Days 50-54: Louisiana! (10/3-10/7/20)

We got a tight morning schedule here in Natchez, MS, en route to our next retreat site. Our host mom, Lisa, invited us to daily Latin Mass at 8am. Latin Mass is very different from regular mass, mainly because the whole mass except for the homily is spoken in latin. It was honestly so fascinating to be a part of, even if i had no idea what was happening. We had to act fast though, as we had to drive to Ponchatoula, Louisiana for our next retreat. We arrived right on time at St. Joseph’s Parish in Ponchatoula, and were ready to put on our first retreat in almost a week. It’s strange only having retreats on weekends, but we’re making it work. This was a confirmation Men’s/Women’s Retreat, meaning we split the groups into their respective genders. It ended up being a solid retreat, as the guys responded well to us. That evening, we drove an hour west to Baton Rouge to stay with our host family: my teammate Elizabeth’s family! The Talbot’s wanted to host us in our time in Louisiana, as they live in Baton Rouge, and I’m glad we are able to. It’s a gorgeous house that they had just bought in June, it’s going to be a fun time here. . . We returned to St. Joseph in Ponchatoula for a middle school retreat. This is a very special retreat for me, as it is my 100th NET retreat!! It’s crazy to imagine I’ve help put on 100 of these, but praise God for it! I’m also glad my first ever serving of jumbalaya, a classic cajun dish, and it lived up to the hype. After retreat, we drove to the Frassati House. Named after Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, this mansion will soon be used for local Catholic young adults to live in fellowship with one another. It’s a wonderful opportunity, and we had a chance to eat dinner and play games at the house. Hopefully the ministry can begin soon, as they are still waiting on a few things to get approved to put on events at the house. . . After a weekend of retreats, we had a team day. The plan: give Elizabeth control of the day and show us around her hometown Baton Rouge! We explored all day, from the State Capital, where each staircase had a US state (we all stood on our respective state), to downtown on the Mississippi River, to the LSU Campus, where we ate at the original Raising Cane’s (famous chicken fast food chain in the midwest/south), and met their live mascot, Mike the Tiger. It was very surreal for me to walk in between the football stadium, where they just won the national championship, and the basketball arena where Shaquille O’Neal played. That evening, we went to a fancy seafood restaurant called Louisiana Lagniappe with Fr. Ryan, the man who is running the Frassati House, and he was a riot. Needless to say, team day was a joy. . . We are spending the next two days with another family about an hour west of Baton Rouge in Cankton, LA, not because there is a retreat, but because the family we are staying with, the Bertrand’s, are incredible. Their son, Mark, is on NET Team 10 this year, and their mom, Natalie, did NET back in ‘90-91. They love hosting every year, and they were incredible to us. We had our first gumbo dish there, and just ate so well our entire stay. On 10/7, we had our No-Obligation Day, meaning we were free to do what we wanted. This gave me time to call friends and family and just relax. It was a fantastic day, but there was a lot happening in Louisiana, and it worries me. You’ll find out what I mean in the next blog!