I was speaking to a large group of catechists and youth ministers last November in Baltimore (one of my favorite places to be with ministry people).

Shortly after my presentation there, Mark Moitoza, who works with NFCYM and the military archdiocese of the United States, came up to me and asked if I’d be interested in speaking in GERMANY! It didn’t take me long to say yes.

The event is called ECYC–the European Catholic Youth Conference. I had the high privilege of speaking to 250 American teenagers from military bases across Europe. Their theme was ‘’Catholic to the Core.”

This was my first trip to Europe and the whole experience was neat. I read and watched movies on the 8 hour flight from Newark to Cologne.

The trip did start with a setback. My laptop computer and MP3 player were stolen from a storage room. That was a tough break but I was pleasantly distracted by seeing Cologne with my travel companions Kathy Carver and Mark Moitoza.

(Kathy Carver, center and Mark Moitoza, right)

I really enjoyed the different culture- the trains, cafes, churches (the Cologne cathedral is huge!) and people.

I didn’t have to speak on Saturday of the conference so I decided to sleep in–I was still jet lagged, I guess. I went to bed at 10 pm. on Friday night and woke up at 4 pm. Saturday. Yep, I slept for 18 straight hours! Mark teased me and said I slept through Europe! I knew I could sleep but that was something else.

Marlo Daniels was the lead organizer for ECYC. She and the planning team did an awesome job. There were some good workshops on the “theology of the body”, Catholic teaching, prayer and more.

The adults who accompanied the teens also deserve special mention–they really care about these young people and their faith. That was very clear to me.

I got to meet / watch a Catholic comedienne, Judy McDonald.

She is funny and she is very much into her Catholic faith. She was a hit with the group. Check out her website.

The teens were great– they listened, participated, asked great questions and prayed. I think it was neat that they got to see that they aren’t the only teen trying to be a person of faith (in a foreign country).

I hope this is only the first of many trips to Europe. Many, many thanks to all who made it possible.