I had a great day with about 15 teens from this parish. We were together to do some thinking and “second glances” at leadership through an evangelization lens. I really enjoyed their openness to the material and that they gave up a Sunday to hang out and think through this.

I had some neat experiences…

• They do like (and have)Popeye’s chicken in places north of Atlanta!
• I’ve never played ping pong in a laundry room where you can play off the walls like a hockey rink…Very interesting. Good game Andrew.
• I learned that some teens really get into the sounds and motions of “Hunter, Woman, Bear”—an icebreaker. (Bang! Heyyyy-eyyyy!)

It was so cool to watch these teens affirm one another once given the chance and some tools to do so.

You ever get the feeling when you meet someone that you would be good friends if distance allowed you to hang out more? I get that feeling when I am with Anne Marie Cribbin, youth minister in Bethesda. She is bright, witty, focused and so into youth ministry. She is a partner in Over the Top Ministries. I know you will probably be hearing more of Anne Marie in the future, as she begins to get invitations to speak at rallies, retreats and more. (If you need a dynamic female presenter, I want to recommend Anne Marie.)

(Anne Marie as Bobbie Jo Culp of Saturday Night Live fame–with Justin Russell)

I got to meet Tom Hild who runs a wonderful summer work camp experience called Encounter in the Washington DC area. www.eglweb.org/encounter

Tom and I got connected through Gene Monterestelli of Apex. We had a good visit; I got to meet his daughter Anna, who is so much like my daughter Meg. We had a wonderful dining experience with Anne Marie at a Mexican(?) restaurant called Jaleo. A nice way to end a good weekend and a chance to talk about coming back to the area.