We didn't have internet access at St. Bernard's Abbey during training week, so I just saved these blog posts to my computer so I could put them up later.
Saying goodbye to my family was probably one of the hardest things I've done. I've been praying everyday for the strength to be away from them, especially my baby brothers. Being at home for a while before I left was great because I got to spend time with all of them, but it also made goodbyes even more difficult. Dad drove me up to Cullman. We stopped for lunch in Birmingham and met my aunt and my cousin, which was great. We don't get to see them very often, and I loved getting to catch up.
Dad and I got to the Abbey a little bit early, so we explored the Ave Maria Grotto. It's beautiful! It has over 100 miniatures of buildings all around the world. We also met a sweet old man who ended up talking to us for about half an hour. Luckily, we needed to kill some time, so it all worked out very well. He makes pun-ny toys like a "baseball bat" which is a baseball with a bat face and wooden bat wings attached and a "chainsaw" which is a saw head with a chain attached. It was all very funny, and we enjoyed getting to know him.The gift shop for the Grotto was awesome, too. So many Catholic things!
At 4:00, I met up with everyone who carpooled down from Nashville. We're staying in the retreat and conference center on the campus of the Abbey, and it's great. It really feels like a hotel. Having my own bed has been wonderful; I've been sleeping on the couch at home because Elizabeth needed to move in a little over a week before I left. Never before have I been more excited to see a twin bed! My roommate for training is a Vanderbilt student, and she's very nice. Most of the missionaries go to Vandy.
I haven't gotten to know any one person very well because there are 12 Nashville missionaries and 4 Atlanta missionaries here, but we'll be split up into teams of 4 for the actual Totus Tuus teaching. I'm looking forward to being in smaller groups because I value one-on-one quality time so much. It's hard for me to get to know people when I meet a lot of people at one time.
Because there are so many students from Vanderbilt, I feel a little bit like an outsider. Almost everyone knows each other. Everyone is so very nice, but it's just not the same as being at home with all my great CSO friends. I miss my spiritual community back at home! I know I will grow so much by being out of my comfort zone, but that doesn't mean that it's easy, especially at first.
This weekend of training, we've just been going over the basics of Totus Tuus. We haven't gotten started on learning the actual curriculum, but we're being introduced to the mission of Totus Tuus and what exactly we're going to be doing. I can't wait to actually be around all the kids. There's just something about children that makes me want to praise God; I can't explain it. Their beauty is astounding, and they do not put limits on their love. The only bad thing about hearing people talk about kids is that it makes me miss Hank and Oscar.
More to come later! Please keep us in your prayers! I'm praying for everyone back at home!
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