It is Monday November 7th, and it also happens to be the day after a truly incredible weekend. In reflecting upon the many ways that God touched hearts this weekend, Johnny and I are truly moved beyond words to express our extraordinary appreciation for the many people who were so instrumental in the success of this weekend. We want to say, "Thank-you"!
First of all, we'd like to thank those of you who came throughout the weekend to spend time in Adoration with our Lord bringing forth the intentions of the youth on retreat. Prayer is the foundation of this retreat and without it, a weekend such as this would not be possible. If only we truly knew the power of our prayers, we'd be blown away. It was your prayers this weekend that helped melt away walls of doubt, fear and pain. It was you prayers that lifted up our young people and gave them the strength to go to confession, some after many years. It was your prayers that brought forth God's extraordinary healing and grace. Thank-you so much!
We'd like to thank all those who gave talks and testimonies this weekend (Tim, Matt, Megan, Peter, Becky, Lindsey, Ruth, Clay). Your words were life giving, powerful and honest. Your talks and testimonies left a really big impression!
A really huge thank-you goes out to Fr. Jose, Fr. Hugh and Fr. Chase for coming to hear confessions! We were so very thankful to have you come and help us out, especially on a Saturday night! The teens really expressed how significant it was to be able to go to reconciliation and we deeply appreciate your sacrifice to come and provide this Sacrament for us.
We'd also like to thank our amazing, incredible, awesome, talented core team of adults who always go above and beyond for the youth of our parish. (Travis, Kimberly, Richard, Natalie, Stephanie, Jim, Jonathon, Jenn, Josh, Marty, Michelle, Megan, Jeanie, Janet, & Gloria). Thank-you for giving of yourselves completely this weekend. Thank-you for sleeping on hard floors, for taking time off of work, for giving up a full weekend, for praying with and for your youth, for being extra attentive to those who really needed to talk or needed a hug, for doing what you do best...which is truly being an instrument of God!
Geraldine, thank-you for all of your help Friday afternoon and evening! The registration process was flawless! You are amazing!
Marty, thank-you especially for everything you did to make the Underground Church activity possible! It is truly amazing all the work that you put into such an elaborate set-up. It is so fun to watch the teens really get into it, and it really helps to make Friday night such a powerful evening. Thank-you also for providing the beautiful crosses, I know that they really made a difference!
Megan, thank-you especially for creating and burning 90 cd's! I know that it takes a ton of time to sit and do that, but I know that the teens love the CD's and it's a perfect gift for them to help them remember the weekend! You ROCK sister!!
Megan, thank-you especially for creating and burning 90 cd's! I know that it takes a ton of time to sit and do that, but I know that the teens love the CD's and it's a perfect gift for them to help them remember the weekend! You ROCK sister!!
Jeannie!! Oh my goodness, you are amazing! Jeannie Grant is your name....but hospitality is your game!! It's one thing to put together great meals and snacks, but to do it with such presentation and attention to detail definitely sent a statement to those on the retreat that they were LOVED!!!
Art, thank-you for helping out during the weekend and especially for sharing and participating in the guys hike! It was great having you involved!
HUGE thank-you's go out to our extraordinary team of Back Angels (Justin, Dominic, Savanah, Cecely, Ruth, Becky, Marie, Sam, Katie, Peter, Lindsey, Lauren, Clay, Salvador, Jose, Janet, Megan, Kaitlin, Mark, Danielle and Alex). Talk about an amazing group of young people!!! Johnny and I were in awe at your dedication and willingness to serve this weekend. You all worked so hard, so sacrificially, and so generously. Each one of you has incredible gifts and talents, and it was really beautiful to see how your gifts complimented each other so well. The skits were AWESOME, the meal decorations were INCREDIBLE, and all prayers that you offered up for your specific teens were really heartfelt and powerful! We really want to especially thank those of you who stayed after to help us clean up. We were so humbled by and grateful for your willingness to stay until the very end to make sure everything was cleaned up. Amazing!!
Alex, we especially want to thank-you for heading up the back-angel team. You are a fantastic leader, and you were so willing to give of yourself completely for the success of this retreat. Thank-you for being so positive, calm and dedicated to ever little detail. Thank-you also for sharing your gift of music, both on Friday and Saturday evenings. It makes all the difference in the world, and you are just so dang talented!!
We'd also like to thank the entire parish staff for your prayers and helping with those extra little details that always creep up the week leading up to a retreat. Terri, I cannot thank-you enough for helping with the name-tags and sending out the reminder for adoration! You are amazing!
In closing, we pray that God continues to write His love on the hearts of the youth that we have all been invited to serve here at St. John's. We also pray that He continues to write His love on our own hearts. It is an honor to be a part of a parish community and a team of people who so deeply love the youth! God is good.....all the time!!
