Riding the Rails

One of the benefits of NST is getting the chance to explore a new part of the country! This weekend we went to a neighboring town to explore a train museum and take a ride on a REAL train.

The museum had several old train cars that have been perserved for exploration.

My favorite was the mail car. As a choleric anything that has to do with sorting and organizing looks fun to me and this place had "awesome system" written all over it.

The sleeper cars were pretty cool too, but it was hard to get pictures of them because everything was so crammed in. Look how tiny that ladder is!

After the exhibits it was time for our ride. Paul was more than a little skeptical of the massive train.

Here he is examining his ticket before we took off. I think he was concerned about missing his stop.

As we rode along we passed several stationary trains. 

MC and Dad enjoying the countryside. 

Thanks for joining us!

Deans' Training

We just finished week zero here at New Staff Training (NST). During this pre-week of training, before all of the 1st and 2nd year missionaries arrive, several sub-trainings were taking place.

First there is Mission Partner Development (MDP) Coach Training. These fine fundraisers help the first years get their MPD off to a good start. From how to use the software system, to how to make an ask, to how to do correspondence and more, there is a lot to learn. Today when I stopped in to visit them they had just finished watching Candlelight by the Maccabeats. You know, whatever gets you pumped up to ask people to donate to your mission works for me.

Then there is New to FOCUS Training. This is for new staff members who did not attend school at a FOCUS campus. This time is set aside to catch them up to speed on the basics of FOCUS so they are not lost on Monday when abbreviations such as NST, MPD, TNT, CORE and THISISFUN are thrown around.

Next is Retiring Staff Training. I'm not sure how to train someone on how to retire, but I doubt it involves tips for moving to Florida or how to know when it's time to get bifocals. What I do know is that it is a time to honor the missionaries who have served with FOCUS, gather their final thoughts on the experience and give them some advice on the challenges of transitioning out of the full-time missionary lifestyle.

Finally there is Deans' Training, which is what we have been partaking in. During the summer the about 200 missionaries who are being trained are broken up into "colleges." These groups live in community together, share a temporary common "rule" of life and a special charism inspired by the patron saint that they take on.

Let me give you an example. The College of St. Cecilia is comprised of 8 women who live together in one of two suites. They eat dinner together twice a week, gather for a character formation study once a week and pray together at the stained glass window of St. Cecilia before mass each day. Their charism is to serve the musicians who sing for our liturgies, so they run the copies of our song sheets for special services. There are other acts of prayer and service that they may do as a community to build up their sisterhood, but these things are often hidden.

Kevin and I are the deans of the married men's and married women's colleges. Kevin's is the College of St. Thomas More and mine is the College of Bl. Zelie Martin. While we don't live together as a college like the single missionaries do, we still meet for character formation nights and dinners and share a less intense rule of life for the summer.

Dr. Jonathan Reyes, the founding president of the Augustine Institute and current President of Catholic Charities in Denver, came out to teach us for the week on how to lead a College. One of the goals of the college system is character formation and Dr. Reyes is just the man to teach on this topic. It's one of those weeks where by the end you go "Wow, I'm a long way off from being a saint." It's actually a rather encouraging feeling, as opposed to discouraging, because it makes you want to be a better person.

Sorry about the no pics, but if you can use your imagination it looked like a group of people sitting in a classroom listening to a teacher.

Everyone is moving in right now for the official start of NST 2011 on Monday!

Welcome to FOCUS New Staff Training

The Cotter's have made a temporary relocation to a dorm to help train FOCUS's newest missionaries. 

Allow me to introduce to you our new home, come on in...

This is our living room. Yes, it also serves as a garage (bike) and our kitchen (mini fridge and microwave) and a toy room and our study.

To the back you can see the master bedroom equipped with two closets, two dressers AND two desks... now that's fancy.

If you turn to your right you will head down the hallway to our bathroom. (Child in mirror did not come with this room.) To the left is another sink/vanity and a room with a toilet AND another room with a shower!! This place is awesome.

A final turn to the left and you will find the children's bedroom with bunkable beds. Oh, how they dreamed of us actually bunking them.

Let's take a gander down to my kitchen, it's in a different wing of our mansion.

I don't really ever cook here, mostly I ask my servants to do it. It is difficult keeping up with such a large staff however.

My dining room has been invaded by men (and one brave woman). They eat a lot, but are very polite.

Here is my dishwasher. It is the most magical thing ever. I put my dishes on one of these trays and it disappears. THEN, the next time I come to a meal, everything has been magically cleaned and is ready for my use. I still don't understand why I can't get one of these mystery machines in my home, but for now I am inquiring with my servants.

Somebody graffitied my condiment holder. (The blurred word is "begotten"). This is what happens when a cafeteria is too close to a chapel with Mass.

Which brings me to my private chapel. When life gets too hard I head there. 

Wait who is that guy praying in the front right pew. I'm going to need to talk to security.

Stay tuned, the adventure has just begun.

The Ever Changing Benedictine College

Recently we spent the day in Atchison, home of Benedictine College our Alma Mater as well as the school where Kevin served on-campus for FOCUS and I was a Resident Hall Director. We have only been gone for two years, but it is amazing how fast the campus changes. It's really no wonder however when the freshman class last year was 420 and this year it will be 470... these kids need classrooms and beds.

The biggest change is the current building of a new academic building. I remember as a senior meeting with some architects about the design and location of this building. Now 6 years later the building is becoming a reality. It should be ready for students in August.

They also recently built a grotto modeled after the Grotto in Lourdes. I blogged about it after our last visit to Atchison, but failed to take pictures, so here they are a few months late.

We let Mary Clare light a candle for some special intentions. When we asked her who she wanted to light the candle for she said "astronauts" then after a long pause added "and the sick and the poor and people who have gone to heaven." (We watched the Endeavor launch this week and talked about how Pope Benedict talked to the astronauts at the International Space Station). Kevin also made her pray for missionaries in China. Yesterday's educational topic was people who haven't heard about Jesus with Mary Clare and cousin Allison.

After you turn around from the Grotto you see the new Raven Walk. The circle area used to turn into a mud pit when it rained, so the beautiful brick is a big improvement. You can barely see that there are big statues to the left of the picture. They are of Peter, Paul and Adam.

Here's our Paul holding hands with St. Paul. He thought the statue was pretty cool... and it is.

Speaking of statues, this new one of St. Benedict was recently added to campus as well. And speaking of statue's hands, his are huge. 

This next one might not seem important to you but it is a dream come true to me.

Back when I was a Hall Director we would walk to Mass in the morning down this street, but way back then... before there were ipads... it was just a worn dirt path. Almost every day we would push our stroller to mass on rocky terrain, in the snow, up hill both ways. But alas, gone are those days of uncertainty and strife. Oh blessed concrete, how great thou art.

In case you are wondering here is McDonald Hall where we lived as a happy family for 2 years. Our suite was the one on the bottom left corner.

And just for fun you are looking at the very spot where Kevin asked me out on our first date. We were sitting right there in front of Ferrel Hall on the concrete stretching before a run. Can't you picture it? Kevin in his "Strong Bad" shirt declaring his intentions of pursuing a relationship with me as I sat in shock wondering if the guy who was out of my league was really asking me on a date or if I had heard him wrong. Fortunately my hearing was correct and the rest is history...

Speaking at The Augustine Institute College Summit

I spent last Thursday morning in the mountains near Estas Park at St. Malo's Retreat Center. I love St. Malo's. Probably because one time this really cool guy, who is now a Blessed, visited there.

Photo taken from Cardinal Sean's Blog... I wasn't there.

Yes, on Thursday I was standing in that very spot were Bl. Pope John Paul the Great stood... awesome.

Each time I get a chance to go there, I take it. So when Dr. Sri of the Augustine Institute called me to see if I would come speak at their College Summit, despite the fact that late May is crazy for the Cotters, I couldn't turn him down.

What is The Summit you ask? Well, good thing they have a sweet video to explain it.

Oddly my name isn't on there as a featured speaker... it's like you have to have a show on EWTN to get some recognition around there. 

(*Please note: If you cannot sense my sarcasm in the above statement, you clearly do not know me... in all humility, I'm really only famous to my kids, which is more than fine by me... quite preferable actually.)

I had the great joy of spending the morning with some amazing college women who love the Lord with all their hearts. My task was to "talk about women issues." This opened ended topic left for a lot of creativity and thus we had a blast talking about, you know, girl stuff. The women refreshed my heart and sent me home with enough energy to get through the craziness of May... funny how that works.

Part of the FOCUS Team

Last week we went to a baseball game with some of the Denver Support Center staff (FOCUS HQ) because a FOCUS Mission Partner donated a bunch of free tickets! While I could tell you about the game (someone threw a ball, a different person hit it and then everyone started running around), I think it is more fun to tell you about the people.

So allow me to introduce to you some members of Team FOCUS ...

For starters meet Trish (left) and Jen (right).

Trish works with Kevin in the Curriculum and Formation Department. This summer she will be in charge of taking care of our female staff for 6 weeks at New Staff Training. One way she does this is by teaching them choreographed dances. I love this about her, especially because she lets me learn them too. Yes, learning a dance as a group is a bonding experience and important for learning how to evangelize. If you can dance in front of people you can tell them about Jesus.

Jen is in charge of FOCUS Alumni (both student and missionary alumni), which grows by the hundreds each year. She is super creative and can make friends with a tree, which is good when you are trying to keep up with our thousands of alumni.

The cute couple on the left are Brian and Sarah.

Brian served as a missionary with FOCUS a few years back. After receiving his Doctorate in Philosophy, he re-joined FOCUS staff this year. He is very choleric, which means he speaks my language.

Sarah serves as the Director of Curriculum and Formation, which means she is Kevin's boss! She is the best boss ever and she never makes mistakes and she is always nice to Kevin and... okay enough buttering up. Seriously though, she is a great boss and we are very lucky to have Kevin working under her.

On the right is another Sarah, who was actually one of my on-campus missionaries when I was a student at Benedictine! Sarah is the Director of HR, a big task. To me, Sarah is a staple in FOUCS, it's hard to imagine it without her.

Here we have Steve and Ali, some very dear friends of ours and the God Parents of our son Paul.

I have know Ali for almost 10 years and we were bridesmaids in each others weddings. Ali joined staff right after college and met Steve when she was a missionary on campus. When they became engaged she left staff, but a few years later Steve joined staff!

For the past few years Steve has been in charge of staff recruitment, but next year they are sending him to a new campus where he will serve as the Team Director. I could write a whole post on how amazing they are, but I'll just leave it at this... they are amazing.

The cutest staff member at the game was Anastasia.

Her parents are Denny and Rachel.

Denny is a retired FOCUS missionary who now works at a Catholic High School. He was on a team with Ali years ago. Denny is REALLY goofy, my kids love him.

Rachel is a full-time momma who works part-time in the development department because she's awesome. She was also the recipient of the St. Clare Award her senior year. The St. Clare Award goes to one woman each year who exemplifies what it means to live the mission of FOCUS. That just proves she is awesome.

And here's Denny with Tyler, I told you he was goofy. Tyler works in IT, so he knows lots of things I don't. Tyler's wife couldn't make it to the game because she WAS super prego, but... she's not anymore! Leah Grace was born this week, congrats Tyler.

Finally we have (left to right) Jake, Sarah, Sarah and Caitlin. If your name is Sarah you automatically get to work for FOCUS, it's a really neat program.

Jake works in the Missions Department planning service and evangelization trips, as well as pilgrimages, both here in the States and abroad. If you ever want to go spread the gospel in places like Russia, India, Ghana, Brazil, The Philippines or The Bronxs, he's your man.

Sarah #3 works with Steve in missionary hiring and will be taking over a lot of his work next year. We hired over 100 new missionaries this year alone!

Sarah #4 assists in taking care of the Southwest region of FOCUS. Our over 50 campuses are divided up into regions to help make managing them a little smoother.

And last but not least, is Caitlyn who has been volunteering her time by helping out around the office while she applies for med school. Okay, admit it, that's really cool.

So did I bore you or was this fun and informative? Let me know because I love talking about our amazing staff and all the work they do for the New Evangelization!

FOCUS' New Headquarters

One of the most exciting events of the year was FOCUS' move of its headquarters to its new location.

Previously, we rented office space in north Denver.

Our new location is an office building that we purchased a month ago. The office is in the mountains just a few minutes west of Denver suburbs. We moved into the property at the end of April.

This is a great move for FOCUS for several reasons.

Financially, it saves a great deal on rent. Right now the rent market is high and the buyers market is good.

Institutionally, it allows us to have our own space where we are able to better support our staff at our headquarters (about 40 people) while also being able to facilitate a great environment for visiting missionaries and staff members. The building is also an upgrade from our last one. It allows a greater ability to work together.

Here is a picture of my office. Plenty of room to work and it is closer to those in my department than my previous office. I have a view of the mountains, and on a clear day I can see downtown Denver. Since we have moved to the office, it has snowed 3 times in the month of May!! On Tuesday of this week, it snowed 6 inches.

The new location does increase my round trip drive each day by an hour. This will take some getting used to, but hopefully I can carpool and utilize my time in the car.

The building is a great step as FOCUS continues to grow.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day started out great. We finally got our bike ride in and went to the new train park about a mile from our house.

The park doesn't actually have any trains, but rather it's more like a memorial to the trains that used to run through our town before it became enveloped into suburbs.

Notice two things in the above picture: 1. Mary Clare is lifting Paul up, she is strong. 2. Paul doesn't match. It looks like someone, who was letting Mom sleep in for Mother's Day, tried to match him, but did not succeed.

Mary Clare took this picture. Notice two things: 1. Kevin is lifting Lisa up, he is strong. 2. You can't see my face in the picture, which is disappointing, because I had an awesome face for this picture.

The highlight of the day was my present... a statue of Mary for our garden! We crowned her with some flowers from our lilac bush. 

There is a perfect spot for her in our backyard where the people who lived here before us planted a bleeding heart plant. Traditionally the flowers on the plant symbolize the heart of Mary, so it is a very fitting home!

So the reason Mother's Day only started out great is because by 3:00 pm I had a 102 fever. This resulted in a very long night. For the first time in my life I've had two different bugs with a 36 hours break in the middle. BUT, I'm feeling better now... I just hope we are ALL in the clear!

Stained Glass Cookies

I've had the pictures for this post for a while, but was unsure of when to post it. So I thought now is as good of time as any.

Stained glass cookies could be used on a number of occasions. The circle with the cross reminds me of a host, so it would be great for a Eucharistic feast day or a first communion party or the cross with the heart could be used for the Feast of the Exhalation of the Cross or the "T" with a blue in the heart could be for Theotokos (A Marion title in Greek meaning God-bearer). The "J"s are for Jesus.

I'm sure people far more creative than I could create a heart with blue and red rays for Divine Mercy, or a heart with a crown for the Sacred Heart of Jesus... really the possibilities are endless. So, next time you need a creative religious treat, come up with something fabulous and then send it to me, sound good?

Here's how you make them!

Ingredients:

• 2 c. flour
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 stick of soft butter
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 t. vanilla
• Jolly Ranchers (4 candies of 3 different colors)

Let's start with the fun part... the smashing of the Jolly Ranchers!

Step 1: Place 4 candies of the same color in a plastic bag.

Step 2: Pound them. We did this in the basement because it was nap-time.

Success. Now is a good time to preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Let's move on to the dough.

Step 3: Cream the butter and the sugar together.

(I love my Kitchen Aid Mixer!)

Step 2: Add the egg and vanilla.

Step 3: Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together.

Step 4: Then mix it in with the wet ingredients.

Step 5: Roll our the dough to a standard 1/4 inch thickness.

Step 6: Using cookies cutters, cut out various shapes with shapes inside of them. We also used a knife for smaller shapes, like the heart in the cross. Place your cookies on a baking sheet LINED WITH PARCHMENT PAPER... just wanted to make sure you knew that this is important.

Step 7: Fill your inner shape with a layer of crushed up candies. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 6-10 minutes. Once the candies are melted, the cookies are ready, thus the huge span of cooking time. DO NOT LET THE CANDIES START TO BUBBLE!!!... just wanted to make sure you knew that this is REALLY important. If they start to bubble they will taste like burnt sugar, not good.

Step 8: Let them cool and enjoy!