Days 103-108: Thanksgiving Break! (11/25-11/30)

That was easily one of the best sleeps in a long time. After a long weekend, we were able to sleep in until 8:30, then started our morning with team prayer then breakfast. The staff, who were working a floor below us, appreciated our praise and worship, as it made the offices lively once again. After breakfast with the person that brought our team to the parish, Doreen, we held skit practice before needing to leave at 1:00pm for an evening retreat in Verona, NJ. It wasn't until halfway to New Jersey and through New York City (for what feels like the 8th time), where Sarah and Nels said they pranked us. There was no retreat, and we were actually heading to Roni's house for Thanksgiving Break! What a relief man, we made it! After a few more hours of driving, we finally arrived at the Walton household in Chadds Ford, PA, just outside of Philadelphia late night, but it was just a relief to finally be in one area for more than three days, have time to invest in people, especially my team. The next few days until after Thanksgiving on Thursday (today is Monday) would be super chill days for ourselves and to build up some energy for the rest of the year. Let's get it! We all stayed the night in the home, but we learned the guys would move to another location 15 minutes out. So the five of us got cozy tonight, waiting to see what was in store tomorrow and the rest of the week . . . After getting to sleep in again, we did prayer and had breakfast. The Walton's served these Amish pretzel sandwiches, stuffed with eggs, cheese, bacon/ham, and dipped in butter. Easily the best food item I've had on the road yet. I don't know much about the Amish, but I will always know them for those glorious sandwiches. Anyways, after breakfast we had team prayer, and began watching Now You See Me as a team until lunchtime, then had to leave for fun activities in the afternoon. Roni planned for some of the team members to get haircuts, so whoever needed a cut or something with their hair, like myself, had a chance to do something. If you didn't, you hung out at Starbucks next door until everyone was done. After haircuts, we headed to the Woodland Gardens, where they had Christmas lights up for all to explore. It was super pretty, and it was a lot of fun in general to be with the Walton's and my team. When we got home, we finished Now You See Me, and left for our home. Apparently the family had left for something, leaving the whole house for us. Turns out it is a 6-bedroom house for the five of us! Nels gave me the master bedroom, which had a massive bathtub and shower. Not gonna lie, I'm really going to enjoy this week now. . . Today was our No-Obligation Day, meaning we could do what we wanted as long as we hit a couple of meal obligations. Since we were in the Philly area, that meant one thing for me: hanging out with my family! Yes, I have an aunt and uncle and four cousins that live in Pennsburg, PA, about an hour away from where I was, and we had the chance to visit. They picked me up, ran some errands (including a Wawa run), and just hung out. Family time is a big thing for me, and I loved my time with my family catching up. We also went to an interfaith church service that evening, where Lutherans (my aunt's religion), Jews, and Muslims came together to celebrate in one place, which was truly inspiring to watch. The only weird part of the day was not being around my team for an extended period of time. It was about 12 hours between seeing a teammate, which was very odd, so we'll see how Christmas Break treats me. . . Thanksgiving day! It was hosted by the Walton's at the home the guys were staying at due to more room. It had all the typical thanksgiving dishes: turkey, mashed potatoes, greens, etc. Just overall it was a super chill day, the only thing we truly did was team prayer. Everything else was pretty nonchalant, and I liked it that way. I did get to call into my family's thanksgiving dinner and give the blessing, which was super special for me missing my first thanksgiving with my biological family. Least I was still with my family though right?. . . Friday morning we had to hit the road for our last leg of the first semester: the diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan. We left at a reasonable time from the houses, and we took a travel day back to Erie, PA, to visit Sarah's family again! It was just how we left it, and I felt so comfortable staying there because of familiarity and how loving the Beaver's are. Truly thankful for another great pitstop in the Steelers' den downstairs. . . After a 6-hour travel day yesterday, we packed our stuff in the trailer at around 10am and took another 8-hour travel day to arrive in Greenville, Michigan. We arrived at the St. Charles Borromeo parish, where our next retreat would be, and the team split into host homes for the evening. We were taken by Mitchell, a NET alum from a couple years ago, who would take Jakob and I for the night, and drop the others off for the evening. I love staying with NET alum, because they understand the lingo and we can tell stories and experiences and jokes, making conversation more fun for us. We ended up having dinner at Mitchell's friend's house, Patty, who fed us thanksgiving food and turned on the Carbonaro Effect for us. Again, generosity in this world is underrated and unseen, but it's certainly there. We got home late, and being a week removed from retreats with a 10-hour long retreat tomorrow. I wanted all the rest I could get. But, there is a chance of snow tomorrow, so at least I should be okay for the time being.