NET TEAMS 5 and 6!

It's official - Vito (my co-supervisor) and I are off to Bismarck, ND, and Toledo, OH, this weekend and the next for our 1st Supervisor Visit to teams 5 and 6. Team 6 gets the first visit - we leave Friday the 12th to fly to ND and spend a fun and long weekend with the team.

Our visits serve a few purposes - to observe the team in action now that we sent them on the road all alone, to lead them in team building activities, to care for their needs (as best we can with God's grace) and to love and serve them. We have a very fun team building activity (more on that in another post) and lots of other tricks up our sleeves that will help the team unite and work together as one cohesive unit.

Please keep Vito and me in your prayers and also the teams as they continue to pour themselves out ministering to young people across the country!

Team 5 on team picture day

Team 6 on team announcement night at Wapo

Monica and Chris Bader!

Last weekend Monica and Chris celebrated their wedding. I was so thankful to be able to break away from NET training for a few days in order to stand next to Monica and Chris as part of their bridal party. The day was so bless and Monica and Chris were so relaxed.

Some of the best parts were seeing her family from Mexico and Hawaii all together celebrating together. There is so much love between them all and it was a joy to witness.

Cutting the cake

Monica's side of the bridal party

Exchanging vows

Monica and me right before the ceremony

I am so thankful for the friendship i have with Monica. We became friends when i was in high school through another family that we were part of. Though our relationships with that family are no longer as close, Monica and i have stayed friends, and grown even closer.

Monica, i love you!

Fall Training

Fall Training is half way completed: here are a few pictures of what we have been doing so far. Continue to keep all of the Netters in your prayers as they prepare for their mission!

Small group at Camp Wapo

Team 5!!!

Team 6!!!!

The wonderful women i live with! Sarah, Lynn, Mary, Monica and Kathy

Very holy people ... 2 CFR brothers from New Mexico who came to serve at camp, and 3 sisters from the Franciscan Sisters of the Martyr of St. George.

Pray

I probably wont be posting again until October. We are in the process of training all of the new NET teams, which is a 5 week process.

Please keep of the Netters and all of the staff in your prayers. The Lord is working powerfully and is using all of us to fulfil His ultimate plan.

"Each day be conscious of your duty to become a saint. A SAINT! And that doesn't mean doing strange things. It means a daily struggle in the interior life and in heroically fulfilling your duty right through the end." St. Josemaria Escriva - The Forge 60

We will keep all of you in our prayers as well.

it's amazing how one hat can bring you so much joy...

Last weekend most of the people on Mission Staff @ NET headed out to a Minnesota Twins game. We had a great time watching the game but my most favorite part was the woman sitting in front of me with the most fantastic hat i have ever seen. (scroll down for a picture). This hat was beautiful, multi-colored sparkles - i couldn't take my eyes off of it. Infact, i couldn't stop touching it either. Thank goodness for Megan, Joe and BP who pulled my hand away whenever i would try to steal it. I did manage to lay my fingers on the hat a few times, but not nearly long enough to enjoy it fully. We tried to do a quick trade, but there is no way she would have traded her beautfil "bedazzled" hat for my navy blue Old Navy hat. That would have been a totally unfair trade - but i would have enjoyed it.

Enjoy the photos - especially of the hat!

Kathy and Lynn

Mikey, Sarah and BP @ Twins game


BP being cool

Joe and Anna

Anna and Megan (Megan is moving to MN!)

Anna and a BEAUTIFUL hat!

Here is a shout out to the woman in the wonderful hat! Thank you Hat Lady - you made my day.

Profound Wisdom

A message from Bishop Fulton J. Sheen...

"If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hates. My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches in the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get along with the world. Look for the Church which is hated by the world, as Christ was hated by the world. Look for the Church which is accused of being behind the times, as Our Lord was accused of being ignorant and of never having learned. Look for the Church which men sneer at as socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because He came from Nazareth. Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. Look for the Church which, in seasons of bigotry, men say must be destroyed in the name of GOD as men crucified Christ and thought they had done a service to GOD. Look for the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because He called Himself The Truth. Look for the Church which is rejected by the world as Our Lord was rejected by men. Look for the Church which amid the confusion of conflicting opinions, its members love as they love Christ, and respect its Voice as the very voice of its Founder, and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church is unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is unworldly, it is other-worldly. Since it is other-worldly it is infinitely loved and infinitely hated as was Christ Himself. But only that which is Divine can be infinitely hated and infinitely loved. Therefore the Church is Divine."

24 hours to practice patience

Team picture after the wedding

Mikey, Paul, (Carlos - honorary member), Linda, Anna, Laurie and Megan

After a usual Friday at work, Corinne took me to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport for my 7 pm flight to Chicago-O’Hare, and then from Chicago to Newark for Linda and Chris Allen-Poole’s wedding. I quickly made it through security in less than 10 minutes, and then sat and read until my flight. However, when I arrived in Chicago, all plans were off – due to a computer glitch with Air Traffic Control and the FAA, coupled with bad weather on the East coast – ALL FLIGHTS out of Chicago to the East Coast were CANCELED!!!!!

I proceeded to get in a line of approx. 300 + very angry people who all needed to get on a plane to the East Coast tonight –this was going to be a problem. As I was standing in line, I also tried calling the rebooking number – and the soonest they could get me to Jersey for the 3 pm Sunday wedding was 10:30 am on Sunday. That wasn’t going to work! After many phone calls and waiting in the rebooking line until almost midnight – I was able to get a confirmed seat on a flight to St. Louis for 5 pm Saturday night, and then be routed to Newark at 10:30 pm to arrive in Newark at 12 Midnight – just in time for the Sunday afternoon wedding. Because the flight that didn’t leave Chicago until dinner the next day – I was required to sleep somewhere - - - and of course, all of the area hotels were totally booked from all of the canceled flights that had arrived sometime in the afternoon. So the city of Chicago provided us wayward travelers with military cots and blankets all lined up in the K Terminal. As we walked down the airport – I thought to myself – “this is quite the adventure, I wonder what else will happen?” I spoke too soon.

We arrived to the cot area, and I found something you might picture in a refugee movie, hundreds of cots lined up with people scattered everywhere. I grabbed my blanket and pillow and proceed to find the safest resting place. I parked myself between a young women talking anxiously on her phone and a sleeping elderly couple with their cots pushed together. I figured this would be safe. To ensure none of my belongings would be stolen, I put my backpack on my back, and used my purse as a 2nd pillow. Needless to say I didn’t get much sleep. 1 am came and went, 2 am came and went, I think I fell asleep for a moment, and then it was 4 am – all of a sudden, whistles were blowing and men were yelling that it was time to get up. The airport opens officially at 4 am and Chicago doesn’t want a bunch of wayward travelers sleeping in their terminals during business hours. And so we were up. Hundreds of travelers wandering around looking for somewhere to sit or lay until their flight. I found an outlet, charged my phone and laid on the ground for a little nap. This time I fell asleep. I managed to get myself on stand by to get into St. Louis sooner, in hopes on getting on a standby flight from St. Louis to Newark sooner – and I got on! I was into St. Louis by 12 – only to wait there until my 10:30 pm flight to Newark. Stand by was totally booked, and the earlier flight was overbooked – so I kept my original ticket and submitted to God’s perfect will – practicing patience in the airport, and being joyful about it.

I arrived safely in Newark around 11:30 pm Saturday night – exactly 24 hours after my originally scheduled travel. Megan and Mikey picked me up promptly, not wanting me to wait one more second in the airport, and my bag was not lost! It was fully intact sitting at the top of a very large pile of luggage.

We got to the hotel, visited with one another for a while – hung out with Linda on her last night as a single woman – listened to Mikey play the guitar, and prayed together just like the good ol’ days. Linda and Chris’ wedding went smoothly, and was so beautiful! Chris even composed all of the Mass parts! That’s talent!

It was such a blessing to be with some of my team mates that I would so it all over again in a heart beat – even knowing ahead of time what was to come. Though a year has gone by since many of us had seen each other – the bonds are so strong. The Lord has kept us together through the beautiful body of Christ – brothers and sisters.

Team Dance Off!

Pretty flowers!

Pretty Ladies!

Home Team 05- 06 - - - I LOVE YOU!