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
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