SEED

Frank Vuong

Embark. This retreat for children was truly a journey, and God was definitely the guide. It all started with an invitation sent to nhóm Hạt Cải, asking if leading a retreat for children would be of interest. Upon receiving this invitation, the retreat team soon was established after discerning whether or not it was God’s calling for the individuals that desired to take up this opportunity. We had countless meetings and numerous late nights when the retreat team would go over every single detail of the retreat. To be honest, we had no idea what we were getting into. None of us had ever led a full retreat in our lives. Yet, we found trust, hope, faith, and guidance through God as we kept reminding ourselves that we were doing this for Him. Every disagreement we had in our planning process was settled through the thought of the smiles on each child’s face which we had yet to even meet. The planning process of retreat took us almost two months. We had to find time in our busy schedules that consisted of school, exams, studying, and work. The planning and preparation never ceased until the minutes leading up to the retreatant’s arrival time. Although the planning seemed stressful, we had so much fun bonding with each other and getting each other more excited as we thought about the kids. I remember at one point we had started counting down the days, minutes, and seconds left until the start of the retreat. Through love, faith, and putting it all into action, we embarked on this journey to allow the children of nhóm Nazaret to embrace and encounter God in a whole other way.

Experience. After a long drive from Southern California to the retreat site in Flagstaff, Arizona, we found ourselves anxious and excited. I remember how the retreat team and I were preparing the meeting room before the retreat officially started. Each one of the retreat leaders were soon ambushed by remarkably energetic little people, the kids. We were stormed by children that had met us for the first time only to hug us and embrace us as older brothers and sister in Christ. We were hoping to give the parents and children a warm welcome, yet ironically we were the ones that were even more warmly welcomed. At that moment, I saw God in the smiles on each child’s face. I saw their eagerness to spend time with the Lord through praise, worship, community time, and faith sharing. I saw God also in the parents as they placed their entire trust and faith in the retreat leaders. I had never experienced so much support from those that I hardly knew. We all were experiencing God’s graces this retreat. We were witnessing mountains being moved with prayer.

Develop. Throughout the retreat we focused on introducing God to the children through different aspects. We helped reconnect the retreatants with God through experiencing one another as friends and ultimately a family in Christ. We played activities that would help the children see God in nature and in other people. One specific activity we had was painting a scene of nature. Each child would look around at the beautiful pine trees that surrounded us and appreciate God’s work of art through making their own work of art in form of paintings. Another activity was the scavenger hunt. All the retreatants were separated into random groups in which they would work as a team to find clues that lead them to a retreat leader. Each retreat leader dressed up as a Saint for this game. The retreatants had an awesome time finding the retreat leaders dressed as St. Francis of Assisi, St. Bernadette, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and St. Peter hiding around in the forest as they waited to tell their stories of their wonderful journeys of faith. We also had discussions and presentations on various topics. We explored what the ‘sign of the cross’ meant and why we do it. The children found who God is to them as the Heavenly Father. We discussed with the children on the Catholic belief of the Holy Trinity. Last but not least, we helped them to find their place of comfort in a community, and they actually built real communities out of cardboard too! This retreat was jam packed full of activities, games, and presentations that were all centered around God in a way that would help develop the children’s spirituality.

S.E.E.D. Looking back now, I can see how it was only through God’s grace that this retreat experience happened. Through the unsurpassed support from the parents, the incomparable participation and enthusiasm of the children, and the deep passion of the retreat leaders, this retreat was a dream come true for all of us. Never had I thought I would be privileged enough to lead a retreat like this at my age. This certainly was a true community experience that allowed me to not only bond with children but the adults too. The S.E.E.D. Retreat 2006 was definitely an irreplaceable experience that bridged the gaps between generations, age groups, and spiritual lifestyles. I am honored to say that during those three days of searching, embarking, experiencing, and developing our relationship with Jesus, I know that this truly is an act of building God’s community.

Lord, You are the planter, and I am the seed. Amen.

Frank Vuong

16 October 2006