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How Retreats have Affected Me

Being able to gain a new family through this retreat has been amazing.

Monika Litynski

Nov 22, 2016

Benedictine College

Joslyn Marie Wiebelhaus

This past weekend, I had the privilege of being on the prayer team for this retreat called Koinonia at my school. Going on the retreat last year, as a retreatant had a huge impact on me and my prayer life, as well as me being able to gain a new family.

In high school, after I went on my first retreat my freshman year and had a significant conversion experience, I started attending youth group every week. Through this experience I gained a lot of good friends to get through high school with. That first year of going to youth group, I grew so close with a lot of people that I considered it our Antioch family (Antioch is what our high school retreat/youth group is/was called after Acts 11:26, where the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch). After people started graduating and not attending youth group, our "family" started dissipating. What may have made it a little bit worse, as well, was that the youth minister at the time kept changing the little things about the retreat that had made a huge impact on me. Because of this I felt that the future participants wouldn't have as intense of an experience as I did.

Because of losing my Antioch family over time, and myself graduating and going away to college, I longed to become part of another close family, which is one of the main reasons I decided to go on the retreat. Plus, I always loved going on retreats and go so much out of them, so I really had nothing to lose. The retreat I went on is called Koinonia, which is Greek for "community".

Through the various talks and activities I was able to grow so much deeper in my relationship with God, which of course He knew more of how much I needed to go on this retreat than I did at the start, but now I'm so glad I went.Over the course of the retreat, and now being on team for the second time, I have gained such an amazing and close family of people I know I can count on for anything.

Being able to pray for all the retreatants and experience the retreat in a different way than I had before, was a really refreshing experience, one of which I'll never forget and that brought me even closer to our Lord. Being able to take part in the 25th retreat this semester was a really cool experience. I hope I can pass the torch onto future retreatants to allow even more people the same experience as I had.

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How Retreats have Affected Me

Being able to gain a new family through this retreat has been amazing.

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All names should be "unisex names."

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2. Appointments usually accompany weird looks.

3. Introducing yourself to someone is never without a hitch.

4. You’ve probably thought about changing your name.

5. You’re often asked why you have the name you do.

6. You get excited when you meet someone of your gender with your name.

7. You feel awkward when you meet someone of the opposite gender with your name.

8. You’ve had someone say to you, “I knew a [your name], but they were [your opposite gender].”

9. You’ve heard a bad joke/pick-up line or two about your name before.

10. People are surprised when they see you.

11. You’re extra sensitive to other unique or unisex names.

12. You’ve fought with your parents about it.

13. All things considered, you’re happy your name makes you unique.

You know that all of these things apply to you. You'll just never tell.

I get it... I'm pale.

1. At least I can't lose you in a crowd!

2. Oh my goodness your skin is like glow-in-the-dark.

3. Can't you just get fake tan?

4. Do you tan or just burn?

5. Your kids are going to look like Casper the Friendly Ghost!

6. *holds arm against your arm* Look how much darker I am compared to you!

7. *holds pale arm against another pale arm* Aw, at least you're darker than her!

8. I laid out by the pool almost every day over break!

9. I haven't used sunscreen since I was, like, five.

10. *adjusts selfie lighting to their face* Oops, where'd you go??

11. *after working out* Your face is SO red!

12. *wears white* Look! You're all one color!

13. You need to get some sun.

14. Aren't you excited for summer?

The struggle bus is real.

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7. Knowing that there's always that one professor during juries:

8. The oh-so-attractive band/choir uniforms:

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10. Hearing "Oh, you sing opera? I LOVE Phantom of the Opera!" for the hundredth time:

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12. When you're drowning in the stress that comes with 18+ credits (and not to mention all those 0 credit classes) and people ask you how you are:

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Because you need it in your life.

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6. holds arm against your arm Look how much darker I am compared to you!

7. holds pale arm against another pale arm Aw, at least you're darker than her!

10. adjusts selfie lighting to their face Oops, where'd you go??

11. after working out Your face is SO red!

12. wears white Look! You're all one color!