Days 39-42: Regis MS (9/22-9/25/20)

It’s finally time to travel! Our first out-of-state stop: Regis Middle School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. That morning, we said goodbye to our host family, picked up the girls, and made the 4-hour drive down from St. Paul to Iowa. Once we arrived, there was a lot happening. We had temperature checks upon entrance, and a quick tour of the school, where I learned the building used to be a high school, specifically the high school that Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner went to, which is super cool! We had more ministry practice, but for Grace and I, we had to figure out the logistics and details for the retreats we will be putting on. This is something I am certainly not used to, and was very exhausted by it. Praise God for my co-leader Grace to help share the load with. For dinner, we had Panera with Jerica, the 8th grade art teacher who called us up to put on retreats at Regis. She has a fantastic story, and really inspired our team by her trust and faith in God. For host home, we stayed at a hotel, and all the guys stayed in a sweet suite. And, yes, I totally did said “sweet suite” on purpose. . . Here we are, our very first retreat as a team! Well, almost as a whole team. Over the past few days Luke picked up some seasonal allergies that kept getting worse. Upon diagnosis, although we know it is just seasonal allergies, he still had two of the lower COVID symptoms that morning, meaning he must sit out the first retreat. It was certainly hard, but it was the right decision. The first retreat would be for the 8th grade Regis MS class, about 94 students. Some students were coming in virtually on Zoom, and Samantha had the opportunity to lead the first NET virtual small group for our team. Christina led the retreat, and we did the dang thing! There were a lot of things we could work on, especially energy wise, but for the first retreat it was very solid. The youth were pretty tough as well, and telling my team that gave them hope for future retreats that won’t be as difficult. That evening, we had dinner with Josh, the school principal, who is another incredibly faithful soul, and had a great story as well. It’s not often you find such a faith-filled group of teachers that are as young as they are, so it’s very beautiful to watch. . . The second day at Regis MS was for the 7th grade class. This was their largest class (113 youth, 14 virtual), and the chance to lead my first retreat! I had so much fun doing it, and it felt so natural too. Plus the group was much more invested than the last, which is what the teachers predicted, but it was very relieving. That evening, Grace and I had our weekly Team Leader Meeting. It is either a fun meeting or a business meeting depending on what business needs to be taken care of. This week was a fun meeting, and we decided to go bowling at Cedar Rapids Bowl, which was super fun! I got my PR of 168, and it was overall a good time. Then we celebrated with Chick-Fil-A, and talked like there was no tomorrow. We are finally growing into a friendship, and it’s so beautiful to watch. . . The final day at Regis: the 6th graders, who had a lot of virtual students and less than 80 students in person. But man, it was the so much fun! The youth were so good, Grace did a fantastic job leading her first retreat, and we were so grateful for a great group. After retreat, we had to book it to our next stop. We said goodbye to Jerica and Josh, as well as Christina, who was returning home. Our training is officially OVER!! It’s just us from hereon out. Well, except for when we can call our supervisors, but mostly just us. We left Cedar Rapids at 4:30, and arrived at St. Gerald’s in Ralston, NE at 9:00pm. We arrived and met Deb, the Confirmation Coordinator at the parish and a NET alum. We also got to meet Amanda’s parents!! For those who do not remember, Amanda is from Nebraska, and lives only 20 minutes away from the church! So she is staying the night at her house, while the rest of us stayed at the Ablaze House of Prayer, which has a chapel with tons of saint relics in the basement downstairs!! The people that opened it up to us, Fr. Michael and Mary, are building a retreat center around the house we are staying in, and beginning to create Ablaze Ministries. Hopefully in a couple years all the construction work will be finished, and it will be a place I can return to.