We are here live from the upstairs typing this wonderful message just for you. (And yes you should feel special) This day has brought fun adventures, strengthened friendships, and continuing competitiveness with the morning routine. The race for points continued this morning with a mad dash to the Maria Goretti Center… unfortunately our team still hasn’t figured this out! We began our morning prayer by reflecting on the Eucharist and what it means to receive it. (It took a little bit cause being outta the house in 30 seconds doesn’t help) Alison gave a wonderful talk on how to hug a bear… well figuratively. She explained to us how receiving the Eucharist is similar to hugging Christ. (Between early morning yawns, that is) we left Maria gritty and trekked back to our home sweet home for some breakfast, a tad slower than we came.
We had a nice breakfast… cereal, bagels, and toast, YUM! This morning routine also included a morning dance party to get our blood flowing and pumping through our veins. After this fun jolly time we got ourselves packed and ready for the day and crammed into the cars. We enjoyed some more team bonding, including the sharing of several new talents. (Dylan’s parents should be proud) Our group bonded really well today, and so did all the others, as we learned later. We headed downtown to the campus church of St. Paul.
There we were given the wonderful opportunity to confess our lovely sins that we keep near and dear. Thanks to the priests we won’t feel guilty for not telling out parents the whole truth... Just kidding we love you very much and would not even dare to do a dumb foolish thing like that. The experience was really touching for several people. Mass began at 12 o’clock. It was a special mass because one of special people in our special group got to read quite possibly the longest reading in the entire Bible. After mass we once again loaded up the cars for the trip to the Schlueter’s house to finish our special missions.
We had to even sacrifice our precious lunch time to arrive a little earlier by eating in the cars… too bad for speed limits. We split up into three posses when we got there: The manly men worked on flooring the dining room, a clothes-putting-away crew, and an outdoor flowering team. Flowers were planted, dressers were organized, and plans were plotted. Oh… and by some miracle Matt Williams was actually able to cut a piece of flooring in under five whole minutes.
Soon the outdoor team became the grilling team…and let me say, the hotdogs were excellent because they had some good looking grill marks. By the end of the day the house was looking like Extreme Home Makeover actually did come. The new hardwood floors were shining, newly painted walls were gleaming, and the furniture was spicing up the place like oregano on a pizza. Wow, punny. Although a lot was accomplished, we were all feeling a little sad. I don’t think anyone could believe the last full day was here already.
This afternoon we were visited by the family’s priest from St. Dennis. He played an important role in helping Bart and the entire family make it through the toughest times during Clare’s illness. Bart sang and played the guitar for us and Father prayed over the home and for us, blessing us for the hard work we had done. We were also concerned for Clare, who had to leave earlier in the day because she had a fever. (Because of her cancer, this could be dangerous to her health, so she needed to go to the hospital.) So the end of our day was filled with prayers for Clare along with the satisfaction of a job well done.
We left the home around 8, bound for swimming! After a quick stop at the house, Jeff forgot a shirt… and another quick stop… for Gina’s swimsuit…we finally managed to arrive at the pool. After a long, sweaty, and thus far shower less day, we were all excited for a long luxurious cool deserving swim in the pool. It felt good to feel refreshed. Frisbee, cannonballs, and swan diving (lessons courtesy of Slade, James, Dylan, and Matt) soon were on their way. We also shared the ways we saw God in our day…in da pool!
After swimming was over, we adjourned to the gym for Collatio. Gina spoke to us about the meaning of the Eucharist and we had another round of sharing time. It was amazing to hear all of the ways our group was touched by this trip. Our faiths were strengthened, just as much as the bonds of friendship we made in this short…oh, and we had a TON of fun in the sun! Who knew all of this could come from making other people happy and helping a deserving family?
Phil played the guitar and we sang, reflecting on the day. I have to say, a few tears were shed…but the number of smiles greatly surpassed the tears. We packed up once more for home, but our car got a got a little sidetracked. (we really shouldn’t mention this) The stop may or may not have involved Frosties, though…. just sayin’. It was a late night (it’s 2:43 AM after all) but well worth it. As we sit here and think back on the day, we can’t help but wonder when we’ll all be together again. Surely, this trip will be forgotten by none for a very long time.
Signing off to the lovely serenade of Abby’s snoring,
Matt and Liz =)
great job liz and matt :D
ReplyDeleteoh, come on, did you have to mention the snoring? :) But yet again - good job on the post. It was fun to read through these and reflect on the week.
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