First, we PMs took off for Deming for a retreat, whereupon many inside jokes were conceived and born... they should be all grown up by June... (a few examples: a trio of otters, a number-German billboard hit song, written and sung by an eight-year-old called "Schni, schna, schappi... it means, "bite, bite, Bitey," trying to figure out how to be Vladimir Putin in a game of charades... you get the idea). It looks like a great team; we definitely found ourselves praying together a lot, hugging a lot, telling each other bedtime stories... I've included some pictures down below here.
Thus far this week we've been preparing for the coming year-- planning the liturgies, working on our usual beginning-of-the-year on-campus evangelization (root beer floats, anyone?). I've been planning music for the Masses (duh), have typed up a catalogue reference of the NCCM music library, and am currently trying to arrange some harmonies to our Mass parts (evidently, there were some before I ever got here, but no one wrote them down. I may make someone sing them into my voicemail so that I can just transcribe it. It'd be faster than looking everywhere). I can already tell where I am going to meet resistance this year, so I'm doing my best to stand firm in how I think this ought to be done. My role in the Mass is by no means pivotal, but that doesn't mean it isn't significant enough to do to the absolute best of my ability. But minor issues aside, it will be a great year.
