Hey all! This is Team Two reporting from the road.

I hope this finds you all warm and well 🙂 

We just finished our five days of straight traveling from Ottawa, Ontario to Brooks, Alberta, where we are right now. Tomorrow we’re hitting the road for Edmonton, where we’ll be for a couple of days doing some ministry preparation and team bonding.

We’ve done two retreats here in Brooks, both estimating around 120 kids at each of them so we’ve reached around 240 kids in these past two days which has been such a blessing. Team life has been so good, both relation and mission wise. One thing I’ve come to realize over the past couple of months is the crucial impact team life has on our ministry and vice versa. Ministry and teamwork are two inseparable components, there’s just no way that one can function without the other. 

”You know that awkward feeling you expect when you see a friend for the first time after a long time? That’s what I thought I’d experience with my team coming back from Christmas break, but it was completely different. Even though we were only gone for three weeks, it felt longer considering we had spent every day together for the past four months. I give a lot of credit for our strong relationships to the ministry. It has given me friendships I’ve never found anywhere else, which makes sense because faith is what brought us together in the first place. I don’t think I fully understood how strong a friendship foundation built on faith could be until coming to NET which I am forever thankful towards NET for.

Speaking of team life, we had the chance to be really intentional with our time while traveling through western Canada during five long days in the car. Whether it was playing Among Us, watching downloaded movies, listening to “Alberta Bound” by Paul Brandt (shoutout to Elizabeth for introducing us to that masterpiece), tuning into Catechism in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmidt, jamming to praise and worship, or having deep (or not so deep) conversations. A lot of you might be thinking, “Wow FIVE straight days of traveling?” and trust me, that was my initial thought too. But it ended up being a blessing in disguise, because if you’re looking for a way to truly get to know and connect with someone on a deeper level, a five day road trip will do it.

Thank you for your support and prayers, 

God Bless

Retreat Team #2: Mara, Josh, Lucia, Dakota, Elizabeth, Nathanael, Patricia, and William