Happy Birthday Brent, Sept 20th, Entry #90.

Sara: One of our favorite parts about Prayer and Action are the relationships that are built between the students and the seminarians.  In what other context can a high school student spend time, sometimes hours, painting a house, playing an intense game of Chutes and Ladders, listening to discernment stories, having deep one-on-one conversations, or plotting water balloon attacks on and with young men studying to become priests?  I can't think of any other place.

The impact that these men have had, just on my teens, cannot be replaced.  The students get the chance to see these guys as real people, not just pictures on a poster.  They get to know them and then think, "huh, maybe being a priest wouldn't be all that bad, I mean, these guys are pretty cool".  It is invaluable.  I cannot express my gratitude enough to the fine young men of the Diocese of Salina and the Archdiocese of KCK.

So, with that being said, I just wanted to give a shout to one of these seminarians on his birthday.  I met Brent 3 years ago in Manhattan when he was on staff.  He was a young guy that was more prone to get in trouble from Gale than deliver a heart-rendering speech to the students....but that is exactly what made him accessible to the kiddos.  He was like them, they could relate to him. 

They could follow him up the tiny stair case of an old church bell tower...

...or paint the side of a house (and each other) with him and talk about faith for hours....

....or learn about all of the many things that Brent has learned in seminary thus far...

....and make us laugh really, really, really hard. (notice the look of suprise and subtle disdain on Fr. Peter's face in the background)

So Happy Birthday to you Brent....here's hoping that you touch many more lives and learn many more things in seminary.