Marriage Retreat in Both Ways

Dear Friends,

We just had the priviledge of hosting a Marriage Retreat for local friends. Whether your vocation is marriage, single life, or Religious, we all need the same reminders to be Christ-Centered every day despite our human nature (and society's influence) to be otherwise.

Pictured above is our group from the retreat.

The bottom picture is a Sister from the Community of St. John that stayed with us for two weeks to brush up on her English. What a delight it was to have her! She too is married, like us, longing to have a deeper relationship with the Lord of Love every day. We really had a good time with her and we miss her (she attended the marriage retreat too)!

Please help us pray for the many intentions that are coming our way -- so many people are suffering, sick, and so forth. Some of them are close family members. Thank you so much for your prayers and love!

God bless you all!

Church, School, Lots of Memories, and Tears

What an awesome day!

Last Saturday, we were part of a very monumental day -- the Re-dedication and consecration of St. Anthony's Church and School in Dalhart, TX (see pictures above).

The top picture was taken after Mass. The Sisters were honored during the celebration for our almost 60 years of service to the school and church there. We realized in a powerful way that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves.

The 2nd picture is the newly remodeled church.

The 3rd picture above was taken during Mass. The Sisters were chosen to wipe off the Chrism oil after the consecration of the altar. The people in the church told us later that they were able to hold back their tears until they saw us go up. That's beautiful.

The bottom picture is a close-up of the beautiful new crucifx behind the altar. It's amazing!

Lord, thank you for helping us to make a better space for your worship and your family. Thank you for the many years of service and love that you've allowed us to live. Please continue to bless us, helping us all to have a more intimate relationship with you! Amen.

Trees, Termites, and College Students

Some people imagine that Sisters have . . . pretty much nothing to do all day. Well, they probably pray a lot, and then they watch the flowers grow . . . .

Yes, there are days (like Sundays) when we can sit and enjoy the beautiful flowers, but most days are pretty full. This week has been one of those weeks.

The webmaster/technology person is trying to get a newsletter out, but other things keep taking her time. One of those things, and we'll refrain from putting a picture here, is termite damage! It's amazing how quiet they can be as they're destroying your property. . . .

The other thing is the tree trunk above -- old trees that need replaced in our special prayer garden. (Pray for the kind men that removed them for us! Thank you Mark and Vernon!!! You're awesome!)

The top picture is probably the most fun part of the week -- being with College Students and talking about Mary, how to understand her as our spiritual Mother that really can intercede for us in powerful ways, just as she did for the wedding at Cana (notice that it was not a big healing that she asked for -- God really cares about small details of our lives!!!). We always have a great time with college students!!!!

Finally, today is a very special day as we travel to Dalhart to celebrate the end of their construction and renovations! See article here in the Amarillo Globe News.

Here's the article link from the West Texas Catholic Newspaper!

Keep praying for us as we pray for all of you! You are a beautiful child of God -- never forget it.

What a Surprise!

What a surprise! Some of us went to Nazareth (Texas) last night to see Addison Road and support their first "Faith Festival". It was a lot of fun meeting Jenny Simmons (pictured above in the black and white stripes), the lead singer for Addison Road. We were able to visit with her for a long time -- she told us a lot about her life and what it's like on the road, being a mother and wife, and loving what she does . . . .

Then she had a lot of questions for us, like what's the hardest part about being a Sister, and how did you decide to become a Sister?

She told us about what it was like to be on the road with Matt Maher, and so many things. We have found a new friend in the world.

We decided to leave after one song of her concert because it was so late, but while we were in the parking lot we heard from her, "Are the Sisters still here?!" She was about to sing a song for us because one of the girls in our group talked about how her song helped change her life. It's the song called, "What do I Know of Holy?" (We went back to listen to it, of course!)

It's amazing how God is using so many people to reach people's hearts. What a surprise that we found a new friend in a famous Contemporary Christian Pop Artist. God works in mysterious ways!

Also, this weekend is exciting for us because all the Sisters are home for Labor Day weekend. We just love it when everyone is home. God is good!