It has been such a joy for each of us to learn more about one another and learn more about ourselves in this New Year. The Lord has already blessed us so much in just this month, and we cannot wait to see what He has in store for us as we make our way to the end of our NET year. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we keep you in ours!

 

God bless!

With lots of love,

Road Team Jesus