The spring semester is the semester where we just get to do the things that we do best. Missionaries have usually found their 'sea legs' by now, and we've really settled into the groove of the school year. This is great, because the spring semester is also usually pretty chaotic and very full. Even through all of the chaos, the Lord, in His usual fashion, supplies the grace and the energy that we need to continue building His Kingdom. Fan Into FlameA key part of the ministry of Saint Paul's Outreach is our Fan Into Flame retreat. Every chapter puts on this yearly retreat in an effort to invite students into a deeper relationship with Christ, particularly with the Holy Spirit, and to introduce them to a joyful community of other students running after the Lord. This is my fifth Fan Into Flame retreat (3 as a student + 2 as a missionary), so I have years of proof that this retreat works. I have seen student after student be impacted by this weekend and I have seen so many lives actually change, and it is one of my favorite parts of this mission. This year, we handed most of the leadership roles over to our students: they gave the talks, handled registration and other administrative tasks, led small groups, served on the music team, and made sure we had plenty of snacks to go around. I have bragged time and time again of our students and their dedication and service to this mission, and I will do it again: OUR STUDENTS ARE THE BEST. It was humbling to realize that our team of 19 missionaries (our team + the University of St. Thomas team) can only do so much to put on a retreat for a little over 200 college students. The service of our student leaders was an immeasurable gift and this retreat simply wouldn't have happened without them. I also got to take some pictures throughout the weekend when I wasn't supervising small groups; enjoy the gallery below! Minnesota Benefit BanquetThese are some of the senior women I've been walking with for the past two years: Jazlyn, Grace, and Ali. I am so grateful for them! After Fan Into Flame, we had a pretty quick turnaround. The Tuesday immediately following the weekend was Mardi Gras, which always means one thing in SPO Minnesota: the annual benefit banquet! We essentially bribed our Household and Formation students with a free dinner and their very own SPO polo (a "SPOlo," if you will) to mingle with donors and be a standing witness of the impact of Saint Paul's Outreach. Once again, I will take this time to brag about our amazing student leaders. Even after spending all weekend serving on Fan Into Flame, our students were willing and ready to give even more of themselves to serve at the banquet. The majority of our students only see a small facet of what SPO does: they see the Mission Leaders on their campus; in Minnesota, they see students from other chapters at events like Fan Into Flame or the Formation retreat; sometimes they make it out to the School of the New Evangelization and get to see a broader picture of SPO. Rarely, however, do the students get to be face-to-face with those who have really made their experiences possible: the donors and benefactors. The banquet is a great opportunity for these encounters to happen. During cocktail hour, our students were dispersed in pairs or groups of threes, meeting and mingling with guests as they arrived. During dinner, they were spread out among tables of guests, sharing a meal together and answering any questions about Saint Paul's Outreach. At the end of the night, all of the students and Mission Leaders in our grey and blue SPOlos were invited onstage while closing remarks were made. While some of us may have felt awkward standing up there for all 600 guests to see, we have heard time and again that this simple act was one of the most impactful parts of the banquet for a lot of the guests. Overall, the banquet was a great experience. I was not the photographer like I was last year, so I was able to enter in a little more fully and really take everything in. I was once again reminded of how grateful I am for Saint Paul's Outreach, and that there are so many people that are willing to give generously to support what I do. And so the wonderful adventure continues!
In Jesus through Mary, Rebecca
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Advent has come and gone, and now the Christmas season is here! As another semester on mission has come to a close, I've been reflecting on what the Lord has been speaking to me over the past few months. Two words continually stick out to me: freedom and rest. These have manifested themselves in a lot of different ways in the second half of this past semester! Staff Retreat"God rested on the seventh day not because He was tired, but because rest tells us something about who God is and, therefore, who we are: the one who rests is the one who is free. Slaves do not rest. They do not have the option. And if we do not rest, we have enslaved ourselves to something." This quote from a blog post by FOCUS has shaped the rest of my semester, and my perspecitve on the work that I do, in so many ways. It's really easy for me (and probably most missionaries) to get caught up in the work that I do and forget to take care of myself. Our Mission Directors recognized the need for us to get away, and they cleared a week of our schedule to drive four hours up north to a cabin in Cook, Minnesota. With my phone on airplane mode the entire time, I was able to really be present with my coworkers and take some time to rest with the Lord. Some of my favorite memories from this semester came from this week, and I'm grateful to be working for an organization that cares for its employees so well! Household PicturesWe had a house photoshoot in the middle of November and it was so much fun! Often our life in Household gets really busy and we can get caught up in just going through the motions of meals together, prayer, and all the other Newman center events that we go to. It was nice to spend some time together outside of that and have fun frolicking around campus. We even sent out house Christmas cards using one of these pictures! Women's NightAll semester during our Women's Nights we've been talking about claiming our identities as God's beloved daughters, and learning how to live that out. We have had really great content, but I think the most impactful night for me was our last night of the semester. There was no talk, no discussions, no content, just a hot chocolate bar, karaoke, and some minute-to-win-it games. For me, this night was such a consolation that the Lord is working: karaoke, of all things, was the proof. Something I've noticed in myself and in my time as a missionary is that women will not thrive where they feel uncomfortable. You'll never really get to know a woman if there isn't trust built there, if she doesn't feel comfortable around you. We're all searching for authenticity, for a place and people we can be ourselves around. Once we've found it, we thrive. Let me tell you, nothing says "freedom in the Lord" quite like a bunch of women with their arms around each other singing along to Bing Crosby's rendition of "White Christmas." The women all felt free to sign up and perform melodramatic duets, from Celine Dion to High School Musical. The joy in our living room was tangible, and the laughter was contagious. Our Women's Night planning team (a group of about six students) has done an amazing job all semester, and their hard work paid off in big ways during this night. Slowing DownA big theme in my spiritual life, along with freedom and rest, has been slowing down. The Lord has shown me, especially in the past month, that I tend to rush through life: I multitask whenever I can and I try to get things done as fast as possible without stopping to process or really think about what's happening. However, I've realized that this does not serve me, or the people around me, very well at all. As I rush through life, my actions are saying that whatever is in front of me doesn't matter nearly as much as whatever I have coming next. I've been learning a lot from the example of our Blessed Mother, as she "kept all these things, pondering them in her heart." (Luke 2:19) I'm halfway through my second year of missionary life, and as of late, I haven't been very good at taking things in. I don't want to look back on this season of my life and not be able to remember anything. I definitely don't want to look back on this season of my life and know that I could have given way more than I actually did. As a second-year Mission Leader, there are many more "what's next"s on the horizon for me than there were last year. It's all too easy for me to get hung up on the black hole of possibilities, on trying to shift the lens of my life to focus on the blurriness in the distance, instead of the sharp foreground of my current life. It's a balance that I'm learning how to strike each day. Even though the liturgical season of Advent is over, there is an advent in my heart that is continuing on. And just as there is joy to be found in the waiting for the Christmas season to once again come, there is a joy to be found in this period of waiting in my life, as well. God is ever renewing my trust in Him, and I am learning how to receive the gift of faith on a daily basis. I've had a restful (and warm) Christmas break back in Texas with my family, but I am ready to take on another semester of loving the Lord and making Him known. What a great, great gift. To close, here's a picture of Dallas, because I love this city, and also because the Dallas Cowboys won against the Detriot Lions last night. Bring on the playoffs! And so the adventure continues. May God bless you and your families in this Christmas season!
To Jesus Through Mary, Rebecca It has been far too long since I've posted on here! I'm finding myself much busier this year as a returning Mission Leader, but I am loving being back on-campus at the U of M. August and September have come and gone, and now the temperature is beginning to drop and the leaves are changing. Fall is upon us, so I wanted to take a look back on warmer days and all that happened at the beginning of the year... Fall Leadership DayCatholic Students United Leadership Day occurs at St. Lawrence at the start of every semester, and this year it was once again a success! It was the first time that all of the student leaders had been together since school let out for the summer, so it was great to see everyone again. We are very blessed to have such dedicated, committed students working with us to bring their peers closer to Christ. Our day was featured in The Catholic Spirit, the news publication of the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis. You can read more about it here! Household LifeHousehold life has been an absolute joy this semester! Going into this year I was a little nervous about leading a Household, but the Lord has continually equipped me with grace and has blessed our life together. This picture is from our women's Household retreat in New Auburn, Wisconsin. It was a great two and a half days of building sisterhood, praying together, and generally just goofing off. These women are really such a gift. I could brag about them all day. They're just the best! CRUSH WeekIt's hard to believe that such a crucial part of the year is now just a month-old memory! This year's Catholic Rush Week was filled with fun activities like tailgating, a Labor Day barbecue, handing out ice pops on-campus, and the grand finale: a USA-themed house party, featuring a mechanical bull in the driveway! We met a ton of students in those first couple of weeks and have been working to build relationships with them ever since. Please enjoy this picture of my awesome team from the house party. When we first saw this picture we couldn't stop talking about how good-looking we are. #humbleandblessed Women's Nights BeginWe had our first Women's Night of the year last weekend! It was a luau theme complete with a tiki bar full of fun tropical drinks, Hawaiian leis for all, and a limbo contest that made me realize how little I have stretched in the past few years. We also had mini terra-cotta pots for women to paint, complete with a free succulent to take home! The night was a lot of fun, and our core women really stepped up to welcome the newer students into our environment. As women, we are often taught to be distrustful and competitive towards other women instead of viewing them as sisters who can be on our side. Our Women's Nights provide a refreshing alternative to this negative mindset, and that's what I love so much about them! First (and Second) Day of School!There's not much story here; I just think these pictures are hilarious. An SPO Mission Leader trend that has emerged in the past couple of years is taking 'first day of school' pictures of your household. Obviously, because I'm me, I made our house participate in this newfound tradition. Eventually, most of their moms asked to be sent the pictures! The next day, our house decided it would be fun to take a second day of school picture to capture the reality of collegiate living. I laugh every time I see these pictures! Patroness for the YearHow could I not bring up St. Teresa of Calcutta?! Her canonization was such a happy day. We bought flowers in my house to celebrate! I firmly believe that she's been interceding for nearly every part of this year; not just in my own life, but in the lives of the students. She was picked as the patron Saint of Catholic Students United this year, and we often ask for her intercession at the end of Gopher Catholic Night. Her prayers are blessing everything that we've got going on this year.
At the start of this year, in honor of her canonization, I started re-reading "Come Be My Light," which is a collection of letters from Mother Teresa in correspondence with her spiritual director. It chronicles her later life, from the moment she first heard the 'call within a call' to the start the Missionaries of Charity, to the deep spiritual desolation that she felt for most of her apostolate. The author who compiled the letters speaks of her commitment to being "'an apostle of joy,' even when, humanly speaking, she might have felt at the brink of despair." I see this call in my own life and in the lives of the students I am walking with. Life is crazy. There's always something to do, there's always another appointment on the calendar, and there's always someone who needs to be served. However, in spite of all of all the business, we have a call to joy that is greater than our earthly circumstances - a joy that lasts, because it's rooted in the Source of all joy. If St. Teresa can serve the people of Calcutta with so much joy and happiness, even though internally she faced a deep spiritual darkness, I can gladly do whatever the Lord may ask of me in a given day - no matter what I'm feeling. We've got a lot of exciting things coming up in the next couple of weeks: the Catholic Students United Fall Retreat is coming up, and after that, our staff is taking a few days to be on retreat as well. Please pray for both of these occasions: for the students who will be on the fall retreat, the leadership team, and the small group leaders; and for our team as well, that we get some much-needed rest and quality time together. May God bless you abundantly until next time! To Jesus Through Mary, Rebecca What do you get when you take 3 first-year Mission Leaders and 16 college students, put them on a plane to Anchorage, Alaska, and have them serve the poor in a city and culture that is completely unknown to them?
You get a lot of grace is what happens, because that is a crazy idea, Rebecca, goodness gracious. Well, that's exactly what we did. And it was crazy. But there was a lot of grace, and the trip was definitely a game-changer. I mean, there's no way you can go on a trip like this and not have your life changed in some way. When you step 3,161 miles out of your comfort zone, life-changing things are bound to happen. I've spent a majority of the past month recounting this trip to people, sharing so many different stories about our adventures, the poor we encountered, and how the Lord so very clearly had His hand on us the entire time. I've done a lot of talking and I truthfully don't know what to say anymore. If you'd like to know more about the trip, I'd be happy to share in person. For now, however, please enjoy my feeble attempts at capturing the Lord's beauty that surrounded us throughout the week. If you're itching for more words, check out this awesome student post on the SPO Minnesota blog that highlights a lot of the trip!
WE MADE IT THROUGH FEBRUARY! WE DID IT, Y'ALL!
Whew. What a whirlwind of a month. February is to the spring semester as September is to the fall semester: lots of events, lots of things to prepare for, lots of feeling like I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off (this is only a mild exaggeration). It's almost laughable how much I need to be reminded of the Lord's grace. He wills this work to happen. He provides the grace to make it so. He hasn't failed me yet. And yet my human faith is so fragile sometimes! February was basically four weeks of this exchange between the Lord and I: Me: Father, there's no way this is going to work out. The Lord: Oh, really? You don't think so? *everything works out* Me: ....right. Sorry. Please help me to trust in You more. Thankfully, because we have a merciful God, He used nearly everything that happened this month to teach me something different about His provision in my life. Minnesota Banquet - Celebrating 30 Years
Saint Paul's Outreach has been reaching out to college students for 30 years. THIRTY. YEARS. SPO started seven years before I was born. It is mind-blowing and incredible. Since Texas does not have a benefit banquet as of now, the Minnesota Banquet was my first experience at this kind of event; and it definitely did not disappoint! There were over 630 people in attendance - some had never heard of SPO, and some have been supporting this mission since the very beginning. In my own life, the Lord used this night to remind me of how much I love working for Saint Paul's Outreach, and how blessed I am to be apart of this incredible ministry. The Lord reminded me of His tangible provision, as I was able to meet so many of the benefactors and donors who are so generous with their money each month to make sure that I get to be on campus, showing the love of Christ to students. One of the women in my formation small group, Jazlyn, wrote a blog post for the SPO National website about her experience at the banquet. I encourage all of you to check it out, as well as this video shown at the banquet that literally gives me all of the feelings:
Women's Nights
We have an awesome team of students planning each of our Women's Nights this semester. Earlier in February, we had an 80's Zumba night. Zumba is my favorite kind of exercise - the kind that doesn't really feel like exercise at all - and everyone had a blast! One of our SPO alumni gave a talk on living a healthy and balanced lifestyle in college with Christ at the center, and the women really enjoyed it. God has been using these nights to provide a space for women to be themselves and to experience His love through the sisterhood we share with each other. We have another Women's Night coming up on Friday and we're talking about everyone's favorite subject...RELATIONSHIPS! Please pray for us!
Fan Into Flame
When your boss tells your team over and over again that all of the work we have done this year has been leading up to this one weekend, you can start to feel a lot of pressure. Thankfully, we were also constantly reminded that it's really not up to us at all - it's the Lord's work, we are just His instruments. Our Fan Into Flame retreat two weeks ago was a great reminder of that. From the early stages of our planning, we had a sense that the Lord had more in store for this weekend than we could ever plan or even imagine. Of course, He was right. For many of the students on Fan Into Flame, this retreat served as a way to recharge their faith, to help them go just a step or two deeper into the Father's heart. For others, though, this was their first retreat, their first time proclaiming Jesus as Lord of their lives, or simply just their first time experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit. No matter where students were at, the Lord blessed them, and I was once again reminded of God's powerful provision. If we take but the smallest step, the Lord will still provide the grace.
Coming Up...
In just 11 short days, our Alaska Mission Trip begins!!! I can hardly believe it! In the next few days, I have much to do for this trip: talks to write, worship songs to practice, hiking pants to buy (where even do I start with that?). I am so grateful to all of my supporters that donated to make sure I was fully funded for this trip. The students coming on this trip were also able to experience the Lord's provision in this tangible way, as He provided donors and funds for each of us. We are all so grateful! Please pray for us as the trip draws nearer and nearer!
To all that regularly read my updates and support me in every way, I am so grateful for you. Another newsletter is on the way!
To Jesus through Mary,
Rebecca |
WELCOME!My name is Rebecca. This blog is a documentation of my life as a missionary with Saint Paul's Outreach - in Minnesota, Florida, and everywhere in-between. Thanks for stopping by! Categories
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