The Car Wash

Twenty minutes into our Village Car Wash, we discovered we had NO WATER! The hookups for our hose weren't working, because the master water valve was shut off. :( So the 15 of us looked at each other, and began contemplating other options.

Massive game of hide and seek? Freeze tag in the street? Licking the cement? Every idea seemed like a lot of fun, but not necessarily helping the whole "Send Bridget to Africa" thing.

A resourceful David and Mike returned to us with the knowledge that Bella Vino had a working hose hookup!! Mike, Bridget and I trooped on over to beg for mercy. The Manager had pity on us and the Car Wash was back in business!!!

We were able to wash loads of cars- we made $450 in the end, enough to send along some supplies and help cover some of Bridget's land costs...ie, food and shelter. Bridget will be taking off this Thursday, for 18 hours of travel until touchdown in Uganda. Please keep her in your prayers especially this week, for safe travel and a blessed trip.
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Village News

Dinner and Some Bible Concludes!!!
Stop on by St Thomas this Thursday 7-8:30 for our very last Dinner and Some Bible. It’s time to wrap it up for the summer months! We’ll be eating great food, and then reading 1 Peter.

Last Chance for Leadership: Responding to Grace
"One can only find oneself in the sincere gift of self." Turn in your Teen Leader Application for Spring-Summer today! (I mean you!!!)

Next Sunday
Join us next Sunday from 5-6:30 for a night on ‘Outside of Marriage’. We’ll have some time to talk about why marriage is so awesome, and what isn’t awesome outside of it.

Questioning India

As many of you know, I spent 9 months volunteering with Mother Teresa's Sisters in Calcutta India. After a month or two of living in India, I started longing to get away to the countryside for a break from volunteering!

A quick gander through the Lonely Planet, and I discovered the Cable Car in Darjeeling. Basically, you climb into a metal bubble, suspended from the top by a cable- and it whisks you along at a fairly quick speed, hundreds of feet above the ground! "With an exhilerating drop to begin, the Darjeeling Cable Car whisks you hundreds of feet above the luxurious Rangeet Valley Tea Plantations, allowing for breath-taking views."

I was immediately sold. After convincing several friends that life was not fully lived without the Cable Car experience- off we went to Darjeeling, India! After a 7 hr train journey, and 4 hr winding jeep ride (complete with passengers throwing up along the way)- we arrived!

Ready for adventure, we stopped to ask the Hotel Manager a few questions. When he heard we were going to ride the Cable Car, he got very serious, and said "You really shouldn't ride that. People die quite often. Just last summer a few tourists died.*" My heart sank a little as I began to see the Cable Car was not in my future!

Happily, we found many other adventures in Darjeeling- like a zoo, a morning sunrise over the Himalaya's, and crazy strong cinnamon. Now looking back on the trip, I have realized the moral of the story. Smart people ask questions!

Our motto for The Village is "Real Questions, Real Dialogue, Real Faith." In order to have real faith- a faith that is our own, we must ask questions and enter the dialogue! As you may know, we have recently instituted a Question Box at Village: a place where you can ask any question about our Catholic faith- and every week we will answer one of your questions. Visit http://www.findthevillage.com/ to see past Questions!

What question do you have about our Catholic faith?

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Village News

Next Sunday
Join us next Sunday from 5-6:30 for our second night on “Spike TV Meets Lifetime”- distinct callings. We’ll have more time to talk about what it means to be Men and Women of God!

Dinner and Some Bible: Thursdays 7-8:30
Stop on by St Thomas this week for Dinner and Some Bible. We’ll be eating some great food, and then reading some of the book of 1 Peter. It’s going to be a swell time- come hungry!

Service Car Wash this Saturday
Join us Saturday 4/26 from 4pm-6:30 for our Village Car Wash Fundraiser at the TCF Bank on the corner of Plymouth and Nixon. Proceeds go towards sending Village Volunteer Bridget Fil to Africa next month!! RSVP to Beth by Wednesday if you are able to help.

Other News
-“One can only find oneself in the sincere gift of self.” Are you ready to “Respond to Grace”?? Turn in your Teen Leader Application for Spring-Summer today!
-Our next GUS meeting is **this Friday** April 11th- Volunteers, please arrive by 6pm to setup.
-The remaining $155 for the Steubenville Youth Conference is due today, see Betho if you didn’t bring it tonight.

*Visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3205314.stm for news documentation of the accidents!! Eeekgads.

A Moped for Betho

As you may have guessed, my latest obsession is to buy a moped!! I was driving in traffic last week, and this girl passed me on a bright yellow moped. Our eyes locked...her hair waved in the breeze, and we both just knew I was destined for something greater. I am destined to join the moped army!!

When I was in India I rented a motorcycle for a day, and zipped around for a day barely escaping death on several occasions. The dream of being able to escape death everyday at home could be even more fantastical! Stay tuned for more details.

What I'm really longing for, is adventure! Ultimately we all long for adventure- to be fully engaged, fully alive. Saint Irenaus said, "The glory of God is man fully alive." So the good news is that God wants adventure and fullness of life for us also!! Jesus says in John 10:10, "I have come that they may have life- and have it to the full."

One adventure that we can all share in this next two months, is that Village Volunteer Bridget Fil is going to go to Uganda, Africa for a month of service in May!

As Christians, our mission is to know our identity in Christ- as His Beloved, His Chosen ones, and as those He has Called to serve Him in the world. Jesus says in Matthew 25:40, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to the least of my brothers, you did it to me.”

As Bridget goes to Africa, she is an ambassador for all of us of the love and concern we have for our fellow brothers and sisters there. Let us join with her in prayer, encouragement, and material support!

We will be having a Service Car Wash Fundraiser next next Saturday 4/26 from 4-6:30 to pay for her 'land' costs + send supplies for the people there. All are welcome to help out! RSVP to give me an idea of who will be there.

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News!

Next Sunday’s Village
Join us next Sunday from 5-6:30 for “Spike TV Meets Lifetime”- distinct callings. We’ll have some awesome time to talk about what it means to be Men and Women of God.

Dinner and Some Bible: Thursdays 7-8:30
Stop on by St Thomas this week for Dinner and Some Bible. We’ll be eating some great food, and then reading some of the book of 1 Peter. It’s going to be a swell time- come hungry!

Village Service Day: Sending Bridget to Africa!! ;)
Join us Saturday 4/26 from 4pm-6:30 for our Village Car Wash Fundraiser at the TCF Bank on the corner of Plymouth and Nixon. Proceeds go towards sending Village Volunteer Bridget Fil to Africa next month!! RSVP to Beth.

Responding to Grace
“One can only find oneself in the sincere gift of self.” Are you ready to “Respond to Grace”?? Turn in your Teen Leader Application for Spring-Summer today!

Steubenville Summer Retreat
The remaining $155 for the Steubenville Youth Conference is due next Sunday, April 20th!

Boredom Worse Than Exhaustion!

A new study* reports that it is better to have overworked employees than bored employees. Overworked employees tend to experience burnout, struggle with their personal lives, and produce lower quality work.

Those who are bored at work are less proud of their company, less inovative in their work, feel less valued by their employer, and have nearly no sense of accomplishment in their work. Certainly all of these attributes are easily transferred to those who are bored at school, or bored in their daily life.

Researchers have found that the longterm effects of bored employees are worse than the longterm effects of overworked employees!

Boredom can be a serious problem in every season of our lives-as a student, an employee, or even raising a family. We become restless because we are not engaged in the present. We might be running through life, or simply spectating- without considering how life could be different if we committed to the present moment.

The poet Rilke once said, "Is it possible that despite our discoveries and advances, despite our culture...and science, we have remained only on the surface of life?" As Christians we know that "One can only find oneself in the sincere gift of self." Do you feel bored in your daily life? In what ways might service help you to dive deeper in life?

As a part of 'Responding to Grace', we are opening up opportunities for Servant Leadership in the Village! We need Villagers to step forward to help lead and man several different teams- the Setup Team, Hospitality Team, Community Team, and the Greeting Team. Not only is this a great service opportunity, but you can put add this to those infamous college apps one day. :) Download the application from http://www.findthevillage.com/ today!

*http://www.sirota.com/pressrelease/1-Boredom-overwork_release_Final_NA.pdf

Village News:

Next Sunday
Join us next Sunday from 5-6:30 for our Village social night! We’ll have all the games you know and love from Recess as a kid. The chapel will be open for part of the night for those who wish to pray. :) A prize goes to whoever brings the most people. Please bring a snack to share.

Dinner and Some Bible: Thursdays 7-8:30
Stop on by St Thomas this week for Dinner and Some Bible. We’ll be eating some great food, and then reading some of the book of 1 Peter. It’s going to be a swell time- come hungry!

Responding to Grace

Some Retreat highlights!

--Tom got a 'lucky' pancake with a whole packet of Big League Chew inside- blech

--Monica lost the hot water contest with my small group...ha ha...

--Jacob won MVP for Friday's icebreaker- he knew *everybody*!

--Laura won Most Likely To Sleep in the Wrong Girl's Cabin

--Mike won the Big League Chew...and showered the rest of us with generosity

--Ben and Theresa were champions of the water drinking game...or not.. ;)

--Bernard, Kathleen, and Stefani perfected the model's catwalk...

--And Irenaus and Bethany stopped by!

We meditated on the piece of scripture in which Jesus calls Peter to 'Put Out Into the Deep;' especially what this means in terms of daily discipleship.

We will be chatting more about the opportunity to 'Put Out Into the Deep' by responding to God's love through servant leadership in the Village. Visit http://www.findthevillage.com/ to download the 'Responding to Grace' Application to be a Teen Leader. It is exciting to see the many ways God has equipped us for these important ministries. :)

Looking forward to seeing you all this Sunday at Village!

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Village News

Dinner and Some Bible Canceled This Week

--We'll be starting up again next week!