Greetings from Helena!

I apologize, first off, to everyone for NOT doing this sooner!

So I'm not really sure where to start... So here we go! :) Reach Youth Ministry (as you all know) started on August 29th in Helena, Montana. Mom drove myself and two others from Yakima to Helena - boy, was that a long day on the road for her! But I'm so thankful that she did that for us. We spent two weeks in Helena at the Formation House (which is where we stay when we're in Helena) for training.

Week one, we were split into our three teams. And somewhere between then and week two, we chose a team name! So with that, I'll tell you about my team.. There were six of us the first two weeks of training, and unfortunately it is now down to five - Nic, Adam, Janae, Bethany, and myself. Our team name is St. Raphael (yes, the guardian angel). We try to channel Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It works...sometimes.
Week three, we went up to Legendary Lodge - about an hour and twenty minutes North of Helena. It was so beautiful and quiet up there! Just in the week at Legendary, we worked on retreat games; discerning team leaders; we saw a young bear; had canoe races; bon fire; and just amazing clear nights for stargazing!
That weekend we had to pack up and come back to Helena because of Carroll College's Sophomore retreat taking place up at Legendary. That weekend I came home to Yakima and sang at my friend Justine's wedding. It was amazing and I loved being able to spend some time with people. Except Mom. Unfortunately, she was over in New Hampshire visiting our family at the same time.
Week four of training, we stayed in Helena finishing up a lot of last minute paperwork and such. We had so many people get involved in Reach and helping out with the littlest things while we've been here. People from the Cathedral of Helena stop us and welcome us and tell us they are so glad to have us around. It's such a humble experience to be somewhere with such a strong, passionate Catholic community. Everyone has been so nice! Some point during training, we drove down to Butte and went to the Lewis & Clark Caverns and saw these amazing creations and -- I can't even explain how much we enjoyed it.

Well that's the end of this post, my battery is about to die and it's time to get ready for dinner! Thank you all for all the support you've given me! Please continue to keep Reach in your prayers.