This is IT!!

Nicole here! That’s right folks, things in Athenry are coming to a close. It’s been a fantastic year, but it isn’t over yet and we still are finding ourselves with plenty to do.

This last weekend we held our final 3-day retreat at Esker Monastery and had our highest turnout with twenty-one students who attended. The theme of the weekend was Real Love. The retreat was filled with games, dramas, talks from the Netters and a few testimonies from students. The highlight of the weekend was during our prayer ministry when a majority of students received the sacrament of confession. After a long and successful retreat, we finished the weekend off with a dodgeball tournament after Mass on Sunday night. The students said that this was the best retreat ever...really...the STUDENTS actually said that not us.

While we all returned from the weekend absolutely wrecked, it was totally worth it to spend some quality time with the youth and hear how much work God has done in them this year. After a few good nights of sleep, we got back to working hard in the office for our last week of ministry. Last night we took a trip to the cinema to see the much anticipated Iron Man 2 with the youth who participated in the Passion play. Let me tell you it did not disappoint. The movie was great, and definitely lived up to all its hype. So if you haven’t checked it out yet I highly suggest that you do.

As for the rest of the weekend, we’ve got a diocesan trip planned with the youth to climb Croagh Patrick tomorrow as well as our last and final LifeNight, entitled This Is IT. Yay for doing God’s work.

I know! I love doing God’s work. (This is Dynae now) I just wanted to tell everyone about our previous trip to Croagh Patrick, as a team about two weeks ago. I hope you don’t mind. We were on a bit of a tight schedule because we had to be back for a Thanksgiving Mass for Confirmation students at the Church in Athenry, so we had to climb the mountain, and come back down in about 4 hours at the most. We were all set to go in our gear, and multiple coloured layers (Yes, Nicole this does include you). We had some pretty fun experiences climbing up the mountain because the last stretch to get to the top is SO STEEP!! No lies! Some of it I spent on my hands and knees going up. Diana found out it was her un-birthday at the top, I just about broke my camera diving for my camera case, but the best part was going down.

I don’t know if you would agree with me Nicole, but your crab crawl on that top part was something to behold. The boys took off because we were taking “so long,” but overall it was a pretty unique experience. Get excited because we get to recreate it all again tomorrow!! Crab-crawl-Nicole here we come!

Nicole’s turn at team day was on Monday after the retreat, where we FINALLY got to go to Knock, which may I mention we’ve been talking about going all year. Excellent choice Nicole! You rock my socks. Diana was keeping a huge secret from me all day on Sunday, but telling everybody else because she figured I would be the only one really excited about it, which turned out to be true. The relics of St. Therese of Lisieux and her parents were at the Basilica at Knock! It was so cool to be able to say hello to one of my favourite saints like that. We got to meet one of Alex’s old teammates and visit the School of Evangelization. They only have about 7 students each year! I got to meet a guy named Thomas who is taking a year off from the seminary to go to the school which he says is great to be able to work with young people because he is usually working with the older generations in the seminary. He plans to go back next year and continue on to become a priest. Go Thomas Go!

We walked around Knock a bit, had the quickest Confession of my life, and then went to a pub called Kilkenny’s for team sharing where Kilkenny beer is not on tap...(the keg just ran out, but I thought that was a bit ironic). Back to you Nicole!

Thanks Dynae, I highly enjoyed the fact that you just came out of nowhere and took over my blog...typical. You are quite the shyster, but one of my favourite shysters on the team. J Still, I can’t argue with the truth and if it must be said I did reach a point of desperation on our way down Croagh Patrick (the Croah as I like to call it) and in that moment of break-down I did conclude it would be best to give crab-crawling a try, which believe it or not did work quite well for me. So don’t knock it until you try it Dynae.

Anyway, other than that there isn’t much else to report on. We’ve all really enjoyed our stay here in Athenry. Who knew that a tiny, little town like this could find its way into each of our hearts? A little sappy I know, but if you ask me the world needs a little bit of sap. Seriously though, this year has been fabulous. We’ve gone through some tough times and had some great victories. We’ve grown as individuals, as team mates and as children of God. It’s truly amazing what God has done through six ordinary people, who were complete strangers to each other and everyone in this town just nine months ago. May all glory be to Him who is and was and will be forever our Lord. So this is it! Can’t wait to see what God has in store for us next.

JESUS IS GOOD!

What is up?! Diana back in action just in time for all of YOUS!! Well, where shall I begin? We just celebrated Easter, and let me tell you, what an amazing Holy Week it's been! Some of the oh-so talented youth put on a great Passion Play on Good Friday, there was a beautiful candle-lit prayer service on Saturday, and we got to be a part of a crispy dawn mass on Easter Sunday, not to mention a delicious late lunch feast at a local parish family's home!! Thanks Gannons!!!
Last week we had a really SWEET Lifenight entitled "Word Up", where we focused on the importance of reading the Bible, and how doing so can really jazz up your relationship with Christ.
And this coming Sunday we will have a night called "What Have You Got to Lose?, where we'll be touching on really choosing your faith and all the choices that go with that. It's gonna be fabulous!
You guys it's gettin' down the wire now, and we are leaving Athenry in about a month! I wish we had more time, and it's moving so fast I can't keep up! But I praise God for the opportunities He's given us here in A-town, and I only pray that more will come from what's been done here.
Well, God bless you all and take care!
-Diana

And so it continues.....

We are now finishing up our last week in Lent and my goodness has time flown by. It doesn't seem like just last week we were in Inishbofin, however God continues to send His blessings down upon us. On Saturday 20 March the lads went to go paintballing, and I have to say, I was a bit disappointed that they didn't need me to chaperone...it would have been hilarious to watch!! They all came back with some lovely battle wounds, though Alex and Reed came back nearly free of any wounds even though all the youth were planning to gang up on them. We have some mighty warriors that's for sure =)
Sunday brought about much craziness as we scurried to get ready for our Life Night on Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. Nicole dressed up for the occasion featuring all black with matching black circles around her eyes for her talk on Hell. The whole room was devoid of light and covered floor to ceiling in bin bags. We were praying the whole time that "hell" wouldn't fall down...slightly ironic I know.
I did the talk on Purgatory in a stairwell which was fairly uneventful. Alex was dressed in a white alb with the key to Heaven's Gates...yup, St. Peter was in the building. We were going to make him a big white beard, but it didn't really work out.
We had a couple helpers out from Saturday until Tuesday morning from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island as well!!!! Beth Brown from NET last year and her cousin Hannah Brown were travelling around Ireland and were luckily able to stop by for a few days to visit. It was so good to see Beth and even though we hadn't seen eachother since June of last year, it was like we hadn't missed a day. They had a bit of an adventure with their luggage since they forgot it on the tour bus in Galway, but they were able to get it back on Monday.I pray the remainder of their trip goes smoothly!
Reed and us girls went to Galway on our No OB day, at which Nicole, Diana and I tried to get our Claddagh rings, but unfortunately they were out of any sizes but 5 so we couldn't get them =( We did get to see the world's smallest Claddagh ring though!!!
The rest of week has been fairly busy and Nicole and I are in a Host Home once again across from a sheep field! The Gannon's are so wonderful and we are so blessed to be staying with them for a while. I finally got to learn how to play hurling yesterday as well! It was a year long goal that has finally been fulfilled. (Go Dynae Go)
Our supervisors are arriving today so that is sure to bring much excitement (especially with the "wee-ins"). Our supervisor's are superstars! Please continue to keep us and this ministry in your prayers. God is fantastic. I pray that God pours His blessings down upon you today. Ciao!!!
Dynae
Athenry Parish Team

Inishbofin, St. Paddy's Day, and a Wee Birthday Celebration!

Happy St. Paddy’s Day from Athenry! It’s been a full on week here with lots of good craic and a Paddy’s Day parade to top it all off. With Alex finally feeling better this week we were able to enjoy a team day and celebrate the belated 21st birthday of our very own, Veronica.
Early Saturday morning, our team met up with Fr. Charlie, loaded into the van and headed out for a fun filled day in Inishbofin, a beautiful island off the coast of Connemara. After about a two hour drive on the infamous Irish roads, we caught the ferry in Cleggan and off we went to Inishbofin. While the other passengers may have found the ferry ride to be dull and monotonous ride, we of course enjoyed every minute of it taking pictures at the bow. With such great weather how could we not?
Once we arrived on the island, we headed off to Mass with Fr. Chaz. After Mass, we quickly ate some lunch and then out we went to explore the island. We began walking with no particular direction in mind, but God of course had plans for us. After trekking through the countryside for a bit and taking some up close and personal pictures of the baby lambs and their mamas, we stumbled upon this awesome beach.
While Veronica and I rolled up our jeans and played in the water, the rest of the team spent some time gathering up sea shells and enjoying the sunshine. Once we all had our fun, we decided that it would be fitting with Alex finally joining us to take some sweet team pictures on the beach. After returning to Athenry that evening, we surprised Veronica a belated birthday cake and then took her out for a customary birthday pint at the local pub.
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God blessed us with such a wonderful team day, it probably ranks up there in one of my favorite days in Ireland. God is so good and I am so thankful for the opportunity to bond with my team and Alex. But here we are back in the office, working hard on our upcoming LifeNight, and running out of time in the office. So I better go, but until next time I hope you enjoy your St. Paddy’s Day and may God continue to bless you. Peace.

Nicole
Athenry Parish Team

Who's Your Patron Saint??

Lets start of this blog with a big praise the Lord for the beautiful weather we've experienced here in Athenry this past week. FOUR full days of sun!! That's a record for consecutive sunny days. As I write this, it's a bit dark and cloudy outside but hey we'll take what we can get. This week has been a typical one in the office yet, as for an update with Alex he's been able to join us and be a part of a few more meetings! It's good to have him around and he is determined that our team will be converted to loving his choices of music. These usually include hard rock/screamo...which, I'm not going to lie, he does have a decent array of music and some of the songs are not that bad. With each day he is feeling better and awake during more hours in the day. Keep your prayers coming for him, he's not out of the woods yet!

Last Sunday we had an intriguing Lifenight entitled Night at the Museum. This was a night like none before as Dynae, Diana, Reed, and Veronica dressed up as saints and posed as statues in a museum. Nicole was our lovely museum guide and led the students around to each exhibit at which point the saints came alive and began speaking to the audience. St.Therese(Dynae) and St. Brigid(Veronica) were placed in one exhibit room and they shared their stories of being religious sisters. At one point, while being St. Brigid, I mentioned I had been on the internet earlier in the day and had to save myself by saying Nicole taught me how to use the new technology of computers. In the other room St. Michael(Reed) and St. Lucy(Diana) were big hits with their costumes. Reed was covered in silver from head to toe and Diana had hard-boiled some eggs to make eyeballs on a plate with red paint as blood. After the exhibits gave their presentations the students were invited to pick a patron saint from a list or search for something more specific, with the help of St. Brigid, on the internet. Thanks to the help of Catholic.org we found out that St. Adjutor is the patron saint of swimmers and St. Erin is the patron saint of gingers(also known as red-heads). Nicole wrote down the saints the students chose and later that night we sang a litany of Saints which everyone seemed to enjoy.






Other events in the life of the Athenry Parish team include receiving the key to our van!! We now have transportation, although our own two legs have been managable and sufficient up to now. We will now be able to be even more efficient. Also we have been entertained by Diana's singing as she works diligently on whatever task is at hand. She often has her ipod on fairly loud while we're working independently and with that she often is belting out a tune of some sort. Diana continues to provide the team with smiles and laughter with her wonderful presence.
Praying you all have a wonderful weekend. Please keep our next lifenight in your prayers as well. "Whodunnit!" Cluedo style.
God bless,
Veronica. -Athenry Parish Team

O Brother Where Art Thou? He's here!

As you know we've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new brother, Alex Manderson. Well...the wait is finally over! Just over a week ago Alex joined us. We all very excited to get to know Alex better and have him be part of our team for the remainder of the year.
While it has been great to have Alex here, unfortunately we haven't seen too much of him as he is fighting hard to overcome mono. He is a trooper though, joining us for anything that he can and continually trying to convince the team that he is "better" and ready to get to work in the office. Nobody really believes him, but it's nice to know that he is eager to be here and get to work. We love you, Alex! Aside from our new brother trying to regain his health, we been keeping busy with minstry as usual. A few weeks ago we were able to have two Franciscan brothers from the Christian Friars of the Renewal in Limerick join us for a LifeNight entitled "O Brother Where Art Thou?" Brother Martin De Porres and Brother Thomas were the honored guests of the evening. We all really enjoyed having them. Br. Martin was kind enough to share a bit of his story with us and how God has worked in His life. The students had lots of questions for both of the brothers about their lives, and how they become part of the Franciscan order.
Now I know what you might be thinking...awww that's sounds really nice Nicole, I wish I could have been there. Well just wait, not only did Br. Martin share his story with us, but he also finished off the night with some rapping. That's right a super-cool, rapping, man who has dedicated his life to God. Be jealous now!

Nicole
Athenry Parish Team

Victorious Voyage Retreat a Success (with Dodgeball for dessert)

The parish team in Athenry held its second overnight retreat for
third years to leaving certs this past weekend (Feb 19-21) and it was a great success. There were 16 youth who attended at the nearby Esker Monastery Youth Village. The theme Victorious Voyage: Ransomed and Restored focused on the journeys and challenges that we face every day. The winds may come and push the sails around but if we let Christ lead our lives we will certainly have a good and meaningful course to follow.

The young men of Athenry continue to surprise the team as two-thirds of the participants was male. Athenry’s parish team had no choice but to call in the veterans to help out: Hugh McGloin and Tim Jackson, both NET Ireland Alumni came to the rescue.

Each day had amazing high energy activities, inspiring small group sessions, a main talk and presenter, and tonnes of fun! Despite an early morning on Saturday, some of the boys didn’t even go to sleep Saturday night (until 10 minutes before breakfast Sunday morning, that is!).

My favorite memory would have to come from Saturday night as the NET Team dressed up and served the youth a nice, fancy dinner. Okay, maybe it wasn’t even that fancy considering it was garlic bread, bagged salad and spaghetti Bolognese AND apple tarte! But we felt it important to let them know that they are important and special, not only to us, but to God as well. That’s why afterwards we moved into a blessed time of prayer.

The youth really seemed to enjoy themselves and we had great feedback from them (well… most would have liked to sleep more – including myself!).

We went ahead and had our Sunday LifeNight despite the three-day retreat ending that day. And let me tell you, it was so much fun! We played dodgeball with about 12 youth and it was awesome! The night had so much enthusiasm and energy that it made it even easier to sleep that night, not that we needed it! Everyone was enjoying it so much that we stopped only for a Powerade break halfway into the dodgeball mayhem. The NET Team decided to take on the youth towards the end. There was a fierce competition between the two sides and in God’s infinite wisdom and mercy, it was decided that it was better to let the youth win. Through this we could show them that we were truly humble and desired great things for them.

… or we just aren’t that good at a sport that none of the youth had even heard of before that night. So much for the cultural advantage.