I've been so blessed this year. My husband and I are youth ministers for our church and boy has it been a roller coaster. We love being around all these young people who have this love to learn about their religion and
The Church!!! It's a lot of hard work but it's really really paid off. We've become closer as a couple, and shared some experiences together that are beyond words. This summer we took our youth group to Spokane, WA to a retreat called Steubenville NW. They hold 18 Steubenvilles around the county during the summer months. It's a retreat geared towards Catholic Teens and this year was the first year we attended. We take the kids to ICYC (Idaho Catholic Youth Convention) every year, which is held in Boise. But this is a regional conference. A little bit bigger scale than just the state of Idaho. What an amazing amazing thing for these kids to go to. To be able to look around as we are worshiping and see these kids with their arms outstretched and some with tears in their eyes is absolutely amazing. Just to know that they are "getting it." They feel the Spirit and are not ashamed of letting everyone know!! It's such an overwhelming feeling. Especially during adoration. I can't even put that into words.
We left on a Wednesday at around 10:30. We drove by charter bus all through the night and got to Spokane the next morning at around 11am. On Thursday, we spent all day at Silverwood Theme Park with other parishes that were also attending the retreat. By the time we checked into our hotel on Thursday evening everyone was exhausted!!! On Friday the retreat started and we stayed at the Gonzaga Dorms, and then would walk the trail to the Spokane Convention Center. We literally probably got about 6 hours of sleep each night. The retreat ended with mass on Sunday and we left Spokane around 1pm, and pulled into Burley at 3am the next day. WOW....what a ride. I could have slept for 2 days after that, but I had to work, so I couldn't. :-( I would do it again in a heart beat...no sleep and riding on a bus for 12 hours straight...all of it!!! To feel what I felt and to see those kids opening themselves up to Christ is something I will never get tired of. As long as this is God's calling for me I will continue to volunteer my time and do as much as I can.
I've been so blessed this year. My husband and I are youth ministers for our church and boy has it been a roller coaster. We love being around all these young people who have this love to learn about their religion and The Church!!! It's a lot of hard work but it's really really paid off. We've become closer as a couple, and shared some experiences together that are beyond words. This summer we took our youth group to Spokane, WA to a retreat called Steubenville NW. They hold 18 Steubenvilles around the county during the summer months. It's a retreat geared towards Catholic Teens and this year was the first year we attended. We take the kids to ICYC (Idaho Catholic Youth Convention) every year, which is held in Boise. But this is a regional conference. A little bit bigger scale than just the state of Idaho. What an amazing amazing thing for these kids to go to. To be able to look around as we are worshiping and see these kids with their arms outstretched and some with tears in their eyes is absolutely amazing. Just to know that they are "getting it." They feel the Spirit and are not ashamed of letting everyone know!! It's such an overwhelming feeling. Especially during adoration. I can't even put that into words. 
We left on a Wednesday at around 10:30. We drove by charter bus all through the night and got to Spokane the next morning at around 11am. On Thursday, we spent all day at Silverwood Theme Park with other parishes that were also attending the retreat. By the time we checked into our hotel on Thursday evening everyone was exhausted!!! On Friday the retreat started and we stayed at the Gonzaga Dorms, and then would walk the trail to the Spokane Convention Center. We literally probably got about 6 hours of sleep each night. The retreat ended with mass on Sunday and we left Spokane around 1pm, and pulled into Burley at 3am the next day. WOW....what a ride. I could have slept for 2 days after that, but I had to work, so I couldn't. :-( I would do it again in a heart beat...no sleep and riding on a bus for 12 hours straight...all of it!!! To feel what I felt and to see those kids opening themselves up to Christ is something I will never get tired of. As long as this is God's calling for me I will continue to volunteer my time and do as much as I can. 
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