Dan Bartleson

Holy Week - A Pilgrims Ranting

2008-03-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

So this lent has been very different than any other for me...

I've been thinking more lately about balance in life. And what I really need.

Did the Almighty give me life and vocation (husband, father, worker, friend, brother and son) so that I can work out my salvation with fear and trembling and be Christ to others?

Or is He making all these things a reality just so I get the message that He loves me and I'm to rely on Him and rest in that love?

I know it's both, it's the timing and the focus, ebb and flow. I'm at the mercy of it.

I don't want to retreat from life's challenges to "be with Jesus," running away from God's action in my life to hide in the very same God.

I also feel the wear and tear of life dry me out spiritually, emotionally and otherwise at different times. This Lent (amid countless blessings!) has been that way. I need someone to run to.

What does it really mean to be "Dependent" on God?

Lately, It's been God knocking at the door of my heart, inviting me to embrace him in the quiet - while the work and trial around me make the motion of life seem too fast for me.

Since lent began I have walked with and simply witnessed others suffer. I've been blessed by a wonderful wife and children daily. I've been inspired by the courage and faith of the young men and women at Reach.

I have come to see the Church not be able to do everything for everyone, no matter the effort or perspective of those involved. I've also met new (for me) and inspiring personalities in the Church who see possible things, and remain fixed on what is coming. Others have shown me what supernatural realities we can help make manifest through and with Christ.

I have come to a place where a phone call, the face or voice of a friend, an email that has kindness or any such simple blessing will move me. I have come to a place of obvious dependence.

I don't know if this is a new perspective on what I have missed or ignored - hopefully not all of it - or if there is some transformation here that God is moving me through for my good/salvation.

I do notice a greater interior need - I want to want His help.

It sounds like a happy or familiar prayer "Make me dependent on you Lord."

It sounds like a good thing to want God's help, but dependence on it has far greater implications for me at this point.

His passion has not been where I have known him best. Holy Week is here and I won't be able to sort things out and do a "good" job. I'm not going to have things buttoned up or look back and pinpoint the will of the Father.

Recognizeable and easily recounted truths about the human person that apply to what I've written pop into my head as I read it - but in the middle of living this little blog post no "Aha!" moment may be needed. I may be just where I need to be for Holy Week. I guess God only knows...

Dream Teams

2007-10-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

The Training...
Well the teams are all trained up. Team life, Catholic Teaching, retreat skills and a week of O.J.T. with training retreats locally have got these teams in top form as they begin the great adventure of serving on a Reach Team. One of the many highlights for me was when Phill went home to visit his folks and came back as Catholic as the Pope! He was raised Methodist, active in his Catholic parish for many years, had some RCIA classes and his Bishop saw that it was time.. So we celebrate a new brother in the faith!
Another highlight for the second year in a row was the Winkler family hosting the team at King's Lake north of Spokane. The weekend has been an amazing time to be with the Winklers while solidifying some great team dynamics by getting pushed into the lake by Bryan!
The Teams...
The teams this- year are amazing! Enthusiasm, energy and personality exude from these people. I have been blessed to be a part of Reach for a few years now and knowing that any group of young people out there will be matched or surpassed with unflagging, positive and Holy Spirit imbued energy gives me a mighty fine feeling indeed. Check out the team blogs all coming on line soon!
The Ministry...
As many of you may have heard or know, it's tough to get insured these days. In fact, in order to do that this year, we have gone under a different non-profit corporation. That's right we aren't incorporated with the Yakima Diocese any longer.
Thankfully, insurance doesn't hinder the blessing of our Bishop Carlos A. Sevilla, or his ongoing knowledge and support of Reach's ministry.
Our new incorporation is under the Catholics In Action. The Catholics In Action Board stepped up and took on the daunting task of seeing that Reach is insured properly and has a corporate home. Knights in shining armor...
The Mission...
The mission of Reach Youth Ministry continues to be sharing of the Gospel with young people. I personally am reminded of the mission tag-line under the esteemed Mark Evevard (Director 1992-1999) "Bringing young people and Jesus Christ together".
That's what our charism is - giving youth an opportunity to respond to God's great love on retreat and for the rest of their lives.
That mission continues, and I am certain that whatever challenges are placed before us, Christ will provide the means to overcome those challenges and ensure that His young people know His Love.

So, here's to another year of dynamic ministry. Pray that God would prepare the hearts of young people to truly experience His Love and respond with all their being!

The Elusive "Reach Man"

2007-05-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

First of all - sorry for the long blog silence. I realize this may now be written to no one due to my neglect... Ah well here goes anyway.

Catching up -
Our fundraising dinner with Bishop Sevilla was very successful - we served about 150 and had a great time! The Sevigny girls were the show-stoppers and I think donations going up can largely be attributed to their humor, musical (and choreographic) skills and inherent cuteness. Nice work everyone who contributed and a HUGE thanks to all our faithful and new sponsors. We will continue to evangelize youth, in no small way due to your financial help and prayers.

Reach Gonzaga was wonderful Tammy's Keynote and Matt's Band Predicting Departure took the ministry to a new level and the Reach teams Reached It Up a notch as well! I personally enjoyed pitchblack fourway capture the flag! We are planning this event for next year so keep an eye on the reach site for the date - Mark your calendar , it was awesome!

We've had some great interviews, some seriously warm, compassionate, gifted and Holy people are coming on team next year and I am excited for next year already!

We just need more men!!

What is it that makes the "Reach Man"? I'm a former Reach Man myself - so you'd think I would know - The closest I can come to a definition is a young man who is ready to follow an all-powerful God in an unexpected way.

I have often been quite sure that I have encountered a Reach Man in the making only to be met with an extremely cautious and guilty rejection to my invitation to become a full fledged Reach Man. Many of these men have sought their manliness through living up to what others desire of them - well intentioned - but who is then ready to listen to God's prompting? To live according to the movement of the Holy Spirit?

I don't think we men have lost site of being manly, taking the plunge, trying something new or giving it all to God through others. I just think young men - potential Reach Men - are in need of some encouragement that they can take on a challenge and live an interruptable life and all will be well - God is in control. Go ahead and be a man. Jesus did.

Well, I'm off to pray with the teams - I know "Lucky!"
Our next event is the DUB or Reach's Discipleship Week in Ellensburg this year - you should come...

Peace,
Dan

the little children...

2007-03-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to keep up with blogging but I often don't have much that is worth reading...

I do, however, have a beautiful family (if I do say so) and with the arrival of spring, some new photos and a family update may be in order.

I hope you like it - because it's what you're getting.

This is Roseanna and Connor 4 years ago.
This amazes me.

Connor and Rose (with Katie's Godfather Sean) a few weeks ago.

This is Katie on the day she was born.
Hard to describe what this does to me.

This cuddle turned into a mutual nap - pretty cute.

This is Katie a few weeks ago, toddling around the place. The blue eyes are from her Great-Grandfathers on Dad's side and one on Mom's.

The Crew.

Carseat Katie

Buddies.

So you may ask, "Are your kids your whole life Dan?"

Short answer is no but that is often where the miracles are each day.

Renee and I want them to be happy in this life and with God eternally - that's a tall double order. They are doing the same for me in my life I often learn and grow because of what they need.

So they aren't my whole life, but family life is how we are all working out our salvation at this time, and we love it. I've heard they don't belong to me anyway.

They sure are cute when they're little though...

What Are We Up To? Well...

2007-02-23T13:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, so how the heck is it almost March?

I'm not sure how this happened but here we are - I'm just going to do a quick update and a snapshot of coming attractions here... Enjoy!

The Bartlesons
Connor started soccer yesterday- Rose turned 8 on Fat Tuesday - Katie split her lip on a coffee table for the first time last night (she's just got a fat lip)- Renee and I are enjoying all of this family life (and each other) immensely and are extremely grateful flu season is over at our house (5 weeks of flu was enough). Our nanny goat will kid any week now and if I'm out of town Renee will be... Unimpressed at the prospect of delivering goats something she did not sign up for evidently.

The Teams
St. Joan of Arc is in California (they "Never travel")
St. John Bosco is in New Mexico (someone fixed up their van down there!!! God bless you big time)
St. Maximilian Kolbe is in Indiana. (apparently Peter needs a haircut already [again])
The teams are evangelizing and keeping each other going strong. You can check the blogs for details (and a video or two I hear).

The Spring

Our spring will be very full and tons of fun!
Reach Gonzaga is coming together nicely - It's May 18-20

Tammy Evevard will rock our socks off as our Keynote Speaker and spend a special time with the women during men's and women's tracks!
I just talked with Matt Franklin of Predicting Departure the band is psyched to come up to Spokane!
Rodolfo is taking care of us and getting geared up at GU.
Staying in the dorms will be a blast w/ games and activities galore...

Reach Discipleship Camp (The DUB) will be amazing up at the Lazy F Ranch in Ellensburg, WA (40 min. from Yakima). This one is June 16-21

We toured the camp = it is beautiful and state of the art!
It'll be The DUB only with beds!!
There's a gym, pool and ping pong, Men's and Women's Lodges, hikes, a huge cafeteria, TREES, a creek for tubing, outdoor chapel, a great CAMP OLYMPICS setup, and more...

The Reach Fundraising Dinner W/ Bishop Sevilla is coming up April 24th.

There'll be wine tasting
Dinner - I've heard rumors of salmon...mmmmm salmon.
A sweet new program
a children's program and meal will be offered this year
Oh and the most important... Dessert!

We are looking for some Volunteers to help with a Catholic Jr. High camp in Nelson BC this summer - Dutch Harbour Camp - the week of August 13th. email me if you want in!

On Lake Kootenay - swimming - hiking - canoeing, oh my!
A Catholic Camp - praying - playing - teaching - crafts - skits - fun
6 hours N of Yakima
Canadians are great people (I should know, I married one)

REMEMBER check our site for more info on all this great Catholic youth activity!!

Well, I must say all this is exciting and makes me proud to be a part of Reach. I am truly blessed to be able to serve the Church with such wonderful, committed and holy people. It really is an exciting time to be Catholic (not that there is ever a bad time to be Catholic) - the New Evangelization is well underway!!

Peace,

Dan

TAKING OVER THE WORLD!

2007-01-23T09:18:00.000-08:00

Reach is sending out our fancy new promotional flyer.
It includes:

Retreats
The Teams
The Staff
The Events
Reach's Mission

I must say it is a good one. God has truly blessed us with the the dynamic duo of Laura McCain and her dad Larry. They did all the "heavy lifting" - Laura from our office (photos and correspondence with Larry) and Larry out there in mountaneous Montana (with the great layout and design). And we all pulled together on the content and ideas. Bishop Sevilla even took the time to contribute.

NOW that we have a great flyer (and nifty website - Sean Courtney!)...

We are getting the word out!
For starters, we are calling every parish in the NorthWest. Yup - sounds fun eh? I personally Have called the Spokane, Boise and some of Great Falls/Billings Diocese parishes.

We want folks to know about Reach in every Parish, Newman Center, Campus Ministry, Catholic School, Religious Ed Program and Youth Group that we possibly can.

I really believe that once folks are aware of the Reach Teams and the important work they do, we will find out together where Christ is calling Reach to serve the Church.
Gotta move when the Spirit says move!

DO you believe in the ministry of Reach? Help spread the word!
Who do you know that I can send a flyer to?
Who do you know that I can call about Reach?
Who can I email?
Email me at dan@reachym.com or call me a the the Reach home office
509-678-8754

How much greater the harvest if we work together...

Peace,
Dan

Safe and Sound

2007-01-05T09:50:00.000-08:00

Our family van was totalled in an accident on Dec 22. Connor was with me during the accident and was treated for mild shock, X-rayed and released after an ambulance ride to the ER and walked away with many stuffed animals and two very shaken parents.

Connor was sitting at the point of impact. A Suburban hit us hard enough to move us across two lanes of traffic and up onto a median. I have never been afraid - seriously afraid - for one of my children before. There have been near misses on the playground and bumps into the coffee table etc. but this was not a near miss or a bump. This was real fear. I was afraid for about an hour before I was able to meet Connor and Renee at the ER and hear he would be fine. We kept an eye on him that night and he regained his usual verve and vigor just in time for Christmas.

That hour was an excercise in emotional and thought control. I knew that even if things were bad, I had to have a plan. Problem was, I couldn't get past how Connor might be doing.
I was able to resist entertaining how he might be injured, but couldn't help but think about how important Connor is to our family and to me as his Dad.

Two days later, as I cleaned our personal effects out of the smashed van at the wrecking yard, I began to see how clearly God had spared Connor any injury and protected a child that so often embodies joy and passion for life through humor and unflagging energy. It was there that my shock began to transform into gratitude and an entirely new sense of dependence on God's providence.

With a lot of help from good friends, we made the 700 mile trip home on Jan 2. We have a renewed sense of appreciation for being together and having a stable, peaceful and prayerful family life. I know that I am not sorry this holiday is over, but I can't help but wonder if God wanted me to be more aware of how blessed I truly am. Even if that is not the case, I am.

We're letting Connor help us with the color of our replacement vehicle. It was an emergency room promise and a foolish one, I know. I'll be sure to get a photo up - we'll feel like celebrating when this is all behind us.
Adios

Cold Enough For Me...

2006-12-04T11:54:00.000-08:00

So, the first line of the homily at our parish yesterday was "You think it's cold out there now, that's nothing compared to when Jesus comes back and you have nothing to show for all he's given you."

Kaboom!

Now, granted this was just the beginning of the homily, but each point after that brought home the realities of my life. It is my job to get my family to heaven, to get myself in a place where I am part of God The Father's solution - not man's problems, and to turn away from things that distract me from or prevent God's Kingdom here and now.

I'm to fulfill my role. It is a role I have chosen to accept and is defined first by my relationship with my creator (Child of The Most High) and then more specifically each day by the relationships I have chosen to be a part of (Husband, Father, Friend, Brother, Son, etc.).

It is morally imperative that I answer the question - What is a good Husband? - by choosing what is best for my wife and striving to live that out. This principle applies to all other roles I have chosen. My children depend on it, as do friends, family and those I am blessed to serve with and to simply meet each day.

And I depend on it, God has given it to me as a gift for my fulfillment and salvation.

My problem is that I am inconsistent, self absorbed, easily distracted and lack the ability to follow through with a simple plan for a holy life.

The good news is Christ. Duh!
I get another chance. The beauty of today is that I have been reminded to keep it simple and take on one day and one role at a time. I have been inspired by Grace to see the simple plan again, and through Advent the Church will lead me to Christ again, and I have a hope of being the best Husband, Father, Brother and Son I can.... again!

Happy Advent

The blizzard of '06

2006-11-15T11:13:00.000-08:00

Today I blog about a generous donation that will be fun for team members for years to come.

An 80" television, yup 80 inches - eighty inchorinos. The screen alone is 4'2" by 5'6". On the stand, the TV is over 6 ' tall and about 6' long. Mammoth...

So, I got the call from an old friend that his folks were upgrading their TV from the one they bought back in '96. When he said how big it was, I told him that I would bring over a 12 passenger van and some Reach members to pick the thing up.

Well, long story less long, the TV wouldn't fit in rear doors of the van - they rented us a Uhaul truck to get it back over Snoqualmie pass and sent us on our grateful, grateful way.

The fun part
Going up the last part of the summit we hit a snow storm. Sabrina and I in the uhaul, Peter and Shane in the 12 pas. van.

It was a whiteout. With no warning, we were in thick, wet snow and going about 10 mph. The uhaul had bald rear tires, the van - good all season radials. We were getting near the top when we came upon a snarl of stopped vehicles - some putting on chains, some simply spinning their wheels and some flipped around backwards - which Sabrina and I did once or twice before we actually came to a stop behind the traffic jam with vehicles attempting to zoom by on either side (and between cars too!).

So, winter drivers know that stopping on a hill with bald tires in a snowstorm means one thing. You are stuck!

The van passed us by as Peter executed a beautiful slow-motion right-side fishtail maneuver, navigating the 16 foot van between a semi on one side and the concrete median on the other (at a 45 degree angle, I might add).

Sabrina and I left our vehicle to help Peter and Shane maneuver the last few feet to the Snoqualmie exit. I drove the van to the store there and we regrouped in the road. It was decided that Peter and I would return to the stranded uhaul and Sabrina and Shane would attempt to purchase some chains for the poorly equipped truck.

After waiting in the truck for some time, watching the road crew clear the snow I was amazed at the maniacal, "I can make it over the pass!" driving of so many ill-equipped fellow drivers. Cars and trucks of every kind sped by in all sorts of configurations. The most noticeable were the ones with really bad tires - it seems the most popular solution is to get a few people to bounce up and down on the bumper as the driver presses the accelerator to the floor. This results in a lot of spinning noise, steam, and some wild trajectories.
Some front-wheel drive bald-as-can-be vehicles actually drove backwards in order to crest the hill.

Peter left to get the chains from Sabrina and Shane - we wanted to increase the odds of her survival by keeping her out of traffic and avoiding leaving her alone in a dark snowstorm.

After Peter left, a huge truck with a modified brush bumper pulled up behind the uhaul and told me to go light on the gas and he would push me over the pass. The big steel bumper of the uhaul matched up just right and over we went! It was beautiful. He was clearly sent by God to rescue our mission and to place the huge TV right where it was predestined to be.

Our troop was reunited on the downhill side and we cruised back to Yakima nice and slow.

We set up the biggest TV ever and it was all worth it! We can't wait to have some youth out here for a foosball/cards/movie night hosted by the Reach team.

It all brought back memories of driving around north of Spokane when I was in high school. With crummy cars and bad tires we constantly needed our fathers to get us out of the ditch or a snowdrift. I guess Fatherly help is never a thing of the past.

Please join us here as we pray in thanksgiving for the generosity of the Schumacher family and for all their intentions.

Peace,
Dan

Reach and CRS

2006-11-03T13:48:00.000-08:00

Joe Hastings, Education Organizer for Catholic Relief Services - West spent the day with Reach Youth Ministry recently.
His message - Catholic Social Teaching - and it was both eye opening and compelling to hear the vision we as Catholics seek to live out. Holy Scripture and Tradition guiding us to love and serve all is a message that, on the surface, seems common-sensical. Considering the complexities inherent in serving those who are less fortunate, in crisis or are not able to change their own circumstances is staggering and Joe was only giving us the basics of the basics.

Personally I feel that CRS is an overly ambitious and insanely optimistic organization - oh and inspirational. The more intense the endeavor we are called to, the more intensely we must cling to Christ in order to persevere.

Thanks Joe, for a great day and look in to CRS everyone, we can all do more!
Peace,
Dan

photos of family time

2006-10-30T09:49:00.000-08:00

Here are pics from some family time in Canada.
The zoo is just East of Kamloops, BC.

Roseanna is 7, Connor is 5 and contrary to their own willingness to admit it, they are good buddies. These two can make-believe for an entire day. Connor keeps Rose laughing like noone else and Rose is the conscience and moral compass of the duo.

This guy was slowly trying to scrape his way out of his pen.

The grizzly was eating salmon, apples and carrotts. Lying down, the big hump on her back came about to my hip. Lots of scary crunching sounds too.

These exotic beauties are Kaitlin and Renee (Katie and Momma).
Katie is 9 months, crawling like crazy, cutting teeth and has a wonderful personality. Every morining Katie is the person we all look forward to seeing most.
Renee is amazing, after 10 years she is so much more than the woman of my dreams.

This Cougar had a pen-mate and when the kids walked near he growled at them. It was pretty scary.

Adios Amigos!

coming clean

2006-10-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

We saw a couple grizzly bears in Canada.

A Mountain Lion growled at Connor and Rose.

Katie petted a goat and it was a great visit to the zoo.

Renee and I celebrated our 10th anniversary and at times our motel room was bit of a zoo.

I decided that after 10 years I could unburden my conscience and tell of my one past love. I finally told Renee about my first girlfriend. Tracy Wilson....

We were in third grade together at Linwood Elementary in Spokane, WA. I admired Tracy from afar. I don't really know why I loved her so much. I think it was her eyes, or her glasses.

Mr. Sherwood called me "Big Dan Bartleson" because in third grade I began to sign my papers Dan instead of Danny. I didn't get the joke back then and rather took it as a statement of fact, a sort of compliment by way of simple observation. I had a crush on Tracy (and no obligation to pursue it) and was feeling pretty good about myself until that fateful day. \

It was a Monday. It was math time. I had to pee. I would stand in line at Mr. Sherwood's desk to ask permission until the urge was too great and I had to sit to ease the pressure on my bladder, hunching over my desk allowed my apparently massive abdominal muscles to relax.
After a short rest I would reenter the math question line and endure intense bladder pain in an effort to gain the freedom of the hall and the friendship of one of the full-length-urinals provided by the school as a challenge to small boys to emerge from the bathroom with dry shoes. But alas, I was doomed to repeat this macabre ritual six or seven times until during one wait in the slow moving line I finally advanced to actually face Mr. Sherwood.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" I blurted. "Excuse me?" He asked, eyebrows raised. To Mr. Sherwood this was just another teaching moment - maybe he was trying classical conditioning - good grammar = a dramatic sense of relief in the bathroom. I however, was past the red line. Things were moving along without my consent. It must have showed on my face. "Go ahead Dan!" he urged me.

It was too late. In fact, horrified, and as I lost control completely, I actually shouted, "Oh no, I didn't make it!" After this, I proceeded down the hall in a fashion not unfamiliar to those of you who suffered with poor bladder control as children. That's right, the straddle-walk.

I would like to point out that at this point in the story Renee started looking at me like I used Tracy Wilson and our story of love as an excuse to tell a peeing in my pants story. Even though I would never do such a thing, I hurried the narrative along-getting to the point and not holding it against her.

As I shuffled wetly down the hall to the bathroom I heard Mr. Sherwood from the still open classroom door, "Uh...Tracy! Will you get some paper towels and take care of that?"

Fortunately for Renee, that was the end of me and Tracy Wilson, leaving the road open for our subsequent courtship and marriage (much later of course). Mr. Sherwood had singlehandedly changed the course of history with his "lunch-line learning program". And I got to go to the bathroom whenever it pleased me to do so for the rest of the year - although I paid a high price on the playground a time or two (another story perhaps for another blog).

All this I have come to terms with, but before attempting any calculation, I can become very nervous until I have visited the bathroom. I also have an aversion to waiting in line for some reason.

Peace,

Dan

Katie Bartleson - Seer and Sage

2006-09-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

For those who haven't - meet Kaitlin Bartleson - my youngest daughter. She is about 8 months old and has been a "good" baby all her life. She slept throughout the night at about 1 month old, she never turns her nose up at any new foods and best of all she loves her Daddy.
So this baby has taught me a good many things that surely I'm not the first (or last) to learn from a tiny, dependent person. I got to spend a good part of the day this Sunday with Katie cuddled up close to me watching cartoons and football and observing the things katie was good at that I need do...

Security
Katie knows she will be just fine because her needs are met by loving parents.
If I pay attention (and it is hard to do some days) I find that I am cared for in every way by our loving Father. My needs are met. I get so easily caught up in moment by moment concerns and so quickly unsure of what to do when considering future outcomes that I can forget who I am.
Katie doesn't forget who she is. She just looks around until she sees me or Renee (Mom), or even brother and sister, and she smiles at the reminder that she is loved.

Dependence
Katie knows how to ask for help. Ouch.
John Wayne didn't ask for help unless he had a bullet lodged in his spine. Even then...
Anyway, when Katie gets hungry she starts makin' some noise - not crying at first - she just starts to yell. She picks a note (like A#) and holds it for about 20 seconds at the top of her lungs. She gets our attention at feeding time, diaper time, when she's tired or when she bumps her head or is otherwise frustrated.
This sound off turns to tears if there is a poor response time, normally Katie can go about 5 minutes without much of a response before the REAL crying comes on.
I don't think I even ask for half the things I really want. I often find myself trying to ask for things that would please God to ask for. Knoble? Or just a reflection of my inability to trust a loving and generous God?
Sometimes I act like I don't know who He is.
Even when we respond poorly, Katie's ability to ask for help is not deterred. She doesn't consider that we won't help her.
Katie knows who we are.

So after Sunday's lesson from Miss Kaitlin Bartleson, I have resolved to try to watch when I feel secure - and why. And to try to remember that I am God's little child.
And I'm also trying to remain dependent on God and others. A tough one for me (I must be a lot like John Wayne).
Adios Pilgrim,
Dan

Mid Way Through Training!

2006-09-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

What a blessing to be a part of evangelization! These young adults are great witnesses to the enthusiasm and devotion of Catholics and their desire to serve Christ and His Church.

This last weekend marked the end of the second week of training and begins our retreat skills training and the teams' initial retreats begin next week. Please pray for them and the youth they will be serving.

The breakdown for training this year.
week 1 relationship with Christ - conversion and holiness
week 2 Catholic teaching and faith formation
week 3 retreat components and skills
week 4 facilitating youth retreats (initial retreats begin)

Some highlights so far for me include dinners at the Record family home, the swing/barn dance at the Sevigny's, Pizza night courtesy of the Lebeau's and cooking dinner with the Reach men for the group. I am also loving the foosball and ultimate frisbee. Pretty soon we'll have a bball hoop up, jealous yet?

The most enriching parts of the last few weeks have been the many holy people who have come to share the Gospel with us here and simply getting to know the Reach members more personally.

That's about all the time I have, training is pretty intense; 14 hour days are the norm.
In the Peace of Christ,
Dan