I Still need a picture of Mike. Does anyone have one left? A bunch of pictures were put in the middle of the table where all of us were sitting. There were pictures from the first half of the year for us to choose from to make individual collages from our time at Franciscan Outreach so far. I felt encouraged to reflect on the past six months since my arrival in Chicago and all the experiences that are still waiting for me in the next six months. You could already see how people changed and developed in just the first half of the year. It was obvious that we are living out the Franciscan Outreach mission statement; transformation of ourselves.
We had surprisingly beautiful weather for the beginning of February and during our afternoon free time we were invited to take a walk outside to enjoy the fresh air and nature around us. Free time allowed us to share our different service experiences, thoughts and ideas about community life in a very casual way while we were all on a walk together. On our walk we visited an old Franciscan chapel and a labyrinth. Kendall and Matt explained that finding out way to the center of the labyrinth can be a metaphor for getting closer to God but can also provide an opportunity to reflect on anything else that's important to us. While walking the labyrinth, I could really see that everyone was deep in thoughts and appreciated this opportunity for reflection. We also spent some of our free time throwing footballs and frisbees which gave our exhausted brains some time to rest and of course have fun.

The Mid-Year retreat was an opportunity to reflect on our experiences at the halfway point and also to grow closer together as a community. The retreat really added to the value of my volunteer year by allowing me to take some time away to reflect more intensely on the year. I'm looking forward to the End-of-Year Retreat!