Georgiarlington

And just like that a month has flown by.  I did write another blog but I just didn't post it.  I felt it was too much of a rant to share with everyone right now.

I'm still recovering from the Dawgs losing on Saturday.  The worst part is when you are a Georgia fan in Texas people won't stop talking to you about the game.  I know we lost.  Thanks for your condolences but we can stop talking about it now.  Thanks.

To cheer me up on Monday I had a "let's see how many Georgian things I can do in Arlington, TX."

Here was my day:

Outfit: UGA shirt and sweatpants

Lunch: Sushi and Bubble Tea (so happy I live near a college campus with Asians!) That was my Johns Korea fix!

Afternoon: Listened to music about Georgia while doing a puzzle of Sanford stadium.  I also watched Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Great Georgia Music Website

There are so many more songs than I realized! I also listend to REM to get my Athens fix.

Puzzle and Bubble Tea!

Dinner: WAHO.  I always feel rich at Waffle House because I like to tip 100%.  That's normally less than $5 but I still feel pretty epic.

That was my Georgia Day! I took Monday off to recover from the weekend.  I did a homeless sleepout with my teens on Saturday night and then we collected coats all morning! I got about 2 hours of sleep that night.  In a box.  But the weather was really nice so we were kind of spoiled!

Reflection:  So I got my Sushi at a Kroger that I had never been to before.  There is a Kroger less than a mile away from my apartment that I usually go to.  The vegetables always look bad, the selection of fruit is poor, the store looks old and the most colorful thing there are the people that come in!  The Kroger I went to on Monday was less than 2 miles in the other direction.  It was very new, very clean and was much larger.  The fruit selection was amazing and the store had a bunch of bright colors in it and so many options!  The one problem: everyone shopping there looked like me.  What are the differences between these two stores? Why can't we offer a better selection of fruits and vegetables in the store that is closer to where the minorities live?  What made that "Kroger Signature" the white people store?  It just shocked me a little.  I wish we could mix the two stores.  I wish the first store could have a better selection of fresh produce and I wish the second store could have a better variety of people!

Lesson Learned: I can't fool anyone. Yesterday I went to confession at a penance service we had here.  After confessing my sins the priest (who I have never met before) said, "So, you're someone with a really active personality.  You always think ahead.  You are very future oriented and you're sitting here thinking about what comes next and what you're going to do after you're done with this."  I guess I'm easy to analyze because that was pretty spot-on!

All Souls

Be prepared: This is going to be a sad blogpost.  There has been a lot of talk about death around me recently.  I guess it is fitting because of All Soul's Day



Have you ever sat in a football stadium during a moment of silence where it actually got deadly quiet?  I have.  Two weeks in a row.  A football player from a nearby high school drowned jumping off a cliff a few weeks ago and his friend killed himself the next day.  I was at their first home game after it happened, cheering on the other team.  His sister wore his uniform and walked out with the captains for the coin toss.  His team wore his number on his helmet.  There was a tribute video played on the big screen to commemorate him as a student, teammate and brother.  I cried throughout the video as I remembered all the classmates I had lost at Northview.

I remember my mom and sister telling me when Claire Nelson lost her battle with her brain tumor.  I remember calling Ana to tell her the news and feeling so helpless when she said "I think I'm just going to go cry now." I wear her pink bracelet every day.  I'm wearing it as I write. I remember hearing about the passing of my neighbor Kasey and his friend Beau in a car accident- both students at my school.  I remember two classmates passing away in a car accident on their way to Florida for Spring Break.  I remember hearing about Michael Gallagher passing away and being an Usher at his funeral at St. Benedict's.  I remember Ana and Alex meeting me outside of work one night to tell me Josh Overton had committed suicide.  I remember crying in my German class because he wasn't there to make jokes anymore.  I remember Molly calling me to tell me of Sheila's car accident.  I remember the emergency trip to Adoration in the middle of the night with my close Catholic friends and still getting text updates while we huddled close together in the adoration chapel.  I remember thinking I shouldn't be seeing my classmates again so soon after graduation at the funeral.  I remember crying while watching Greg speaking about her. I remember getting the text message about Logan finally losing his battle with Leukemia and crying in the bathroom at a party until I could come out and tell my friends what happened.

I knew exactly what that school was going through.  I knew that even as much as the school counselors and principal and teachers worked each student would each still have to grieve individually.  My heart broke for that school as it broke each time for Northview and my peers.  Please keep Coppell high school in your prayers.

On All Saint's Day one of my Catechists lost his son in a car accident in Austin.  He was coming home from work very early in the morning and fell asleep while driving.  I just went to the funeral this morning because it was held at Holy Spirit.  He was only 35 and left behind three children and his fiance.  I watched his fiance clutch their 2 month old baby as she could barely walk during the procession because of her grief.  I heard his brother read a letter that his elementary school- aged daughter wrote saying he was a great man and it was fitting that he died on All Saints Day.  It reminded me of the other deaths in my life.  The ones that weren't my classmates.

I remember being 7 years old and my mom calling me upstairs one day in the summer.  She told me my friend Ryan Turner had lost his battle to Leukemia.  I remember crying in her lap.  I remember hearing about John Paul II passing away and I grieved for my church.  I remember waking early one morning to the phone in my parents room.  I never wake up when it rings but that morning I did.  I knew it was the Hospice calling.  The next morning I went downstairs for breakfast and my mom told me my grandfather had passed away during the night.  I remember saying, " I know."  I remember driving home from my work and my mom calling me asking me if I was on my way.  I remember coming in the door and her mouthing the words from the top of the stairs.  "Uncle Bobby Passed Away."  I remember finding out Grant Nelson had passed away.  I remember showing his mom Claire's bracelet at his funeral.  Reminding her that I still wear it.  I still remember.  I remember going to Chad's mother's funeral and hearing "Over the Rainbow."  I remember.

I'm getting married next summer.  Since the age of 15 I have been to 1 wedding and 10 funerals. I am 22 years old.

But I know others have it so much worse than me.

Saturday I took some youth to volunteer at a local cemetery in honor of All Soul's Day.  A catechist came with his daughter because two of his grandchildren are buried there.  They were twins and lasted less than a few hours on this Earth.

Another Catechist spoke to me on Sunday.  He was a refugee from Angola and had not seen his mother since 1975.  After searching for her for 37 years he found out last Thursday she had passed away in April of 2008.

I also have many loved ones in the hospital or nursing homes.  Death is around me, especially working at a church.

We had our Life Night on Sunday about death. We talked about Purgatory and teens shared their ways of coping with their loss.  We had been planing the night for two months but God had been planning the timing for a very long time.

I will continuously pray for everyone affected by death. And for all the souls in purgatory.  And for all of you.


Reflection:  This whole blogpost was my reflection.  I offer up this spot as a prayer.

Eternal rest, grant unto them O Lord 

and let perpetual light shine upon them

May they rest in peace 

May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Amen

Lesson Learned: Volunteering in the cemetery was a very powerful experience.  The employee there was so nice and I was glad I got to wipe the headstones and pick up what little trash there was.  It was definitely prayerful. 

Surviving October

Well I'm happy to announce that my coworkers like me!  I know that sounds lame but it's good to know that there are people here that will have my back and support me in my ministry.  That is so important in youth ministry and in working at a church.

I have taken teens on 4 trips in the past 3 weekends.  We did a service project at  a 5k, did a Hike for Life, prayed outside an abortion mill for 40 Days for Life and went to Six Flags for World Youth Day.  It's been busy and tiring but when I'm on those activities everything is so worth it!

I'm looking forward to going back to Atlanta for Thanksgiving.  We will be celebrating Mama Scheuch's birthday and my grandfather is going to come for the week!  I didn't get to see him this summer so I'm super excited about that.

I'm also probably shopping for wedding dresses that week too.  Mama Scheuch and Mrs. Buschow both bought the first dress they tried on... maybe I'll have that luck too!

Reflection: Justin and I scored 100% in our marriage prep survey about Communication.  I thought that was pretty awesome and Justin said it was obvious we were good at communicating because that's all we've been able to do being so far apart for over 3 years!  I thought that was so true.  It's been great meeting with our sponsor couple and I know I am super blessed to be living within driving distance of Justin now!

Lesson Learned: Working in a church is awesome.  It makes you feel closer to Jesus.  Especially the moments where He flips over tables or runs away from everyone to pray on top of mountains.

Highs and Lows

Some recent "lows"

1. I've been missing the Catholic Center a lot!
2. I've been missing everyone back in Georgia
3. I've been missing UGA football
4. I miss people who say "Adlana" instead of "AT-lanTa"
5. I've been seriously missing out on 49er Football since I work so much on Sundays

Some recent "highs"

1. The teens in my program are awesome
2. My "peer minister" group is growing
3. 20 Year Old Grandma business is going well!
4. I'm looking forward to going back to Adlana for Thanksgiving
5. Less than 9 months til the wedding!


Reflection: There are a lot of ups and downs in my job sometimes.  Every "Jesus High" needs a struggle beforehand to really help me spot God at work.  The weeks seem really long but the months have been flying by.  I've already been a youth minister for 4 months now! I'm excited to continue this ministry and keep working for God.

Lesson Learned:  Not living with roommates has its ups and downs.  For example:  It's a good thing that I don't have roommates because I come in my door and just throw my stuff all over the floor.  It's a bad thing that I don't have roommates because I come in my door, throw stuff all over the floor and never feel guilty enough to pick it up.  I have also eaten at least 4 meals this week without pants on.  I never close the door to the bathroom when I pee.  Sometimes I talk to myself out loud.  I crack up at every Friends episode that comes on, even though I've seen all of them multiple times and I'm watching by myself.

Those are my observations at this point.  I miss you Shalen, Keriann and Katherine!

Registered Texan

So now I start another post with "I'm so busy!" But it's true.  I work office hours and I do activities for my teens on nights and weekends.  Plus, last week alone I had seven meetings.  And when I get home from work I start working on 20 Year Old Grandma orders (Shameless plug, get some good cold-weather accessories here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/20-Year-Old-Grandma/174926255865844!)

So basically by the time I get home all I want is my bed.  Which I promptly get in and fall asleep because memory foam mattresses are the best and Craigslist is the best invention ever!

So last week I finally registered Kaiser in Texas.  He has Texas plates and now I'm waiting for my permanent Texas license to come in the mail. This has been a very expensive move.  In Texas when you register your car you have to pay the tax on the worth of your car, not on what you paid for it.  So the good news is Kaiser is still worth a good amount of money.  The bad news is that amounts to a lot of taxes...

I waited in line for only 2 hours to get my license. The amount of paperwork it takes to get a Texas license is insane.  I'm talking like 6 other IDs and two proofs that you live in the state.  But the people were actually friendly! So that was good.

                                                 
There was an old lady sitting in front of me at the Department of Safety.  She had a map of Texas with the flag inside tattooed behind her ear.  I wish you could see it in the picture.  It was pretty funny.

Things at church are good! Still working hard but working with the youth are the best.  I've also been going to Marcus football games.

                                                 
Tori looks great with the American flag coming out of her hat!

Justin comes home today!  It's nice living in the same state because I get to see him once a month instead of once every 2-3 months!

Reflection:  So I've been teaching some Quinceañera meetings and I've been realizing what an awesome opportunity they are.  I get to know the girl and I'm learning stuff too! This last week we talked about Jesus discovering who He was.  I had never thought about Jesus discovering He is the Son of God. You always think he knew all along.  But He was human too.  He noticed changes when He was going through puberty and then they found Him in the Temple.  And they all knew and Mary kept these things in her heart.  God is awesome!

Lesson Learned: Texans don't like when you don't eat meat.  They feel it is a personal calling to change the ways of all non-meat eaters.  Even though I don't care if other people eat meat, they find me not eating meat is offensive!  Sorry dudes, I just don't like it and if I survived 8 years without eating it I'm not going to start now!
                                           

My projects!

Finally my Kaiser has come back to me! He looks great- new paint job and sparkling like a brand new car! I've missed him.  Now I just need to work on getting my car registered and getting a Texas license now that I have a permanent address.

Tomorrow is our first real night of youth group.  I'm excited!  I have nearly 200 7th-12th graders registered right now.  I think it's going to be a great year!

Right now I'm knitting and watching some college football.  Last week I wasn't able to watch the Bulldogs because we didn't get the channel in Texas. LAME! But today they are playing on ESPN 2 so I'll get to watch them play!

This week we had our first Young Adult meeting.  I think it went great! We had 6 young adults come and we reflected on an article from Busted Halo.  We talked about when we want to meet and what we want the group to be.  After we closed in prayer no one left! Everyone stayed and talked for at least another 20 minutes and some of the group stayed for an extra hour! It makes me realize how much this group is needed.  I'm excited I can help sponsor this group of young Catholics.  It's hard finding a group sometimes in this transitional phase of life.  I'm excited to see what this group can turn into.

I like adding pictures to my blog.  I know I'm lazy and don't like to read a lot of times so here are some pictures for you!

 This is the mascot for my peer minister group.  He is over 3 feet tall and showed up at our church's rummage sale.  We hide him places in the church to freak people out. 

See how creepy he can be? 

 This is my new bed! Tori and Carter didn't want to get out of it when they helped bring it to my apartment.  

 This is my bookshelf that I built! 

The next few pictures are some DIY projects I did last weekend! 

 I found these in the dumpster behind my apartment! Two end tables that were probably in a kid's room. They had some Kool-aid stains and some markers drawn on them. 

 I bought these antique milking stools at my church's rummage sale. I needed small stools to fit under my small counter! 

 Priming and painting! 

 Finished with the end tables! 

 Final pics of the end tables and new teal stools! 

 Reflection: After the young adult meeting and hearing the stories of the young ladies who stayed and talked I realized just how much God worked to get us all together.  That was all God's doing.  Driving home that night I gave God super props.  He does amazing things through His church.

Lesson Learned: A few weeks a go a teen from Holy Spirit told me he found my blog.  Good thing my blog is about me being super awesome!  Just kidding, but for real I want to thank all of you who are keeping up with my adventures in the big D!


PS GOOOO DAWGS!

"Home is not where you live, but where they understand you."

Well I'm still just as busy as I was in the last post.  We had parent orientation last Sunday and it was PACKED! Standing room only, people.  So it was cool to see everyone's family.

Last week was the first time it really hit me that I moved to Texas.  I know that sounds crazy because I've been here for almost 3 months but last week was when it sunk in.  I read a post about giving yourself time to grieve when you move, even when it is for happy reasons.  Then I went to a Rangers game.  The game was good but when I walked into the stadium and I looked out onto the field the only thing I thought was "this isn't Turner Field."  I'm not even that big of a baseball fan, for some reason the stadium just set me off!

The next day I got to see Becky, Chris, Brady and Abby! They had just moved to Texas and I got to babysit Brady and Abby and I asked them to be my ring bearer and flower girl! I'm so excited they are a part of our wedding.  They were great reminders of Athens and it was comforting to see them, but I still spent some time crying on their couch! I felt bad because I was so happy to see them but I was suddenly missing the place they reminded me of!  But I'm truly blessed to have them here in Dallas with me and I love Brady and Abby, they are so cute!

In keeping with the "I suddenly can't believe I moved to Texas" theme I sometimes forget that I'm in Texas.  Except when there are certain things that remind me.  Like I'm driving down a road called FM 1382 or FM 2499 and I remember that the FM stands for "Farm to Market." Because that was the road that took you from the farm to the market...

Or when I go to Kroger and they don't know what hummus is.  Or when I go to the drive-through ATM and I can't reach it because it's 4 feet higher to accommodate trucks.  Or when I go in a building and people are smoking inside.  Or when people at church are [jokingly] told not to talk to me because I'm a vegetarian and a 49ers fan.  Yes, all of this happens on a regular basis.

In DIY Devyn Land I built a bookcase! It was only $30 from Target and I put it together all by myself!  I didn't have the right tools through, so I used my pocket knife and my "Ms. Frizzle" high heels.  It turned out great! I'll have to post an after picture soon but for now here is the picture of what it looked like building it in my little apartment.  You can see in the picture I'm still sleeping on an air mattress in my living room... but as of today I have a bed! Just picked it up thanks to the help of Mr. Buschow and the wonderful website known as Craigslist.

 Those of you who know me won't be surprised by the picture above.

My tools: the screw driver part of my Swiss Army Knife was too big so I used the can opener for the screws.  Now that's resourcefulness! Shout-out to Dorian for buying me that knife in Switzerland with my name on it!


Reflection: I'm going to dedicate this reflection as a prayer to those on the gulf coast.  I remember hearing how bad Katrina was and I remember seeing the water line on the walls at St. Dominic's even 3 years afterwards.  I've heard the area is keeping up ok! I will continue to pray for the people there.  Just the memories that come from their experience probably make them nervous enough.

Lesson Learned:  If you fight with insurance companies long enough, you will finally make progress with your car! Kaiser is in the shop and will be ready sometime next week.  My month-long experience fighting with Liberty Mutual (the insurance company of the man who backed into my car) was horrible, but (hopefully) everything will be over with in the next few days!  My apologies go out to all those I have ranted to in the past weeks!

Moving Along

Things have been pretty busy for me recently!  Faith Formation starts up next Sunday night and I had my volunteer orientation this past week and my peer minister teen retreat yesterday.

I moved into my apartment a few weeks ago and I'm still sleeping on an air mattress in my living room.  But I've been researching beds on Craigslist and I found one that I get to pick up August 31st! Queen size bed with a memory foam mattress and it's a super good deal.

Other than that my amount of furniture has grown to include 2 bar stools (that are almost taller than my counter), a chair from a rummage sale, and the Buschow's card table and 2 fold-out metal chairs.  I also bought two "antique milking stools" from the rummage sale at my church.  I'm going to paint them.  They are small enough for me to sit on them and have my legs fit under the counter where I can eat!

I'm still working on getting volunteers for my program. It's been tough since I'm still meeting a lot of people.  But a co-worker told me that she always tells herself "God wants this to happen." And that He will make sure it happens.  That resonated so much with me I wrote it down on a post-it note and stuck it on my desk to remind myself!

Wedding planning is coming along.  All of my bridesmaids got a wonderful package from me "popping the question" to see if they will be my bridesmaids!  They all said yes.  DUH! My sister is my Maid of Honor!  I also realized that I will have a bridal party with ethnicities from four different continents! I'm going to have the best wedding pictures ever! haha

We also contacted the church in New Orleans where Justin and I met on a mission trip in 2008.  They said we could get married there! I'm so excited.  They were really impacted by Hurricane Katrina and when Justin and I were there we could still see the water line about 6 feet up on the walls of the school. It's a beautiful church with such an amazing part of our relationship story.

http://stdominicnola.org/home/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

July 6th, 2013!

Reflection:  I'm one of those weird girls who only ever imagined her ceremony when she thought of her wedding. Now that there is the reception and so many other things to plan I kind of freaked out for a bit! But now that Justin and I have a date and we know we can get married at St. Dominic's I'm feeling a lot better.  There is a lot more research than I thought in this process! I'd like to thank my friends and family who have been there to help me out and calm me down!

Lesson Learned: This gas station in Texas has a sonic menu right at your pump! Best idea ever!  We stopped here on our way back from Atlanta.

How it happened!

So in case you haven't heard yet, I got engaged!  Justin proposed last weekend when we were in Atlanta picking up the stuff I had left for my apartment.  Here is how it happened!

Surprise! 

We got to Atlanta on Thursday night.  Justin didn't eat anything for over a day! I thought it was strange but I didn't think much of it.  Other than that, I had no hints to him being nervous at all.  He gave me a few hints during the weekend that I of course never picked up on.  When we had talked about engagements before I told him my only request was that he didn't do it when I was sleeping. (You miss the whole proposal that way!) Well he told me that I was going to wake up Sunday morning with a ring on my finger.  I just took it as him teasing me (like always!) He also told me he was going to be really nice to me on Saturday... well that turned out to be true!  He was also texting more than usual but he was talking to a lot of people about the Olympics so I didn't think much of it.

The plan was to meet my roommates for dinner on Saturday night.  I thought I had planned it but apparently Justin was conspiring with Shaleen the whole time! She said she wanted to take pictures at dinner so dress nicely.  That was pretty normal.  We were supposed to meet at 6 but Katherine was running late so we met at 6:30 instead.  A few minutes before we left Shaleen texted me an address to meet at to take pictures.  She said it was a park near the restaurant (Figo's near Northpoint Mall.) So we left and we couldn't find where to park at first so we were driving around and we saw Katherine pass us!  Good thing she got there before us!

We started walking down some steps towards the pond where a nice overhang was. I've seen lots of prom pictures taken there! My roommates were standing under the columns and I was holding hands with Justin as we walked. I saw Shaleen's skirt and I said to Justin "I bet Shaleen told us to dress up because she bought that skirt and wanted to wear it!" (It turns out it was actually her sister's... all of my roommates looked gorgeous!)

We started saying hi to everyone and then all of a sudden Caitlin and John walked towards us from the trees.  That was the first time I suspected something.  We had eaten lunch with them that day so I knew it was too much of a coincidence to run into them there!  Shaleen told me to walk under the overhang and Justin said, "So we aren't really hear to take pictures."

He stood in front of me and said, "So you moved to Texas for me, and that was pretty crazy.  Now I want to give you another good memory in Georgia to take back with you."

I saw him reach into his pocket and I knew it was really happening.

He got down on one knee and said, "Devyn Scheuch, will you marry me?"

I of course said yes!  Then I pulled a classic Devyn.  I went to reach for the ring and then I realized I should let him put it on my hand.  So he saw me stick out my right hand and he started putting it on so I told him it was the wrong hand! He said, "Well then give me the right hand!"

The ring is beautiful!  It was never something I would focus on when I thought about getting engaged.  But it is Justin's Great Grandmother's ring.  It is so special to me that this is a part of his family.

I was so shocked! I looked over and saw Caitlin and Keriann tearing up.  The two things I said first were, "I didn't cry!" and, "Do my parents know?" Justin had asked my parents when I went to my room for a second on Thursday night and he talked to them a little longer when I was in the shower on Friday.  I was excited he could ask them in person. That really meant a lot to me.

We took some pictures and then I started making phone calls.  I called my sister first.  That was when I started crying!  It took me awhile before I could stop shaking and I could breathe normally.  Like an hour!

So then we ended up at Chili's for dinner.  Justin ate a full meal, finished Shaleen's dinner and had a large beer!  He deserved it.  He said, "Well my hard part is over!" He did good.

I'm so happy! I can't believe I'm getting married!  Planning a wedding is kind of freaking me out but exciting me at the same time.  I am so happy that Shaleen, Katherine, Keriann, Caitlin and John could be there.  Justin was so sweet to do it in Georgia for me! I'm so blessed.

I was so lucky to have everyone there to celebrate with me and to document it happening!

Reflection:  So I thought being engaged would feel the same as being a girlfriend just with a ring on.  I was definitely wrong!  I know I've only been engaged for a week but I can already tell a difference in our relationship.  There is something very special about a commitment like this.  I feel like our relationship has deepened and matured already.  We are preparing ourselves for a very holy sacrament and it is starting to show.  That night Justin said, "I always knew it would happen, but now that it actually happened, I can't believe it's really happening!"  I completely agree.

Lesson Learned: When you take your license out of your wallet and put it in your car, make sure you put it back in your wallet. That way when you drive 13 hours, get engaged and try to order a margarita to celebrate you won't sit there in the restaurant wondering where it is.  And then you could also help drive back to Texas, instead of having your fiancé drive the whole way! 

July 28th, 2012!

Afterthought: Looking at these pictures I think about how my kids will look at these pictures and say, "Ewww mom, What is that you're wearing?  What's a romper? It looks like what babies wear!"  And I'll try and convince them it was in style at the time, but they will still look at me like I had on MC Hammer pants or something.

Procrastination is a Life Long Addiction.

I got the apartment! I move in August 1st and I'm very excited.

Yesterday I had an ice cream social for my youth group.  It was a lot of fun! Tons of ice cream and toppings.  We also played spoons and mafia... which got a lot more violent than when I was a teenager!

Nothing else too exciting happened.  I'm basically writing this blogpost so I don't have to clean my room.  Or pack.  Or fold clothes...

Reflection: Yesterday when one of the 7th graders looked at me and said, "this is a lot of fun!" I agreed and then realized how awesome it is that I got to give these teens a fun day at church.  God is awesome. At first I was nervous having a group of 7th-12th graders.  I was nervous that I wouldn't know how to minister to the middle schoolers.  However, I realized yesterday that this gives me a longer time to work with these youth.  I really get to know them and be there for them as they grow up.  I'm excited to be around these teens for a long time!

Lesson Learned: Just because you go in your room to clean, doesn't mean you actually will.  You'll most likely just end up sitting on your bed on your computer.

Moving Forward

It's been a quiet week at the Buschow house.  Justin, his parents, his brother and his sister are all on Alive in You right now in Wisconsin.  Carter, Justin's Grandma and I have been holding down the fort!  I had to work late three days this week.  So they told me not to come in to work this morning! Fridays are half days anyway, and I enjoyed sleeping in.  


Monday I had my first meeting with the girl making her Quinceañera in November.  I'm meeting with her seven times before her event.  I was super excited! It went really well and I got two more phone calls this week about other girls who want to schedule theirs. 


Wednesday night I had a meeting with a lot of the Catechists that will be volunteering with the program in the Fall.  It was a great meeting! I'm glad I got to meet a lot of them.  It has been a struggle just getting in contact with a lot of volunteers.  


Today I'm going to look at an apartment that I'm leaning towards renting.  I looked at the complex on Saturday and now they have an opening for a one bedroom.  It's in Arlington and it would only be about a 25 minute drive from my work and 35 minutes away from Justin and his family.  I wanted something in the middle so hopefully it works out!


I'm so ready for this hour long commute to end.  I didn't leave my church until 8:45pm on Wednesday because of the meeting.  As soon as I started driving home I remembered that the highway I was taking closed a section by the airport after 8pm.  Since I didn't feel like turning around I figured it would only take me a little longer to get home.  It took me two hours to get back.  It took me an hour to go two miles because the construction was forcing everyone to go down to one lane.  Do you know what it's like to be stuck between thousands of cars and two cement walls for an hour at 10pm with one battery bar left on your phone and your gas light turns on?  I do. Thankfully I didn't have to be "that girl" who broke down and caused even more of a back up. 


Reflection: If you would have told me, even a year ago, that I was looking at an apartment 2 minutes away from Cowboys Stadium I would have built a time machine to travel to the future and slap me in the face.  It's crazy where life, and God, take you.  I'm so happy to be in Dallas but I'll have to represent for the 49ers even more now.


Lesson Learned: When you are ministering to a young adult and you write a letter saying, "God can get on our last nerve sometimes.  But it's when we figure out why he irks us so much that we learn how to grow," expect God to get on your last nerve.  I guess I was asking for it. 

DFW to OKC for CHWC

What up! Just got back from my mission trip to Oklahoma City!  I had a great time working with the teens and serving the people of OKC.  We went on Catholic Heart Work Camp.

CHWC was the first mission trip I ever went on.  I was 15 and I went with St. Benedict's to Blufton, SC.  I was instantly hooked on mission trips! Therefore I thought it was very fitting that the first mission trip I went on with my own youth group was Catholic Heart (although it was hard to not be biased after working on Alive in You the past two summers.)  I remember being a teen and looking up to the cool college music guy and buying his CD so he could get through school. Now that guy (Dante) is married with a kid and still doing music for Catholic Heart!   He told me that his first camp playing music was the Blufton camp.  He also told me he had just seen P. Smith in Memphis. (Insert repetitive Disney song here. )

It was crazy hot in OKC.  High of 105 one day.  CHWC splits you up to work with teens from all over the country (which has its pros and cons.)  I worked with 4 teens from Wisconsin and one from Austin, TX.  The ones from Wisconsin had a difficult time staying motivated in the heat. We scraped and painted a house for a man who had some disabilities because of the chemicals he was exposed to during his work in a printing factory.  Other people from my church put siding up on a house, cleared a yard, organized a barn and did some other painting jobs.

When I got off the bus with my work group we were met by our Code Officer who showed us where our supplies were and what we would be doing.  He looked at my group and said to our bus driver, "Does this group not have an adult leader?"  After I told him that I was the leader he said, "oh, I guess I'm just used to older adults who can drive and bring their groups in cars."

I can drive.  I'm an adult.  I'm a 22 year old Youth Minister, dude!

But he ended up being super nice and came to the program on Thursday that CHWC hosts for all of the residents we help.  He said a few words about our group and it was really sweet.  Apparently he and his wife are on a waiting list to adopt a child from Catholic Charities! So say a few prayers for his family!

The Archbishop of Oklahoma City came and said Mass for us on Friday! That was really cool.  I was so excited that I got out my camera and took a creepy stalker shot of him saying his homily.  Enjoy:

This week I have been working on scheduling for the fall and getting a group together for the Dallas Catholic Youth Conference.  It's like NCYC but put on by the Diocese of Dallas and it's the first time they are ever doing it!  I had 6 teens respond that they would like to attend and I'm so excited to bring them.

Next week Justin and most of his family is going on Alive in You to Wisconsin with their church.  I'll be holding up the home front with his grandmother and little brother!  Carter is probably excited that he gets the Xbox all to himself.

My family took their annual trip to New England this past week. I was sad I couldn't be with them but I got to Skype with them a few times.  God willing I will be able to go with them next year!

Reflection: Last post I said how being a youth minister takes the perfect balance of assertiveness and humility.  That is still true, along with the fact that you can have 0% shame.  There was a dance party one night on the mission trip and the only girl in my group wanted someone to go up and dance with her near the front of the stage.  I rocked my face off, awkward white girl style.


Lesson Learned:  Being stuck on a roof without a ladder painting siding in sweatpants in 100 degree weather is very uncomfortable.  (The shingles were too hot for me not to wear two pairs of pants, I was the adult so I was the only one allowed on the roof, someone in my group came to borrow my ladder and "no one could hear me" when I was calling for them to bring it back.  That was a difficult task.)

Oh hey it's me on a roof! Doesn't that look safe?


PS: Doesn't the Director of Youth Ministry at this church look super awesome and fun and amazing and incredible? Check out my Youth Ministries Page!

Three Week Checkup

Week three on the job!  This week is VBS so the mornings have been quite active with 200 kids running around learning about Jesus.  It's pretty exciting.  Also exciting is that I've been wearing the same shirt each day this week for VBS.  Don't worry, I'm washing it now.

I've gotten so good at watching planes.  I know the exact point in my drive where they turn around to enter in the landing line.  I know the exact point where they put their landing gear down.  I get nervous when they don't put it down at the normal spot!  I pass just feet under landing planes on the highway.  I watch them take off when I'm at the south end of the airport.  And I watch all of this in reverse on my drive home.  I could seriously watch planes all day.

I've gotten more interesting comments about my name this week.  Yesterday someone addressed an e-mail to me as "Dear Mr. Scheuch."  I've gotten that before, but never has that person called me and immediately go "oh wow, I thought you were a man.  I'm sorry!"  Another lady asked me if my last name was German.  I said yes and she asked me when I moved here...

Next Sunday through Friday I'm going on Catholic Heart Work Camp with 6 teens and 2 other adults to Oklahoma City.  I went on CHWC in 2005 and it was my first mission trip experience!  I'm excited to return with my own youth group!

I decided I'm going to model my youth group's service activities after the Corporal Works of Mercy for this upcoming year.  I started working out the calendar and getting ideas and I'm super excited about it!

One of my co-workers the other day was talking about the vision of faith formation at our church and she said "spirituality is when life and faith collide." I really liked that.

Reflection:  I'm realizing more and more that being a youth minister requires the perfect balance of assertiveness and humility.  I'm still working out exactly how to make those qualities work for me.  But those are two words that keep coming to mind when I pray about it.  Assertiveness and Humility.

Lesson Learned: The best Catholic churches will always have free food.  Always.

Quinces and Quints

Finished my second week of work!  I did more paperwork things and computer organizing this week.


On Wednesday Justin's Mom's cousin stopped by on her way from St. Louis to San Antonio.  She brought her 5 two year olds- Quintuplets!!  They were adorable and they all looked different.  By the time I got home from work they were starting to tire out so they weren't as crazy.  But they ran around the house for a few hours!


Today I went to a training session for Quinceañeras.  There are 1-2 a year at my church and they fall under my domain!  I was excited to learn about them and I think it will be fun to meet with the girl making hers in November.


The commute is still as annoying as ever.  If anyone wants to send me a CD or call me between 5 and 6pm Central (6-7pm Eastern)  that would be awesome.  


I feel bad I won't be home for Father's Day tomorrow but I want to give a big shout-out to Papa Scheuch! Happy Father's day to dads everywhere.  And don't forget to thank Our Father (who art in Heaven) for being so awesome.


Reflection:  During the Quince Años training class the instructor asked us what our favorite Marian Apparition was.  I normally would say Our Lady of La Vang, when Mary appeared to a Catholic Community in Vietnam (everyone knows how much I love Asians.)  But for some reason I blurted out Our Lady of La Leche- the image of Mary breastfeeding Jesus.  I'm not really sure where that came from, maybe babies were still on my mind from the Quints! I definitely still love the Asian image of Our Mother, but I also think it's weird to have a 'favorite' apparition.

Lesson Learned: Our closing prayer for the Quince class was singing a song.  I'm still just as bad a singer in Spanish as I am in English. It's pretty bad. 

These are the Quints with their cousins! Kind of a crazy shot from Mrs. Buschow's phone. 

Debby Shoe

I finished up my first week of work!  It's great being in the office and meeting teens but the drive is still annoying since it's so long!

I've obviously been meeting a lot of new people and today I made an announcement at 3 Masses introducing myself. I thought it was fitting that I went to Mass three times on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ!  Both priests had amazing homilies.  One was about sharing the Eucharist and what it meant to give.  The visiting priest talked about how most people think the "climax" of Mass is when the priest holds the host up and it becomes the Body of Christ.  However, he said the best part of Mass is when we all receive Communion and bring it out to BE the Body of Christ to all people.  I thought that was amazing.

They had coffee and donuts after Mass for me to stand and meet people.  It was so nice but I feel bad because I know I won't remember half of people's names.  But there were some patterns to responses that I would get when introducing myself:

1. How do you say your name?  What is your name?  Debby Shoe? What nationality is that?
2. You're from Atlanta? You don't sound like you're from Georgia.  (And most people who said that didn't "sound" like they were from Texas...)
3. We're glad you're here! Be warned, your biggest competition is going to be with the United Methodist Church.  That youth minister keeps coaxing kids over to his church. (I'm sorry, since when was being Christian a competition?)
4. Are you replacing someone? Who are you replacing? (I see these are people who REALLY keep up with what's happening at the church.  The previous youth minister is becoming a nun. Epic!)

And apparently when I was meeting all of these people they would say hi to me and then go and ask a co-worker who was standing nearby what I was really like and if I was doing a good job. haha The pressure is on! But I'm so excited to be at the church and seriously every person I have met has been so nice and have gone out of their way to welcome me.  It has been amazing.

Reflection:  Justin lives near the DFW airport.  Every time I would visit planes would fly overhead and they would be a constant reminder that I was leaving and that our time together was temporary.  Now the planes are a reminder that I'm not leaving.  When I'm driving to work I hit most of my traffic right by the airport.  I get to sit and watch planes land as they fly directly over my car with their landing gear down.  It is so entertaining to watch and each time I get to remember that when I drive home from work, Justin will be there.

Lesson Learned: Carter Buschow is the most holy 9 year old I know.  We had a lemonade stand and he donated all $20 that we made to the poor.  Also, the other morning he stayed in his room a couple hours later than he normally sleeps in.  His brother asked him why he had stayed in bed so late and he said it was because the priest said in his homily that we should all take time and think about God's Love. So that's what he did.  How adorable is that?!

The sign said "do it, it's for charity."

My nameplate! 

First days!

My first couple of days have been great! I went to Mass on Sunday and met some of the teens.  I also got in front of the church and admitted to being a 49ers fan! I got a few laughs.

Yesterday was my first day of work and the whole staff went to an Asian buffet place to celebrate my first day and the anniversary of the ordinations of the two priests.  I got my food and sat down with the rest of the 15 people and eventually noticed I was the only one using chopsticks.  Both of the priests are Asian and Devyn Scheuch was the only one using chopsticks.  Representing Johns Korea.

People keep saying that it has been humid, but it's so dry that my lips have been chapped.  Texans obviously do not know anything about Georgia humidity.

Reflection:  When I was meeting the teens on Sunday their faces lit up when I was introduced as the new youth minister.  They were so excited to finally meet their new youth minister.  It made me think about when the St. Ben's group was waiting for their new youth minister.  Everyone was anxious and curious.  We were so excited when someone finally got hired, even if that person didn't turn out to be the best choice.  But I felt so good to be the person they were waiting for.  I can't wait to work more closely with them and to get to know them more!

Lesson Learned:  Tori's dance recitals last 4 hours.  Next time I need to bring food.

S-U-N-N-Y S-U-M-M-E-R S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G

I've spent the last couple of days enjoying my last real feel of what Summer was like as a student.  Sleeping late and doing nothing!  I spent one day watching the Scripp's Spelling Bee on ESPN.  That was epic and those kids are brilliant!

The school district had their last day of school on Thursday and when Mr. Buschow asked Carter (Justin's little brother) what he wanted for dinner that night he said he wanted something "Sun themed."  Guessing this was because of summer we found the H- Mart and started getting creative.  We were looking for Sole (the fish, since it sounded like 'sol' aka sun.) But since they didn't have any we got some other fish and a seafood medley thing.  We ended up having Sunny-D, Sun Chips, Oranges and Japanese Melon (sun-colored and shaped) and some summer squash with the fish.  It was quite colorful.

Walking into H-Mart definitely reminded me of Johns Creek.  It's good to know there is one close by!  I also bought some red bean ice cream there.  That stuff is good.

I've been knitting some new things so be prepared to see some pictures up on 20 Year Old Grandma in the next few days!

Sunday I am going to the 6pm Teen Mass at Holy Spirit to meet people and to introduce myself to the church.  I am so excited to start to meet the teens and their families!  I am really tempted to say from the ambo that I am a 49ers fan.  I mean, I should probably just get that out of the way, right?

Reflection: I have been looking forward to meeting my future youth group for so long.  I've been praying for them for years.  I can't believe that tomorrow I get to actually address my parish as their youth minister.  It is unbelievable and I am so, so grateful that God has brought me here.

Lesson Learned: Never leave the house without sunglasses.The other day I went out without sunglasses and my eyes never adjusted, ever.  I had to squint for the entire drive.  Maybe because the sky is so big here?  Whatever it is I need to have sunglasses permanently glued to my face.

Meeting, Greeting and Commuting

Today was my day to head to Holy Spirit and meet everyone that I'll be working with!  It was a great experience but it's about an hour commute.  Luckily Justin's dad showed me a way that avoids most commuter traffic so hopefully I won't hit much when I'm driving to work. I officially start next Monday.

I got to meet a teen that helps out at the church along with all of my co-workers and the Youth Ministry assistant that I'll be working with. Everyone was super nice and it was so good to meet them!  There are a few people who have only been there about a year or two so I feel better coming in to a church that has some other new hires.  I'll be going with the teens to CHWC in Oklahoma City, OK in a few weeks and I'm really excited to go on a mission trip with them!  But I know I'm going to miss Alive in You this year, especially since the theme is the Eucharist.

I have a good size office and a church e-mail and everything!  I'm a legit youth minister now.  However, you have to be 25 to be considered a true "adult" in the Diocese of Dallas so I'll have to get special permission to drive and be a chaperone on things for the next 3 years.  And right when I was actually feeling like a grown up!

Reflection: Last night Justin and I went to the movies.  It was such a casual thing, "hey, you wanna see a movie?"  We haven't been able to do that ever.  Being able to be around Justin without me worrying about leaving and us having to plan a bunch of things is great!  I think he mostly likes it because he can play video games with me around without him feeling guilty...

Lesson Learned:  Texans drive a lot slower than people in Atlanta.  They actually follow the speed limits on highways, which will take some getting used to!

Heys and Horses

We made it! Mama Scheuch and I drove about 13 hours yesterday.  The drive wasn't the most entertaining but we made pretty good time.  We passed through Chunky, Mississippi and enjoyed imagining what the "Miss Chunky" pageant would look like...

Today we went to Lonestar Park and watched some horse races!  Mama Buschow won twice but none of us had any luck.

We also got to drive by and see my church today! Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Duncanville.  I was glad my mom got to see it and it makes me feel better for when I drive there on Tuesday to meet everyone for the first time.

Reflection: Driving through Duncanville I saw hills and green trees!  This will be a great little reminder of Georgia when I am in such a flat, dry state.  I can't wait to meet my youth group and everyone I'll be working with.  I know I am so blessed to have this opportunity and I can't wait for it to start.

Lesson Learned:  Driving all day is made just a tad bit more entertaining when you listen to old CDs that your friends and sister made you in high school. Romanian songs, 90s tunes and Bowling for Soup/ New Found Glory memories are the best.

Peace Up, A-Town Out.

Well, Georgia, it's been a great 20 years!  Tomorrow at 6am I start my drive with my mom to Flower Mound, Texas.  Estimated time from the JC (Johns Creek) to Flo Mo= 13.5 hours.  Let's see how fast Kaiser (my car) can make it!

I'm starting this blog so my friends and family can keep up with my youth ministry escapades.  I will post my church happenings and always include a reflection and what I have learned.  I am excited to see what God has in store for me and I can't wait to share it with you guys!

Reflection:  I've had a great time in Georgia.  Mommy, Daddy and Dorian: I will miss you.  All of my friends, supporters, and spiritual inspirations: you are amazing and I really appreciate you for everything you have shown me!  I can not tell you how critical St. Benedict's and the Catholic Center has been to my spiritual journey.  I love you all.

Lesson Learned: Never underestimate the power of community.