Witness to Faith

Reflections ………My Confirmation Story 2009
By Kate Myroup

Really Good Friends Help You Grow In Your Faith………….

“When I was really little, I remember going to church every Sunday. I always thought it was kind of exciting, singing along to all the songs made it fun for me. Eventually though, this great habit began to dwindle. My family started going only every other Sunday to hardly going at all. My brother, sister and I even stopped going to CCD. None of us got Confirmed and to be honest, none of us really understood or cared. I’m not sure why we stopped, even when I ask my mom about it, she’s not quite sure herself. Looking back on it, there was absolutely no good reason to stop attending Mass or CCD, but whatever the reason was, it didn’t stop me for long.

My freshman year of high school, one of my best friends, Gabrielle Wydra, got me to come with her to Clean-Up ‘06 with the St. Julie Youth Group, TNT. By this time I had very rarely gone to church and even when we did go, I didn’t appreciate it and I definitely didn’t go for the right reasons. But at Clean-Up, my first TNT trip, I really saw something that I had never seen before. The youth group members were so close to one another, they were more like their own family. They welcomed me into the group so easily, and seemed to genuinely want to get to know me. After this trip I started going to church more often, but I think I only went to see my friends from Clean-Up, again, not for the right reasons.

In the summer after Clean-Up, I attended my second TNT trip. This one was to Breakaway ‘06, WFEAH. Here, I experienced one of the greatest weeks of my life. Just seeing how much work the seniors had put into making this amazing retreat for us and how close everyone was after the trip was incredible. I became best friends with people who I normally would not have talked to at school. I was able to find something amazing about everyone I met. I learned that everyone truly has something special about them; you just have to get to know them to find it. It was on this retreat that I began to realize the greatness of God. If God could bring this unique, beautiful group of people together, then how could I deny serving him? I don’t think I had ever been happier than after I left this retreat. Funny how, in a sense, I found myself, when I found God.

My faith only increased from here. I began going to church for the right reasons. I wanted to thank Him for the wonderful life I had, for my loving family, for my miraculous group of friends, for a cozy warm house. I didn’t have to go to church anymore. I wanted to. Other TNT trips only opened my eyes more to what God has done for us. I went on mission trips that were so incredible that I could not explain them on paper. I became myself through St. Julie and through TNT. Now I want to serve Him, I want to do what He asks of me. That is why I want to be Confirmed. I want to have that connection with God. I want to continue growing in faith and to continue loving Him. I am becoming the person I want to be because I found God. A little late, but I found Him.

Kate was Confirmed on March 29 with our 8th Grade students and Gabrielle, her best friend was her sponsor. You may also recognize their picture as our two narrators from this year’s Passion Proclamation.

A portrait of Joy

.