First Week At Covecrest

Move-in day finally came. And after months and months of waiting, it did not feel real. After spending a couple of weeks back at Emory visiting, I began to forget that I was leaving, that I was not going to get to know the new freshmen, be there to help out at the 6pm mass, or hang out at Wed. night mass and dinner. So when the day finally came for me to drive up to North Georgia, I wasn't sure how I felt. On one hand I was incredibly excited to start my new life at Covecrest, but on the other, I wanted to stay within my comfort zone at Emory.
And then I and the others arrived and dove right into our new missionary life. I was surprised, and at the same time not surprised, to see how quickly we bonded (Though I guess you can't scrub bathrooms and baseboards with someone and not get closer). We were welcomed in by Chris and Michelle, Jason and Melissa, Sarah, Christina, Eric, Gabriella, and all of the kids, and you can't spend time with them without feeling like a part of the family. We women moved into St. Francis, our amazing double-wide, and the guys are two doors down in St. Benedict. The closeness is great, it's nice that everyone lives and works together. . . That is, until you are walking up your driveway to find that the guys have hidden in the woods and are waiting to jump out and scare you. Given the group we have here, I feel like that's going to happen often.
The other missionaries- Alex, Reggie, Sean, Chris, Carla, Danielle, and Kelsey- are all fun and with very distinct personalities, but we mesh well together. Thanks to Alex and Reggie, we're all learning a lot about Louisiana culture. Louisiana is truly a different world, full of mythical creatures like nutra-rats (I'm sure they'll correct me if I've spelled it wrong) and delicacies like alligator tail and squirrel stew.
We're all still getting used to the schedule here, and wake up everyday asking, "do we really get to live here?" I can't wait to see what God does over the course of the next year, because in only four days He's already changed us from 8 strangers into a community, a family. So for all those who are wondering what that schedule is, we wake up and meet at the chapel at 7:15 for an hour of adoration. Getting to begin everyday in the presence of the Lord is an amazing blessing, even though it is very very early. At 8:15 other members of the community join us for morning prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. I've never prayed that consistently before, and I'm really starting to enjoy the rhythmn of the prayers. Following Liturgy of the Hours we (finally) eat breakfast. And then its on to Mission Formation Class with Chris. In the afternoons we work around the camp, cleaning or preping for the retreats. We close each day with Evening Prayer, and then its early to bed. I'll have more specifics about the daily schedule when we settle into the routine of it all. Our first weekend here at camp is two days away, and I can't wait to see what it's like. . .