All Updated!!

GREAT NEWS!! The blog is finally all up to date on everything that has been going on here. Sorry we haven't been able to post and the stuff I have been writing lacks some detail. The Conference kept us quite busy!

            So today was uneventful as we took a very long bus ride back to Vladivostok. Staggering back into the monastery here was like walking into our own homes after a long work trip or even stepping into paradise after a week at the rustic summer camp.

            Unfortunately this home coming is short lived. Tonight is our last night in Vladivostok. We leave here at 6 in the morning to catch our 8 am flight to Moscow (9 hours from now). Nevertheless, we had a good night.

            Supper was wonderful! Being able to eat spaghetti to our heart’s content was a major treat after limited food for a week. We had a great meal with the brothers and a few of the Russians from the camp. Yury and Victor also joined us and said their goodbyes. We were all laughing it up and trying to get joy out of every second.

            It is sad now that we have to leave. It feels like our whole trip hasn’t even set into my brain yet and now we are departing. Tomorrow morning will be a jam packed schedule trying to get to the airport in time, so there may not be much time for goodbyes. I can’t believe our work here is coming to a close. 

Conference Day 7: The Final Countdown.

            Today is the last full day of Conference. It was pretty basic in terms of the schedule: speakers, small groups, sports, Mass, and other activities. However, things were certainly different today. First, there is a noticeable difference now between all of the participants of the conference and the first day. In the beginning many feared the language barrier would prevent much cooperation and communication, yet today we can see more than ever that we are starting new friendships and breaking down language barriers. The cooperation and ability to communicate with very few words today astounded me as Russian and American friends ate and worked side by side.

            The people here seemed changed too. As we prayed together, ate together, overcame the challenges of the facilities together, and just lived together, we grew as a group closer to God. Though it is hard to say exactly what has changed, it seems that everyone is more on fire for their faith and ready to go out and be living examples of good Catholics.

            As camp draws to a close, fun is required. There was a huge bonfire with s’mores and lots of music and dancing. It was our last hurrah together as we shared our culture, our stories, and our time together just having a good time.

            Tomorrow is the last official day, but it pretty much consists of breakfast, prayer, mass, and packing up. By noon we will be on the road to return to Vladivostok, where I will be happy to finally post all of this stuff for you. 

Conference Day 6: Friday

            Another basic day. It was nice to have the team back together and all the Russians around as well. We had a talk followed by small group work and then presentations. There was also time to work in “permanent groups” and present the work of these groups. The Journalism Group made a newspaper again while the Theater Group put on another show for us. We had Mass, time for sports, and a lecture on the history of the Church in Spain. Each day we have gotten a talk on the history of the Church in a different country of the attendants (Russia, America, Spain, Indonesia, and the Philippines). These talks were interesting, but at the same time sometimes hard to stay awake through.

            Today was unique in two ways. First we got to go to the beach again. Another fun night of volleyball, though my game was off and I kept committing penalties. Second, we had all night Adoration right after the beach. This was a new experience for some of the Russians and a rewarding experience for all. I always see this event as a challenge to stay awake with Jesus as he asks the Apostles in the Gospel at the garden. 

Conference Day 5: The Triumphant Return

            So today was a pretty standard day of the conference in terms of schedule; however all of the activities were overshadowed by the return of Matt and Rachael from the hospital. With Tyler and Yury returning as well, the whole family was reunited and it felt so good. I am hoping that Rachael will write something about her experiences in the hospital, so keep an eye out for it.

            With this return, the FOCUS team was given permission to take the evening off to regroup. We feasted!! Tyler brought in some food and drink and we all shared our experiences from the past few days. Matt and Rachael had some interesting hospital stories and Tyler shared his adventures around the city. I couldn’t stop smiling seeing Rachael and Matt back with us and healthy and hearing how much they grew and learned spiritually during their time of sickness.

            Father Myron visited from Vladivostok today as well to give a talk, say mass, and also give a lecture on proper dental hygiene. I know this is an important topic in Russia, but I didn’t think this would really help me much; surprisingly, Father Myron taught all of us—Americans included—a great deal about dental hygiene and how to properly care for our teeth. 

Conference Day 4: Silent Retreat Day

            Well today was the silent retreat run by Brian, Missy, Father Steve and the Sisters. First off, props to them for reorganizing the day at the last minute. Originally Rachael and Tyler were planning the day, but both of them remained at the hospital all day. Despite having to make quick work of the planning, Brian and Missy did a fantastic job. Everyone, even the FOCUS students, thought it had been planned well in advance. 

            Breakfast started the silence and we were required to stay quiet until supper. The only talking allowed were the three main talks, prayers, Confession and Mass. I think this had a mixed reaction among the participants of the conference: some loved it and others really struggled. I know that regardless of the silence, everyone enjoyed the talks (Missy and Brian have both received many compliments both in Russian and English) and the Adoration time.

At the end of the retreat we had a Eucharistic Healing Procession. For those of you, like me, that don’t know all the fancy Church lingo, that is Adoration where the priest carries the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament around to each person. Then each person can grasp the humeral veil (cape thing the priest uses to hold monstrance) and have a face to face prayer or conversation with Jesus. This mirrors the story of the woman suffering from hemorrhages and as she touches Jesus’s cloak she is healed. Jesus tells her that her faith has saved her; in the same way by touching the veil, we grasp Jesus’s cloak and hope that our faith will save us as we pray directly to the face of the Lord.

Zoey during the Eucharistic Healing Service and Father Steve processing. Each member of the conference got a moment like this. 

I have to admit I cheated during the retreat a little. During our first long silent reflection time I ended up on the phone with Rachael (she sounded so much better even though she had to stay at the hospital) trying to coordinate getting her retreat materials to Father Steve and Missy. The second period I went to Confession with Father John, with had a lot of talking. Finally for the third reflection period I slept through half of it (which was allowed!) so the not talking thing was very easy. While I sort of cheated, the reflection and quiet of the day did have a strong effect on everyone.

            After our ban on talking was finally lifted, everyone had so much to talk about at supper. After supper we took the 20 minute walk to the beach and had a great night of fellowship. It is awesome for us Americans to say that we have all swum in the Pacific Ocean . . . on the other side! For some of us, we have been to both sides of the Pacific. The water was nice and the beach was a small taste of home for me. We also played beach volleyball with a bunch of random Russian people from the beach. Overall it was just a great time and a fantastic finish to a full day. 

Conference Day 3

         Today (Tuesday) was a better day! Though I struggled through an early Holy Hour this morning, it turned out to be solid day of prayer and fellowship. The theme today was healing the blind (or something like that). We talked a lot about healing and prayer and also why God allows sickness. There was also a skit, conference “newspaper,” mass, and a talk by two brothers. And, major highlight of the day: the sun actually came out for a while!! I had forgotten what blue sky looks like.

            Other things to note about today. I washed my hair in a sink. It went better than expected. I tried to make a Russian version of Cuban coffee (Raffi you should be proud). We are bonding a lot with the brothers from the seminary that joined us for the conference. They are all great. The only major low for the day was a lack of people. Matt and Rachael are still hospitalized and Tyelr and Yury are still with them (see previous post). Additionally, some of the Russians had to go home for the day to take care of some business, so things seemed smaller and less energetic.     

            Tomorrow is the all day silent retreat. For those of you that know me, imagine me being silent for 12 hours. Well I’m gonna try at least. 

My Russian Family

By Chris: Tuesday, July 30

Today I felt more than ever that the team is like my family. I mean, it makes sense. After braving the dark apartments of Lesozavodsk, cramming 17 of us into one tiny dining area, and not to mention an uncountable number of hours together, these people feel like family to me. We travel together, eat together, get exhausted and worn out, and even drive each other crazy sometimes. But all of that has made us all the more like a band of brothers and sisters. Today made me feel this in a new way.

            Throughout the trip different people have been feeling ill and missing events. Yesterday (Monday) Rachael and Matt had to be taken to the hospital for intense stomach pain (NOTE: they are fine now. They contracted some form of virus or food poisoning somewhere in our travels). Tyler and Yury, our translator from Vladivostok that spent time with us in Lesozavodsk, went with them to handle everything. I thought they would be back soon, but it sounds like they all have to spend a few days there.

Even when those of us remaining at camp are at full health, we are mingling with the other participants in the conference. This is nice and we are getting to meet new and amazing people, but I miss the family meals and bonding. We have not had much time together as a whole team and the missing members has made the family just seem broken and scattered.

            This really upset me today. It was difficult because I feel like part of our mission here is to just show the joy of Catholicism to the other young adults here; however, it is difficult to be joyful when it feels like the family is all out of whack. It hurts even more because there is nothing I can do to heal the sick members of our team. But through the bad feelings I realized how much I care for these people and how much I would be willing serve them just as much as they have been serving others.

            I hope that in the coming days we will be back to full health and be able to have some team bonding time during one of the days of camp.