Spring Route

Guess what faithful reader! I have my Spring Route and who would have guessed it but the bomb went off on that route!!! So here it is, I suggest you wear a helmet because your mind is about to be BLOWN!

Kansas City, MO
Las Vegas, NV (for my birthday!!!)
San Diego, CA
Orange County, CA
San Bernadino, CA
Sacramento, CA

California for 2 months. Orange County = AWESOME possum. Vegas = double stipend or bust (Veni Sancte Spiritus!!!).

I'm REALLY excited. No more cold, no more hot dish and no more CORNFIELDS!!! I'm off to the land of awesome Asian food and Disneyland!!!

Crazy Crookeston

Oofta! That is how a Minnesotan would react to the last month. Oofta, indeed. This past month has been pure craziness of the most awesome variety. We have been scrambling all over the diocese of Crookeston, MN. There was a point where we had 12 days of retreats in a row! Most of the driving we did in this diocese was at night combined with early morning retreats made for some pretty h-core NET experiences. The common exclamation among our team (well atleast me) was "This diocese is trying to kill us!" It was an AMAZING time, though. Simply amazing.

We met some pretty awesome youth and did some awesome retreats, including some on Indian Reservations. This is Northern Minnesota at its finest. I think my small group ice breaker question was "So, anybody got a deer yet?" Opened everyone right up. There were whole RETREATS of hunters, including 13 year-old girls that talk about the buck they shot and gutted the other day with a look of pride gleeming from their eyes. We've been to towns that had less people than my all boys high school and been to towns where everyone owned atleast one gun. The best of all was one sign we drove past marked a town of 29 people! 29 PEOPLE!!!!!!!!! That is insane. 29 PEOPLE! My mind is still screaming in disbelief.

There have been some awesome moments where teens really opened up and we could see a great growth in the community. There have such awesome times. Including yesterday, where I spent my retreat off playing around on ATV's and going off jumps! The life of a Netter is full of awesome adventure and blessings. See you soon!

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER!!!!!! I am MaclenSD!

Keep on Truckin'

We are now in full swing as far as road life. It is pretty great. Life in the 12 passenger van is pretty amusing and sometimes very smelly. Things we've done to amuse ourselves: put on the gorilla mask and wave at traffic (especially school buses), turn things into projectiles, turn a large quantity of mattresses into a fort and then coat a stair case with them for sleeping bag luge, try to hold your breath for a mile on the road (Peter is best at that game), the game "My Cows" rules will be explained later, buy foam swords from Walmart and basically go nuts, read The Screwtape Letters out-loud in the van, flashlight tag with plastic guns that have flashlights taped to them, play "Sardines" (reverse hide and go seek) in a rectory that has atleast three "creepy tunnels" and rooms upon rooms of pitch black with no flashlights, invent new inventive forms of the hug (including the hugsplotion which is like an action movie tackle while screaming "GET DOWN!!!" and the less popular creepy hug) and of course stare at your teammates at creepy close distance so when they notice they get a little creeped. This is pretty much what happens when we are in a van for too long, we go a little crazy. Retreats are amazing. I'll break down what a NET Retreat consists of in a later post!!!

PICTURES!!!!

Some wishes do come true!!! Here are some pictures of my life as a NETter!!!

My wonderful team at a state park!!!

Us doing a drama called Saving Me... I get beaten during it.

INTRODUCING:

THE TEAM 4 GORILLA

He goes with us everywhere we go. He's part of the team. He even has his own photo collage.

First Fruits!

Hello everyone!!! The first fruits of the harvest are starting to come in! I just got finished with my second retreat and it was an overnight confirmation retreat. It was awesome. There was a definite sign of the Holy Spirit working within the retreatants. One of the teens in my small group said that he went from a 5 to a 7 as far as relationship with the Lord is concerned (thank Mary Buckley for your awesome rating system!!!). I feel like there is a significant possibility for future growth in many of the retreatants. It is such a rewarding ministry.
The first retreat was a one day affair for 6th graders. I forgot how small the average 6th grade boy is. It was an interesting lesson in humility because after a long day of hard work the first we opened the floor up to the teens to say what they experienced on the retreat and the first 15 got up and talked about all the neat games they learned... sigh! But that's not a proper estimate of the effect because they are, afterall, 6th graders and aren't about to talk about their faith life in front of the whole class. Pictures should be forth coming... at a time to later be determined.

Training

Greetings from the Apple store in the Mall of America!!! This place is HUGE but it hardly compares to my experience at training at Camp Wapo where NET hosts the first couple weeks of training.

So much wonderful things have happened since the last post. First of all my relationship with the Lord is deepening dramatically and I have had many moments in prayer where I've experienced His love in a very real way!!! Second of all I've been assigned to a TEAM!!! Team 4 is gonna rock the socks off of teens from all over. I haven't been assigned a route yet but I know I will be on a traveling team giving retreats. So I could wind up right in your backyard!!! I am praying for all of my sponsors and those who are showing my such love through their thoughts and prayers.

What we do at training??? Well the first week of sessions were all about deepening our relationship with God because it is only through that relationship that we can properly minister. We are now in the nuts and bolts portion of training. Learning how to lead small groups, deal with those that have special needs and issues in their lives that require extra love and support (especially those teens that are wounded by the world and have fallen into self-destructive actions), learning the talks which will form the center of the retreats and learning to do dramas and skits that show God's love in a visual way. By the end of the year I will be a regular razor of Gods love honed over the next months. I am excited to start serving the Lord. Picture may be posted some time in the distant future. Thank you for reading (all one of you!!!).

Straight Outta Farmington!

Hello everyone. Thank you all for all your help with fund raising and your prayers. I met my requirements!!! It's only through prayer that this year will be successful. I am all packed in my modest suitcase that will hold my possessions for the year and am ready to travel to St. Paul, MN tomorrow for training. Training will be held at a local camp on a one of those 10,000 lakes Minnesotans talk so much about (give me a Michigan lake any day). This will be a great time and training should be a pretty intense experience filled with lots of hard work and team building. I am looking forward to flying out tomorrow and meeting everyone. I'm very excited to meet everyone.

Thank you everyone!

Greetings and Thanks!

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for supporting me with your attention, prayers and donations. I am right now preparing to set off on NET and begin my retreat work with high school students.

I am normally not much for blogging but since everyone is so generous in their support, I felt that they would like to see the fruits of their prayers and donations. I will try to let you know through posts and pictures how the year is going and what is happening throughout my year with NET. Thank you everyone.

As far as fund raising. I am currently past the half-way marker and still counting. I am beginning to ask organizations such as Knights of Columbus councils and other parish groups. If someone has any recommendations I would LOVE to hear them! Thank you all so very much. My prayers are with you all.