Core Team Fun

Hello LBH Readers,

This morning we are pleased to bring you the first official photo of the Love Begins Here 2011 Core Team. It sure looks like this is going to be a stellar summer with this energetic, faithful and super cool group of 6 leading the way.

Ned, Lindsay, Peter, Blaine, Molly and Nicky = CT LBH2011

We've been busy in the northwoods bonding over the past couple of days taking in the sun, tons of laughter, enjoying the lake and planning our hearts out for what's to come. Get ready to experience the first day of the rest of your lives in a whole new way!

Keep praying for us. We're definitely praying for you all.

The video is still to come! In the meantime our official A/V guy Blaine is updating our facebook page, so check us out there too: facebook.com/lovebeginshere.

Peace out!

Lindsay

Coming soon... the official Core Team Trailer.

Hello readers!

A special welcome this day to any of the good people out there joining us on the blog after reading the most recent write up in the Catholic Herald. We're excited to share the good news about LBH with you. Feel free to come back and visit our blog often.

Things have been very busy in the LBH world this past few months, hence the lack of blog posting. However, you can start to expect big things in the next week, as our summer kicks off on Sunday with a week of preparations for the Core Team. This group of six really spectacular young adults will be journeying to the northwoods, planning, bonding and setting up our first site at St. Mary in Pine Bluff. We are in for quite the summer.

One of the coolest things you can be looking for on our blog this summer are vlogs (video blogs for the less hip). One of the CT members is our resident social media expert this summer, and he is quite jazzed to bring you the latest and greatest with me through film, along with write ups and photos like you have experienced throughout the past two summers.

To formally introduce ourselves, check back next week for a little video, but for now, enjoy the photos and brief descriptions.

From the right:
Science expert and lover of the UP, Molly is fresh off a year of teaching Middle Schoolers in Platteville and is excited to be spending her first official summer on the Core Team, after volunteering for 75% of LBH2010.

Next up is our resident videographer, Blaine who has recently graduated from Platteville this spring and is very happy to have the summer to discern what God wants from him next.

Like Molly, Nicky spent a fair amount of volunteered time working with the youth on LBH2010 and is going to be spending her summer away from her 2nd grade classroom to change lives on the Mission Field.

The only brand new face to the LBH world this summer is Peter, who hails from West Bend, is a very proud Badger, and could not be more happy to bring his previous mission experience to the Madison Diocese this summer.

The fifth face there is me - Lindsay - the usual voice of the LBH blog, who is SO excited to announce that this summer I will be changing jobs, beginning a position as Coordinator of Youth & Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Madison. (This means I get to spend even more time on LBH an the like!)

Last but certainly not least is Ned, coming back for his second summer on the CT, to experience more of the "best thing" he's ever been a part of.

That's the team, and like I said, those coming on the trips better be ready to have the time of their lives because these folks are a whole lot of fun and inspiration all rolled into one. Please pray for us during our week of preparation!

Until next week,
Lindsay

Holy Week

Hello LBH faithful,

All those charged with the task of making Love Begins Here possible are praying for you in the midst of this most holy week. Come this week, I for one get so excited for the start to the Easter Vigil liturgy and especially the proclamation that this is the night. The night when the exsultet reminds us...


This is the night
when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night
when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.

While we have many exciting things to share and a funny video on its way, we'll save that for the great feast we'll find ourselves celebrating next week. In the meantime, enjoy a few HW treats to help aid you in your preparation for the coming of Easter, as we remember that it was not with out sacrifice and an abundance of God's mercy that such a Sunday morning was made possible.

Also, Archbishop Dolan of New York had a great blog post on Holy Week last year, and I would encourage you all to check it out.

That's all for today friends. Please continue to lift up the intentions of Love Begins Here during this week.

Peace,

Lindsay

Buy stock in LBH!

Do you believe in the mission of Love Begins Here?

Great. We sure think it's well worth our time in service to our neighbors and Our Lord!

Have you ever wanted to join in our work on the mission field?

We sure hope so, because we have a lot of fun while doing so. However, we do understand that not everyone has the opportunity to take a week away during the summer. In that case, we would ask for you to join in our mission through the buying of stock. It's a pretty simple process that begins with you clicking on the Stockholder Investment Program tab towards the top of this page.

Of course, we understand that everyone who wants to join in our work may not be able to support us financially at this time. In that case, we ask that everyone prayerfully support us - after all, it is what makes our work possible in the first place.

If you have any questions, please be in touch!

Early April Update!

Where did March go? I was shocked to come on here today to give a little update only to find that it has been a full month since we last shared the good news happening in the LBH world.

Before we get going too deep into all of the good things related to LBH2011, we have some sad news to share in the event you aren't a regular follower of our facebook page. On March 19, 2011, Our Lord called Madi from this earth. We place our hope in Him who come to earth to redeem us, as we are in the midst of remembering during this season of Lent. Please continue to pray for the repose of this dear young woman's soul. As I wrote in our last post, I think our summer theme is going to pay fitting tribute to her life and especially the battle she fought the last nine months of her life on earth.

In the midst of preparing for this coming summer, I have perused many photographs of this past summer, looking back on great memories, hearts changed, weeds pulled and people we served. So many of these memories have brought laughter at first sight, and this is no exception. On this - the first night of our last week of LBH2010, we found ourselves engaging in some intense competition while getting to know one another. I cannot remember the exact details of what made me prone to judging the efforts of a rival team, but I do remember how half hearted my apology must have been. While I was trying to make amends with a fellow Core Team member, all I could hear was the laughter of the youth all around us. I love that you can see this laughter and joy on the faces of those around us. If you're new to LBH or considering coming this summer, let this serve as an accurate reflection of how much fun we have with one another.

While taking this trip down memory lane, I also created a little promo video for this summer. I think it's pretty cool, so take a few minutes and check it out! Special thanks to Danielle and Eric from Waunakee for sharing their thoughts about LBH with the world!

Good memories all! Let's get excited to make a whole lot of new ones while committing ourselves to the service of the poor in our Diocese.

This month, please offer up some prayers for LBH lover and Madison Seminarian David Johannes. Next month, he will be ordained a deacon for the Church! We look forward to hearing his homilies this summer as they gear us up for work on the mission field. 

(This photo of David was taken while contemplating this item

and determining its worth at a yard sale last summer.)

Look forward to more frequent updates as the summer draws near!

Peace,
Lindsay

The First Day

Hey all,

Thanks for being patient in waiting for the next official blog update to be published. Things have been busy in light of the missionary endeavor we know as Love Begins Here, as Core Team members are being recruited, registration materials are officially published, and more.

Before we get to the big announcement and reflection on our theme for the LBH2011, there is a prayer request to note. Lindsay, along with support and help from the good people over at our Diocesan Offices, have submitted the FIRST Love Begins Here grant proposal to the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities. With the help of this grant, LBH would be able to grow in many new and exciting ways. Please pray for the meeting of the board which will decide on whether or not our grant gets funded, which will be happening on May 14th.

The First Day

This summer, we are going to explore what it means to live like every day is the first day of the rest of our lives. Living life knowing that we have been made a new creation through the Incarnation, continually restored through the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Confession means that our lives can be full of hope.

When we have been filled with hope, we will then be able to share it with our neighbors. And, that is the mission of love begins here.

The theme for this summer comes from a song by Catholic Musical Rockstar Matt Maher in his song Hold Us Together. Some of the lyrics from this song have not only helped in creating the theme for this summer, but they have also been able to provide hope and light in the midst of the toughest kind of news that has been delivered to the LBH family this past month.

Many of you have been united in prayer with the us as we have prayed for Madi, who was diagnosed with leukemia this past summer during her week on LBH. Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer and support for this amazing young woman. A few weeks ago, Madi and her family learned that her body stopped responding to the treatments and she has not gone into remission.

As her mom wrote on her blog while delivering the news, "What I want for my girl, as does she, is for all who come in contact with her to CELEBRATE HER. Her life now. Live with her in this moment. Please do not grieve with her. She doesn't want to waste another second in tears. Just be present. Just enjoy. Do not ask her or us, how much time we have. We only know that we have NOW. Do not dwell in a place of sorrow with her."

And, by the grace of God and love of family and friends, they are doing just that. During a visit of some LBH friends with Madi, we saw her full of smiles, funny stories and hope of the life to come with Our Lord. She is living like today is the first day, an opportunity to be alive, love and change the lives of those around us. As Matt sings in our theme song...

This is the first, day of the rest of your life
'Cause even in the dark you can still see the light
It's gonna be alright, s'gonna be alright

Love, will, hold us together
Make us a shelter
to weather the storm

And I'll, be, my brothers keeper
So the whole world will know
That we're not alone

Madi, your LBH family loves you very much, and we are all continuing to offer up prayers for you every day.

Madi (left) with her favorite car group members, Slade, Jeff and Gina. Circa LBH2009.

Thanks for staying up with the latest greatest from the Love Begins Here world. Look forward to more regular updates as the summer draws near!


Peace,
Lindsay

Promo Video #1 2011 & More

For those keeping track at home, we are 129 days and 16 hours away from kicking off our first LBH Mission Trip of the summer.

Where will we be kicking off exactly? Well, that's yet to be determined, but we should know in the coming weeks, and you will be some of the first to know.

We here at Love Begins Here do have some great news to share with you... our second location for the middle two weeks of LBH is ST. JOSEPH in BARABOO! The good people in that parish and Father Bakke are quite excited to have us for the week, and we are excited to see what good work can begin in that community. Look out Baraboo, love is about to begin from July 5 - 15.

Before we get to showing you our first PROMO VIDEO of the summer, the last exciting piece of information is that on Friday we will be rolling out our complete registration packages. We will officially start accepting parish rosters and individual registrations on Friday, February 18th.

With all of those great updates out of the way, please enjoy watching this inspiration flick.