#chwc

Here it is!!! My final Catholic Heart Workcamp T-Shirt Design!!!

I’m not super proud bc I was time-crunched and was having a difficult time coming up with a design for ECHO, but it’s ok. I just liked last year’s better.Now I just have to hope that the other kids in my group like it as much as I do and vote for it at the next meeting. 

I still have a month to change it (ya could have told me that, I wouldn’t have had to have a panic attack at midnight to get it done), so if anyone has any ideas I’d be eternally grateful to hear them!

Tagging @thecatholicnugget and @tradcatmaria and all my other other Catholics out there!

Catholic Heart Workcamp 2018 T-Shirt concept design.

I designed a T-Shirt for my group last year and had to hurry to get this year’s done. These are just the sketches I made trying to come up with a good design.

This year’s theme is ECHO (as in echo Christ’s love)

I’ll share the final design once I figure out how to get it to a file Tumblr understands.

also, @thecatholicnugget, @tradcatmaria and any other of my Catholics out there, have you ever been to CHWC? What was your experience like?

last friday night/ early saturday morning, i returned from my last high school mission trip. this year we traveled to oklahoma city, oklahoma wnd worked alongside catholic heart work camp once more.

our theme this year was “Besiege”. honestly, coming into this trip I really had no idea what this meant but I’ve come to know that it means to overwhelm, to conquer, to takeover, to embrace. I’ve learned that this i what i need the Lord to do in my life.

I would consider myself considerably religious. I go to mass every Sunday and have volunteered much of my time at the church. Yet, i’ve always neglected Him in my private life and only talk to Him in times of need. i’ve become scared and unsure for the future and have constantly doubted my self-worth.

this week; as each mission trip years pass have proven, has been life-changing. there were multiple skits that plucked my heartstrings. 

they included one of a girl who as she grew up hardened her heart and constantly took Satan’s tools. i feel i’ve done the same and have resulted to blend in with society to do wrong and guarded my heart to the extent i blocked love coming to me.

another one consisted of Jesus chiseling at a girl who saw no worth to her but He reassured her that despite her flaws she is His masterpiece.

a student skit showed a girl trying to go to Jesus but temptation of wrong would always whisk her away yet Jesus fought the evil and took our pain.

but one video that really hit home was letters between Death and Jesus. the magnitude of God’s love is so powerful that death has been proved lesser. 

these skits/video have reassured and reconfirmed to me the depth of the power of God and how I may be imperfect but Jesus loves me still and finds me beautiful.

for spiritual experiences, I had such a feeling of enlightenment.

 Tuesday, we had our dance party and following that we participated in Adoration. I just remember kneeling, crying, and letting my thoughts rise to God and it might sound like a bit of scattered stormy mess but I felt at peace and I just let it go and let God. I stayed in the chapel longer to revel in the feeling.

Wednesday was the four corners experience. I first reflected onto myself deciding what prayers I needed help with and I wrote myself my own letter as well. Then I went to my leader Sami, who’s like an older sister, and I just told her my fears and she told me that just like our Priest for the week Father Lee, we are on the bungee jump of life and we will be scared but Jesus is there watching us and waiting for us to take a leap of faith. all His plans are good; we must take the courage to pursue them. after that, i mustered the strength to go to Reconciliation. last year, i had a bad experience but i’m so glad i went this year. i had a vietnamese priest who put me at ease and was very friendly. at one point, i started crying and he said God must really love me to fill me with such emotion. when i returned to the courtyard, I wrote a prayer request, to those who feel worthless to be reminded of their worth, and a blessing strip, for all the people who constantly try to bring the best in me. lastly, I talked to our head leader Dale and asked him “how do I know my calling/ how do i hear God?” and he told me he doesn’t know for sure but he kept going with pharmacy studies since he didn’t have sign to stop. he told me to follow my heart because that where Jesus is. 

so this week, i rampage. I pushed myself, physically through Habitat for Humanity and mentally by dealing with people I necessarily didn't click with in my work group. I also found myself spiritually.

i also realized that being vulnerable is important. the mission of chwc is to love, serve and connect. without being open to the world, you won’t be able to receive or give.

i’ve realized that despite wanting personal space, I’m a very touchy feely person to people i want to be closer with, not physically but just closer. 

this week there was two ongoing “jokes”. my friend nick and i pretended to get married. we called each other “honey”, held hands and joked about a proposal. the second joke was during a heated game of egyptian ratslap, my heart was broken by “my love” ben. we got super close on this trip and danced and sat together on the bus and wherever really. in the end I guess jokes on me because I both love them now too. nick is so real. he and i can talk about anything and everything and he understands me. ben is very attractive and every interaction we have makes me feel so alive and so special and we have so much in common. if they were combined with my friend grant, that be the perfect guy.

the best thing this week was Sami thinking Ben and i were dating. 

I’m always a fan on trying to make yourself happy and discovering who I am. Just the idea of being closer to being who I want to be is something I’ll gladly be an advocate.

That’s why I always feel renewed and proud leaving a mission trip. 

Honestly, coming into this year’s trip, I wasn’t too excited. Last year, we had an absolute squad and so many people from squad were either graduated or simply not returning this year. I was pretty gutted.

But how God works in mysterious ways.

This year our parish went to serve in Fremont, NE. My group helped repaint the walls of a Lutheran church's daycare center's gym as well as another classroom. The gratitude shown by our resident Pastor David as well as the immense bonding between people from my own church and other churches makes me excited and proud of my faith. I'm beyond blessed with these opportunities and the unforgettable memories on this trip.

As a Catholic teen, sometimes it’s difficult to know what is against my faith. The Catholic faith is depicted as extremely conservative but on this trip I found out that my liberal view on the LGBQTA family is acceptable and I wasn’t alone in my thoughts. I made great friends and bonded more with friends I  already had.

The best part of my mission trip is CHWC provides these amazing evening programs. We had a night of Adoration and the Four Corners experience. I went and experienced the sacrament of Reconciliation and prayed with two of my adult leaders about my anxiety about the future, They reassured me that everything will be alright. I just feel better about life,

I don’t know. What I’m trying to say is that God makes my life happier.