Budget meetings worth sitting through. February 15th, Entry #58.

Sara: I had a really long meeting this afternoon.  I had a really long meeting this afternoon to make a budget.  A budget?  I don't even keep a personal budget, why in the world am I the person for this job??  Because someone volunteered me for it and I said "sure, ok".  Real smart on my part.  So, we made cool spread sheets, pulled out the calculator a lot, debated over prices and tried to guess how much food for 165 people costs.  We came up with some big numbers and quite a rough draft.

Now, while this is not my favorite thing, it's just fine with me.  Why?  Because I got to dedicate an hour to something I love, something I believe in, something that I have personally witnessed change lives.  That's right, I'm talking about Prayer & Action....only the best mission trip ever!!

So, this summer, the ArchKCK is bringing Prayer & Action here to our own backyard.  I'm really glad that they are b/c it was going to be a lot of work for me to do on my own.  Ok, I couldn't have done it on my own, but I believe in this mission enough to have done it on my own if that is what it took!  But, by the grace of God and the vision of some cool people, the Archbishop, the Youth staff, the Social Justice staff, the Vocations staff and other fellow YMs are all on board to bring this program here to KC. 

When Aaron and I first stumbled upon Prayer & Action we were not expecting much, if anything really.  Within the first 2 hours we were looking at each other in amazement.  This random, small church in Hays with their staff of a few seminarians and a few college girls....they know what's up, they've got it figured out, they nailed it.  And from that moment Aaron and I were hooked.  So, we kept coming back.  But we also kept telling other YMs how great this program was.  And then they signed up.  And then more of them signed up. 

And then Andrew, the current head honcho of this operation told us that we had to get out...seriously.  We had to start our own Prayer & Action b/c there were too many of us KCers hogging all the spots from their kiddos.  That's fair.  So, when we proposed to the Youth Office that we start our own program I waited for the denial.  But thank God for Rick Cheek and his vision.  He trusted us, trusted that this was a worthwhile program to start up amid all the other awesome summer events that the ArchKCK puts together.

So, here we are, 7 months later, weeks away from sending out registration packets.  Fr. Mitchel almost has a full staff lined up.  Sacred Heart in Emporia is excited to have us this summer and they are already working on possible work sites for us.  We have a working budget set up.  We're working on t-shirts.  I mean, look at us, we are in business!!

So, really, this is a thank you to Rick Cheek, Fr. Mitchel Zimmerman, Bill School, and Archbishop Naumann for going along with our idea. For supporting us, for listening to us, for believing in an idea that they haven't even seen in action yet.  Thank you for believing in our youth.  For supporting them in their desire to serve those around them.  Thank you for giving us the chance to share such an awesome experience with our kiddos.

We are soooooo excited for this summer!!!


The name for this program, Prayer and Action, comes from a speech that was given by the late Pope John Paul II.  In speaking to a group of high school students in the Philippines in 1995 he said:

Look to Mary to see how to respond to Jesus' call.  First she kept all things, pondering them, in her heart.  She also went in haste to serve her cousin Elizabeth.  Both attitudes are essential parts of our response to the Lord: Prayer and Action.  That is what the church expects of her young people.