I was so excited when the director of the Flint Mission, Jay Jong, emailed me asking if I would be a young adult leader on the Flint Mission again this summer. Last summer when I went on the Flint Mission, it was an incredible experience and I developed a true love for mission work, so I knew God was calling me to help on this retreat again. I also knew that I desperately needed a retreat away from home where I could encounter God. Coming home for the summer after my freshmen year of college at Grand Valley State University was already very tough. Many relationships I had around home were not the same after being gone for a year, and I found myself falling back into old habits. Even though the weeks leading up to the mission trip were difficult and also hectic planning for the Flint Mission, I was becoming excited for the week. Another true miracle that happened in the weeks leading up to the mission trip was I felt God prompting me to pray for the Flint Mission and all the people that would attend. This prompting from God was a big deal because prayer had especially been a struggle for me this summer, so the Flint Mission was already helping to improve my prayer life before the retreat even started.
Upon arriving at the retreat on Sunday, I felt God’s fire moving through myself and the other young adult leaders as we excitedly began to prepare for the teens’ arrival. Many of the teens were not very enthusiastic about the retreat yet, especially with an air horn that woke everyone up at 6:30 a.m. every day (if you can’t tell, I’m not a morning person), but as the Holy Spirit began to move through the teens, about halfway through the week everyone was full of energy and on fire for the Lord. I especially felt God’s presence as I was ministering and praying over the teens, but also in my personal prayer time. One of the most important things God revealed to me in personal prayer was I have many wounds and issues that I need to face head on with God by my side, instead of pretending my life is perfect and fine. One main lesson I learned from praying over the teens was that almost all of them had some kind of wound, hurt, or addiction they needed healing from and many were also seeking answers from God. Hearing their struggles and stories made me realize that we all have our problems and our wounds that we are dealing with, but we are all ultimately sinners simply seeking healing from God. The last amazing aspect of the Flint Mission is all the people we meet at work sites and during the retreat. The people we met at the worksites were awesome because they dedicated their days to improving the neighborhood they lived in, and therefore the city of Flint. The gratitude they had for all the work we did in their neighborhood was indescribable, and it was sad to leave them at the end of the week.
As much as we didn’t want the week to end, we all had to part ways and go back to our hometowns and parishes on Friday. I knew coming back home from the retreat was going to be difficult to keep God’s fire inside of me, but I could already see the fruits of the retreat working in my life. God again prompted me in prayer to repair some of the broken relationships I had around home, and fixing these relationships has already made the rest of summer go a lot smoother. I find myself continuing to have the desire to go to mass more during the week or simply go into the church during the day for personal prayer. It has also been incredible to see the changes in the teens. One teen messaged me very excited about spending the last few weeks evangelizing, praying over people, and becoming more involved in their parish. Seeing the changes God has made in my life and the teens has me thankful for the experiences from the week and blessed for the ways God is working in my life.
God Bless- Ashley
Upon arriving at the retreat on Sunday, I felt God’s fire moving through myself and the other young adult leaders as we excitedly began to prepare for the teens’ arrival. Many of the teens were not very enthusiastic about the retreat yet, especially with an air horn that woke everyone up at 6:30 a.m. every day (if you can’t tell, I’m not a morning person), but as the Holy Spirit began to move through the teens, about halfway through the week everyone was full of energy and on fire for the Lord. I especially felt God’s presence as I was ministering and praying over the teens, but also in my personal prayer time. One of the most important things God revealed to me in personal prayer was I have many wounds and issues that I need to face head on with God by my side, instead of pretending my life is perfect and fine. One main lesson I learned from praying over the teens was that almost all of them had some kind of wound, hurt, or addiction they needed healing from and many were also seeking answers from God. Hearing their struggles and stories made me realize that we all have our problems and our wounds that we are dealing with, but we are all ultimately sinners simply seeking healing from God. The last amazing aspect of the Flint Mission is all the people we meet at work sites and during the retreat. The people we met at the worksites were awesome because they dedicated their days to improving the neighborhood they lived in, and therefore the city of Flint. The gratitude they had for all the work we did in their neighborhood was indescribable, and it was sad to leave them at the end of the week.
As much as we didn’t want the week to end, we all had to part ways and go back to our hometowns and parishes on Friday. I knew coming back home from the retreat was going to be difficult to keep God’s fire inside of me, but I could already see the fruits of the retreat working in my life. God again prompted me in prayer to repair some of the broken relationships I had around home, and fixing these relationships has already made the rest of summer go a lot smoother. I find myself continuing to have the desire to go to mass more during the week or simply go into the church during the day for personal prayer. It has also been incredible to see the changes in the teens. One teen messaged me very excited about spending the last few weeks evangelizing, praying over people, and becoming more involved in their parish. Seeing the changes God has made in my life and the teens has me thankful for the experiences from the week and blessed for the ways God is working in my life.
God Bless- Ashley
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