Post Retreat

How's it going subscribers?  This is Andrew 'AJ' Johnston of Launceston, putting in my first and most likely only entry to the blog.  It's quite early in the morning and we are on a flight between Madrid and Dubai as I write this to you all.

So, WYD week came to an end, and we headed off to Segovia for a few days to settle down and reflect upon our amazing journey.  We spent a number of days in a lovely hotel (a welcome change to a week in boiling hot Uni dorms) where the peace and serenity of the surrounding lake allowed us time to really look back at the impact that the week itself, as well as the journey leading up to, had taken on us.

Arriving on Monday morning, the first business was to finally escape the heat by having a swim, and relaxing over a coffee.  Whilst a fair amount of time was spent relaxing, the main goal of the retreat was to analyze in our small groups what had happened to us.  The challenging side of a pilgrimage like ours, is that it can be face paced, and it can be difficult to find adequate time to reflect on what has happened, and to really see where God has been during your day.  So, the opportunity to look back was amazing.

The highlight for many I believe came in the final mass of the retreat, when the group shared highlights and challenges of the whole pilgrimage.  Whilst many laughs were shared, we also were really able to look at each others faith journeys and see how the love of our Lord has touched us all.

Breaking from topic, I would like to say a personal thank you to Mr T and the whole group back in RC3 at St Patrick's College for thinking of me, and sending through their well wishes.  I greatly appreciate it guys.

That's it from me.

Through the love of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, may you all remain firm in the faith that we all, not just our pilgrimage group, but everyone around us, have in our lives, and grow in the strength of God's love.

God Bless Guys,

AJ.