Prep, Prep, Prep

July 8, 2009

The Nativity Nigeria (NN) team gathered in the cafe tonight. Our travelers have received their immunizations and other shots, obtained their passports and tonight they applied for their visas. We're so fortunate to have Tina Borden capturing all the critical contact information for our travelers, and tracking all the important data on passport numbers, whose gotten their shots, etc. Mary Stefanski is spear-heading a vitamin collection from parishoners, and made a special appeal to our Vacation Bible School (VBS) attendees with a creative brochure in keeping with the program's theme. Nineteen bottles of vitamins were received from the kids. Collections of vitamins will also take place after weekend masses over the next two weekends. The "education subcommittee" pooled resources to put together some great lesson plans and worksheets to help the NN travelers in their teaching efforts. They focus on basic language, writing and math skills for young elementary school grades. These extra resources will help our NN team deliver some great educational sessions during their visit. Bob reviewed some of the important things for travelers to pack, and some tips were shared on where to find or get "great deals" on these items. The team is starting to collect small toys to give out as gifts to the Nigerian children. The enthusiasm is growing - the whole team is excited about the trip and all that our NN team has to offer. Departure date is approaching! We meet again next Wednesday night at 7pm.

Looking around the room during our meetings, I'm continually impressed by the commitment of our young adults to ministry. Many of our NN team members are (or nearly are) young enough to be my children. I was raised as a practicing Catholic. I went to Catholic school from first grade through college. I don't recall any of my friends making that type of commitment in their 20s, and I know I was pretty focused on my own life rather than ministry. Our team leaders are young men who not only volunteer their time but commit to leading the charge. It's a lot of responsibility, and they handle it like pros. Three of our young travelers are siblings and I love that they're sharing this experience as a family. I find it so inspiring to see such commitment to Faith and Ministry in all of our team members, but especially the young people. It fills me with hope and makes me want to be a better person and a better Christian. It reminds me why I wanted to be part of this team, even though it's not always easy to get to the meetings.

Periodically I've mentioned the NN project to my kids, either to say where I"ll be for a couple of hours one night, or to share something exciting about the NN project. I think the casual mention of ministry is paying off; yesterday my nearly 24 year old son called to say he wanted to get involved in volunteering in the community. Like many young people today, he's not practicing his Faith formally. We talked about opportunities that would have particular meaning for him, and we plan to embark on the journey together. What a bonus to know that my son is answering a call from God (whether he acknowledges it or not!) and we'll enjoy the experience together. With my youngest heading off to college in a few weeks, God knew I needed some extra "bonding" with my older kids! I'm having a bit of trouble transitioning to an "empty nest", especially as a single mom. It really is true that it's in giving that we receive. With just a few hours of ministry over the last couple of months, my Faith has been strengthened. I am filled with Hope and Awe as I witness God working through my fellow NN members. As Father White told us, surrounding ourselves with "Friends in Christ" really does help with the journey toward hearing God's call and figuring out how to move closer to Him.

Stay tuned for more exciting news about NN, there's more to come!

Betsy Good