Days 158-161: Mississippi Ministry! (2/10-2/13/21)

After having an eventful couple weeks in Louisiana, we prepare for a hardcore week in the diocese of Jackson, Mississippi. The diocese of Jackson, I would later learn, is essentially the whole state of Mississippi. We plan on having 6 retreats in 7 days, with a team day on the off day. Before arriving in the Magnolia State, we had a few team things to do in Baton Rouge. After a typical morning of breakfast and team prayer, we walked over to a nearby park, where we discussed what we wanted to do as a team for lent, then played some soccer. When we returned, we had lunch while I had to make some calls, before saying our farewells to the Talbot family once again. Though we will be seeing them again next month, it’s like leaving home and saying goodbye to family at this point. Our first stop was in Madison, MS, just outside of Jackson, where we had dinner with the retreat contact person and the people hosting us at a cute coffee shop called M7. The guys stayed at Sam G.’s house, which was basically an awesome bachelor’s pad, perfect for 5 dudes. Unfortunately, the people hosting us could not stay with us due to the diocese’s COVID restrictions, so we had the whole place to ourselves. Luckily, it was already late when we arrived, so we all went to bed shortly thereafter. . . I had an early morning taking Grace to the airport, as she left for a couple days for her twin brother’s wedding back at home in Maryland. As I said last post, I will be running the show solo, but it won’t be too difficult since we are very busy. From the airport, I picked up and packed up the team, and headed to our retreat at St. Joseph School in Madison. Sally’s got to lead her first retreat, and she KILLED IT!! She just got approved to lead recently, and her leadership skills shined throughout the day, excelling on so many levels. Plus, the guys on retreat, all high school juniors, were fun as well. From Madison, we drove down to Natchez, MS, and stayed the night at the Edgewood Plantation, a beautiful 1800’s mansion. The most exciting thing, though, was getting the van and trailer stuck in the dirt, and pulling it out in our NET polos and khakis. We got duuurty! It was quite the night to say the least, as we look forward to a busy day tomorrow. . . Funny enough we passed through Natchez back in October, and went to latin mass here. So putting on a retreat for the Cathedral School was exciting, but also interesting. Out of the 50 high school seniors in attendance, only a handful of them were Catholic, the rest some sort of Christian or Lutheran or Baptist. Despite this, we led a baller senior retreat for youth who have had a tough year, and it was really good for them. I even made friends with an Episcopalian, who admitted he’s more intrigued about converting to Catholicism after retreat. From there, it was a 3-4 hour drive to Starkville, MS, close to where Miss. State University is. It’s getting unnaturally cold here too, in the low 20’s but no wind. When we arrived at St. Joseph’s parish, we met a NET alum named Joe, who was super cool and would join our team prayer the next morning. Plus, Grace would come back from the wedding during the retreat, and praise God for it! We already miss her. . . This is the beginning of the most chaotic days of my time of NET yet. The morning was super chill, as we would have a 7-hour retreat that would run late into the evening, and then drive and hour away to another place. Right before retreat, I get a text from Grace saying she missed her connecting flight to Jackson, and is stuck in Atlanta. Hence, she won’t be back tonight... Alrighty then, we can figure that out. She ended up flying into Memphis, where a teammate would pick her up during tomorrow’s retreat, as she will only be an hour away. Second issue: the weather. Apparently the whole state is getting hit with cold, icy weather, so after the retreat, which was amazing by the way, the guys on retreat were so fun, we take our time getting over to New Albany, MS. As I drove, the rain would freeze as it hit my windshield, blinding my sight a little bit. Luckily, it wasn’t too major, but it was strange nonetheless. We arrived at the hotel, and went to bed. The snow and ice will apparently only get worse, and we shall see where it leads us from here.