Days 81-83: Unexpected Blessings (11/3-11/5/20)

Surely there is no way we could top the Shenandoah River experience we had yesterday, could we? Oh, was I very wrong. We had three travel days from West Virginia to Missouri, with stops in Steubenville, OH, Crawfordsville, IN, then finally arriving in Sedalia, MO. Grace and I were not aware of these stops up until a couple days before, but we had a plan for each one of those stops. That first Tuesday roadtrip, Martinsburg to Steubenville, was only a 4-hour drive. We were supposed to have a school retreat that day, but it was unfortunately canceled due to COVID. Yet, there was something special in the midst of no ministry: a free day, more specifically a free afternoon, to visit Franciscan University in Steubenville! Franciscan is one of the most renown Catholic Universities in the country, and many NET alum attend school there after serving on NET. So we scheduled the free afternoon at Franciscan, meeting up with our friends and exploring the campus, before heading to host homes about twenty minutes outside of Steubenville. For me, I wanted to see all the Netters from last year who now attend Franciscan (11 of them), but I specifically wanted to see three people: Roni, Pancho, and Joshua. Roni was my teammate on the road last year, Pancho was a really good friend of mine from NET last year, and Joshua is a close buddy of mine from home, and I’m his confirmation sponsor! Those three welcomed us to the campus, finding us a parking spot and walking us up to the main campus. Of course, I freaked out, and immediately filled with joy. Hanging out with them at that school was surreal, plus reuniting with a ton of Netters from last year who I haven’t seen since January was so fulfilling, knowing they survived the pandemic and are thriving at Franciscan. My heart is full! We left that evening to spend the night with the Nelson family, who are well-known in the Franciscan community. They have alot of kids and grandkids, some who were at dinner that night, and kept us occupied that evening. It was another one of those families I wish I had more time with to get to know them more, but it wasn’t in the cards. Oh well, maybe if we come through Steubie again. . . I usually remember November 4th for one reason: Sarah Beaver. Sarah, who loves her birthday, was my Team Leader on my team last year, and she is on Team 3 this year as their Team Leader. Why do I mention this? Well, today’s travel day takes us from Steubenville, OH, to Crawfordsville, IN. This takes us through Cincinnati, which is where Sarah’s team is stationed. Knowing this, I reached out to her, seeing if her team was available to meet up. She said they were, and we met up with Team 3 for lunch! They were staying with the Walton family, who did NET and loves hosting Netters all the time. We stayed in their backyard and celebrated a team reunion for a few hours. It’s not often you see a NET team on the road, so I’m grateful we were able to capitalize. It was awesome for me too because I saw my great buddy Mark Johnson, who is on the team as well. We really connected last year on NET, and he’s one of my closest friends. We went on an hour-long walk, which was much needed for me to catch up with him. From there, we arrived in Crawfordsville at Cindy’s house. She hosted a NET team last year and Team 2 this year, and enjoys hosting teams. She was a great time, and we savored our short stint with her. . . The next morning, we took off for our final travel day to Sedalia, MO. Once again, we had a little time to kill before needing to arrive at Sacred Heart School, so we did what one would normally do when you drive through a major city: stop and explore. This major city between Crawfordsville and Sedalia: St. Louis. We parked in front of Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals, then walked over to the Arch. We didn’t just walk to the Arch, we entered the Arch, and took the 650+ foot tram ride to the top!! It’s a little bit taller than the Space Needle, and you could see as far as 30 miles down Illinois on one side, and Missouri on the other side. It was surreal, and I loved it. Another unexpected blessing of the road this year. Finally, we arrived at Sacred Heart school in Sedalia. We ended up staying at the parish center, connected to the sanctuary (convenient), and it’s unique due to COVID conditions. Both priests are out of commission due to both catching COVID, and we had to take showers at the school gym. It’s honestly not as bad as it sounds, we get the whole school to ourselves every night we are here. I’ve had my fun the past few days, now I’m ready to jump back into ministry. Let’s go!