retreat!
normally monday mornings i’m feeling pretty well-rested after a sunday of church, a big meal, and watching football, but today i’m exhausted in the best possible way…because we just got back from our ministry’s trip to la malinche, one of the 4 big mountains that we get to see every day living here in cholula.
la malinche and the cabins at the park where we stayed
40 students, along with our staff, interns, and world class retreat speaker jeremy lawler, on loan from georgia tech ccf, left cholula on friday afternoon. last week, i was pretty bummed because several of the students who i have been most excited about this semester were realizing they weren’t going to be able to go. the UDLA basketball teams have been so involved with our ministry this semester and had games all weekend. theater and dance kids have been filling up our thursday lunch events, but because of the play they have this upcoming weekend, they had rehearsals scheduled for this past weekend. my penny-pinching instincts as el pozo’s new finance person started flaring up when i thought about us losing money for having rented too many cabins, not being able to fill up our charter bus, etc.
i didn’t have many responsibilities for planning the retreat thanks to courtney, elsa, and rada who had taken care of everything, but on friday, one of my jobs was to sign people in and take their money. suddenly, a group of 4 girls showed up and said they wanted to go. i had only ever seen one of them before. another girl who had decided to go even though she doesn’t know many people asked if she could bring a friend. people came out of the woodwork and filled our trip right up.
new friends to el pozo!
retreats exist for one main purpose in campus ministry – to build community. and community was definitely built this weekend. each session we had with worship and a talk, i looked around and saw students sitting with other people they didn’t come with, people who they had never spoken to before this weekend. our leaders reached out to new people. our exchange students made new friends and connected their friends to a community that will last long past when they head back to the states in december.
when we came back yesterday, students hung around el pozo for the rest of the day. no one wanted the weekend to end…they even invited friends who hadn’t gone on the trip to come to el pozo and hang out with the new friends they’d made. when i finally got on my computer to catch up on email, i had several new friend requests on facebook – people i’d met from the weekend. ali is a girl who’d come with several of her roommates (all of whom had been dragged by one roommate who came to el pozo for the first time last week). she seemed distant at first when they arrived on friday, but she and i had talked a good bit at the campfire on saturday night, so i wasn’t surprised to see her friend request. i clicked accept, and when i saw her profile for the first time, i was reminded why we go through all the stress and exhaustion of a retreat…
“this was the most amazing weekend ever. i learned a lot of new things, and made me change a lot about the way i used to think, so i’m glad that God gave me this chance…”
worth it? i think so. each time i yawn today i’ll thank God for ali and for the 39 other students like her who had an amazing weekend. i’m excited to see the story that God is writing in these students’ lives and how the next chapter of el pozo’s story was written this weekend on a trip to la malinche.
keep your eye on el pozo’s facebook page for pictures of the whole weekend, and keep these students in your prayers as we follow up with them this week, getting them involved in our events, small groups, and service. thanks for praying for el pozo and for the retreat and know that God is at work here in cholula in big ways.
now for another cup of coffee. much love – kami