European Youth Forum

We got a train from the Czech Republic down to Altotting - actually, it was three trains. We stayed with a host family. They were so lovely. It sure beat staying on the floor in a school like the other participants of the forum. Tis a good thing that we aint young any more.

Beautiful Altotting 

Kev had a lot of work to do for the forum. He was in charge of organising the evening programme with some of our former students. My service was to take care of Msgr Sarno who was one of the guest speakers. He is an American priest who has worked in Rome for 30 years (at the Congregation for the Cause of Saints). He is one of our main teachers at the ESM and a good friend of ours. So, my responsibility was to make sure that he was happy with his accommodation, that he had everything he needed for his talk and his workshops, and to take him our for beer and lunch and coffee, etc. It was a tough job but someone had to do it. Actually, I didn't do a very good job of it. Several times I reaslised that I didn't have any money, so he had to pay. What are friends for...?

 Msgr Sarno giving his talk on the main stage

The forum was great. The weather was interesting - it was beautiful and sunny every day, and it also poured raining every day. There was something for everyone. We got to catch up with a lot of former students which is always fun.

Alexey, Marthe, Miri Miri, Eric, Kev, Caroline, Msgr Sarno, Hele

(The camera got wet in the rain - nice effect, huh!)

We also met lots of lovely people, and found a few youngies who were interested in doing the ESM.We managed to find some opportunities to get work done too. As usual (when we have an international gathering), we had lots and lots of meetings with members of the Community who we work with (at a distance) for the School.

It was a great forum.

Czech it out!

Kev and I had a few days to kill between the wedding and the Youth Forum in Germany so we looked at a map to decide where to go. We realised that were very close to the Czech Republic but the only place that I had heard of (apart from Prague which is on the other side of the country) was Pilsen, which is known for it's beer. This sounded like a great idea when we were still in Italy. It kinda lost its appeal though, the day after we drank beer all day at a German wedding. Luckily the novelty returned once we got there. 

Oh, it is such a beaut place. We were so pleased to find that the hotel we booked was opposite the cathedral in the town square.

Pilsen -  The view from our hotel room

Cathedral of St Bartholomew

We spent a lot of time wandering around the lovely old town. We also ate heaps. The are really good at serving humungus amounts of food - and really large beers.

We went on an historical underground tour. This sounded fascinating, but it was pretty dumb. Just before it started we were surrounded by a loud group from some foreign land. I was glad that we had booked the English tour so that we wouldn't have to be underground with this noisy mob. In fact, it wasn't an English tour...it was a tour where everyone is given a person electronic guide so we were all together. The commentary took longer than the tour though, so we couldn't listen to all of it. We had to wear hard-hats which was a bit stupid. They sit so high off your head that we kept hitting the ceiling which we wouldn't have done if we weren't wearing the darn things. But it gave opportunities to laugh at each other, so it was worth it.

 Underground historical tour of Pilsen

After the tour we went to a pub for lunch. We were obliged to, because we were all given a voucher for a free beer so we had no choice. I decided to order the special that was recommended on the menu - the knee of a pig. I thought it best to order a side of chips as well. When the three plates arrived (pig, veges, chips) we were in shock. The pig was bigger than my head. It was sooooo delicious. I couldn't eat it all so Kev helped. I also had my free beer to wash it down.

 A couple of pigs

We also visited the Pilsen Brewery. We had to. You can't not. It was wonderful.

 Kev in front of the main gates of the brewery

We joined an English-speaking tour (a real one) that lasted almost two hours. It was fantastic. We saw how they bottle the beer, how they brew it, the history, etc. It really was great.

 The bottling room

 These barrels are bigger than we are.

 Underground cellar where the beer ferments

 We were given a sample

After the tour, Kev was still hungry so he had pizza for dinner. I was so full after my pig-lunch and beer that I just had an icecream for dinner.

Hungry Kev

We had such a wonderful few days in Pilsen. It was a shame it was so short.

Bavarian Wedding

The first of our ESM kiddies got married in Germany on 28th July, and Kev and I were invited. We flew into Munich airport and met up with Fr Benoit who drove us to Miriam's house where we stayed for the night. (Miriam was a student from last year). Another student (Baptiste) was staying there at the same time, so it was fun all around.

The following morning we drove to Waldsassen for Monika's wedding. We were greeted outside the church by the squeels of our ESM students from two years ago. We cannot tell you how good it was to see them. Out of 20 students from that year-group, 16 came for the wedding.

The wedding was absolutely beautiful. We were so proud of our Monika! After the wedding in the church, everyone gathered in the square outside.

Monika and Michael (with Fr Benoit doing the reading)

Michael's father helps out at the fire department, so there were fire engines and hoses all over the place. The bride and groom had to walk through the hoses.....

The Bride and Groom made it through the fire hose

.....and then into the basket-thingy which is attached to the ladder. The ladder extended up high and they had to get a huge bunch of flowers that was hanging from the top of a building. It was amazing.

Getting the flowers down from the top of the building

While everyone was congratulating the newlywed couple, we were catching up with our ESM kids.

ESM 2010-2011

Hele and Kev in Waldsassen, Germany

Monika and Michael were whisked away in an old-fashioned fire engine, with the sirens blaring. The reception took place at fire department museum nearby. It began at about midday and continued until about 2am. Basically we ate and drank for 14 hours. It was so much fun.

Miriam, Lisa, Maria Ana, Cacilia, Monika, Natalia, Hele and Kev 

We were all invited (the ESM gang) to stay and Monika's in-law's house which was just around the corner. There wasn't enough room for everyone, so some of stayed at Monika's father-in-law's work. He is a doctor so we stayed in his clinic. We each had our own room and slept on the examination tables. It was surprisingly comfortable, although I had a bit of trouble sleeping because I was scared of falling out - it was pretty narrow. At least I would have received all the care I needed.

My bedroom for the night

The next morning we went back to the museum for breakfast, because we hadn't eaten in a few hours. We spent most of the day with the ESM kids - they are such a good group.

Later in the afternoon Kev and I were driven to the station where we caught a train to the Czech Republic for a few days of rest.

Another year older

Yesterday was my birthday. It was also my twin brother Alex's birthday. We both turned 38.



I had a marvellous day. I was treated to breakfast in bed. Kev managed to sneak out and get some coffees and pastries from the cafe next door. He brought breaky in to me with some lovely prezzies. I got a toy dog, a real nice puzzle  of Venice, a massive slab of Lindt chocolate and another Bill Bryson book. Pretty good, huh?!!!



We went to Adoration for an hour at the chapel near our place, then went to work. We had a Skype call with my fam on mum's new Ipad. It was great (as always) to see my mum and dad and brothers and sis-in-law and three little nephews.

Then I did some work. It involved traipsing around Rome in the disgusting heat, but that's ok. I had to go to the Vatican to organise visas for next year's students. I was unsuccessful. But while I was so close, I decided to pop into St Peter's and pray in front of Bl John Paul II's tomb for ten minutes.

After work we went to Mass then dinner at a restaurant near our house. We were joined by some of our crazy friends.

 Me and Carly (and a prawn)

 Fr Eric, Simon, Marta, Carly and me

Fr Eric, Simon, Marta, Carly, me, Kev, Philip, Claire, Bernard

As usual, the food was good, the company was great, and the service was terrible. The gang got me some dvds: 'Mr Crocodile Dundee (this is the Italian version) and West Wing. I also got a noice scarf and some chocky.

It was a ripper day.

Lake Bracciano

This year our students took a bit longer to pack up and leave Rome, which was nice because we got to spend a bit more time with them. Some of them kindly invited us to spend a day with them at lake Bracciano.

It was such a lovely day - here are some photos to prove it.

 Hele and Kev and some of our former students

Kev and Hele

We spent the day swimming, eating and swimming and eating. The students packed lunch for us all so we had a little picnic. Later we all had a gelato. For the first time in my life, I paid the little bit extra and had a waffle cone with chocolate around the top.  I ordered four flavours: lemon, strawberry, pineapple and peach. It was the greatest icecream experience of my life.

We returned to Rome late in the afternoon and decided to stay at school for dinner. Some of the students offered to cook dinner. It started out to be a small affair with about 10 people. By the time dinner was ready we were about 20 people. It was nice because we had wine and music with our meal, and we didn't have to ring the gong after 45 minues (which is what normally happens during the year).

Now there are no students left. It is very quiet here at the school. It won't be long before we are welcoming the new batch!

End of the year

Kev and I have survived another year at the ESM!!
 

The farewell celebrations began a week ago with the annual dinner with Cardinal Rylko. As he is the head-honcho for the Pontifical Council for the Laity, he likes to come to the ESM at the end of each year and meet with the students. He puts them on the spot by asking them what they got out of the year, while at the same time, encouraging them for when they return home.

Dinner with Cardinal Rylko

We also had a dinner to thank all of our teachers, companions, tutors and the local members of the Emmanuel Community. I think the long-term teachers were a little disappointed that the students didn't treat them to drama and music created to mock them, as has been the tradition in past years. But they were thankful for the gratitude shown by the students.

Then came the 30th June - the last day of school. The students organised everything, and did such a wonderful job. They prepared all the food (it was the cook's day off), decorated, prepared the entertainment, and even bought two little pools to cool us down on the terrace.

Theresa made the mistake of coming outside with an umbrella, which in our eyes was another way of saying, 'please splash me'. So we did.

Flavio and me splashing Theresa!

After dinner, we had some entertainment. There were various 'acts' including slide shows, music, drama and dancing. Even the Team contributed. Firstly we played little clips of music while everyone had to guess which student it referred to. Then we projected an image of the student which had been 'improved' in 'yearbook yourself'.

Cris - before and after

We also perfomed a song to let the students know how we feel about them leaving. We changed the words from, "Knocking on Heaven's Door" to "Don't Come Knocking on Helen's Door" (after July 1st)

Then, to thank the members of Team who are leaving, we gave them a small gift. We got one of the students to dress up as Theresa - we even made a face-mask out of a photo. It was hilarious.

Kev, Hele and Jeanne (dressed up as Theresa)

The students thanked us for our love and care. They knew that I loved painting so they all painted a picture for me. It is a picture of St Peter's, with each of the students and Team. I was so touched as it took them days to paint (in secret)

Baptiste presents me with the painting

After all the 'organised fun' we headed outside to sit by the pools! It was so hot, so this was the perfect way to cool down.

 

 Some of the gang with their feet in the pool

Some of the boys picked Kev up from inside and carried him into the pools.

 Kev taking it easy

It was a fantastic end to a great night and a wonderful year.

 Farewell ESM 2011-2012!

Mission in Dublin

Just before we were to leave for two weeks of mission in Dublin, I spoke with the person in charge of the Emmanuel Community in Ireland (Linda). We both said, "What were we thinking?!? Planning two parish missions in a row!" Anyway, we did it and we survived.

We left for Dublin on Saturday 2nd June and went straight to the parish of St Martin de Porres in the suburb of Tallaght. We each stayed with local families and were given a very warm welcome. We stayed for one week during which time we spoke with the people on the streets, in schools, in the shops, at home, in the church, and of course in the pub. Most of the time it was cold and rainy but we had two good 'summery' days.

 Obviously the schedule was very gruelling for the ESM students

A condition of us doing two missions in a row was that we have a day off in between. A coach took us to Glendalough which is about an hour and a half out of Dublin. It rained all day but that didn't spoil our fun. We were happy to be out in nature and to be able to run and play like kids. It was so much fun.

Some dear little dear

After one week in Tallaght we moved to the city centre for a parish mission at St Andrews in Westland Row. This was our main reason for coming to Dublin. The priest who was in charge of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress had requested that we come. We had been planning this for a couple of years. It was a wonderful to be on mission during an event like the Congress. After so much bad publicity for the Church (due to the scandals of some bad individuals) the people of Ireland were able to see the Church in a new light - young, vibrant, healthy, good, true, beautiful....etc.

We spent a lot of time singing hymns in front of the church and speaking with people. We invited them to come and pray or to merely accept a small gift - a piece of paper with some words from God. On the most part, it was very well received.

Street evangelisation

We were kept very busy during the week. Apart from attending some of the Congress, we visited schools, shopping centres, and organised events in the church. We also bumped into some old friends..

 Fr Fred and Hele

 Fr Aurelio (in the Eucharistic Procession)

My Kev, Hele and Kevin McNena (who did the ESM with me ten years ago) 

The ESM students stayed in a nearby youth hostel. The Team stayed in a distant hotel. It was great popping into the bar dwonstairs on some nights. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that it was karaoke night one night. Kev, Fr Benoit and Eliane blessed us with their musical abilities!

We got to speak to lots of people who were also staying at the hotel. I spoke with a lovely couple who had experienced a lot of suffering in their lives. We prayed for them together (while Kev was organising his first song).

Kev and Fr Benoit singing 'Morning Has Broken' 

 Eliane, Theresa, Fr Benoit, Hele and Kev

We all went to the Closing Mass of the Congress on the last day. The numbers for the Opening Mass were a little disappointing (12 000 people). There were 78 000 at the Closing Mass. It was amazing. Before the Mass started there was some music. I was so happy to hear 'The Priests' sing. They are great. After the Mass there was a screening of a speech from the Holy Father. It received a standing ovation.

 Cris, Anna, Kev and Hele (wearing our beautiful Congress volunteer t-shirts)

 Members of the Emmanuel Community in Ireland

After the Closing Mass we went back to the parish for dinner and to pack things away. Then a few of us went to the pub to celebrate the fact that we were still standing...by sitting down to drink our guiness.

Anne Schneibers, Hele, Kev (and Anne's friend)

We went back to Rome on Monday 18th June - the school year is coming to an end........