After having one day to recover from jet lag, I worked a two-day residential in the Loft with 28 4th graders. It didn't take me long, maybe all of one hour, to feel like I was right at home, that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I missed working with these kids so much, I was so excited to be back singing silly songs, playing games and just running around and being a kid amongst the kids. That night I got to do the campfire, which made me feel right at home even more.
After the two-day retreat, I had a day off which I spent at the open markets in St. Albans. I was so excited to be back inside the English culture, I couldn't stop smiling as I walked the streets and soaked it all in.
Sunday I worked with a Confirmation group in which most of the young people had never been to SPEC before. They were absolutely lovely. It was 3 different parishes that brought their groups together for one retreat. It was amazing to watch how quickly the camaraderie was built and they opened up to each other. Quite a few of them had gone to primary school together but hadn't seen each other since then so it was fun to see the reunions and hear them relive some of their favorite memories.
Mondays are what we call Non-Contact Days, meaning there are no groups in so we have the day to spend together as community. Oftentimes the morning is spent on chores or preparation for programs and in the afternoon we have faith formation. Different speakers will come in(usually priests, nuns, authors or other leaders in the church) and speak on a certain faith topic. I quite enjoy these actually because it feels a lot like the lectures we'd have in some of my religion classes at Concordia. And because it's usually someone from the Catholic church, quite often they will speak on a Catholic topic, so they're even more informative for me as I still have a lot to learn. Monday evenings are always going to be filled with some sort of community bonding activity. Our small groups take turns in planning/ preparing/ hosting the events so we find ourselves in an array of different activities. (*sidenote* If anyone has any ideas for a fun group-bonding activity for 20 or so people, let me know!!!)
Last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I was on a Loft residential again with 38 4th graders and I had such a blast! The group was so wonderful and somehow we managed to get everything done in good time and stay on schedule, even with 38 kids!! (If you've tried to lead 38 4th graders in any sort of activity, you'll understand why we felt it was such an amazing feat.)
Though we didn't do much to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, I did spend a lot of time that day thinking of all the things I've been thankful for in the past year. Every chance I got, I yelled "Happy Thanksgiving!" to anyone on the team, especially Kristin, the other American. It was pretty weird not having a turkey or sweet potatoes or lefse,(even last year I had a Thanksgiving dinner in London with some other Americans and some Brits) but I figured it's okay without all the food this year, then I could spend even more time thinking about how thankful I am to be where I am.
Throughout the whole three days of that retreat, I was constantly reminded how much we can learn from young people. I've heard 4th graders ask some questions deeper than any college student in any of my religion classes. Childlike wonder(term I acquired courtesy of Concordia Campus Ministry) is something I'm fascinated with and continue to search for it in my own life. I have no doubt that I will find myself submersed in it more and more as the year goes on.
This past Saturday I went with Narquita(a British volunteer who also returned for her second year) into London to check out the German Christmas market on the Southbank of the Thames, right by the London Eye. We were so excited to see how festive the city is already- I can't believe it's already December(almost)! But as Christmas is my absolute FAVOURITE time of year, I couldn't help but squeal like a girl when we saw all the Christmas lights and heard the music and smelled the roasted almonds and hot chocolate! After a few hours at the market, and exploring a new little shopping district we found by chance called Carnaby Street, we made our way back to SPEC. I had just enough time to get changed and ready to head to a Latin American Night with 8 others from community. A parish in Hemel Hampstead(about 15 minutes away) hosted a night full of amazing food and wonderful salsa dancing! What a great night to just let loose and have fun with some of my new brothers and sisters out on the dance floor!(especially when we were some of the youngest ones there by about 20 years).
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| Girls at the Salsa Night |
Once Anthony arrived we had coffee and talked, then we ordered lunch and talked some more. As we finished we walked up to campus and he showed me his new home. It was exactly what I expected an English university to look like-complete with a beautiful lake full of ducks! After it started to get dark, we made our way into Nottingham itself and headed for a pub called The Fat Cat. Anthony's part of Cathsoc, a Catholic society that most universities in England have, and the Bishop of Nottingham, Malcom McMahon, was coming to speak that night. So we went up and joined the group of 20+ people from the University of Nottingham who were there to listen to him speak about Advent and preparing for Christmas. He was a pretty cool guy and was really fun to listen to and at the end, he offered to buy everyone there a drink. He said he was glad to see Catholic students still drinking on a Sunday night. haha! Unfortunately, because of the Sunday travel, the last train I could catch was about 25 minutes after he finished so we weren't able to stay and enjoy the drink. But it was the thought that counts. Even though it was a rather quick trip up and back (which was unHEARD of to anyone from here, to take a 2 hr. trip up and come back the same day), it was so great being able to catch up with Anthony. He and I got to be really good friends last year and it was hard for me not being able to see him or talk to him everyday for the last 3 months. So I was very grateful for all the time I had with him that day.
Yesterday(Monday) was a Non-contact Day so we spent the morning preparing for a big group of 8th graders we have on Thursday, we had a guy named Jon come in the afternoon to start a Youth Leader course with us. It was SO much fun because it was all about activities and learning how to read a group that your leading. He'll be coming for six sessions, and I can't wait to see what we'll be doing next Monday!
Today was a crazy day, but so much fun! We had 93 10th grade girls in and we ran the new program that I've never seen before. It's called "Heroic Virtue" and it focuses on fortitude, justice, and moderation and how we can choose to practice those in our everyday lives. The program is brilliant and the girls really seemed to enjoy it. Most of them have been coming to SPEC since primary school and this was their last retreat because they don't come next year. As I've been scheduled to work mostly Loft this year, I was quite excited I at least got to have some time with the older kids today. 93 seems like so many girls but they were so lovely, we really didn't have any problems all day. It was just how a big retreat should be!
I know that's a lot to take in, but I wanted to give you an idea of what I've been up to since I've returned. Even amidst the craziness, I have had some time to myself and I've just been reminded, again and again, how blessed I am to be back here. God has called me here for a reason and I cannot wait to see what this year holds for me and the rest of the SPEC Community.
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| ~SPEC Community 2011-2012~ |
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