Where has all the time gone? August 26, 2008
Posted by mchudson in Me.Tags: Summer Adventures
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First, let me apologize, to the very, very few, if any folks who still check to see if this blog is even active any more, for basically not taking the time to post anything in the past several months, so, for that I apologize.
Whew, now that that is over, let me tell you a few things about my crazy busy tiring summer. First, as I mentioned in my last post, I led a retreat in Ocoee, TN where we enjoyed white water rafting, serving the Boys and Girls Club in Benton, TN, and of course, and amazing look at the World's Happiness vs the Happiness (or Blessedness) that Christ offers. The retreat was a great success, I didn't have as many youth go on the trip as I would have liked, but, as a new youth coordinator, my motto has been those who do come will have great experience, because I realize that it's not my group but the Lord's Group and I just got to let Him take it where he wants it to be.
Next, on my summer of fun, was a Steubenville Youth Conference in Alexandria, LA. Now, I've been to two Steubenville Youth Conferences before and I had a general idea of what to expect, but this particular conference was quite a bit less accommodating than the Springfield, MO conference the previous years. But besides the classroom that we had to sleep in and the shower situation, the weekend was amazing, and I believe that everyone who went had a worthwhile experience, and they all encountered Christ in new ways.
The next stop was St. Meinrad, IN, where I and three of my youth participated in the One Bread, One Cup Youth Retreat. St. Meinrad School of Theology is a Seminary run by Benedictine Monks and throughout the summer they host youth leadership retreats where they train the youth to minister at mass and become better leaders in the parish and the youth group. They also minister to Youth Leaders (such as myself), basically I was on my own retreat apart from my youth, but I was still there for and with the Youth. This was a very intense weekend, and quite possibly the most I have prayed in a 5 day period in my life, and it was quite awesome and humbling. Again, this retreat was a great success, each of my youth left wanting to get back to the group so that they could utilize the skills and graces that they received at St. Meinrad.
The next, and final, and the biggest and longest trip was World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, Australia. This would be my third once-in-a-lifetime trip to celebrate a World Youth Day with the Holy Father and the Pope has yet to disappoint. The trip was more than I could have every imagined, and I was given the amazing grace of loosing my luggage for the whole trip. Now, I'm not gonna lie, I was quite disappointed when I arrived in Sydney and my clothes were not there, and even throughout the two weeks that we were in Sydney I can't say that I saw this as a blessing. But, looking back, this was quite the lesson on redemptive suffering. It really tested my patience, not only with the airline (to which I can't say that I've been the most charitable to), but with the youth and the other chaperones because I knew that God had called me to not let my struggles ruin the World Youth Day experience for the others, and to be a witness by embracing the great words of St. Paul, "I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ, for when I am weak, then I am strong." Any who, Australia rocked, I gave so many religious in habits high fives, I was able to experience Christ's love with people from all around the world, I was able to be a shepherd for the youth in my group and a colleague to the other adults, and I was able to see Christ work through me and I was able to reflect the Light of the World to all those who were around me, and that is what we are made for.
Thanks for reading, God bless you and God love you
