Well, we're all packed, and we're getting up early tomorrow to load the bus before our "Sending Out" service. We hope to be on the road by 10:30, a few hours earlier than previously predicted.
Today was our last full day of EYE. We started out with the usual schedule of morning gathering, small groups, lunch, free activities follwoed by workshops. The homily at the morning gathering was a dramatic presentation by a man who talked about his childhood friend, Jeshua bar Joseph. He told the story of their growing up, and Jesus' becoming more and more different from the rest of their friends. He was a very talented performer and his presentation was powerful. We got a glimpse of what it might have been like to have known Jesus all the way through his life from childhood through his crucifiction.
Our dinner was a Texas barbecue outside behind the stadium, followed by a Texas style party, with calf roping, line dancing, Texas Hold 'em, and lots of frisbees, hacky sacks and group games on the lawn. After the party we met in our dioceses and then went for the final celebration eucharist. Watching the kids it was amazing to see the difference from the first get together on Tuesday to this evening. They have made friends and are relaxed and comfortable and really were having fun. If we could take a nap for a day or two first, we all feel like we could stay and do another week of EYE!
It has been great, and again we want to thank our individual churches, deaneries and the diocese for all your support. Rick, Nathalie and Jane want to say thank you to all the parents for your trust in us and for lending us your kids for the week. They really have been a blessing to us.
We won't be adding any more posts until Tuesday morning when we will upload pictures from tomorrow morning and any antics we can catch on the trip home. See you soon!!!!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Good Night!!
Today was a very busy day! After our AM large group session and small groups we had a late lunch and hopped on busses for downtown San Antonio. The weather was blistering hot, and it's so humid that we just feel all damp all the time.
The Riverwalk and El Mercato were very fun. Some of you will get some interesting gifts from the market and from the Alamo. At El Mercato we were encouraged to bargain, and some of the group enjoyed the banter - and got some good deals.
The Alamo looks much bigger in the movies than it does in real life. Those of us who hadn't seen it before were surprised. Most of the houses in the neighborhood around the university are bigger. It was interesting, though, and people are quiet inside because it is a shrine. We also couldn't take pictures inside, but we got some out on the grounds.
We wished we had been able to spend more time there, but at the same time, it was so hot that we were exhausted. Everybody drinks and drinks water, but it's hard to keep up.
After San Antonio we had a really nice dinner on the lawn of a huge estate owned by the university with all the other people here from Province VI, which includes SD, ND, MN, CO, MT, NE, and IA. Following the dinner we had Province meetings where we learned about upcoming opportunities to get involved in the church. The youth have been learning about the structure of the church and the importance of the laity as the ministers of the church.
Then we had a healing service. The woman who preached the sermon was one of the best speakers we've had. She spoke simply, powerfully, and and she kept it short! After the service, the dioceses were to meet together in groups. South Dakota decided we needed sleep more than anything, especially since we had spent the afternoon together in San Antonio, had dinner together and a lengthy worship service! So we bagged the meeting and came back to our dorms.
There's definitely the feeling of "oh, no - this is almost over", among the youth. People are already saying they are going to miss each other. Tomorrow will be very fun with the big final party in the evening.
For now, it's off to bed!
The Riverwalk and El Mercato were very fun. Some of you will get some interesting gifts from the market and from the Alamo. At El Mercato we were encouraged to bargain, and some of the group enjoyed the banter - and got some good deals.
The Alamo looks much bigger in the movies than it does in real life. Those of us who hadn't seen it before were surprised. Most of the houses in the neighborhood around the university are bigger. It was interesting, though, and people are quiet inside because it is a shrine. We also couldn't take pictures inside, but we got some out on the grounds.
We wished we had been able to spend more time there, but at the same time, it was so hot that we were exhausted. Everybody drinks and drinks water, but it's hard to keep up.
After San Antonio we had a really nice dinner on the lawn of a huge estate owned by the university with all the other people here from Province VI, which includes SD, ND, MN, CO, MT, NE, and IA. Following the dinner we had Province meetings where we learned about upcoming opportunities to get involved in the church. The youth have been learning about the structure of the church and the importance of the laity as the ministers of the church.
Then we had a healing service. The woman who preached the sermon was one of the best speakers we've had. She spoke simply, powerfully, and and she kept it short! After the service, the dioceses were to meet together in groups. South Dakota decided we needed sleep more than anything, especially since we had spent the afternoon together in San Antonio, had dinner together and a lengthy worship service! So we bagged the meeting and came back to our dorms.
There's definitely the feeling of "oh, no - this is almost over", among the youth. People are already saying they are going to miss each other. Tomorrow will be very fun with the big final party in the evening.
For now, it's off to bed!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Thursday Night - It's Eleven O'clock and we know where your kids are!!
They've all checked in and had a good evening. Tonight there were a variety of forums on various topics. I don't think the Design Team did the math very well, because there were only 10 forums, and there are about 1200 of us. The rooms for the forums weren't big enough for so many people, many of them were SRO. QUite a few people gave up and enjoyed the evening air instead.
After that we had La Santa Eucharista, a Spanish Eucharist. It was really beautiful, the music was soothing, and the homily was given by a young man from Puerto Rico who spoke in Sapnish, and the English was flashed on the big screen behind him. He told a story about his own life and everyone was pretty stunned by his story.
After Eucharist we had EYE Late Nite, with a talent show, Wii, board games, glow in the dark games, crafts, discussion sessions and the La Bodega was open (it's a game room on campus). They have this great fountain on campus that is clearly designed for wading, so that draws quite a crowd in this heat.
We realized tonight that we don't have many individual pictures of the guys. They don't just naturally gravitate toward the camera like the girls do! Tomorrow in San Antonio we will be sure to get some shots of them.
Again, we just can't say enough about how well our kids are doing. They are representing our diocese very positively.
Tomorrow our morning schedule is the same as usual, with a large group session and small groups in the morning. We leave for downtown about 1:00, returning at 5:30. Dinner will be with our Provinces tomorrow, followed by a healing service.
We'll post again tomorrow evening!
After that we had La Santa Eucharista, a Spanish Eucharist. It was really beautiful, the music was soothing, and the homily was given by a young man from Puerto Rico who spoke in Sapnish, and the English was flashed on the big screen behind him. He told a story about his own life and everyone was pretty stunned by his story.
After Eucharist we had EYE Late Nite, with a talent show, Wii, board games, glow in the dark games, crafts, discussion sessions and the La Bodega was open (it's a game room on campus). They have this great fountain on campus that is clearly designed for wading, so that draws quite a crowd in this heat.
We realized tonight that we don't have many individual pictures of the guys. They don't just naturally gravitate toward the camera like the girls do! Tomorrow in San Antonio we will be sure to get some shots of them.
Again, we just can't say enough about how well our kids are doing. They are representing our diocese very positively.
Tomorrow our morning schedule is the same as usual, with a large group session and small groups in the morning. We leave for downtown about 1:00, returning at 5:30. Dinner will be with our Provinces tomorrow, followed by a healing service.
We'll post again tomorrow evening!
Photos
Final Service
Final Service
"Take, Take, Take it all" - Very Popular Song
Our Wonderful Musicians for the week.
Shopping at the El Mercado
Resting at the El Mercado
Quick Draw: Who's the fastest photographer?
Our Banner Hanging up in the Large Room
The Girls Waiting for the Bus to Downtown San Antonio
The Boys waiting to go Downtown
A small group at the Alamo
"The Aviators"
SD Spanish Eucharist Helpers
Brought new Friends with us to the Spanish Eucharist
Off to the Talent Show
Just hanging out before bedtime
At the Spanish Eucharist
Bus Trip (the beginning)
Cup Drill Team
Cup Drill Team
EYE Mosh Pit Our kids are in there...somewhere
Nathalie, the Presiding Bishop (feeling a little flat), and Jane
Episcopal Relief Development Photo (there are tattoos on each kids shoulder)
At Falls Park
Thank you to all of those at Integrity Ford for our transportation!
Part of Our Breakfast Crew
Nathalie, Jane, and Rick
Creighton are you up for the Challenge?
The Presiding Bishop
Jane's Cankle Remedy
Nathalie, the Presiding Bishop (feeling a little flat), and Jane
Episcopal Relief Development Photo (there are tattoos on each kids shoulder)
At Falls Park
Thank you to all of those at Integrity Ford for our transportation!
Part of Our Breakfast Crew
Nathalie, Jane, and Rick
Creighton are you up for the Challenge?
The Presiding Bishop
Jane's Cankle Remedy
Hello, South Dakota Families and Friends of EYE-ers!
My apologies for not posting sooner-the bus trip took a toll and the first day and a half is really a flurry of activity getting the youth acclimated to their surroundings and making sure they are comfortable.
First let me say, we can all be very proud of our kids! We really have not even needed to raise an eyebrow. They have been fun, cooperative and gracious with each other. They have all reached out of their comfort zones and met new people and are actively participating.
So, I'll catch you up on what we have done so far.
The van ride across the state was uneventful except for the stopover in Mitchell due to tornado sirens. We never saw a tornado, but the wind was sure wicked. Thanks so much to Integrity Ford of Spearfish for loaning us a van, and to St. Andrews of Rapid CIty for the use of their van as well. Thanks to Sian Young for all the snacks and the cooler of drinks!
We met up in Sioux Falls and had dinner (prepared byNathalie and some folks from Calvary Cathedral). Thanks especially to Lori Urinko, The Wagners and the Tischlers and everybody else who helped!It was very good to see the Pitt-Harts who stopped by the Cathedral to wish us safe travels. We then went to Falls Park and climbed around the rocks. Then we came back and had our "get to know you" group meeting. We talked about the things we need to know about each other to help the trip be successful for all of us, our expectations, fears, etc.
We made quick work of the huge tray of treats provided by Heather Collins - they were great!
Then we played Sardines in the dark for hours, and got a good night's sleep on mattresses provided by the good people at Calvary Cathedral. Mallory led us in Night Prayer from the New Zealand prayer book before bed.
I believe Robyn Tischler made the arrangements for our air mattresses - thanks!!
In the morning Jane led us in Morning Prayer followed by breakfast provided by the Calvary Cathedral Youth. It was a massive breakfast, and they were amazing to get up so early and come in to feed us.
We showered at the S. Falls YMCA, had a photo op and prayer with Bishop Creighton, ate lunch and hit the road. Half an hour later we returned to the church because Jane forgot a few things (there's a surprise!)
Our trip to Albert Lea was crowded but uneventful. We were treated to ice cream cones and drinks by the people at Christ Church in Albert Lea. We made introductions, had a prayer time and hit the road again, now with South Dakota, Minnesota and North Dakota on the bus. Christ Church provided us with a great care package of treats.
We learned that our bus driver, Andy, loves his bus. It is his home away from home, and it even has his name on the outside! It's a very new bus, has TV's and is very nice. Andy wants to keep it that way! He and his co-driver are pretty serious, but 24 hours is a long way, and so serious drivers are ok with us. There was some rainy weather and serious, competent drivers were good!
Our next stop was in Ames, Iowa. The people at St. Johns provided us with a delicious meal, we picked up anothe 20 or so people, and got on a completely full bus!
The bus ride was pretty excruciating. In our SD delegation, we have one young man who was squished by a bull two weeks ago, one who was hit by a car last week and one who bumped her head our first night. Rick has a bad knee and Jane and Nathalie couldn't find thier ankles due to the swelling in their feet. However, the kids were great! They sat with people they didn't know, behaved beautifully and didn't whine or gripe at all.
We arrived in San Antonio at about 3:30 Tuesday. It had been raining, but the weather cleared for us to unload. It's hard to cope with a new campus, finding our dorms and hauling our luggage after that long ride, but again, the kids were troopers. Rick and our guys are in one dorm, and Jane, Nathalie and the girls are in another. The guys' rooms are in an area together, with Rick on the floor below. Nathalie and Jane are in the same hallway with all of our girls.
The first evening we had a large group welcome in the big auditorium and we haven't stopped moving since! The Presiding Bishop was with us for the welcome and for our opening Eucharist the next day. She was completely inspiring, and the intro and welcome she got the first night was like she was a rock star. They played music from Rocky, and had the search lights moving and everybody screamed and cheered. It was great, and so was she!
Since then we have had small group meetings twice, a numnber of afternoon activities every day to choose from, the huge Fiesta last night, a murder mystery last night. We have workshops this afternoon, forums after dinner, a talent show tonight. Tomorrow we have more of the same and we go out to see San Antonio in the afternoon.
We saw Kyle on the big EYE news cast this morning. He was playing basketball. Mallory and Jane are small group leaders. Lacy, Calla, and Michele are helping with the Eucharist tomorrow. Kelsey,Jamela, Mallory, Carly and Nikki were just standing outside my room singing a song they may enter in the talent show tonight. Jessica is going to the Jr/Sr Dinner tonight. Jake, CHris, Willie, Jess and Nick have learned to do this really cool cup drill. We will definitely be buying cups for SOuth Dakota and all of us will learn. Nathalie is taking yoga and Rick is pretty much our rock. He is organized, he thinks ahead and he doesn't lose or forget things, all good qualities to have on board with 16 teens (and Nathalie and Jane!) Everyone is meeting new friends, trading shirts, pins, bags from the cathedral and cards from Kathy Monson-Lutes. They are trying new things and having fun. At the Eucharist yesterday, Nathlaie and I were at the end of our row, so we returned from Communion last. As we looked down our row, it was very touching to see all of our crew with their heads bowed. I wish I had a camera handy because it would have been a good picture.
Thanks so much to everyone who helped us get to EYE. We are having a great time, and all the youth are doing fine. We'll post photos later tonight. I haven't figured out how to do that yet!
Love to you all!
Jane
My apologies for not posting sooner-the bus trip took a toll and the first day and a half is really a flurry of activity getting the youth acclimated to their surroundings and making sure they are comfortable.
First let me say, we can all be very proud of our kids! We really have not even needed to raise an eyebrow. They have been fun, cooperative and gracious with each other. They have all reached out of their comfort zones and met new people and are actively participating.
So, I'll catch you up on what we have done so far.
The van ride across the state was uneventful except for the stopover in Mitchell due to tornado sirens. We never saw a tornado, but the wind was sure wicked. Thanks so much to Integrity Ford of Spearfish for loaning us a van, and to St. Andrews of Rapid CIty for the use of their van as well. Thanks to Sian Young for all the snacks and the cooler of drinks!
We met up in Sioux Falls and had dinner (prepared byNathalie and some folks from Calvary Cathedral). Thanks especially to Lori Urinko, The Wagners and the Tischlers and everybody else who helped!It was very good to see the Pitt-Harts who stopped by the Cathedral to wish us safe travels. We then went to Falls Park and climbed around the rocks. Then we came back and had our "get to know you" group meeting. We talked about the things we need to know about each other to help the trip be successful for all of us, our expectations, fears, etc.
We made quick work of the huge tray of treats provided by Heather Collins - they were great!
Then we played Sardines in the dark for hours, and got a good night's sleep on mattresses provided by the good people at Calvary Cathedral. Mallory led us in Night Prayer from the New Zealand prayer book before bed.
I believe Robyn Tischler made the arrangements for our air mattresses - thanks!!
In the morning Jane led us in Morning Prayer followed by breakfast provided by the Calvary Cathedral Youth. It was a massive breakfast, and they were amazing to get up so early and come in to feed us.
We showered at the S. Falls YMCA, had a photo op and prayer with Bishop Creighton, ate lunch and hit the road. Half an hour later we returned to the church because Jane forgot a few things (there's a surprise!)
Our trip to Albert Lea was crowded but uneventful. We were treated to ice cream cones and drinks by the people at Christ Church in Albert Lea. We made introductions, had a prayer time and hit the road again, now with South Dakota, Minnesota and North Dakota on the bus. Christ Church provided us with a great care package of treats.
We learned that our bus driver, Andy, loves his bus. It is his home away from home, and it even has his name on the outside! It's a very new bus, has TV's and is very nice. Andy wants to keep it that way! He and his co-driver are pretty serious, but 24 hours is a long way, and so serious drivers are ok with us. There was some rainy weather and serious, competent drivers were good!
Our next stop was in Ames, Iowa. The people at St. Johns provided us with a delicious meal, we picked up anothe 20 or so people, and got on a completely full bus!
The bus ride was pretty excruciating. In our SD delegation, we have one young man who was squished by a bull two weeks ago, one who was hit by a car last week and one who bumped her head our first night. Rick has a bad knee and Jane and Nathalie couldn't find thier ankles due to the swelling in their feet. However, the kids were great! They sat with people they didn't know, behaved beautifully and didn't whine or gripe at all.
We arrived in San Antonio at about 3:30 Tuesday. It had been raining, but the weather cleared for us to unload. It's hard to cope with a new campus, finding our dorms and hauling our luggage after that long ride, but again, the kids were troopers. Rick and our guys are in one dorm, and Jane, Nathalie and the girls are in another. The guys' rooms are in an area together, with Rick on the floor below. Nathalie and Jane are in the same hallway with all of our girls.
The first evening we had a large group welcome in the big auditorium and we haven't stopped moving since! The Presiding Bishop was with us for the welcome and for our opening Eucharist the next day. She was completely inspiring, and the intro and welcome she got the first night was like she was a rock star. They played music from Rocky, and had the search lights moving and everybody screamed and cheered. It was great, and so was she!
Since then we have had small group meetings twice, a numnber of afternoon activities every day to choose from, the huge Fiesta last night, a murder mystery last night. We have workshops this afternoon, forums after dinner, a talent show tonight. Tomorrow we have more of the same and we go out to see San Antonio in the afternoon.
We saw Kyle on the big EYE news cast this morning. He was playing basketball. Mallory and Jane are small group leaders. Lacy, Calla, and Michele are helping with the Eucharist tomorrow. Kelsey,Jamela, Mallory, Carly and Nikki were just standing outside my room singing a song they may enter in the talent show tonight. Jessica is going to the Jr/Sr Dinner tonight. Jake, CHris, Willie, Jess and Nick have learned to do this really cool cup drill. We will definitely be buying cups for SOuth Dakota and all of us will learn. Nathalie is taking yoga and Rick is pretty much our rock. He is organized, he thinks ahead and he doesn't lose or forget things, all good qualities to have on board with 16 teens (and Nathalie and Jane!) Everyone is meeting new friends, trading shirts, pins, bags from the cathedral and cards from Kathy Monson-Lutes. They are trying new things and having fun. At the Eucharist yesterday, Nathlaie and I were at the end of our row, so we returned from Communion last. As we looked down our row, it was very touching to see all of our crew with their heads bowed. I wish I had a camera handy because it would have been a good picture.
Thanks so much to everyone who helped us get to EYE. We are having a great time, and all the youth are doing fine. We'll post photos later tonight. I haven't figured out how to do that yet!
Love to you all!
Jane
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