"I see the moon, the moon sees me!"

Hello my friends!

After the final push in 2013 to prepare for extensive counselor recruitment at the FOCUS Student Leadership Summit in Dallas, we passed in to 2014, attended the conference, and now find ourselves preparing full-force for interviews to begin.

Thus far, we have sent applications to 450(!!!) interested college students-- I am excited (and a little overwhelmed) to see how many of those applications will be returned to us by the due date of January 31st. Every time I read an application, I am filled with anticipation for the good that God will bring to Camp Wojtyla through the future counselors, and the ways that they will be challenged, formed, and grow as leaders in both the faith and the outdoors.

Camp is an adventure, and I can't wait to experience it with the next round of counselors to join the Camp Wojtyla family. Please pray for the applicants, for me, and for Camp Wojtyla as we mutually discern throughout the hiring process in the next few months. Without the right group of counselors, Camp Wojtyla cannot fulfill its mission to lead and challenge its campers through adventures in the wilderness in to a transformative relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church! The decisions made in this time have a critical impact on the fruits of the summer.

The team at our SLS booth: Annie and Scott,
Camp Directors, and Keenan and me, missionaries.

Update aside, my initial reason for visiting here is to share a poem I found recently by Blessed John Paul II that perfectly reflects the spiritual truths he encountered in creation. By the light of a full moon, I ascended Green Mountain (mountain is a generous term, more of a hill, overlooking Denver in the Front Range-- but perfect for my still-acclimating lungs and muscles!) a few nights ago with 15 or so young adults from the Denver area, under the guidance of a dear Priest-friend to Camp Wojtyla, Father John Riley.

In 60mph winds, we hiked to the top using the full moon and the twinkling lights from the city below to guide our way, praying a rosary, night prayer from Liturgy of the Hours, and sharing beautiful poems. It was a unique and breathtaking (literally and figuratively) experience, and I drove home to Louisville in contemplative silence; dark mountains silhouetted against the starry sky, the white of the snow reflecting magnificently in the moonlight, my mind still processing the gift of the evening. Here it is:

The Source

The undulating wood slopes down

to the rhythm of mountain streams. . .

If you want to find the source,

you have to go up, against the current,

tear through, seek, don't give up,

you know it must be somewhere here.

Where are you, source? Where are you, source?!

Silence. . .

Stream, stream in the wood,

tell me the secret

of your beginning!

(Silence — why are you silent?

How carefully you have hidden the secret of your beginning.)

Allow me to wet my lips

in spring water,

to feel its freshness,

reviving freshness.

May we be persistent in pursuing the Source, and allow ourselves to be revived by His sweet freshness, His sweet newness. Amen!

With love and
under the Mercy,

Blessed JP II... Pray for Us!

At last... Surfacing for air!

Hello friends!

It has been two months since my arrival in Colorado to begin work as a missionary with Camp Wojtyla... and what a FULL two months they have been. Full of work, yes-- but also full of joy, settling in, and the Lord's ever-present goodness.

I miss home so much-- indeed, with each passing day I appreciate my family, my friends, my Catholic community at Auburn, even my old apartment, more and more-- but I also see how God is providing opportunities to be rooted here in Colorado. Everything is new: my home, my roommates, my routine, my community... and I am truly learning what it means to (try to!) not be afraid of God's surprises.

Since it has been so long (much longer than I intended!) between updates, here are some highlights of my time here:

My teammate, Keenan and I were certified as Wilderness First Responders (WFRs) in a 10-day course in Hygiene, CO.

Reviewing lightning safety in the
 greatest classroom.

Really doesn't get better than this!

A rescue helicopter flew to our class so we
could learn helicopter protocol!

This course involved a lot
of fake blood...

WFR Graduates!

Every evening we drove home toward this.

And one morning, I woke up to this!

But actually, Colorado has a lovely fall.
Lots of yellow!

 That WFR course was hard work, so I decompressed by going to a Great Gatsby themed ballroom dance with some friends.

Micah, a past counselor, and
Kayla, one of my roommates and
 a past Camp W missionary!

 Camp Wojtyla hosted an Mother-Daughter retreat weekend in Crested Butte, CO. It was an opportunity for past campers and their moms to come together, share the Camp experience, exercise the artistic genius of women, and be surrounded by some beautiful mountain vistas!

Some of the Moms and Daughters at the beautiful
home of a couple who hosted us for
an afternoon of crafts!

Some of the incredible mothers from whom I
learned SO MUCH!

Pretty much a dream! :)

On the way back home, Annie and I
stopped to snap a picture of me at the
 continental divide!

 And, of course, I would be remiss not to mention our 2 1/2 week, 5,000 mile staff recruitment road trip. We had the opportunity to speak at seven campuses across the nation about our Summer Leadership and Mission opportunity as a Camp Counselor! We visited campuses where we have counselor alumni, so we never lacked in a place to lay our heads, and experienced the most exceptional, self-giving hospitality. Since the road trip, we have had 200 college students express interest in applying for Summer 2014!

Our route!
Yes, it was a lot of driving.
No, we did not kill each other. 

My companions on the road-- Keenan and
Elizabeth (who "retired" from full time
staff following this trip!)

Look who we found when we were
 visiting Mount Saint Mary's
in Maryland! JP II, we love you!

Summer 2014 Counselor Courtney at
Franciscan University of Steubenville!

Summer 2013/2014 Counselor and
Seminarian Michael at Notre Dame!

We've been home from the trip for a week, and I am taking this time to breathe, plan, and prepare for the massive undertaking of interviewing and hiring our summer staff, helping the camper registration process, and preparing for the summer program (yes, already!)

On that note... camper registration is NOW OPEN! I am so excited about the interest already shown... our summer camps are already 1/4 full, so I recommend registering now if you are hoping to attend (or send your child to) Camp Wojtyla 2014!

Under the Mercy,

Blessed JP II... Pray for Us!

Farewell to Sweet Home Alabama

My dear friends,

The time has come! In six hours my Dad and I take to the car to traverse 1400+ miles from Alabama to Colorado. We spent the afternoon playing Tetris with the Camry and half of my belongings, and we are well-prepared for our 6 am departure.

wowza.

We'll be in the car for around 24 hours. Our time will be spent juggling different music tastes, completing crosswords, and some geological schooling on each state we pass through, courtesy of my very own Professor of Geology/Dad.  I will be passing through 4 new states-- Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas. That's a whole lot of geology! Good thing we have a lot of time.

We will be re-enacting this. Art imitates life.
Or... life imitates art? In any case, my car might
actually bust at the seams.

The past few days I have been so focused on this journey, that it has been easy to forget what awaits at the destination: a whole new journey. (Occupational hazard of being detail-oriented?) A new home, new roommates, new job, new mission, new LIFE! And while aspects of all these new things may be familiar and even expected on my part, there remains an unknown; a terrifying newness. I have lived in Auburn near my family for 22 years, and it is hard to imagine daily life without them close.

I'm reminded of some beautiful words from Papa Francis from His Easter Vigil Homily, that came at an apt time as I discerned my post-college life. Five months later, these words still have the power to pierce through all my worries: "We are afraid of God’s surprises. Dear brothers and sisters, we are afraid of God’s surprises! He always surprises us! The Lord is like that. Dear brothers and sisters, let us not be closed to the newness that God wants to bring into our lives!"

There is nothing to say to improve upon these words. It's time for me to go, in any case. Because...

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel-- we need both safety AND sanity! :)

With love and
Under the Mercy,

Blessed JP II... Pray for Us!

A New Adventure!

My dear friends,

I thought it was time to breathe some life back in to this blog, to catalogue my next big adventure-- I am moving to Colorado in less than a week to begin my work as a full-time missionary with Camp Wojtyla!

I'm not sure I could be more excited (or more terrified!) This post graduation step is something that I've hoped for and desired for three years. The opportunity to act on this discernment is a source of JOY and anticipation, and I know God promises to have GOOD things in store for my time here-- which is a beautiful consolation as I pack up my belongings and leave my home and family in Auburn, Alabama and make the trek across the country to Colorado. I will not pretend that I am not scared to be so far away from my Mom, my Dad, my sisters, my friends; my comfortable and familiar faces and places.

In many ways, I've considered Camp Wojtyla as a second home for many years now. Four summers of intense outdoor adventure and service will do that to the heart. I have met and made my best friends at Camp Wojtyla, and I have encountered the Trinity in ways unrivaled in my lovely mountain meadows, starry nights, and snowy peaks. I've also grown as a person-- comfortable with leading teens in to the backcountry and up a 13,000 ft peak, sleeping on the ground under the stars for two months (at this point, I've lived outside for a total of eight months), going for days (weeks? yikes!) without showering-- who AM I?? I simply never imagined this-- not just that I was capable, but also that I would LOVE IT ALL!

As a Camp Wojtyla missionary, I am going to have some amazing opportunities to help Camp grow, prepare for next summer, and enter in to some new and exciting stages. All of these things I hope to share with you all as time goes on, and I settle in to my new life. For now, I'm thankful to have you along for the ride.

It is a ride of dependence. Dependence on the providence of the Lord, dependence on the amazing mission partners who are making what we do at Camp Wojtyla possible, dependence on the INCREDIBLE teens we serve.

I think it's gonna be a good one. This is pretty much how I feel about it:

Here we go!

With love and
 Under the Mercy,         

Blessed JP II... Pray for Us!

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Want a real letter from a teepee?

Dear (severely neglected) friends,

I am preparing for my third summer at Camp Wojtyla! Words can't rightly express my emotions about returning, and to say I'm excited is quite the understatement. Elated, thrilled, pumped, psyched-- that's more like it.

I know the Lord has been preparing me for this summer since I left a year ago, and I am interested to see all the new ways He is going to challenge me to love and serve. He's got GREAT things in store for the staff and campers of Camp Wojtyla 2012, that much is for sure.

Anyways, I write to you now to let you know how you can get a REAL letter from a teepee! Below is our mailing address at Camp Wojtyla. Please feel free to bombard me with letters, telegrams, owl post, carrier pigeons, and care packages. And in return, you shall receive a genuine, hand-written and signed, personal letter from a teepee!!!! What a deal, folks! (I promise to be better about writing my letters than I have been about posting on this blog.)

I will be at Camp from June 4th until August 1st, so feel free to write away right away! ;)

Love,

Blessed JP II... Pray for Us!

A Christmas Greeting!

Dear Friends,

Merry Christmas! I hope this season brings the peace and joy of the Christ-child, our sweet Savior! Hopefully, my long absence has not completely deprived this blog of its readers. :)

In addition to Christmas wishes, I also wanted to tell you guys about something exciting: JP II Adventures has launched their new website!!! You can read more about what Camp Wojtyla has to offer, learn why (and how) you can and should register as a camper or apply to staff, and best of all, it provides a way to support this wonderful mission year-round!

Check it out: http://www.jp2adventures.com/

Oh, and you might recognize someone... ;)

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Love,

JP II... Pray for Us!

Descent from the Mountain.

Hello friends!

It has now been over a week since my return from Colorado. It has been quite the adjustment from living outside, sleeping under the stars, and having every moment of my day scheduled full of awesomeness to living in my air-conditioned apartment with a shower, flushing toilet, and dishwasher. Luxurious, right?!

I miss these people dearly. I can't wait to tell you all about my crazy adventures with them and the Lord this summer. 

If you are one of the people in this picture, I hope you know how much joy and love you brought in to my life during those 2 months. I am so grateful for the gift you have been. My door is always open should any of you fancy a visit to the South! :)

I am sorry I did not get to update you more this summer, but in all honestly, I needed and loved the total break from computers. I plan to do my best to give you a peek in to the beauty of my summer, because it is definitely worth sharing. 

More to come!

Love,

Blessed JP II... Pray for Us!