“Mazes and Praises”

Hello from Lethbridge, Alberta! 

I can’t believe it’s already October and we’ve been here in Lethbridge for about three weeks now. Time has flown by! We’ve been blown away by the generosity and kindness we’ve received here – we feel right at home! Since we are staying in Lethbridge for the whole mission year, we have the privilege of staying with each host family for longer periods. What an honour it is to get to know these families!

Discipleship ministry is off to a great start. Here in Lethbridge, we get to accompany youth in a very intentional way by journeying with them for the whole year.  So far, we’ve joined in on some community events – soup dinners, sports events, a young adult adoration night, coffee socials, sledding hills, golfing, movies, Halloween activities and even sheep farming! These have been great opportunities to get to know the youth here; and learn their names and what they like to do. Last week, we helped host a youth event at a corn maze and about 80 Catholic youth attended! Toward the night’s end, we had a bonfire and some praise and worship. At first, the group was quiet and hesitant but after a few songs, they joined us in a beautiful chorus of voices, all praising together in harmony. Even after we finished the last song, many of the youth gathered around the fire and continued to sing. 

We’ve been able to go into schools – junior high and high school alike – and participate in some classes. We were so happy to be greeted with smiles and conversation from many of the students – even one student who asked “You’re so fun, can we be friends?” 

We love being able to run youth nights every week – one for junior students and another for seniors. We fill these nights with games, music, and small group discussions revolving around a theme. Some we’ve done so far include faith & unity, prayer and seeing God in the world. This past week, our senior youth night’s theme was God’s love. We heard a testimony from one of our team members and in discussion, we talked about how we felt God’s love. There was a group of girls, in particular, who were all pretty reserved at the beginning of the night. During the small group discussion, they opened their hearts and shared some experiences from their own lives and about their relationships with God. It was a joy to be there and see their openness to receiving the love of Christ! 

We’re so grateful to be here and have been so blessed. We’re so excited to see how God will move in the lives of each of the youth we’ve encountered and in our own lives as well!

God bless!

The Lethbridge Team

Anna, Bernadette, Carson, Elly, Francis and Maya