Retreat

Just got back from a retreat, though not for me. It was for teens.

For once, I had the opportunity to facilitate and collaborate with like-minded people, implement our ideas and plans, and then finish off with a sense of satisfaction. A great way to start out the beginning of Advent.

It was a LifeTeen-based retreat with the theme "Fire and Ice." Seeing a need to fill in the slot as a "Fire" session speaker, I decided to replace the original speaker, my mom; God bless her soul, she'd been stressing over the planning of this whole retreat from day one. So, I gave my talk, stressed over how "badly" I'd done, but was later reminded that I shouldn't be so hard on myself. A perpetual fire was part of the retreat theme, which involved late-night fire watches. The first night, I couldn't resist a sleep under the stars (though later waking up shivering, it was worth it).

I hadn't been around different adolescents in awhile, I admit, so the experience was just as good for me as it was for the teens. Also had the chance to get to know some Catholics on island! What a novelty it is to meet good Catholics in Japan- you'd never know until you've been deprived of such company. I hope we get to reunite soon.

Well, enough of a dry summary of my weekend away from the house, the computer and my job. Fatigue has probably knocked out some of my creativity for a decent post, so I'll just appease the eyes with newly-uploaded visuals.

Catholic Youth of Okinawa - LifeTeen Retreat, December 2006