So, it’s been forever since I’ve posted an update and I am
incredibly sorry for that. Life has definitely
been an adventure the last almost 2 months since I last posted. A lot has happened and therefore I think I
will write a couple posts so you can pick and choose which adventures you would
like to read about and which you want to skip.
I’ll start where I left off in December.
Our last 2 weeks in Delvin were relatively uneventful. We had a couple youth nights that were all
very fun. We had Christmas parties with
both our junior and senior youth groups. We had
party poppers and sugar cookies, Christmas carols and mafia (our senior youth group’s
favorite game). Our house was all decorated
which of course made my heart so happy.
Christmas is my favorite holiday by far so I thoroughly enjoyed getting
to celebrate Christmas so many times! We
were lucky enough to get a Christmas tree from Tim’s cousin so we
even had a Christmas tree, something rare for NET teams. We had a jam session for our last youth mass which
turned out to be quite the ordeal. The
power went out around 5:30 and didn't come back on for about 2 hours so half
our jam session was done in the dark.
Keep in mind it gets dark now around 4:00 so when I say dark I mean,
really dark. We did the best we could
with candles and actually had a lot of fun despite not being able to see
much.
On our last Saturday before we headed out we spent the
afternoon as a team. We decided to
continue the Christmas celebrations and headed for Blanchardstown mall just
outside of Dublin. We each drew the name
of a team member out of a hat and had 45 mins and €5 each to find the perfect Secret Santa gift. We then ate dinner at
TGI Fridays, exchanged gifts and enjoyed our version of Christmas as a
team. Some of the gifts were great. Rebecca gave Tim a giant party popper with
games and other wonderful things inside.
This party popper actually led to quite the event on our team. When we finally opened it later that week we all
started playing with the toys and put on the crowns. Ben then stole all our crowns and as Becca
was chasing him up the stairs his foot combined with her arm, her necklace and
her mouth equaled a chipped front tooth.
It was not very funny at the time but now makes for a great story. Other gifts that day included a blanket,
coffee and a beanie. I personally
thought my gift was the best but I might be a little bias. Tim got my name and his gift made my
day. He gave me a craft kit because he
knows how much I like crafts. He also
gave me a pair of really warm socks because my feet are always cold and my toes very frequently go numb. He gave me
candy canes because I had been missing candy cane hot chocolate like no tomorrow. Finally, he gave me snow spray because all I
wanted for Christmas was snow and since nature wasn't obliging Tim did. It was such a great gift and a great
night. We had a awesome team Christmas!
 |
| We learned some swing dancing! |
On December 15th we headed to Newbridge in Co.
Kildare for our December Retreat. Each
year NET holds a retreat for the netters right before Christmas break to help
us wind down and relax before heading different directions for a few weeks to
enjoy a needed break. December retreat
was really great. For part of the
retreat we joined another retreat happening at the same time put on by the
group Youth2000. Youth2000 is an international movement of young people called to
spread the Good News of the Catholic faith and share this experience with other
young people. The retreat they
were holding was their annual Christmas retreat where they invite youth from
all over the country to spend a weekend reflecting on the Lord and coming to a
deeper understanding of his love for them.
We only attended parts of the retreat but the parts we did attend were
very powerful. One night we participated
in their reconciliation service. Fr.
John, an Irish priest who spent many years in Rome, gave a talk on
reconciliation that spoke right to my heart.
I was then able to attend reconciliation with him and it was one of the
best confessions I have had. He was able
to understand my struggles because he had similar one and had some great advice
for overcoming them. When we weren't at the Youth2000 retreat we
were staying at this beautiful retreat house run by the Society of St. Vincent
de Paul. This house serves as a place
for people who could not typically afford a holiday the opportunity to come
spend a week on holiday where they can relax and enjoy a few days away from all
the hard times they face in their day to day lives. It was a joy to stay there for a few days and
spend some time with all the other NET teams.
Getting to spend
time with the other NET teams is always a real joy for me. I have made some great friends here in
Ireland and am incredibly blessed by the people God has put into my life. Although we are all volunteering with NET the
teams don’t get many opportunities to see each other because of the busy
schedules we all keep. Therefore, every
opportunity we get to spend some time in each other’s presence is a true blessing
and gift. It was a beautiful way to
spend our last few days before we headed out for Christmas break.
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