Good day everybody!

Sorry it’s been so long since posting… training has been crazy and there hasn’t been wifi. AHHH!!!

Just kidding.

It’s actually been a really good sacrifice. You’re able to invest a little more in training and focus on growing as a team. Which when these are the people you’ll be living with for a year, it’s really important.

There’s definitely been certain struggles, but there are a few important things I’ve learned from each aspect of training. I’ll start with music training:

I arrived in Ireland a week early with the other musicians to do training, and it was partially overwhelming and partially humbling. I did not come in with as much music experience as other people, but I was looking forward to learning. Then we got there, put our instruments in the other room, and went to the first session.

“We ask you to not touch your instruments today.”

…

…

What?

That made me extremely nervous. I had come to music training for… you know… music training. I really wanted to improve in my instrument. But that happened to be the most important day we had. It was the day when we discovered that the music, even though we want to be good and to improve, is not about us. It’s about praising God and helping the teens reach that same goal. That point was emphasized even more when we had about an hour and a half of prayer and a half hour Mass each day before we even started training. It’s going to be a constant challenge this year, but in the end it’s what this year is all about.
Then we went to initial training where I met everybody who could potentially be teammates this year. With NET we call it brotherhood and sisterhood, which just emphasizes the special relationship we can each create. I found that I loved each and every person, and was really looking forward to teams. The interesting thing was, I was really hoping for a local team, where I would be at one parish and just minister to that community. But there were just a few things I noticed where the road team seemed more appealing. I kept thinking… what if I get put on a not local team? I felt very called to Ireland… so in the end the Scotland Road team was the only one I was not wanting.
Team announcements came very unexpectedly.

It was just a whirlwind of emotions. They called the Irish Road team first per usual. It is the biggest team NET Ireland sends out. They called up several people I had grown close to, and I was thinking that it would be a cool team to be on. Then they called up… ME! I was in legitimate shock. I was not expecting it… and there is one other Courtney serving with NET Ireland this year so I was wondering if I heard the last name right. But I did, and I am officially a member of the Irish Road Team. I look forward to many incredible adventures. The good news is I will be able to see so many places and encounter so many souls who need Jesus. The bad news for blog followers is that I might not be able to post once a week. But I will try!
I cannot thank everybody who has partnered with me enough. I know all of the training and extras with training, like going to the Shrine of Knock and to Galway, are only possible because of y’all. Again, thank you, your work so far has been tremendous and I can’t wait to see how it will impact the teens! If you have not financially partnered with me yet, I invite you to go to the link at the bottom. It’ll take you to the NET USA link, where all of my donations go through. But if you’re from Europe, go to the NET Ireland page to donate.

Again, it has been an amazing experience and it’s only been training! So all things in His Glory, and peace out! <3