Whatever is...

With the church camp season almost upon us, lists are floating all over my small apartment. Lists of things to pack, purchase, leave behind, goals, and whatever else I can think of in preparation. There is so much that doesn't belong at camp, so what I allow myself to bring can be tricky. Not just longer shorts and extra deodorant, but there are spiritual things that have to come along to.

What am I bringing to camp this year? My prayer journal, my Bible, my Rosary. But more importantly, I am bring my favorite verse to meditate on as the weeks go by. My focus over the next fives will be a verse from Philippians that caught my attention at the end of the camp season last summer. I've carried it quietly in my head ever since then, but I have yet to truly put it into practice.

Last year's camp season was not an easy one. There were physical challenges (tornado, flood, heat, etc.) but there were more difficult emotional challenges. There was a grudge or two, some loneliness, and a fixation on the negative rather than the positives of camp.

Which is where Philippians 4:8 comes in. The goal over the next five weeks is to focus on the good, but more than just the good. The true, the noble, right, pure, lovely... You get the picture. I want to see those things. The excellent, praise-worthy pieces of camp and I want to keep them close as the weeks go by.

But more than that, I want this attitude to extend beyond camp. Somewhere along the way, camp became a sort of spiritual restart button for me. It's that time of year where I really check in and try to understand where I am at in my faith and how I can do better.


Tota tua.

Dear Camp Volunteer

Dear Camp Volunteer,

You recently sent your application in, and you're eagerly anticipating the your placement letters that will come out in early May. Never mind that this is over a month away, you're probably already checking your mailboxes with enthusiasm. Thank you so much for your eagerness and joy to volunteer at a summer camp. You are going to be such a fantastic addition to the teams that the director is slowly piecing together right about now. She may even be taking a break to write you this letter. I am so overwhelmed and humbled by how far our camp has come in the last two years, and I just wanted to take a moment and tell you all thank you.

1.) Thank you for volunteering eagerly. I, rather snottily, asked for you turn in applications on time this year, making it very clear I was not going to tolerate tardiness and you rose above and beyond. Whether it was because you were just excited to apply or because you truly listen to me, I am thankful that you did this, making my job a little bit easier.

2.) Thank you for being open to change. Not a week goes by that I don't have some kind of idea to mix things up. You've learned that I fear stagnation, and that I love to mix things up, and you've been open to everything I have tossed in your courts. Not only that, but you have been open with me about how feel about these things. Thank you! I listen to your opinions and truly take them into account each time I consider making some kind of large change. None of these would be successful without your genuine enthusiasm to try these ideas out.

3.) Thank you for your joy! Your applications seem to drip with the joy and excitement for the upcoming summer. Playful notes, sincere offers to do whatever is needed, and dreams about where you may be placed make reading them that much more fun. What could be a tedious office job is no more, because of how happily you filled out those applications. You make me excited to work with you this summer-your camp spirit is infectious.

4.) Thank you for your honesty. You tell me what you really think about the jobs being offered to you. It's okay that you don't want to work kitchen staff again! You did it last year, and we were thankful for you hard work, and besides that, I want you in a job you will love. Thank you for telling me that you cannot work two sessions or that last year was your last. I wish you all the best, and we will keep you in our prayers for years to come.

5.) Thank you for your faith, the faith that you are ready to share with campers this summer. Thank you for being willing to put yourselves out there and discuss the beauty of your faith, your personal relationship with God, and your own unique of getting to know God, the Son, and the Spirit, so that your campers can follow in your faith-on-fire footsteps.

6.) Thank you for trusting me with your most precious place, your home-away-from-home, and your safe place. The place where you can be beautifully and uniquely yourselves. The place where you are unafraid to feel all of the feels, participate in all of the things, and share yourselves with each other and me. Thank you for trusting me, despite my lack of constant warmth, my sarcasm, and the fact that sometimes I scare you.

7.) Thank you for all you give me. I would not be who I am, what I am today if was not for all you have taught me in the last two years as director, and the years before that as a fellow volunteer. You make me feel so brave and strong, so empowered, and so capable. Your faith in me helps me to do what I could never do. You truly bring out the best in me.

I hope you're getting excited for the summer, and I promise, those letters will come sooner than you think.

Tota tua.

Servant Leaders

When I was asked to take over Camp Re-NEW-All, I knew that the Bishop and Troy (my two bosses) wanted camp to head in a new direction. The only guidance they gave me on this matter was that the camp needed to return to being more camper, and less staff focused.

At first, I wasn't sure how to approach this challenge. More campers were a must, less staff as well, but still maintaining a safe camper-staff ratio. But other than that, what could I do to change the physical attitude of my staff. Many of them came for great reasons, to rebuild their faith, reunite with their fellow Catholics, but nowhere in there was the campers.

Servant leaders.

That's what we needed to make this camp what it is supposed to be. We needed staff that were there 100% for the campers- that wanted to make this week the best week ever for the campers. And that's what I called them to do. Self-giving, selfless teenagers can be hard to find at times, but somehow in the past two weeks I have met over seventy of them scattered across my camp ground. They came in expecting their normal camp experience, and instead were told to give up themselves for a week, and focus on children they had never met before.

I have had adult staff who have been coming for camp for years mention their happiness over the fact that camp is returning to it's roots, that we are beginning to yet again, focus on who makes the camp worthwhile- our campers.

I can tell you that in the next couple years, Camp Re-NEW-All is going to produce some amazing leaders, who have been taught not to boss or to command, but to serve, to wash the feet of the groups they are in charge of. I think Pope Francis I would be proud of this small niche in the world, creating young Catholic leaders, that will someday be the Church leaders we need, and creating a safe haven for the children.

Pray for a third successful week at camp, and until next week-

Totus tuus,

LeAnn

Don't be stupid...

Stay in the boat!

During my first week of camp, my boss came to town- Bishop Johnston of the Springfield-Cape Girardeu diocese stopped by to say Mass and enjoy a meal with some the youth of his diocese.

"What is one of the stupidest things you can do on a boat in a storm?" he asked the kids. They all looked around confused, seeing as most of them have had little experience with boats or storms. Bobbi Mosley, our cook, leaned in and whispered to me, "jump out!"

Eventually, Bp. Johnston was able to pull it out of them, that the stupidest thing to do was to jump out of the boat in a storm.

"The Church is the boat, when times get rough, when you feel scared, frustrated, or abandoned, don't jump out of the boat. The Apostles thought Jesus was sleeping, not paying any attention to them or their problems, but He was right there. Jesus will never abandon us."

The kids loved it. For days, I heard them using the Bishop's earthy, child-friendly phrase. It stuck with my staff too, they're talking about even making shirts. And it stuck with me, on Wednesday, I hit a wall. I was so tired, and just unsure of what I was supposed to be doing or saying. Bobbi laughed at me, cheering me on over the hump, all I needed was a minute to breathe, and remind myself that I am not abandoned. I'm surrounded by campers and staff who listened to, respected, and loved me. I could do this.

"Don't be stupid, stay in the boat," I heard Bp. Johnston say, and then I was up and ready to go again.

Totus tuus,

LeAnn

News Flash

That college kid life yo- it's a busy one. 

You would think, the semester that I am only taking eighteen hours, would be a relaxed one. Funny thing about thinking, and planning. It never goes the way we plan. 

My life is a constant, manic Monday that involves way too much driving around and not enough sleep or Netflix. But let's be honest, if those are my only true life complaints, then I have nothing to complain about. I am sorry for my inconsistent posting though! 

On the bright side of things, I got my dream job. I am the new, official director of Camp Re-NEW-All on the west side of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau diocese. Yeah. How does that sound? 

This past Sunday, I had the joy of listening to Bishop Leibricht when he celebrated mass at St. Mary's in Joplin. He spoke about commitments, and how they only make us stronger. One who is truly committed, that is one who is going places. He discussed many different kinds of commitments, marriage and relationships, religious and church, and other causes. 

Am I stressed? Yes. Am I tired? Often. Do I sometimes wish that my life was much easier? Sure, don't we all. But I am strong and happy in my commitments. 

Committed to my faith and family, my church and school, my goals, my camp. I'm committed to it all. Bishop was right when he said commitments make us stronger- I could never accomplish what I have without them. 

Totus tuus, 

LeAnn 

God Is good...

...All the time! All the time, God is good!

All of July, I've been at Camp Re-NEW-All, working as assistant, music, and liturgy director.  There are very few people who actually do all five sessions;

• Mandy, our camp director. I've known since before camp, she's gone from being an adult I look up to to a friend and role model.
• Jose, a lay Franciscan who has spent 28 years working at this church camp
• Bobbi, the head cook. She is my favorite person to talk, one of the most entertaining women I know.
• Colby, a seminarian for our diocese. His first year at camp was last summer, and he loved it so much he decided to come back for the entire summer this year. 

Colby loved one of Jose's phrases from last summer; Jose would call out "God is good" and the campers would respond, "All the time", then Jose would say "All the time", and the campers would reply "God is good!", believe me, Colby has yelled that so much over the last four weeks that it has really stuck with me. Thank you Colby.

I love that phrase.  It relates perfectly to the biggest message I tried this last week at camp; to praise God through everything.  When times are the hardest, when you can barely stand to roll out of bed in the morning, that's when you should be on your knees thanking God for this amazing next opportunity to be incredible.  If things were always good, if they were always easy, we wouldn't need God.  It's when times are the hardest that we have to try and find the good things in life and praise God for them, because without Him there would be nothing, and believe, God is truly good all the time, even when you think He isn't.

So, this week whenever you get a speeding ticket, or have a nasty fight with your parents, remember, even now, God is being good, you just have to take the time to see how.

Send me some prayers this, it's my last week of camp and trust me, I'll need them! And of course, you'll be in mine!

Totus tuus,

LeAnn 

3 out of 5

In the last three weeks I have survived freezing nights in camp ground without blankets, a sinus infection and ear infection, a lost voice while trying to lead four to five forty minute music periods a day for four days straight, poison ivy and some other from of irritant, and more hugs than any introvert should have to handle.

And I've loved every single minute of it.

Music at 1C, my dream job of assistant director at 2C, and now the senior of seven adorable 6th grade girls, my day to day life in July has been one big dream.  Somehow among all the chaos and magic, I've found a lot of time for God in my daily life. Rosary for bed, meditating on a different form of prayer each time; praise, thanksgiving, blessing/adoration, petition, and intercession, helping to keep myself focused on my prayers but still "covering all my bases".  On Thursday nights at Camp, the entire group is lucky enough to experience a penance service and adoration.  Sitting in adoration, listening to the same playlist twice now, one song has hit home twice now.

"Beautiful Things" by Gungor starts with this low drone, and even the first time I heard it, not in adoration I could tell this song was going to stick with me, and it has.  The lyrics are simple enough to remain with you, but they also have a second layer within them, making them something worthy of quiet contemplation in a setting such as adoration.

With so much camp on my hands, I hardly have time for anything else, let alone keeping my blog updated, but I thought, if anything, I could share the a song that has been helping me along in my spiritual journey this summer.

Totus tuus,

LeAnn

Vocations: Part Two

Let's Add The Church

In my last post, I talked about vocations in terms of careers, the job that will make you happy as opposed to wealthy.  But there's more to vocations than what we are going to be when we grow up.  As someone who was raised Catholic, I was raised knowing I would be one of three things:

1.) Married

This would mean I was married and raising my family in the Church

2.) Single 

Living my life for God and the Church; a family is still possible, just unconventional 

3.) Religious 

A sister or nun.  My life would dedicated to the order I belonged to, and as always, God.  

When I taught at Camp Re-NEW-All this summer, our Wednesday's theme for Reform classes was "Service".  During the time I had with the kids, we would discuss the different types of vocations.  Almost every kid in the room would proudly tell me that they had at least thought about being married.  Yes, even my fifth graders had "thought about it".  But when I asked them the next question, I received very few affirmative answers.  

Have you prayed about it?

A fifth, sixth, or even ninth grader will be able to tell you that they've thought about getting married.  Some of the young ladies have even started planning that big day in their heads.  But how many of them have prayed about it? Asking God if it was in His plan for them to get married?  How many of those young men had thought about, let alone prayed about the type of plan God has in store for them?  I can tell you now, very few.  

Let's take it one step further; how many of those kids have prayed about God's plan for them and actually listened for an answer?  Considered that it may not be what they think it's going to be.  We can't all get married, some of us will be priests, sisters, and singles.  

Our society has stamped the idea of being single with a social taboo.  Between Disney movies, Barbie and Ken dolls, and even Star Wars, our protagonists tend to end up as "dynamic duos" that conquer the world together.  We need to tear down this concept; being single in not a flaw.  

God made us all perfect the way we are right now.  Man and woman were created to be perfect companions, but at the same time, He did not make us lacking of anything we need to achieve what He desires for us.  

Whether God's plan for you includes a spouse, a cat, or a parish, He wants to help you reach it.  

He can only do that though if you let Him in.  Pray about it.  Turn down your music, put your phone screen down on your desk, and ask Him what He wants for you, and then listen.  It just takes a minute or two, so why don't you try it now?

Our Lady of Lourdes in Pittsburg, KS 

Totus tuus, 

LeAnn