by Stacy Mick and Garrett Philbin

Our weekend of respite and reflection began with the long voyage up to Point O’ Pines Camp in Brant Lake, New York.

The snow-capped scenery of the Adirondack Mountains was a refreshing change from the sites that we had, for the moment, left behind. As volunteers arrived from as far as San Francisco and as nearby as Albany, we greeted each other with hugs, forgetting that we had only spent ten days together at orientation months before – it felt like we had all known each other for much longer.

After our welcomes were exchanged, Brother Bud Knight led us in a reflection that set the tone for the weekend. We had the opportunity to consider questions that we seldom had time to tackle amid the whirlwind of our volunteer experience. What had been on our minds lately? What had been in our hearts? And with so much on our minds and hearts, had we been adequately caring for our bodies? We were able to share the answers to these questions with our fellow volunteers, which was very therapeutic. It was both comforting and encouraging knowing that our experiences were being shared by LV’s across the country.

The theme for the weekend was "Putting together the pieces of our experience." We put these pieces together with the help of the children’s author Shel Silverstein, as we looked at his stories, The Missing Piece and The Giving Tree. We considered what pieces might be missing from our own volunteer experiences. After much reflection, sharing, and prayer, we realized that our "missing pieces" were as necessary as the pieces we have. The search for our missing pieces is why many of us chose to volunteer in the first place. In fact, if we are only satisfied when we are complete and self-sufficient, then it becomes impossible to give of ourselves.

While much time was given for personal reflection, we were also given the opportunity to talk one on one with each other and split into small groups. Each new session brought the opportunity to connect with a fellow volunteer whom we hadn’t talked to in a while, or go for a walk with a group of friends we really missed. Being able to personally reflect on our first few months before meeting together to share with others allowed us to grow emotionally, spiritually, and socially.

As the weekend drew to a close, we celebrated a communion service led by Brother Ed Hofmann, FSC. With the help of the wonderful staff at Point O’ Pines, we celebrated the birthday of our newest volunteer, Denny Majewski. We said our goodbyes to those who were headed back to their sites, while about half the volunteers were able to spend one more night of fun at La Salle School Community in Albany. It was sad to leave our fellow volunteers, but we left with new insights and a new energy to approach the second half of our service year.