January Update from the Road

Greetings from the road!!

We, Retreat Team 1, are so happy to be back on the road! After spending time with our loved ones over Christmas and going through a week of training, we are very excited to be back and doing ministry. We’ve made our way from Ottawa to Paris, Ontario, and then to our current location of Calgary. Now that we’re back in Calgary, our ministry has shifted from being primarily composed of retreats to being composed of classroom visits. 

Outside of ministry, we’ve celebrated a few birthdays on the team and have also been able to explore fun cities like Paris, Ontario.  We’ve also been able to unwind by watching movies together and have also grown in fellowship by doing prayers together like the Divine Mercy Chaplet and the Angelus. After being away from each other for so long during the break, it’s been so lovely to be together as a team once more. 

During one of our classroom visits, a member of our team sat down with 2 boys for the discussion time. As soon as they sat down with the 2 boys, they started to open up about how hearing Mikaila’s testimony made them want to cry because they felt so seen by it and they related so much to it. It spoke to them and they said that now, instead of feeling alone during difficult times, they felt like they could turn to God. We are so lucky to be able to witness such conversions so often and so lucky to be missionaries during this Jubilee year! During this Holy Year that only comes once every 25 years, we as a church are called to spiritual renewal and conversion. These are not easy times we are living in and life can often feel hopeless, but this year’s theme of Pilgrims of Hope reminds us that though this pilgrimage we are walking on Earth may be difficult, Jesus is our hope, our light and our ultimate destination. As missionaries, this is such a great reminder of the importance of this mission. So many youth in our country are going through life with no hope, no light, and no final destination to anticipate and by doing what we do, we have the opportunity to bring them to Jesus: our Living Hope. 

God Bless,

Retreat Team 1 (Chris, Grace, Ange, Anthony, John Paul, Kirk, Mikaila, Serena)