Though I have been extremely busy this summer with sports, work, camps, and other activities, I was lucky enough to be able to devote my 10 hours of community service to something that I absolutely love and am extremely passionate about. This wonderful thing is something known to many but not all, and it is called Teen ACTS.
Teen ACTS is a retreat for high school ages students who are searching for a way to feel connected to Jesus Christ. It is a weekend retreat in Amarillo, Texas, at the Bishop DeFalco Retreat Center. I had the pleasure of attending my own retreat last summer, and since then I had been dying to be on team for a retreat.
It was early March when I got the call that I had been chosen to be on team, and I was extremely excited. However, little did I know all the hours and hours and days and days of hard work that this retreat was going to require. Our team met nearly every Sunday from the middle of March up until the retreat on July 17-19 for 4 hours each week.
We all wanted the weekend to be very special for all of the retreatants, and we wanted everything to run smoothly, so we needed lots of preparation. We spent our Sundays breaking into different groups attempting to perfect our portion of the weekend. We practiced skits, put together everything for the retreatants, discussed other plans, and practiced skits some more.
When the retreat finally arrived, all the work was worth it. We were at the retreat center for over 60 hours, but it flew by because everything was perfect. We brought over 30 teenagers into a deeper more profound relationship with God and nothing has ever made me feel so accomplished.
While the weekend was mainly about the retreatants, I felt like I gained just as much as they did. It impacted me in a way that no other community service project will ever compare to. Leaving the weekend I felt like a completely new person, and I hope I am blessed with another opportunity to experience Teen ACTS again.
