Retreatant helps teens encounter Christ
But surprises of youth retreat are safe with him
Earlier this month I went to a TEC retreat at Magnificat Center of the Holy Spirit in Pontchatoula, LA. I have been on many retreats in the past at Manresa and St. Ben, but this one was certainly different. TEC, which stands for Teens Encounter Christ, is a retreat for teenagers who are in the second half of their junior year in high school or in college. I went because I thought about volunteering at future retreats, and you must make a TEC before you can become a volunteer. At our retreat there were 37 of us making our first TEC retreat and about 25 young adults helping to make our retreat a success. There were about 10 adults leading the retreat and seeing that everything ran smoothly. These people put in long hours during and before the retreat to make our stay enjoyable. We were asked not to talk about what happens at the retreat, so that those who come in the future can experience the excitement without knowing what is to come. I can say that we were told our TEC retreat would be the best ever, and that each retreat in the future will also be the best ever. It was exciting to see these young adults respond to the retreat. There were some who had not really wanted to come, but as the retreat progressed you could see that they were glad to be there. Many young adults who make a TEC retreat come back to help at other retreats. I would recommend that every teenager make a TEC retreat. The retreat was for three days and it was filled with interesting talks and singing. Even though the days were long I enjoyed and was moved by every minute of this wonderful experience.