Seminarian Visitors

Thank you for a great evening, Juniors & Freshmen!  We hope that you enjoyed talking with seminarians Alec Sasse & Jonathan Vall.  They had some great stories & experiences to share.  Remember that you will always be happiest doing God's Will for you... no matter what you think that might be right now... so if you haven't already, start praying for discernment!  Know that we are praying for you as well.

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Just a reminder that neither of our groups will be meeting next week because our sons Matt & Andrew (& some of your siblings) have their 1st Confession.  Please keep them all in your prayers as they prepare!  See you for regular meetings on March 6th.  Please also plan to help out at the KC Fish Fry dessert table on Friday, March 8th.  More details to come.

Happy Easter!

Thank you so much to all who helped with the Easter Egg Hunt at St. John's last weekend. We had a great turnout & a lot of fun!

Happy Easter, everyone!

Alleluia! He is risen!

Easter Egg Hunt

FRESHMEN & SOPHOMORES:

See you at the Easter Egg Hunt in the morning!

Wear your GodTeen shirt & meet us in the gym by 9:00 to help set up. The kids come at 9:30 & we should start cleaning up by 10:30. Should be a fun time!

All GodTeens are welcome to help, if you'd like. :)

Reminder

Just a quick reminder to all Freshmen & Sophomores... please bring along your two bags of candy for the Easter Egg Hunt to the meeting THIS WEEK. Remind your friends, too. Thank you!

Picnic In

Well, it didn't go exactly according to plan, but we had a great time getting together with you, Freshmen...now Sophomores! We'll try the pond excursion another less muddy time. Thanks for all the laughs, yummy food, & fun games. Sorry that we forgot to take a picture before some of you left! It was so nice to spend time with you all. Thanks for joining us, Fr. Sughroue & Fr. Haschke!

May God bless the rest of your summer!

Freshman Summer Fun

Summer Fun
Saturday, June 18th
5:00 pm-8:00 pm (plus travel time)
Furasek Pond near Touhy, NE
Meet & park at St. Vitus Church in Touhy
We will take a hayrack ride out to the pond for a picnic, games, & fishing. Please bring: a folding chair or blanket, your own resealable drink, fishing gear (if desired), & a side or dessert to share. We will provide the entree & table service.
RSVP by Saturday, June 11th

We will need parents to drive, so if you are able & have extra room, please let us know. Then please stay & join in the fun! Driving time is about 40 minutes.
Hope that you can join us!

Freshman Game Night

Easter is near!

Just a reminder that the
St. John's Easter Egg Hunt
is tomorrow Saturday, April 23rd
from 9:30-10:30 a.m.
starting in the school gym

We need helpers by 9:00 a.m. to hide eggs, set up coloring tables, organize treat bags, encourage photos with the Easter Bunny, clean up when it is done, & just help out in general while having fun with lots of little kids. Bring your younger siblings, cousins, neighbors... all are welcome! Thank you for all who volunteered to help. Anyone else is welcome, too! There might just be an Easter surprise for you, too. ;)

Freshman Update

Thank you for another fantastic discussion this week, freshmen! Your insights into the 5th Commandment last week & the value of suffering this week were very interesting. We hope you continue to recognize the enormity of Christ's sacrifice for us & try to offer up your crosses for the good of others as He did. We hope you learned a little more about Our Lady of Sorrows & how much she suffered through her motherhood of Jesus. The witness of her human suffering is a wonderful example for us as we offer up our sacrifices with trust in God's Will.

Here are the ones that we discussed for your further reflection:

1. The prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:34-35)
2. The flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-14)
3. The loss of the Child Jesus in the temple (Luke 2:43-45)
4. The meeting of Jesus & Mary on the Way of the Cross
5. The Crucifixion
6. The taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross
7. The burial of Jesus

Remember that there is NO MEETING here next week on April 13th & then only TWO MORE together at our house before the end of the year. It's gone so fast! Next time we will talk about what you liked about GodTeens this year, suggestions to make it even better, & what you'd like to do for any fun summer parties together.

We will also take some time to prepare for the EASTER EGG HUNT which we are in charge of running with the Sophomore class. We need as many of you to come as possible to help! It is the morning of Saturday, April 23rd starting in the St. John's gym. Volunteers need to be there by 9:00 to help set up & hide eggs all over the school & Church grounds for the little kids. It should be fun! More details to follow.

We are praying for you & hope that you have a joyfully penitential week of Lent. :)

In His Abundant Love,

=] Robyn & Darren

Freshmen

Due to illness in our home we will be cancelling Freshmen GodTeens for this evening, March 16th. Let's pray for each other!

Thanks,

=] Robyn & Darren

Freshman Update

Hello, freshmen!

Thank you for a great meeting this week. We enjoyed discussing the deeper meaning behind the 10 Commandments with you & seeing your illustrations of how we can follow the first three. Here's a poster putting some of them together. =] Please, remember to bring a picture(s) of you with your parents/family to share as we start discussing the 4th Commandment next week. This is a simple way to get a better idea who you are talking about even if we haven't had the privilege to meet them all in person yet.

We're going to start having a few prayer books, CDs, meditations available for you to use when you lead closing prayer for the group. You are welcome to prepare something on your own & bring it as well. Maybe it could be a favorite scripture passage of yours, a reflection from the Saint of the day, etc. If you are using our materials, you may want to come a few minutes early on the night that you lead so you can pick something out before we get started.

Just a reminder that if you are unable to join us or will be arriving late, we would really appreciate a call/text/e-mail to US prior to start time (not just telling a friend). We will call if we don't hear directly from you/your parents just to make sure you are okay. If you know you won't be here for a few meetings in a row because of a sport, play, etc., you can tell us that & we'll mark you down that way so we don't have to call. This will allow us to focus all of our attention on who is here for the night & not be juggling so much. Also, remember that we will ALWAYS post on the blog (& e-mail if it's last minute) any time that we are not meeting including snow days. If you can't get to a computer & are wondering, just call!

Thank you & see you next Wednesday!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year!

Blessed Epiphany!

We hope that your celebrations were wonderful & that you are still celebrating. :) Just a reminder that freshmen will not be meeting until next week on January 12th. We will sign up for bringing snacks & leading prayer then, so come with an idea of your calendar, please. Also, please remember to call or e-mail if you won't be attending a meeting. Thank you! Can't wait to see you all! May the joy of Our Savior's birth fill your heart with JOY!!!

Advent

Thank you for your delicious, beautiful, & thoughtful contributions to our Christmas Care Packages, freshmen! They turned out very nice & we're sure that the recipients will be joyful to receive such a gift of love. Don't forget to say a few extra prayers or offer a sacrifice for the two prayer partners that you chose. They're the best gift!

There were lots of great ideas given for Advent resolutions & ways to prepare our hearts for Jesus' birth at Christmas. Here are a few:

~give up complaining

~say a special prayer everyday for your family

~do a Jesse Tree

~light an Advent wreath at mealtimes

~really focus at Mass

~offer up not playing COD for someone who is homeless

~pray a Rosary each week for a different person

~be extra kind to someone who doesn't have many friends

~write Christmas cards to our priests thanking them for their sacrifices to help us learn the Faith

~kneel while saying morning prayers

Have a Blessed Advent!

Freshman Service

Well, our vote came down to Kids Against Hunger & Christmas Baskets. Looking into it a little more, we discovered that the KAHunger volunteering also strongly suggests fundraising the costs of the food that is packaged. We probably don't have time to coordinate that & doing the acual volunteering yet this year; we'll look into it for the spring.

So, that means we will be creating Christmas gift boxes for the people that we will be visiting when we go caroling as part of our next meeting on December 1st! We'll try to have jobs to suit everyone's talents as we work together to make them. Please, click HERE to go to the on-line sign-up sheet for which supplies/items you would like to bring along with you to our meeting to contribute! We'll look for everyone to sign up by November 28th. If you don't by then, we'll be calling you. Don't hesitate to e-mail, call, or leave a comment on this post if you have any questions or other suggestions. Thank you!

http://www.mysignup.com/serviceproject

Freshman Service Project

Hello, Freshmen =]

We are so THANKFUL for the great crowd last week! We hope that you learned a little more about being thankful for both joys & sufferings. A great way to show our thankfulness for our faith, family, friends, & countless other blessings is by helping another in need. We discussed & researched the service project ideas & came up with the list below. These are the ones that could be feasible this semester, though we may try for one of the others in the spring. Please, read through them & vote on your favorite in the poll on the right hand side of the page by Wednesday the 17th. We'll let you know the results & details next week!

Thank you,
=] Robyn & Darren

Operation Appreciation

Support military families by sending them cards expressing heartfelt thanks, solidarity, & encouragement. Choose to write a card to a parent of a military member, the spouse & family of a military member, the child of a military member, or a veteran of the armed services.
http://www.bluestarfam.org/Programs/Operation_Appreciation

Kids Against Hunger

Help to package highly nutritious, life-saving meals for starving & malnourished children & their families in developing countries & the U.S.A.
http://www.kidsagainsthunger.org/

Matt Talbot Basic Needs Packets

Get supplies for & assemble these bags of shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, socks, & other basic necessities to be handed out at Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach for their working poor & homeless guests.
http://www.mtkserves.org/you_can_help/basic_needs/outreach_assistance.html

Christmas Baskets for Homebound

Create a Christmas care package to brighten the day of the people that we visit when we go Christmas caroling together. We could include a homemade card for them, an ornament, a treat, cards that they can send, a decoration, & any of your other special creations.

Freshman Update

Thank you, freshmen, for another good meeting! We hope you enjoyed reading about & sharing your thoughts about forgiveness. Your explanations & drawings of the Bible passages were great. (I'll try to get some better markers for next time!) It was also interesting to hear your reactions from Immaculee Ilibagiza's talk. What an incredible story of strife & struggle that ends in amazing hope & forgiveness through the grace of God. If you weren't able to attend her talk or even if you just want to find out more, check out this link to her webpage.
http://www.immaculee.com/

One of her most powerful thoughts was,
"When in the face of conflict, if you can choose to be kind or
be right, choose kindness. Not compromising the truth, but always acting out of love."

What a difference that could make in our world today! It's a good reminder that we are all called to heroic forgiveness in our everyday lives & that with God's help we can accomplish even the impossible.

***

Please, be ready to talk about your service project ideas this Wednesday & bring along anything you find out about our new patron saint.

We'll see you then. :)

St. Sebastian, pray for us!

"Self-portraits"

Thanks for a great meeting last night, freshmen! We enjoyed welcoming you into our home. Your "self-portraits" are enlightening & amusing. :) Please, remember that next week we will be signing up to bring snacks & to lead prayer, so check your calendars to know when you can help out.

The face of our little Teresa a month before she was born.

Life is beautiful!

Hope to see you all at the Life Chain this Sunday at 2:30. St. John's is on the north side of O Street between 52nd & 53rd. What a perfect opportunity to evangelize just by standing there & praying! We'll keep an eye out for you. Even if you can't make it, take this opportunity to join pro-lifers all across the United States in prayer for a greater respect for all human life.

We're so glad that all of you were born!

Freshman Meeting Schedule

Here's our tentative 2010 freshman meeting schedule for the semester. Group activities have not been scheduled yet, we'll fill them in when available.

September 29 - *Regular meeting 6:30-8:00 at Furaseks
October 6 - *
October 13 - *
October 20 - NO MEETING
October 27 - *
November 3 - *
November 10 - *
November 17 - *
November 24 - NO MEETING - Happy Thanksgiving!
December 1 - *
December 8 - NO MEETING - Feast of the Immaculate Conception
December 15 - *
December 22 - NO MEETING - Merry Christmas! See you January 12th!

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Our regular meetings will usually look like:
6:30 Arrive, icebreaker
6:40 Opening prayer, lesson, discussion, question box
7:15 Journaling
7:25 Closing prayer
7:30 Snacks & social time
8:00 Head home