Why my summer internship was worth it all...

This summer, I served as an intern for the Ignite Your Torch Northwest Youth Conference. Extending my stay in Washington was truly a gift from God! I was able to keep going to Our Lady Star of the Sea parish, visit with friends, enjoy the dry, cool(er than Louisiana) summer air, and delight in the goodness of the people I came to know and love! It was great. :-)

Oh yea, and I worked like a crazy person to help make the 2nd IYT NW Conference a reality. Late nights, team efforts, long meetings, frantic phone calls, and much needed prayer-this describes what my life was like as Ignite loomed ahead. During those days, I often wondered why I had ever decided to do this. And then I remembered...souls meet God at Ignite. And then I was glad.

Plus, Lauren, the conference director, was so easy to work with...she is wonderful! She encouraged me with this meme. Motivation enough.

The week or so leading up to IYT was the most hectic...there were so many little things to take care of! It really made me appreciate the hard work of those who run conferences-make sure to thank the coordinators! Bless them.

Sunday, Emma and I picked Tamara and Ann up from the airport. They run the Ignite Your Torch-Kentucky Conference. It was exciting to see them again after a year!  Yay! Once they arrived, things got intense and they whipped us into shape.

Tuesday, Joseph (Tamara's son) flew in-our male MC! He is like a brother to me and I was so happy to see him again. :-) And I finally felt like the conference was just around the corner!

Wednesday, We drove the U-Haul up to Saint Martin's University around noon. Then, we spent the day preparing for the deluge of retreatants coming on Thursday. (Clarification: Lauren drove the U-Haul and I kept her company). :-)

photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Geddes

Greenshirt team unites at SMU!

Photo courtesy of Emma Ricketts

The greenshirts are our wonderful, selfless college-age volunteers. There were about 30 in all...and we couldn't have done it without them! They keep things running (or, more literally, they keep running!)-best helpers ever.

(<--- Kaitlyn, Bernadette, Linzee, and Alli)

Here are some super-creative greenshirts making signs the day before the conference. Our Religious stand along the road holding these signs-a special welcome to the youth as they arrive.








On Wednesday evening, some of us left Saint Martin's and traveled to Tacoma for a wine&cheese reception at the home of the Connoley's. This reception was an opportunity for the benefactors of Ignite to meet the religious serving at the conference. It was fancy and I felt so classy in my sweaty Ignite Your Torch t-shirt...but I didn't care because it was the occasion of a glorious reunion with my dear friend Declan!

photo courtesy of Ann Brown

photo courtesy of Ann Brown

I met Declan ("Brother Declan" at the time) when I studied in Derry, Northern Ireland, and he made a lasting impact on my life. What a great gift from our God that Declan came to Ignite Your Torch! An Irish seminarian, he is now with the Missionaries of the Most Holy Eucharist, a religious order based in France, and he is studying in Connecticut. Figure that one out.

Listening to Fr. Lappe give a speech.
(Photo courtesy of Emma Ricketts)

After the reception (which, as you can see, showcased the beauty of Washington), I was privileged to drive two Alhambra Carmelite sisters, the beautiful Miss Elise Johns, and Mr. Declan Gibson to SMU. What a great group! Sister Faustina Marie had an app that basically gave us a tour as we drove along the freeway, so we learned all kinds of interesting facts...haha!

The rest of that night was sooo tiring-but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love welcoming people, and had a blast helping the priests, religious, and seminarians get all settled! :-) Also, the staff working at the front desk of our dormitory for the week was so much fun! I love new friends. All the events of the day were in keeping with this year's theme: "The Joy of the Gospel". Yay!

Once our last priest got in (according to his brother, he was "out evangelizing"), I went to bed. haha!