Hello Again!
Another week of Totus Tuus has come and gone. My team and I were in Imperial, NE which is almost as far west as you can get. We had about a 5 hour car ride together, which made for great team bonding. The week was filled with so many great experiences and memories that I will have for the rest of my life.
We couldn't have asked for better kids in Imperial. They were all so excited to T.T. and enthusiastic the entire week! They really loved the program and most of them have been attending anywhere from 3-7 years. Even the students who had been a lot were enthusiastic and ready to learn more about their faith and how they can use it in their everyday life.
My team impressed me even more this week with the high schoolers. They all worked hard on their talks this week and put in extra time so the students could hopefully understand how much God is calling each and every one of them to do His work. They really put in the time and effort to get to know each of them personally and it was so great to witness. My team has taught me a lot on how to relate and how to meet the high school students where they are at. I am so grateful to have them. They have been great support and like a new home away from home. They are such great examples of how God works individually on people and what awesome things He can do in our lives if we let Him.
I had a lot of first time experiences in Imperial. My team and I were able to go to the Colorado border so that I could say that I've been to the state! It was a fun late night road trip for all of us. We visited a pig farm and saw some hopeful blue ribbon pigs, and I fed a calf milk from a bottle! It was so much fun! We were able to meet Murphy's family for the first time and that was great. One of the highlights of the trip was visiting his mom at the grocery store where she works and getting to fill a grocery bag full of groceries...for free! I honestly felt like I was on a game show! It was so fun and so generous of her and her employer!
Keep us in your prayers as we start at Blessed Sacrament parish in Lincoln, NE this week. It is Ryan's home parish so it will be really fun to meet his family and see a little bit of where he grew up. This will be our last week until we have a break for the week of the 4th and I will finally get to be home and see my family. Keep us in your prayers!
Kids Quotes:
1st/2nd Rules for what NOT to do in Mass:
1)No drinking the Holy Water
2)No chewing on the books
3)No sucking on the finger you dipped in Holy Water
4)No flipping people off
5)No singing Justin Bieber
-Ryan had the 1/2 graders explain to him how to act in Mass and they really said this!
Me: Whats your favorite part of Totus Tuus?
1st grader: Mass
Me: Really why's that?
1st grader: I don't know, I guess I just like talking to God
Me: If anyone has glasses and wants to take them off for the water fight can hand them to one of the teachers. Are there any question?
1st grader: Yeah, my sister wears glasses because she can't see far away.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
2nd Week of Totus Tuus
Hi Everyone!
We finished up our 2nd week of Totus Tuus in Plattsmouth, NE. A very small, VERY hilly town. It was the first week of just our team together running an entire parish of about 80 kids. Using adult language they were very energetic, which means they were some of the craziest kids I have ever been around! We had some really fun times since the kids were so into it but they also could be quite the handful. We had one very energetic 1st grader who could not stop doing handstands, cart wheels, and punching kids. It was hilarious but stressful.
Sunday through Thursday night of Totus Tuus we have high school night for 2 hours. I was so impressed with my team this week. Ryan, Mikayla, and Murphy all stepped up to the plate and gave awesome high school talks that left the students in awe and wanting to learn more about how to live out Totus Tuus(totally yours through Mary). After a night where Mikayla and Murphy gave talks, one girl came outside and told us that she loved Totus Tuus and it made her want to to go to mass every Sunday. That really did make the week and my team and I agreed that when T.T. can get hard, it's comments like that that make it worth it. I am thankful to have my team and I can't wait for more high school nights to come!
Unfortunately, I did not escape the ice cream sundae this week. The 7th and 8th grade class won and I was their homeroom teacher so they had it out for me when it came to picking one of their teachers. I had 1 gallon of vanilla ice cream, a pint of cookies and cream, a jar of fudge, a bottle of syrup, a bottle of caramel, peanuts, sprinkles, and to top it all off, four pickles. It took a lot of shampoo to get all of that out! The water fight was extra fun because not only was I getting clean, but I was after all of the 7th and 8th graders who decided to put all of that on me.
My team has been such a blessing so far. We just made the 5 hour drive to Imperial, NE where we were able to spend a lot of close time together. I am learning so much from them on how to be the best teammate I can be and how to love them and all of the kids and host families even when we're on about 3 hours of sleep and I'm on my last nerve. I can't wait to see what this week will bring for us but I'm sure it's going to be interesting whatever it is. We have already had 2 big storms here in western NE so keep us in your prayers!
KIDS QUOTES:
Boy: "Teacher this girls said I was a jerk"
Crazy handstand kid: "It's ok, you have a cool face"
Me: "Can anyone tell me an example of good stewardship?"
1st grade boy: "When two people are in a maze and 1 person knows the way and another person doesn't so the person who does know the maze helps the person who doesn't find the end of it"
Ryan: Lets think about the great sacrifice Jesus made for us by dying on the cross.
5th grade boy leans over and whispers to his friend: It is pretty cool what he did for us
We finished up our 2nd week of Totus Tuus in Plattsmouth, NE. A very small, VERY hilly town. It was the first week of just our team together running an entire parish of about 80 kids. Using adult language they were very energetic, which means they were some of the craziest kids I have ever been around! We had some really fun times since the kids were so into it but they also could be quite the handful. We had one very energetic 1st grader who could not stop doing handstands, cart wheels, and punching kids. It was hilarious but stressful.
Sunday through Thursday night of Totus Tuus we have high school night for 2 hours. I was so impressed with my team this week. Ryan, Mikayla, and Murphy all stepped up to the plate and gave awesome high school talks that left the students in awe and wanting to learn more about how to live out Totus Tuus(totally yours through Mary). After a night where Mikayla and Murphy gave talks, one girl came outside and told us that she loved Totus Tuus and it made her want to to go to mass every Sunday. That really did make the week and my team and I agreed that when T.T. can get hard, it's comments like that that make it worth it. I am thankful to have my team and I can't wait for more high school nights to come!
Unfortunately, I did not escape the ice cream sundae this week. The 7th and 8th grade class won and I was their homeroom teacher so they had it out for me when it came to picking one of their teachers. I had 1 gallon of vanilla ice cream, a pint of cookies and cream, a jar of fudge, a bottle of syrup, a bottle of caramel, peanuts, sprinkles, and to top it all off, four pickles. It took a lot of shampoo to get all of that out! The water fight was extra fun because not only was I getting clean, but I was after all of the 7th and 8th graders who decided to put all of that on me.
My team has been such a blessing so far. We just made the 5 hour drive to Imperial, NE where we were able to spend a lot of close time together. I am learning so much from them on how to be the best teammate I can be and how to love them and all of the kids and host families even when we're on about 3 hours of sleep and I'm on my last nerve. I can't wait to see what this week will bring for us but I'm sure it's going to be interesting whatever it is. We have already had 2 big storms here in western NE so keep us in your prayers!
KIDS QUOTES:
Boy: "Teacher this girls said I was a jerk"
Crazy handstand kid: "It's ok, you have a cool face"
Me: "Can anyone tell me an example of good stewardship?"
1st grade boy: "When two people are in a maze and 1 person knows the way and another person doesn't so the person who does know the maze helps the person who doesn't find the end of it"
Ryan: Lets think about the great sacrifice Jesus made for us by dying on the cross.
5th grade boy leans over and whispers to his friend: It is pretty cool what he did for us
Monday, June 13, 2011
1st Week of Totus Tuus
Hi Everyone!
Our team ended its first week of teaching in Lincoln, NE at St. Peter's Parish last Friday the 10th. I was definitely in over my head. I had the 1st grade class with 18 students. As fun as they were, they were a handful. They loved learning all the songs that went along with the stories of Noah, Moses, and Abraham, and were singing the loudest and had great actions to go along with them. They put on a lot of plays for me as well, which was so much fun to watch. The little ones definitely wear you out with how much love they give. They constantly were giving out hugs and compliments, it was so great! The St. Peter's Parish had over 150 kids signed up for our day program and around 30 for our high school night. Because of the high number of students, we had 2 T.T teams from Lincoln and 1 team with us from Vermont. It was so much fun getting to know all of them and share in the experiences that the kids brought.
Mikayla and I could not have asked for a better host family. We stayed with The Werning Family all week and they were beyond generous. They made us feel so welcome in their home and were always there to hear about our day, tell us hilarious stories about their family and YaYa, or just let us relax and kick back from the tiring day. We were able to meet some of the most amazing families everyday from all of the different families that brought all 12 of us into their home and provided some of the best meals I've ever had. It was great getting to know so many different families and hear their own stories.
A memory I don't think Mikayla and I will ever forget is 1 of our nights at the Wernings. We were both sleeping soundly until I woke up to the loudest banging against our bedroom door. I literally froze in the bed because I had no idea what was going on. All of a sudden, the door flew open and in comes Max (the family dog) running around in circles in our room trying to wake us up. Mikayla is still sound asleep during this so I turn over and wake her up saying "Mikayla I think the dog is in our room!" She gets out of bed, half asleep and very confused, and just runs the dog upstairs and goes right back to sleep. The next day both of us didn't believe that it actually happened. The Wernings quickly assured us that it did happen because Max kept them up for the rest of the night!
Thankfully, I was able to escape the Sundae this week!! Unfortunately, my team wasn't so lucky. Because there were so many kids, we had 2 groups of kids win and pick 2 of the teacher's to get the Sundae. Ryan and Mikayla were there victims. It was so much fun to watch and Mikayla and Ryan were really good sports about it. They got their revenge later on in the water fight! It was such a fun way to end a busy, chaotic, and very blessed week.
My team is now in Plattsmouth, NE, a small little town with about 75 kids involved in our grade school and 15 high schoolers. It's nice having the 4 of us work together and we're starting to become our own little family. Mikayla has the 1st and 2nd grade this week while Murphy, Ryan, and myself have the older students. I will keep you posted on how the rest of the week and please keep us in your prayers!
Our team ended its first week of teaching in Lincoln, NE at St. Peter's Parish last Friday the 10th. I was definitely in over my head. I had the 1st grade class with 18 students. As fun as they were, they were a handful. They loved learning all the songs that went along with the stories of Noah, Moses, and Abraham, and were singing the loudest and had great actions to go along with them. They put on a lot of plays for me as well, which was so much fun to watch. The little ones definitely wear you out with how much love they give. They constantly were giving out hugs and compliments, it was so great! The St. Peter's Parish had over 150 kids signed up for our day program and around 30 for our high school night. Because of the high number of students, we had 2 T.T teams from Lincoln and 1 team with us from Vermont. It was so much fun getting to know all of them and share in the experiences that the kids brought.
Mikayla and I could not have asked for a better host family. We stayed with The Werning Family all week and they were beyond generous. They made us feel so welcome in their home and were always there to hear about our day, tell us hilarious stories about their family and YaYa, or just let us relax and kick back from the tiring day. We were able to meet some of the most amazing families everyday from all of the different families that brought all 12 of us into their home and provided some of the best meals I've ever had. It was great getting to know so many different families and hear their own stories.
A memory I don't think Mikayla and I will ever forget is 1 of our nights at the Wernings. We were both sleeping soundly until I woke up to the loudest banging against our bedroom door. I literally froze in the bed because I had no idea what was going on. All of a sudden, the door flew open and in comes Max (the family dog) running around in circles in our room trying to wake us up. Mikayla is still sound asleep during this so I turn over and wake her up saying "Mikayla I think the dog is in our room!" She gets out of bed, half asleep and very confused, and just runs the dog upstairs and goes right back to sleep. The next day both of us didn't believe that it actually happened. The Wernings quickly assured us that it did happen because Max kept them up for the rest of the night!
Thankfully, I was able to escape the Sundae this week!! Unfortunately, my team wasn't so lucky. Because there were so many kids, we had 2 groups of kids win and pick 2 of the teacher's to get the Sundae. Ryan and Mikayla were there victims. It was so much fun to watch and Mikayla and Ryan were really good sports about it. They got their revenge later on in the water fight! It was such a fun way to end a busy, chaotic, and very blessed week.
My team is now in Plattsmouth, NE, a small little town with about 75 kids involved in our grade school and 15 high schoolers. It's nice having the 4 of us work together and we're starting to become our own little family. Mikayla has the 1st and 2nd grade this week while Murphy, Ryan, and myself have the older students. I will keep you posted on how the rest of the week and please keep us in your prayers!
Friday, June 3, 2011
First Week of Totus Tuus!!!
Hey Everyone!
My first week of Totus Tuus training in Lincoln Nebraska is officially over! It is definitely bitter sweet. I have learned so much about the Church and God's plan, gotten to know so many wonderful people, and had great nights of growing in my prayer life. It has been really rewarding, but I am ready to go out their and finally teach the students!
Each week my team and I (1 other girl and 2 guys) go to a new parish and teach about the Sorrowful mysteries of the rosary (Agony in the Garden, Scourging at the Pillars, Crowning with Thorns, Carrying the Cross, and the Crucifixion) and Salvation History (Old testament: Noah, Abraham, Creation...fun stuff!). The kids are split up between grade levels and my team trades off teaching different groups each week. We get the kids excited about the week and what they are learning by singing A LOT of silly, fun songs (which has been fun and embarrassing getting to know this week), playing games, and having a lot of energy and enthusiasm about what we are teaching. We stay with different families each week and have dinner with many other families throughout the week. We teach the grade schoolers during the day and high school at night covering all of the same topics but tweaking them as needed to fit each age level. Finally, at the end of each week we have an all camper water fight and the class that was the most well behaved and energetic that week gets to pick a teacher and make an ice cream sundae on their head! Hopefully that is not me the first week, but knowing the boys on my team I wouldn't be surprised if they convinced all the kids to go against me!
Here is what a typical day looks like for our team:
8am- team prayer and rosary
9am-Kids arrive and start teaching
11:30am-Mass with everyone
12-3pm- Lunch, teaching, and fun games, and everyone leaves
4-6- team break, and then dinner with family
7:30-11pm-High school night
A little about my Team:
Team Leader Ryan Kaup:
All of my teammates have been so great this week, and I can't wait to get to know them even more throughout the summer! This week we will be going to St. Peter's Parish in Lincoln where 150 kids will be attending! We have 2 other teams with us to help out so hopefully it won't get too crazy. I will keep you posted on how it goes and who ends up getting the sundae!
My first week of Totus Tuus training in Lincoln Nebraska is officially over! It is definitely bitter sweet. I have learned so much about the Church and God's plan, gotten to know so many wonderful people, and had great nights of growing in my prayer life. It has been really rewarding, but I am ready to go out their and finally teach the students!
Each week my team and I (1 other girl and 2 guys) go to a new parish and teach about the Sorrowful mysteries of the rosary (Agony in the Garden, Scourging at the Pillars, Crowning with Thorns, Carrying the Cross, and the Crucifixion) and Salvation History (Old testament: Noah, Abraham, Creation...fun stuff!). The kids are split up between grade levels and my team trades off teaching different groups each week. We get the kids excited about the week and what they are learning by singing A LOT of silly, fun songs (which has been fun and embarrassing getting to know this week), playing games, and having a lot of energy and enthusiasm about what we are teaching. We stay with different families each week and have dinner with many other families throughout the week. We teach the grade schoolers during the day and high school at night covering all of the same topics but tweaking them as needed to fit each age level. Finally, at the end of each week we have an all camper water fight and the class that was the most well behaved and energetic that week gets to pick a teacher and make an ice cream sundae on their head! Hopefully that is not me the first week, but knowing the boys on my team I wouldn't be surprised if they convinced all the kids to go against me!
Here is what a typical day looks like for our team:
8am- team prayer and rosary
9am-Kids arrive and start teaching
11:30am-Mass with everyone
12-3pm- Lunch, teaching, and fun games, and everyone leaves
4-6- team break, and then dinner with family
7:30-11pm-High school night
A little about my Team:
Team Leader Ryan Kaup:
- 23 years old and it is his 3rd year with Totus Tuus
- Just graduated from St. Gregory the Great Seminary and will be attending St. Charles seminary in Philadelphia to finish his education
- grew up in Lincoln Nebraska
- Just came back from a 12 day pilgrimage in Europe, visiting the many places that St. Mary has appeared.
- 20 years old and 1st year with Totus Tuus
- He went to school 2 years at University of Nebraska Lincoln and this fall will be attending St. Gregory the Great Seminary
- Grew up in Hastings, Nebraska with 2 older sisters
- 20 years old and 2nd year with Totus Tuus
- She goes to the University of Nebraska Lincoln and is studying to be a high school math teacher
- She grew up in Lincoln and has 2 older brothers and a younger sister
All of my teammates have been so great this week, and I can't wait to get to know them even more throughout the summer! This week we will be going to St. Peter's Parish in Lincoln where 150 kids will be attending! We have 2 other teams with us to help out so hopefully it won't get too crazy. I will keep you posted on how it goes and who ends up getting the sundae!
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