Fall Outreach

UMW Balloons at one of the Freshmen Orientation events!
http://www.umw.edu/news/2012/08/27/incoming-students-experience-traditions-new-and-old-at-umw/

FOCUS calls the first few weeks of the semester, "Fall Outreach." It's probably the busiest time of year for a missionary because it involves meeting a lot of new people all at once. The days are long and hectic, and they have mostly left me incredibly tired by the end of the day. At the same time, the days can be extremely rewarding. The freshmen moved in 5 days before classes started, and 4 days before the returning students, so most of our outreach efforts were to reach the new freshmen and bring them into the community at the Catholic campus center.

For example, one of the main events we invited incoming freshmen to was a Saturday evening barbecue. We had flyers that advertised for the BBQ on one side, and for Sunday's "Welcome/Welcome Back" Mass on the other. It felt like we had handed out a million flyers and met hundreds of people in the days leading up to the event, with no idea of how many people would actually come. When Saturday rolled around, it just started to pour out. It hadn't rained in Virginia until that day, but that day it rained with no sign of stopping. We thought for sure all our efforts had been wasted.

But God is good! Around 4:00, when we started to set up tables and things for the BBQ, it stopped! We prepared for about 75 people to come, but had really only expected around 45. We didn't quite make 75, but we did have over 50 people show up, many of whom were people we had met earlier in the week and personally invited to the event! It was such a rewarding night, to have so many new students gathered together, starting to form a community amongst themselves. It was such a great witness to how God can take our expectations and totally turn them around!

7 Quick Takes, Vol. 6

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The Sunday before I left Wisconsin, I made a mini-pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, WI. I had been meaning to go all summer, and finally decided to just do it even though the timing wasn't perfect. It was a beautiful day, and I knew if I didn't seize the opportunity, I would likely have left Green Bay without visiting.

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My family has a long history with the Shrine. My grandmother grew up close by, and would visit often as a child. Ever since I can remember, I've gone with my mother and grandma and aunt and sisters to mass on the Feast of the Assumption. It's a pretty big deal out there. The Bishop celebrates Mass, and following Mass is Exposition and Benediction of the Eucharist and a rosary walk around the grounds of the Shrine. It's absolutely beautiful, and I am incredibly sad to have missed it this year.

Outdoor Mass at the Shrine. Mass is celebrated BYOLC style--Bring your own lawn chair!

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My little pilgrimage was fairly uneventful. I went alone, and just prayed for a few hours. It was great to see all of the changes made to the grounds since the site became officially recognized. There was a real parking lot, with yellow lines and everything! And there were some new grottoes, recognizing other apparitions around the world, like Lourdes and Fatima. My favorite was the grotto of Our Lady of Grace. There was just something about the way Mary looked in the statue that was peaceful and calming.

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I decided against taking my camera with me because I wanted to try to keep my time there centered on Christ and the intercession of His mother. I don't regret this decision at all! It was so nice to take a step back from the world, and spend an afternoon focused on prayer. Although, I am sorry there aren't more pictures, because the Shrine is such a beautiful place.

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When I went to the Shrine, I wasn't planning on praying the Stations of the Cross. It was totally one of those Holy Spirit moments, where, all of a sudden, I found myself reaching into my bag and grabbing my Handbook of Prayers and walking up to the first station. All of a sudden, there I was, praying the stations, without ever having made a conscious decision to do so. In the middle of the garden area where the outdoor Stations are set up, there is a life-size Crucifix. Praying in front of it after I had walked the Stations of the Cross with Christ was so fruitful and life-giving. I left with this beautiful sense of trust in Him. Because, honestly, if He was willing to hang on a cross and die for me, He's got the little details covered. He's not going to go through all that, and then overlook the minor details, which is really comforting!

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The Crypt of the Shrine has a life-size statue of Our Lady at the physical location where she appeared to Sister Adele. This place just seems steeped in holiness, and there is a weight to the place that isn't found elsewhere. It really feels like Mary is present. I don't really know how to explain it well, but it was awesome to pray there.

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The Feast of the Assumption was just celebrated at the Shrine. It was sad not to be there with my family, but I celebrated Mass with my teammates, just my teammates, in Virginia. It was pretty cool to have Mass said specifically for us, and to hear a homily directed at us from our campus priest who is supportive and enthusiastic about our work. It's good to be here!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Greetings from Virginia!

Oh my goodness! The past week has been a total whirlwind! I am now in Virginia, and just finished my first official day of work here at the University of Mary Washington. Within the past week, I packed up all my things, traveled halfway across the country, unpacked in my new apartment, fell sick with a cold, and started a new job! It has definitely kept me busy, but a good busy.

The apartment here in Fredericksburg is huge! It's easily twice the size of the place I lived at in Madison, and everything, minus cable and internet, is included in rent, even parking! I'm still a little in awe of how much space we have, and I have to stop myself from trying to fill it with furniture.

The city of Fredericksburg is beautiful! It's different from Wisconsin, but still nice. I've had most difficulty getting used to the humidity here. I thought it was bad back home over the summer, but it was nothing compared to what it's like every day here. I keep waiting for the morning when I open the door and step outside without being surprised by the intense, oppressive heat. So far, it hasn't happened; but there's always tomorrow!

When I get a moment, I'll post some pictures. The campus of Mary Washington is absolutely beautiful, with a lot of green space and brick buildings. So far, I'm really enjoying my time here, and can't wait to explore Fredericksburg more and meet the students!

Houston, We Have a Problem

Oh man, why don't all these boxes hold more!? And maybe my clothes would all grow legs and jump into my suitcases

Oh my goodness, it's time for me to leave for Virginia. Which means packing... Yikes! As of right now, there's SO MUCH to do, I just don't even know where to begin. I think I've looked in my closet, at my desk, went into the bathroom and stared at all the stuff I have there, and then start looking at everything again. Maybe, if I just look really intently at all my things for long enough, they'll pack themselves up all nicely. Maybe they'll even magically be transported to Virginia.

And I'm pretty sure my stuff has gotten bigger, while my car has gotten smaller. And I keep remembering things I have to bring--like, it's hot now, but in a few months it will be cold! I need my winter clothes! And blankets! And snow boots! Uh-oh...

Except, even as I'm packing, I'm not sure I want any of my things to be magically moved to Virginia. Today seemed to just fly by. I looked at the clock and it was 7 am. Then I blinked and it was 3 pm and then, just one blink later, it's 9 pm. And now I only have one day, ONE DAY!, left in Green Bay. I'm not sure that's long enough--I don't know how to leave my family, and say "See you at Christmas!" My things fit so well in my room and my closet and, really, it seems like such a waste to move everything only to move it all back in a year or two. Maybe I should just not go.

But what am I thinking!? Of course I'm going to go! I love my job!! A missionary at the UW told me that change is good, but transition is hard. And it's so true! I'll just remember that this packing up of my life isn't supposed to be easy. I'll just remember that my things fit in my room so well because they've been here for 22 years, so it's right that they fit. It's hard to pack up and move, because it somehow seems more permanent than moving to college did. I might be making this more dramatic than it needs to be. (I started crying while packing, so I'm definitely making this more dramatic than it needs to be.) And I also might be writing this blog post just to put off more packing...

Change is good; transition is hard.

Beach Volleyball is my Life

Not literally. I don't play beach volleyball. I've never seen a match live. But I love, love, LOVE beach volleyball in the Olympics. I love the game, the athletes, the way it doesn't require a long attention span. I will watch games on replay, even though I know who wins. I don't just like knowing who wins, I like seeing how they win.

My favorite part of beach volleyball is how athletic the players have to be. When they dive for a ball, they have to get right back up. If you have the first touch, you know that the third touch is also yours. There isn't the luxury of staying down. The strength and courage of the athletes is amazing. To constantly get up and keep going, not letting a bad pass or poor serve to dictate your attitude is encouraging for life in general.

Life seems to be a constant battle of picking myself up after I've just seemed to give everything I've got. Especially the spiritual life. Sometimes, there seems to be that person on the other side of the net who is intent on hitting the ball all over the court making me run and dive and jump all over the place to see how much longer I'll go on, hoping that one of these days I'll decide the game is no longer worth it, and just give up. That one day I'll just let the ball fall and stop giving everything to prevent it landing in the sand.

Beach volleyball is also like life in that sometimes, no matter how much you try, you serve the ball into the net, or your pass goes off into the stands, or you just can't pick yourself up off the sand in time to finish the play. These pitfalls can be even harder to overcome. At least when you miss a serve that you dove for, you know you gave it your all. But when you just don't quite hit the ball hard enough to sail over the net, it's easy to start beating up on yourself, to think that you'll never improve, and to forget that being human means imperfection.

Of course, I'm not talking about volleyball anymore. It's life- those times I snap at my sisters instead of having patience. Those times I hit the snooze button and end up sleeping right through daily mass. Those times I would rather be doing anything other than praying, or I sit down to pray and can't seem to sit still for the life of me.

But then, on the court of life, my partner is Jesus, and the opponent is Satan and the terrors of Hell. Satan really is trying to get me to give up the game. He really is hitting the ball all over the court, trying to get me to give up. Luckily, this isn't a new game. It's the game on replay- I know how it ends. So all I have to do is get up and go to Mass the day after I sleep in. All I have to do is sit still and pray for one hour or one minute or one second at a time, and then start over again the next day. I'm passing the ball to Jesus, and I know He will spike it over the net and, one of these days, knock the devil out of the game once and for all. Until then, I will simply keep going, praying for the strength and courage of those Olympic athletes, who keep playing until the game is done.

"Israel, hope in the Lord, now and forever!" Psalm 131:3

7 Quick Takes, Vol. 5

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I'm cheating a little bit this week for my quick takes. I had a fairly low-key week, so I thought I would share an easy 6-step recipe for a tortilla sandwich. Tortilla sandwiches is an easy meal I discovered when I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich, but didn't have any bread. So I used tortillas! Since then, I've expanded on the recipe and it's one of my favorite, easy meals.

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Basic Ingredients:

-Tortillas- I've used either 1 large tortilla folded in half, or 2 smaller tortillas

-Beans (black beans or pinto beans)- I suppose you don't really need beans, but I love them and this is usually what I do with taco leftovers

-Cheese- absolutely necessary! Not only because I'm from WI and cheese is a staple in just about every meal, but also because it's what makes the tortillas stick together.

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Additional Ingredients:
-Hamburger
-Tomatoes
-Salsa
-Refried beans
-Rice
-Taco Sauce/Enchilada Sauce/Hot Sauce
-Sour Cream
-Lettuce- although I put the lettuce on top of the tortilla, instead of grilling it inside of the sandwich

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Directions:
Warm up the frying pan, and add about a tablespoon of olive oil, or whatever oil you have on hand, or butter. I like the flavor of the olive oil, and the way it makes the tortillas crispy.

Did I really need a picture of oil in a frying pan?

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Layer the ingredients on the tortillas. I like to put some cheese on the bottom and on the top, to help it really stick together.

LOTS of cheese!

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Put the sandwich in the hot pan, and cook on one side until the tortilla is warm and crispy. Flip, and do the same for the second side.

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If you want, you can put lettuce and/or spinach and/or sour cream and/or salsa and/or hot sauce on top of the warm sandwich. Eat up, and enjoy!

I only had lettuce on hand, so that's what I used. But I also ate it with some ranch dressing,
which was surprisingly good!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Called to Mission

One of the great twentieth-century Catholic theologians, Hans Urs von Balthasar, described his call from God to the priesthood, saying he felt as if he had been "struck as by lightening...It was simply this: you have nothing to choose, you have been called. You will not serve, you will be taken into service. You have no plans to make, you are just a little stone in a mosaic which has long been ready. All I needed to do was to stand there and wait and see what I would be needed for."*

I absolutely love this quote. In many ways, I feel as though my call to FOCUS was along these same lines. One day I just woke up, and knew I wasn't going to law school in 2012. I was going to apply to FOCUS. I dithered about it a little bit, trying to find another program I could do instead, still looking at LSAT test dates. But I knew, deep down, that God had called me to FOCUS, to serve Him as a missionary.

I think many of my life decisions are made in this way. Most of the big decisions I've made are one's I've just known. I never really seriously considered going anywhere else for college except UW-Madison. When I took my first Religious Studies class, I knew that was what my major would be. Once I heard about spiritual direction, I knew I needed it. Attending the FOCUS National Conference was a decision I seemed to make on the fly, same with the FOCUSequip training last summer. All of these I tried to get out of, tried to un-hear God's call, but like the prophet Jeremiah, I couldn't.

You deceived me, LORD, and I let myself be deceived; you were too strong for me, and you prevailed ... I say I will not mention him, I will no longer speak in his name. But then it is as if fire is burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding back, I cannot! (Jeremiah 20:7, 9)

Or I think of St. Augustine who writes in his Confessions, "my heart is restless until it rests in You." Von Balthasar's works are some of the most beautiful I've ever read, and the idea that I am just "a little stone in a mosaic which has long been ready" is one that really touches my heart. The trust that Von Balthasar had in God, to be able to trust that all his thoughts and actions were aligned with the Divine Will, is encouraging. It takes the pressure off. It reminds me to be humble. In a mosaic, it's not the tiles that stand out, but the image they make. I want my heart to long for Jesus so much that I step outside of myself more and more, to everyday be better able to conform myself to the pattern He has already made; knowing that His pattern is greater and more beautiful than my little tile could ever be.

*English translation by Peter Henrici, SJ, "Hans Urs von Balthasar: A Sketch of His Life," in David L. Schindler's Hans Urs von Balthasar: His Life and Work.