Faith Can Move Mountains 

Dear friends, 

We’re so excited to announce that we’ve officially begun our ministry on the East Coast. We’ve been in beautiful British Columbia for almost a month. The mountains, misty forests, and immense calmness and stillness of the views have genuinely brought us closer to awe and wonder towards our Heavenly Father’s creation. Seeing the snow-covered peaks has made us reflect so much on the challenges we may face as we try to get through life and grow closer to Christ, especially as we journey and prepare our hearts this lent. Lent helps us climb a spiritual mountain. As we let go and give up unnecessary objects or habits, and as we fast, we grow into a better relationship with Jesus. We pray that during this Lent season, you’ll experience God more deeply as you journey and climb your spiritual mountains. 

In February, we met and shared Christ’s love with over 960 youth in British Columbia only! In total, over 4000 youth have encountered God throughout the whole country through our ministry. We’d love to share with you a few of the remarkable moments where God has worked in our retreatant’s hearts: 

“I was affirming a girl in my small group and saying that her identity is in being a child of God and that she is enough and worthy to be loved; she started tearing up and was deeply touched. We started walking out of the main room, and Amanda and I had a fruitful and intentional conversation with her. Later, I played music with Aoife during prayer ministry, but halfway through, she came up and asked if I could pray with her, so I slipped away from the music and grabbed Mickela and Mackenzie, and we formed a little circle and prayed with her. It was a beautiful moment for her to open her heart to the Lord and receive affirmation from us and the Lord.” – Mariah 

“There were two girls that I was intentional with, one in my small group and the other in my teammates. They were both somewhat invested in their faith in their daily lives as they would pray with their families & go to mass. The girl in my group was impressed by our courage to share our testimonies, which impacted her as most people don’t share their personal stories. Mickela went up to both of them & gave them each a prayer card to put God at the center of our lives & we all prayed it together, which was fantastic as we connected with them & saw the joy they had after the retreat, too!” – Aoife  

These are brief stories of the many tangible ways the Holy Spirit has worked. We are vessels, soldiers, and front-liners who are called to share Christ’s word and love; we’re truly blessed to be given the grace to witness the power of God. Saint Catherine of Sienna has genuinely inspired us as we intercede for a burning heart for mission. “Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire”. God has been so outstanding and present; we’re so excited to see what He’s got planned for us as we travel towards Alberta in the next few days! Please pray for us, as we’ll also be praying for you. 

May the Lord bless you and your family,

2023-24 NET Retreat Team, 

(Amanda, Aoife, Chris, Mackenzie, Mariah, Mickela and Thomas)