Media Nuns go to the National Catholic Youth Conference!

Hello, again everyone.

We have been busy over the past couple of months, and thought we'd share a little of what we've been up to. 

A major event that took up quite a bit of our time was preparing to attend the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in Indianapolis. Two of us (Julie and Danielle), along with Sr. Rebecca and Sr. Laura got to attend as vocational witnesses. We were so excited for this opportunity, that we made a video so that people would know that we were coming!

We had a ton of fun making it, as you can probably tell. We took those "Special" stickers with us, along with some other goodies, and got involved in the NCYC tradition of "trading" items.

Another fun project we did in preparation for the convention was to create some amazingly awesome cardboard cutouts. Danielle and Putri got Sr. Laura and Sr. Rebecca (and a statue of St. Paul) to pose for some photos. After a few hours of editing, some confusion at the print shop, and a case of X-Acto knife blades, we finally had our finished product:

Putri and Julie try out the new cutouts.

Everyone wants to hang out with St. Paul!

Julie peers over the cardboard
in the back seat of the van.

Then, it was time to head out. Of course, we didn't quite realize how much of the car these things would take up, so conversation in the backseat was a little...strained. 

It didn't take too long, though, and we were there!

It was a blast, hanging out with 23,000 excited teenagers, 13 bishops, over 300 priests, and who-knows-how-many seminarians, nuns and religious brothers.


Sr. Rebecca and Sr. Laura got to spend time with young people discussing discernment and religious life, and Julie and Danielle got to spend time passing out Special stickers, checking out the booths, and even answering questions on a Q&A panel for young girls open to religious life.

Danielle, Sr. Laura, Julie, Sr. Rose, and Sr. Rebecca
Srs Laura and Rebecca are wearing the Vocations Team shirts.

We ran into Sr. Rose, who was there to give a couple of workshops on Jesus on the Silver Screen. Several kids came to find us afterward and told us how awesome her presentation was. Yay, Sr. Rose!










When we weren't assigned a place to be, we took our cardboard cut outs to a busy place in the hall, and let people go nuts. It was so much fun to see people's reactions. Some of our favorite responses were from parents: as one girl posed in the tall stand-up with the tech symbols and Media Nuns hashtag on it, her mom exclaimed, "Oh, look! My girl's a Media Nun! I'm so proud!" Ha!

While we were there, some of our peeps back home were doing long-distance support work:

And we may have spent some time with a VIP.

In all, it was a blessed, fun, awesome, and exhausting experience! Have you ever been to NCYC or a similar convention? What was your favorite part?

I'm definitely not on the Eastcoast anymore...

"Chelsea...you need to get up... there's a tornado siren."

Groggily, I rolled over to see Carly's face peeking through my doorframe. I glanced at my clock as I sat up, now acutely aware of the shrill cry of the siren and the hail pelting against my window pane.

My clock glowed brightly: 2:45 AM

I looked back at Carly. "Sooo...what do we do?"
Also being a native of the East Coast, neither of us had ever experienced a tornado before. She looked back at me with a blank stare. "Umm.....I don't really know..."

So I rolled out of bed, threw on a sweatshirt and moccasins, and grabbed my phone as Carly went to go make sure everyone else was awake.

All the postulants congregated in the hallway, everyone half-asleep and slightly freaked out. Quickly we decided that the best plan of action was to head down to the basement. With the wind howling at the corners of the convent and the hail beating the side of the building, we made a quick descent down the back stairwell. Halfway down the stairs, the sirens stopped.
We all froze.
Someone broke the tense silence,"Is it over?"

After lingering a few more moments to listen, half of us decided it would be best to continue to the basement, and half of us decided to head back to bed, but keep an ear out for the weather.
I was part of the group that continued down to the basement.

Once we got to the study in the basement, we flipped on the tv and watched the images of swirling clouds flash on the screen accompanied by a man's calm voice. It seemed like such a contradiction; the whirling, chaotic, screaming winds overlaid by an meteorologist's annoyingly calm voice announcing a play-by-play of the tornado's actions.

I sat with the two other postulants who also trekked down the basement and watched and listened.
As I sat, I knew we weren't going to die because of this tornado...but I realized that if I was going to die somewhere, I was happy with where I was. Our life might not be glamorous or glitzy, but it is beautiful and full of so many graces. Everyday, I thank God for having called me here. That's not to say that this life doesn't have it's challenges and trials, but it's through those trying times that we learn to grow and trust so much more. I am happy where He has placed me and there's no where else I'd rather be...

It's amazing what a tornado at obscene hours of the morning can show you! :)

However, I would prefer to reflect on my life a little later in the day and without the blaring of tornado sirens... ;)


Have a blessed day!
-Chelsea