Hooray! Today Today Today!
I realized my entry last night was a bunch of random thoughts. Before I apologize to a WYSIWYG, I have to mention that if you know me at all, you'll know that I'm a bit random in nature. I'm going a million miles an hour and in a million directions.
Yesterday and today I feel like a wrapped up a lot of things. I got things set up for the 20-Somethings (emails, who's helping me out when I'm gone, etc.) and gave people a million and one hugs last night at Adoration. Anna visted me this morning at 6:30 AM and brought me tacos! I was sleepy and surprised. It was good to see her before she begins her next book in life. I cried over some Rudy's tacos with her and went back to bed for a little while longer.
After running some last minute errands, I went to crank out work at the office and set up everything to function while I'm gone. I put up my away message for the work email and sent all of my almost finished projects to awesome people who can see them through. After lots of hugs and a hectic last-minute-everything, I ran out the door to do a couple of additional last minute errands and to come home to repack and clean as much as I can. Don't you like to come home to a clean apartment?
Step by step, day by day the stresses get lifted. I trust that everything is being left in good hands. I know I'm going to be missed and I likewise will be missing a lot of people! There are some people that I see and talk to everyday that will be on my mind a lot. I laugh sometimes to myself because I feel like I'm being so dramatic, but leaving a lot of things that you're responsible for for 2.5 weeks without much communication is a big deal to me. I skipped out of the office light as a feather and full of hope and joy.
Life is full of little things that make you smile. I feel loved by God so much! I joke that Jesus is taking me on a getaway vacation. (Isn't He the best?) And I know that he loves me through all of my friends and family -- and I hope they feel His love from me too. It's neat to feel so connected to everyone through this great Mystery of life. It's just a peaceful feeling.
It's hard to let go of worries, but if you can, it's amazing. It's honestly like flying. Maybe that's why we like driving fast, roller coasters and water park slides. We almost lose control for a bit and just think about the fun ride we're on. We don't dwell on the "what ifs" and just go for it. We still take precautions and stay on track. But when God is driving, you know you're going somewhere good, so you should sit back and relax.
It begins in 45 minutes.
fbt&<3
Showing posts with label WYD prep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WYD prep. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Tomorrow...or Today
Yup. I leave tomorrow. I can't believe it's finally here.
It's 1:30 AM in Austin, Texas and I just now am done with packing. I still have to toss a few things in and out tomorrow, but I think I have most of it done. I always think I'm packing light until I throw everything into the bag. Oh well. It'll work out.
I got a watch to wear and I set it to go back and forth between Spain time and Texas time. It's 8:35 now in Spain. They are probably getting up and preparing for the day. I hope the jetlag isn't too bad. I know when I get there I am going to be super pumped.
We found out a couple of last minute things this past week. First off, I'm happy to announce that we get to stay in host families in Malaga! I'm looking forward to meeting some people who are kind enough to welcome us into their homes.
Second, my friend and coworker in Dallas, McKenna is going too! We're going to hand out cards about Heroic Media to people we meet in hopes they can spread the good news of our work with others. She struck gold and will get to be on stage for the closing mass...with...the...POPE. I can't wait to hear about her trip when we get back.
On August 17th, Wednesday, Ashley and I will be attending the World Youth Day Pro-Life conference! I'm stoked. There will be speakers, events, concerts and more. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Prolife movement from the other parts of the world. I believe this event is actually put on by the Irish. Sounds great to me! :)
Tomorrow I leave for San Antonio at 7 PM. We get on a bus to Houston and head out at 9:45 PM. We'll get to the Houston airport around 1 AM and check in for our international flight. We head to Miami at 6 AM and endure a 7 hour layover before we flight out at 5:00 PM, Miami Time. We'll get to Madrid at what is their 7:30 AM and then head south to Malaga. What a trip. I wonder how much sleep I am going to get!
This past weekend we had a retreat with the Catholic 20-Somethings Ministry that I am a part of. We got to dig deep into the Lord's Prayer, the Our Father. It was such a good time with good friends and really relaxed me. I had an anxious 2 weeks before this trip and I think I'm finally calming down from being stressed to getting really excited about the trip. I don't mean to be dramatic, but I feel that this trip is going to really change my life. I'm not sure how, but I know it's going to be good.
fbt&<3
It's 1:30 AM in Austin, Texas and I just now am done with packing. I still have to toss a few things in and out tomorrow, but I think I have most of it done. I always think I'm packing light until I throw everything into the bag. Oh well. It'll work out.
I got a watch to wear and I set it to go back and forth between Spain time and Texas time. It's 8:35 now in Spain. They are probably getting up and preparing for the day. I hope the jetlag isn't too bad. I know when I get there I am going to be super pumped.
We found out a couple of last minute things this past week. First off, I'm happy to announce that we get to stay in host families in Malaga! I'm looking forward to meeting some people who are kind enough to welcome us into their homes.
Second, my friend and coworker in Dallas, McKenna is going too! We're going to hand out cards about Heroic Media to people we meet in hopes they can spread the good news of our work with others. She struck gold and will get to be on stage for the closing mass...with...the...POPE. I can't wait to hear about her trip when we get back.
On August 17th, Wednesday, Ashley and I will be attending the World Youth Day Pro-Life conference! I'm stoked. There will be speakers, events, concerts and more. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Prolife movement from the other parts of the world. I believe this event is actually put on by the Irish. Sounds great to me! :)
Tomorrow I leave for San Antonio at 7 PM. We get on a bus to Houston and head out at 9:45 PM. We'll get to the Houston airport around 1 AM and check in for our international flight. We head to Miami at 6 AM and endure a 7 hour layover before we flight out at 5:00 PM, Miami Time. We'll get to Madrid at what is their 7:30 AM and then head south to Malaga. What a trip. I wonder how much sleep I am going to get!
This past weekend we had a retreat with the Catholic 20-Somethings Ministry that I am a part of. We got to dig deep into the Lord's Prayer, the Our Father. It was such a good time with good friends and really relaxed me. I had an anxious 2 weeks before this trip and I think I'm finally calming down from being stressed to getting really excited about the trip. I don't mean to be dramatic, but I feel that this trip is going to really change my life. I'm not sure how, but I know it's going to be good.
fbt&<3
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Preparation Retreat
This past Saturday Ashley and I went to San Antonio for a half-day retreat with the other pilgrims. We were able to meet a number of the 86 people that we will be hanging out with on our travels. We're going in 3 groups to get over there, and we'll meet up in Malaga for Days in the Diocese.
Everyone in the group is really nice. I find that I'm one of the "older youth" as many of the pilgrims are late high school or early college. We got to know each other and had some discussions on what we're excited about (seeing the Pope, meeting new people, eating Spanish food, wine/coffee, adoration, etc) and what we're concerned about (losing passport, getting lost, exhaustion). We also reflected on some of our roots and what has lead us this far in life (family, Catholic upbringing, Awakenings, Catholic20somethings). The main theme of WYD is "Planted and Built up in Jesus Christ, Firm in the Faith", so it is important to understand that our strong roots and constant growth make us strong no matter what storms come along. I know that this trip is going to change me -- for the better. I will get to practice patience, tolerance, my faith and be pushed to the limit. I will get to see some amazing sights, places, buildings, and experience history -- both from the past and history in the making.
As I continue to scour the WYD website, I have found out some fun things about what we're getting! Check out this backpack full of goodies.
This is what's inside:
- A gospel
- A pilgrim’s book (so you can follow along in the liturgical ceremonies)
- The WYD guide (with the program and useful information for the WYD participants)
- The Liturgical and Cultural Agenda (with more than 300 cultural events & catechesis)
- The YouCat Catechism
- The WYD T-shirt
- A hat to shield you from the August sun
- A fan
- A rosary
- A map of the city of Madrid
In Malaga, I found out that we'll be working with Parroquia San Fernando. There are a few groups starting up on Facebook that are giving us a little more information here and there about the details.
12 day countdown! I'm getting very excited.
Please send me your prayer intentions! Mail them to sabrinalovesspain@gmail.com
God bless!
fbt&<3
Everyone in the group is really nice. I find that I'm one of the "older youth" as many of the pilgrims are late high school or early college. We got to know each other and had some discussions on what we're excited about (seeing the Pope, meeting new people, eating Spanish food, wine/coffee, adoration, etc) and what we're concerned about (losing passport, getting lost, exhaustion). We also reflected on some of our roots and what has lead us this far in life (family, Catholic upbringing, Awakenings, Catholic20somethings). The main theme of WYD is "Planted and Built up in Jesus Christ, Firm in the Faith", so it is important to understand that our strong roots and constant growth make us strong no matter what storms come along. I know that this trip is going to change me -- for the better. I will get to practice patience, tolerance, my faith and be pushed to the limit. I will get to see some amazing sights, places, buildings, and experience history -- both from the past and history in the making.
As I continue to scour the WYD website, I have found out some fun things about what we're getting! Check out this backpack full of goodies.
This is what's inside:
- A gospel
- A pilgrim’s book (so you can follow along in the liturgical ceremonies)
- The WYD guide (with the program and useful information for the WYD participants)
- The Liturgical and Cultural Agenda (with more than 300 cultural events & catechesis)
- The YouCat Catechism
- The WYD T-shirt
- A hat to shield you from the August sun
- A fan
- A rosary
- A map of the city of Madrid
In Malaga, I found out that we'll be working with Parroquia San Fernando. There are a few groups starting up on Facebook that are giving us a little more information here and there about the details.
12 day countdown! I'm getting very excited.
Please send me your prayer intentions! Mail them to sabrinalovesspain@gmail.com
God bless!
fbt&<3
Friday, July 22, 2011
These boots are made for walking...
Hello!
As I already knew, we are going to be walking a lot. Seriously, for miles and miles. I'm interested to see how well my pedometer will track my steps, especially when we make our actual pilgrimage walk to Cuatro Vientos, the air base where we'll spend 2 days and one night with the entire groups of WYD Pilgrims. THis is where the huge closing mass will be with the Holy Father. WOW! Here is a sneak peak of the 8 km walk we'll be taking with all of our stuff on our backs. It should take a little over 2 hours!
As I already knew, we are going to be walking a lot. Seriously, for miles and miles. I'm interested to see how well my pedometer will track my steps, especially when we make our actual pilgrimage walk to Cuatro Vientos, the air base where we'll spend 2 days and one night with the entire groups of WYD Pilgrims. THis is where the huge closing mass will be with the Holy Father. WOW! Here is a sneak peak of the 8 km walk we'll be taking with all of our stuff on our backs. It should take a little over 2 hours!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Everybody get ready
Three weeks and counting...
Here are ways that I am spending this month getting ready.
1. Working out a lot! I am trying to hit more weight-lifting based classes. Whenever I take a walk around the neighborhood, I wear my Privo shoes, walk in the heat of the day, and carry my daypack with about 10 pounds of weight in it. I'm also trying to eat "right" so I can be ready for this crazy pilgrimage. I found out that for the last 2 days will be at least 7 km from where ever we are staying, so I'll be walking a lot that day with a lot of stuff on my back. I bought a pedometer so I can track my steps and my miles daily. Should be a really neat metric to keep track of. (hah!)
2. Making lists. And lists. And LISTS! Lists of what to pack, what to bring, what to do, what to buy and what to not forget. I'm kind to have parents and friends who are loaning me a few things, plus I have a lot of traveling gear like good walking shoes, a great backpack and daypack, and enough European traveling experience to remember weird things like toliet paper, dryer sheets and baby wipes.
3. Praying. Adoration, Theology of the Body, Mass, rosary and other ways to spiritually prep my self for this amazing trip.This trip has been on my mind for over a year, so it's true to say I've been praying for it for months. I pray for our coordinators, the WYD staff, the attendees and for all of the intentions of the Youth, the Pope and the World!
4. Creating contact cards. I designed these fun campy Texas contact cards for Ashley and I to use when we meet people. They are two sided and have both of our information on them so we use one for every person we meet together. It's a really big deal to have things to trade, like pins, flags, etc that are from our homes. I think this card will provide our contact information and a neat little Texas keepsake.
5. Checking the Official World Youth Day site every day! They have fun updates, videos and information about the trip that I'll share about in another post. They are going to come out with an Application for iPhone, iTouch, etc for us to use while we're there. How neat!
Wow. Three weeks away. I hope I can get everything done and ready by then. We have our Pilgrim retreat this weekend in San Antonio so I'll finally be able to meet the rest of the group that we're traveling with. Should be a fun time.
Thanks for reading and for your prayers.
fbt&<3
Sabrina
Here are ways that I am spending this month getting ready.
1. Working out a lot! I am trying to hit more weight-lifting based classes. Whenever I take a walk around the neighborhood, I wear my Privo shoes, walk in the heat of the day, and carry my daypack with about 10 pounds of weight in it. I'm also trying to eat "right" so I can be ready for this crazy pilgrimage. I found out that for the last 2 days will be at least 7 km from where ever we are staying, so I'll be walking a lot that day with a lot of stuff on my back. I bought a pedometer so I can track my steps and my miles daily. Should be a really neat metric to keep track of. (hah!)
2. Making lists. And lists. And LISTS! Lists of what to pack, what to bring, what to do, what to buy and what to not forget. I'm kind to have parents and friends who are loaning me a few things, plus I have a lot of traveling gear like good walking shoes, a great backpack and daypack, and enough European traveling experience to remember weird things like toliet paper, dryer sheets and baby wipes.
3. Praying. Adoration, Theology of the Body, Mass, rosary and other ways to spiritually prep my self for this amazing trip.This trip has been on my mind for over a year, so it's true to say I've been praying for it for months. I pray for our coordinators, the WYD staff, the attendees and for all of the intentions of the Youth, the Pope and the World!
4. Creating contact cards. I designed these fun campy Texas contact cards for Ashley and I to use when we meet people. They are two sided and have both of our information on them so we use one for every person we meet together. It's a really big deal to have things to trade, like pins, flags, etc that are from our homes. I think this card will provide our contact information and a neat little Texas keepsake.
5. Checking the Official World Youth Day site every day! They have fun updates, videos and information about the trip that I'll share about in another post. They are going to come out with an Application for iPhone, iTouch, etc for us to use while we're there. How neat!
Wow. Three weeks away. I hope I can get everything done and ready by then. We have our Pilgrim retreat this weekend in San Antonio so I'll finally be able to meet the rest of the group that we're traveling with. Should be a fun time.
Thanks for reading and for your prayers.
fbt&<3
Sabrina
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Expect the Unexpected
HOW GOD "TRICKED" ME INTO ATTENDING WYD
Yes, I feel like I got tricked. But it was a good trick. More like a surprise that grows with time.
At this point, it's around April 2010 and I am discerning heavily about going to Madrid. I did some research and found out that World Youth Day is a very misleading title. WYD is actually for Young Adults (ages 18-39), not Youth (Jr. and Sr. High School). It also lasts about a week, not one day. Interesting, no?
I also found out about a program called Days in the Diocese where one diocese in the world is paired with a diocese in Spain and have a pre-WYD program full of cultural activities in a small intimate environment. This sounded like an excellent opportunity to me and I read everything I could about it. This option was not available in Austin, or if Ashley and I tried to travel with a random national group as individuals. Then I found the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
San Antonio is about 70 miles south of where I live in Austin. They were offering the DID program and had very affordable plans. I would be able to go to Spain for 2 weeks for less than all the other options I had found. True, the conditions were "simple" (i.e. no hotel) but I was ready for a pilgrimage, not a vacation. Plus after my traveling experiences I was not afraid of roughing it. I'm young, right?
At the same time, I was offered two freelance graphic design jobs. Both would have helped me pay for the Spain payments. After talking with Ashley about San Antonio's travel plan and prices, we decided to sign up for WYD. Hooray! I was stoked because I had the extra money that was going to come in and help pay for it, we got a good deal, and we were going to Spain! Hip Hip Hooray!
About a month after we signed up and paid our deposit (August 2010) God threw me a curveball and BOTH graphic design jobs fell through before I could get started -- or paid. I already had committed to WYD and had been graciously given permission to miss 2.5 weeks of work. I was stuck.
I prayed about it a lot. After a lookover of my budget, I realized that if I gave up shopping and other extra luxuries like going out to eat, coffee at Starbucks and Jamba Juice runs, that I could afford the monthly payments. 10 monthly payments. I can do this. My boss even asked if I was looking for sponsors or doing any fund raising. After I thought about it, I told him that I wasn't planning on it. I figured that if I had a full-time job, I would be able to sacrifice what I didn't need in order to save up for this trip.
This was part of God's plan. Now that it's July 2011 and I am leaving in one month, I can honestly say that I have been preparing for this trip for over a year. Not only have I been sacrificing financially, I have been doing it for the preparation of this trip. I think once August comes and goes that I will have a much better experience knowing that I worked hard to be able to get to where I am.
Isn't that what life is all about?
fbt&<3
Sabrina
Yes, I feel like I got tricked. But it was a good trick. More like a surprise that grows with time.
At this point, it's around April 2010 and I am discerning heavily about going to Madrid. I did some research and found out that World Youth Day is a very misleading title. WYD is actually for Young Adults (ages 18-39), not Youth (Jr. and Sr. High School). It also lasts about a week, not one day. Interesting, no?
I also found out about a program called Days in the Diocese where one diocese in the world is paired with a diocese in Spain and have a pre-WYD program full of cultural activities in a small intimate environment. This sounded like an excellent opportunity to me and I read everything I could about it. This option was not available in Austin, or if Ashley and I tried to travel with a random national group as individuals. Then I found the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
San Antonio is about 70 miles south of where I live in Austin. They were offering the DID program and had very affordable plans. I would be able to go to Spain for 2 weeks for less than all the other options I had found. True, the conditions were "simple" (i.e. no hotel) but I was ready for a pilgrimage, not a vacation. Plus after my traveling experiences I was not afraid of roughing it. I'm young, right?
At the same time, I was offered two freelance graphic design jobs. Both would have helped me pay for the Spain payments. After talking with Ashley about San Antonio's travel plan and prices, we decided to sign up for WYD. Hooray! I was stoked because I had the extra money that was going to come in and help pay for it, we got a good deal, and we were going to Spain! Hip Hip Hooray!
About a month after we signed up and paid our deposit (August 2010) God threw me a curveball and BOTH graphic design jobs fell through before I could get started -- or paid. I already had committed to WYD and had been graciously given permission to miss 2.5 weeks of work. I was stuck.
I prayed about it a lot. After a lookover of my budget, I realized that if I gave up shopping and other extra luxuries like going out to eat, coffee at Starbucks and Jamba Juice runs, that I could afford the monthly payments. 10 monthly payments. I can do this. My boss even asked if I was looking for sponsors or doing any fund raising. After I thought about it, I told him that I wasn't planning on it. I figured that if I had a full-time job, I would be able to sacrifice what I didn't need in order to save up for this trip.
This was part of God's plan. Now that it's July 2011 and I am leaving in one month, I can honestly say that I have been preparing for this trip for over a year. Not only have I been sacrificing financially, I have been doing it for the preparation of this trip. I think once August comes and goes that I will have a much better experience knowing that I worked hard to be able to get to where I am.
Isn't that what life is all about?
fbt&<3
Sabrina
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Let's start at the very beginning...
Hello world! This is my first entry in my Spain blog. I am not actually in Spain yet, but I wanted to share my journey to how I was called to go on this trip.
Before we get into the preparation of this trip, here is a little bit about who I am. My name is Sabrina, I'm 28 and I am from Texas. My passions include dance, traveling, musical theatre, graphic design, food and my cats. I am involved in pro-life work, and am involved with a Catholic ministry for young adults. I have traveled to Spain for school (2005) and to Holland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France (2007). I also enjoy trips to Boston, Los Angeles, Florida and most of all, New York City! I love exploring culture, tradition, food, art and history. I love journaling and taking pictures, and I collect postcards from all over the world.
WHY WORLD YOUTH DAY?
For the past 2 years I have grown deeper in my Catholic faith mostly due to my involvement with the Catholic-20somethings. It is such a great group of people who travel with me (in a sense) and help me learn, grow and become closer to God and the The Church.
When I found out about WYD being in Spain this year, I thought that I should go. I talked to a few friends about it and they all told me that it's too expensive to go to WYD. I did some research and saw that with the Austin Diocese it in fact was really expensive. So I just tried to get over it and figure the money is better spent elsewhere.
I kept going on with some small signs about WYD popping up into my head. I would pay extra attention to the ads I saw, or when people mentioned it. My coworker and her husband had been once or twice and she told me about their adventures. I still had it on the brain when one day in the summer my friend Ashley was talking about how she really wanted to go but that she was nervous about the language barrier and not knowing who to go with. We talked about it more later and once we figured out that be both wanted to go for the same reasons (to meet people, grow in our Faith, and experience the biggest Catholic event worldwide) we decided to discern (pray about it) and research some travel options.
Meanwhile, working for a nonprofit, I was wondering how I could afford this trip. I knew I wanted to go, especially before I turned 30. (They have WYDs every 2 years.) I had some things to figure out.
fbt&<3
Sabrina
Before we get into the preparation of this trip, here is a little bit about who I am. My name is Sabrina, I'm 28 and I am from Texas. My passions include dance, traveling, musical theatre, graphic design, food and my cats. I am involved in pro-life work, and am involved with a Catholic ministry for young adults. I have traveled to Spain for school (2005) and to Holland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France (2007). I also enjoy trips to Boston, Los Angeles, Florida and most of all, New York City! I love exploring culture, tradition, food, art and history. I love journaling and taking pictures, and I collect postcards from all over the world.
WHY WORLD YOUTH DAY?
For the past 2 years I have grown deeper in my Catholic faith mostly due to my involvement with the Catholic-20somethings. It is such a great group of people who travel with me (in a sense) and help me learn, grow and become closer to God and the The Church.
When I found out about WYD being in Spain this year, I thought that I should go. I talked to a few friends about it and they all told me that it's too expensive to go to WYD. I did some research and saw that with the Austin Diocese it in fact was really expensive. So I just tried to get over it and figure the money is better spent elsewhere.
I kept going on with some small signs about WYD popping up into my head. I would pay extra attention to the ads I saw, or when people mentioned it. My coworker and her husband had been once or twice and she told me about their adventures. I still had it on the brain when one day in the summer my friend Ashley was talking about how she really wanted to go but that she was nervous about the language barrier and not knowing who to go with. We talked about it more later and once we figured out that be both wanted to go for the same reasons (to meet people, grow in our Faith, and experience the biggest Catholic event worldwide) we decided to discern (pray about it) and research some travel options.
Meanwhile, working for a nonprofit, I was wondering how I could afford this trip. I knew I wanted to go, especially before I turned 30. (They have WYDs every 2 years.) I had some things to figure out.
fbt&<3
Sabrina
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