Day 89: Team 11 Day!

Its November 11th, 11/11, the best day for Team 11! And luckily for us, it was a team day since the supervisors were still in town. What was in store for us? A lot. Apparently, the United States College of Catholic Bishops were holding a major conference in Baltimore today. But more importantly, NET was holding a luncheon speaking about our ministry to bishops who attended. Led by the two main guys at NET, Mark Berchem and Dave Rinaldi, they asked our team to drive over to Baltimore, since we were an hour away, and help promote and direct all the bishops to the meeting room when they were dismissed for lunch! So we arrived at the church at around 8:00am to drive from Rockville to three Marriott Hotel in Fells Point, Baltimore, down the street from where Aimee and I spent our day off weeks ago! Since we arrived a little early, the team had the chance to talk about Ministry and Team Life with Mark and Dave, which was honestly so refreshing and fun. They’re typically very busy people, so having a chance to talk to them was a true honor. Just a little after 11:11, it was showtime. Mark and Dave stationed us, and in front of my eyes hundreds of bishops walked out of the meeting room and past us. Lots and lots and lots of holiness. And for the most part, our advertising work! We were able to gather a couple more bishops than were expected, which is really exciting. Sadly I didn’t see Archbishop Sartain nor Bishops Muggenborg nor Eusebio, but still lots and lots of bishops. Eventually, when all the bishops left or attended, Mark had a few of us stay to mingle with the bishops, while the rest would get Chipotle for lunch down the block on him. So most of us took off, while Evan, Roni, Sarah and Nels stayed back. On our way to Chipotle, a man approached us, and asked about our USCCB tags. Then all of a sudden, he began rapping about NET, God, the USSCB, and about himself. It was a minute long freestyle that left all of us in shock. We learned his name was Tony, a homeless man looking for lunch money. We gave him a few bucks, and we asked if we could pray for him in the middle of the boardwalk, which he gladly accepted. When we said our goodbyes, and continued walking to Chipotle. After lunch, Jaime and Christina picked us up, and we drove back to Rockville. Or so we thought. They asked us to put on these blindfolds, and not say a word until they told us to take them off. Finally, the van was parked, and the supervisors helped us out of the van. They told us to take off the folds, and we opened our eyes to the front of a park. We then heard the van start and drive off!! All was left behind was a bag and some duct tape. In the bag was a note describing our next team challenge: an avalanche has hit our team, and we have to get to certain checkpoints throughout the park to get to the end, which is eventually the “cabin”. The catch: certain people had disabilities such as broken legs and arms, while others were left mute and blind. We had to work as a team to get to each checkpoint without leaving anyone behind. It was hard, and each checkpoint included more and more disabilities that made it more difficult, but we managed to hit all the checkpoints in an hour! The first team activity we actually completed, and although it was very successful, there was still alot left to be desired in terms of teamwork and team life. After debriefing the activity, we headed back home in Rockville officially, and ate at a burger joint called BurgerFi, held a Men’s Session, and ended at host homes. Today certainly felt like multiple days, hence it was one big blog post, but for Team 11 day, it was a huge success in my eyes.