"Did you use everything I gave you?"

       During Holy Week two of my students traveled to Honduras with Gehlen Mission Honduras. Today they had the opportunity to share their experience with our school system.  We had the opportunity to hear their stories, see their pictures, and watch a video Gehlen created of the trip.

        Though I have been on service trips myself, seeing the trip through their eyes provided another experience.  First, I am amazed that a small Catholic school system in Iowa maintains a fully operational, year-round mission program thousands of miles from their own town.  Their school is able to provide the financial and spiritual support necessary to run such a mission by volunteering their own "time, talent and treasure."

        Sitting next to Liam and Katy (the two students who had taken the trip) as the movie played, I could see tears in Katy's eyes as she relived the memories, and hear Liam patiently explain the pictures to his younger siblings. They answered their classmates questions, talked of lessons learned, and affirmed their own desires to return.  As the movie played, one quote stood out to me.

 "Did you use everything I gave you?"

   I was forced to ask myself, do I?  Do I use everything God gave me?  Do I truly use all my resources wisely - my time, my talents, my gifts, my treasure?  I know how I want to answer God at the end of my life, and I know I am a long way from reaching that goal... I know that there are days when I waste the valuable time I have been given.  Days when I rest in fear and anxiety instead of using my talents to serve others.  Days when I make excuses instead of use my gifts.

Sitting on my bureau is a glass of water.  It is room temperature.  It has sat there since I poured it last night, when I wanted some water before going to sleep.  It doesn't matter we think, water runs freely from our taps.  It is in this simple act, the fact that after finishing this entry that I will get up, dump out the water and refill my cup, that I am already failing to use what I am given.  80% of the world's health problems stem from poor water.  Poor water quality is the reason I met a child in Mexico whose mother thought he might die - he had diarrhea.  Poor water quality is the reason my students took month's worth of anti-malarial medicine before venturing to Honduras.

At the end of our lives, how will we answer.  What will we say when God asks, did you use everything I gave you?

Last Week.... In the City of Angels

Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, hosted by the Archdiocese of L.A. in sunny Anaheim California. Yes, the congress was at Disneyland. The happiest place on earth. If I'd known that my trip may have suddenly needed to be an extra day longer. Instead I walked a mile and a half during the lunch break one day and ate my meal in the air conditioned confines of the Grand Californian hotel. I needed some magic, didn't I? A little Mickey never hurt anyone, but I think my stay would have been magical even without the mouse. I had the opportunity to visit with West Coast relatives who I don't see often. Eat some delicious comida mexicana of the variety which simply does not exist in li'l old RCSD, and - very importantly - get my picture taken with the Easter Bunny..... and a 14 month old cousin.


The congress itself was magical as well. Over the course of the weekend I got to see and hear many great speakers such as Fr. Greg Boyle, Dr. Thomas Groome, and Mitch Albom. Also at the conference were individuals such as Sr. Helen Prejean and Fr. Jim Martin. Now I know that these names might be unfamiliar to those outside the Catholic education world, or who weren't schooled by the Jesuits. But I promise you every one of them is googleable. They are also memorable, inspirational, educational... and many more adjectives. Ultimately, the Congress was a great opportunity to learn, and to get rejuvenated. The PLACErs of LMU were excellent hosts. And staying with fellow UCCE teachers, was a great opportunity for fellowship with other young adults experiencing the same challenges of first (and second) year teaching as I am. I <3 LA

Ms. Brunault, are you writing a book?

Last week. In the middle of reviewing research requirements with the sophomores of period 5A religion, a student raised her hand and innocently asked, "Ms. Brunault are you writing a book?" Immediately my answer was no. No I am not writing a book. "But Ms. W said you were," the reply came, instantly rumored by voices throughout the room. Am I? I was forced to ask myself? Am I writing a book? The simple answer is no. No I am not a novelist. No I am not in the midst of some massive writing project with the goal of publication. But the bigger question remains, am I a writer? I still bounce between yes and no. Part of me, the part that would like to be a writer, says yes. Another part of me, the part of me that knows writing takes more time, talent and effort than I have, says no. No you are not a writer. What is a writer we ask? Is a writer simply someone who writes? A kindergartener learning to print her name, and string simple sight words into sentences. Or is a writer the Jodi Piccoults, Ann Rinaldis and William Shakespeares of the world? Our answer I believe lies somewhere in the middle, and it is thanks to a fellow blogger (if I can really use the term to describe myself) that I have reached this conclusion. "Someone I know is a blogger." I told a few friends and family members, "But she is not a blogger like me," I continued. "She is a real blogger. She doesn't just write about what she does. She really writes. She is prophetic." It is in this reading of words from someone I actually know that I realize we all have the potential to be writers. We write stories of our own lives. We have been given the paper and the ink, but it is our responsibility, our opportunity, to write a story everyday. Each day I visit As Simple As That I am given the chance to read someone elses story, and to be inspired to write my own. It is in reading Hannah's words that I am reminded that real people can be writers.... I am reminded that next time maybe I should answer my students a little differently when they ask, "Ms.Brunault are you writing a book?"

Yes. I am writing a book. Everyday is a new chapter. Every word I write is a lesson learned. I have a good teacher.

Refreshment....

Friday was a long day. Half a day at school. 7 hours in the car. 400 miles of driving. And then, finally, the ground grew flatter, the sky grew wider, and we were in Nebraska. Cozad, NE. Camp Comeca. Magis Retreat. Long, exhausting, and ultimately refreshing. As Katie's car crunched across the gravel parking lot, and the lodge came into view, memories of summer retreat came flooding into my mind. My shoes filled with mud and melted snow crossing the lawn, and I remembered a warm summer game of capture the flag.

Entering retreat my emotions were mixed, I was enthused to see people I hadn't seen in months, and to catch up with my C8 comrades after months apart. I was also frustrated, knowing I wasn't at the place, with my teaching or with myself, that I had hoped to be at this point in the year. I was ready to be refreshed, and I found myself gaining more refreshment than I knew I needed. The retreat was an opportunity to just be. To catch up with friends. To be in community. To be in solidarity with other first year teachers. To laugh. To cry. To smile. To reflect. To realize it's okay not to love teaching every single day. To talk. To share. To recieve help. To offer help. To realize that even if three is a small number, my community is larger than just Magis Rapid. This was a weekend to realize, that all of Magis is my community, and that in order to survive I need all of them. My goal is not to survive. My goal is to thrive. To feel alive.

Refreshing. Rejuvenating. And then, at the end of the day, after hours in and out of consciousness along I-80, I came to reality. The Sandhills of Nebraska, weren't the sand dunes they vaguely resembled. Turning on to 90-West, it didn't suddenly become the Pike. Exit 8 was still a 24 hour drive in the other direction. The sky grew darker, Hills gave way to Plains, the names on the signs grew familiar again - Wall, New Underwood, Ellsworth. And there in the distance, were the lights. "We can see it now, we're almost there." "Distances can be deceiving out here," my roommate reminded me. But it didn't matter. The distance in time didn't matter anymore. In my mind, I had looked at those lights, and thought, "there they are, that's our city." In that moment, I realized maybe the lady at Bradley wasn't so far off, when she handed me my baggage claim sticker and said "Have a safe flight home." Rapid will never be my hometown, but, at least for the moment, it's my home.

A picture is worth a thousand words -- and the big picture is beautiful.

As I count down the days until Christmas break, and an east coast reunion, the stress seems to cloud the big picture. I have my own semester assignments to finish, quizzes to facilitate and grade, a paper to write, papers to read, plannng etc. It is easy in times like this to focus on the negatives. To think of all the things I don't want to do. But looking at a friend of mine's blog today reminded me - only we can control our happiness. Happiness is an attitude. Sure negative things can and do happen, and these things affect our emotion. As anyone who has even met me knows, succumbing to stress is almost an inevitablity for me. But that still doesn't change happiness - happiness is an attitude, the choice of how we choose to respond to things. No matter our situation, we always have something to be happy about! So, in my attempt to ward off all stress (and maybe, to procrastinate for a short 5 minutes), I am following the suggestion of some very smart women, and making a list. A quick and easy list, of thirty things which I can be thankful for and happy about in my life today and everyday. Can anyone really be sad after listing 30 fabulous things about their life?

1.) A guest came in to my classes today and spoke for half of each class.

2.) (Almost) all of my students were well behaved today.

3.) I recieved a care package full of cookies in the mail.

4.) I will be on the east coast in LESS THAN A WEEK!

5.) I had kluski for dinner and it was delicious.

6.) Our entire community was home for dinner tonight, and ate together.

7.) It snowed yesterday and it is very pretty.

8.) It was above 0 when I left school this afternoon.

9.) The first STM home basketball game is this week.

10.) We got to light three candles on the Advent wreath this morning.

11.) My students made comics last week - now I have something I can actually look forward to grading.

11.) The Chinese food restaurant near our house has a BOGO entree special this week.

12.) I teach in a Catholic school, and can therefore decorate for Christmas!!!

13.) My classroom is covered in Christmas lights (and 250 feet of tinsel.)

14.) I got to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Saturday, with a Bilingual Mass and Mexican food.

15.) Pandora

16.) God loves me - and He loves you too.

17.) I woke up healthy and alive today.

18.) I found a good book in the 50c sale rack at the Library this weekend.

19.) I have family and friends who love me.

20.) I will be reunion-ing in style with the bests next week at the Boynton.

21.) I made Baked Brie yesterday.

22.) Creating this list is thought provoking.

23.) A picture is worth a thousand words - and even when the details are blurry, the big picture is beautiful!

24.) I have inspiring people in my life.

25.) I have a mission for my life, and I am closer to achieving that mission today than I was yesterday.

26.) Ruby (my car) is holding out in cold weather! Perhaps better than me.

27.) South Dakota doesn't plow - but its okay, because I don't feel bad when we don't shovel!

28.) I ate two peppermint patties while writing this.

29.) I am in my comfies under a warm blanket as I write this, and a warm cuppa tea is soon to come.

30.) I have more reasons to be happy than I realised before writing this.

Think of your own life -- what are you thankful for and happy about today? What are your 30?

A Month In The Life....

So despite my inital pick-up in posting upon arrival in Rapid, a month has passed since my last post. Oops. I took pictures to add, but since my camera cord is lost at the moment, they will have to wait until my another update - hopefully soon! So, what has happened in the last month? It is almost better to answer this with what hasn't happened in the last month... here's a rundown of some highlights: the good, the bad, the ugly, and the simply funny! 1.) Homecoming Week - This one was pretty foreign to me, does homecoming even exist in WMass? It certainly didn't at PHS, then again teh concept of Thanksgiving Games is completely foreign to my students! They didn't understand the concept having a consistent annual rival, or that my uncles (some of them anyway) still try to attend the Thanksgiving games... I think not having a specific rivalry can be contributed to how spread out towns are here. The closest high school in our Division is about 20 minutes away and this is a Dakotan anomaly! After that other schools are all at least an hour. 2.) Flu - The flu has been plaguing RC badly, enough to make front page of the Journal (our newspaper). 3.) No more TOB - I wrapped up teaching Theology of the Body to my sophomore girls, and was quite sad to see it end. It was a great way to start the year, and most of my girls got really into the discussions and the teachings. I've even had students try to buy the texts off the school. 4.) Sports Galore - Sports are HUGE at STM...and so over the past few weeks I've attended as many football games as my entire college career (then again STM actually wins on a regular basis, so the games are more exciting....), volleyball games, a short portion of a soccer game, and a Cheer & Dance Competition..... with fall sports wrapping up now I'm ready for basketball season! 5.) Challenges - I think this word can sum up the last six/seven weeks... I have been pushed and challenged, but I've also gotten to think, grow and learn. So far so good.... pictures coming! Hopefully in less than a month!!

I'm Bad At This Game!

So, as some people predicted. I am not quite as good at this "blogging" thing as I had hoped! My entire summer in Omaha went fabulous, though significantly lacking in any posts. I learned more than I ever thought you could learn in seven short weeks of classes, and earned a whole semester's credits in less than two months to boot! Our summer days were filled with classes, community dinners and faith sharing - but we managed to fit in lots of time for fun as well! Magis Family Photo, during a BBQ at the Jurgensen's (Mal's family): Some fave Magis summer activities included - Wing Night at the Moon (10-cent buffalo wings and lots of hockey games! - great for our displaced Penguins fans during the Cup), Bowling, Movie Nights in our dorm's Theater Room, Cali Taco (a delicious taco place featured on the Food Network), and trips to the Old Market (a cross between Northampton and Faneuil Hall)! Cohort 8 (aka C8) after Community Dinner: (Back Row L-R: Tim, me, Austin, Urse, Jill, Mal, Jason/Front Row L-R: James, Katy)