January 2012 Nicos Newsletter Dear friends and family, Warm winter greetings to all of you!

Usually one writes these sorts of annual letters and updates around Christmas time but for numerous reasons I didnt succeed in doing that this year. Or last year. Or the previous one, or well, lets just leave it there. As Ive recently celebrated my 37th birthday, Ive had occasion to recall with joy and gratitude many of the things Ive experienced and remembered in the last 12 months. I thought I would share a few of these with you in something of a photographic narrative that will undoubtedly wander, contain hyperbolic word choices, and undoubtedly illustrate some great run-on sentences that will make the linguists among you reach for a drink. (Note, the photographic part is in the other attachment in low resolution, or online as a download or as a slideshow depending on how good your internet connection is. Cycles, Rhythms, and back again In the Servants of the Word, brothers are sent, recalled, and resent. Our placement in households and service is part of the great ineffable mystery of the celibate call. I find that relegating things to mystery is a helpful little trick I use for dealing with things I cant comprehend and yet are part of my reality I have lived in Lansing for 3 years, leading our house there and doing my studies and mission from there. In July, I moved back to Ann Arbor to our International Formation House on Catherine St. It seems that this brothers life is sponsored by the number three. I was in London for 3 years (2002-05), then in Ann Arbor for 3 years (05-08), then in Lansing for another 3 (08-11) and presumably I shall be here in Ann Arbor for three years. Im loving being back in Ann Arbor. It feels a little like Im returning to my roots and reconnecting with the people whove shaped my adult life most substantially. My time in Lansing had its challenging moments and Ive been surprised at how life-giving and joyful my experience of being back in A2 has been. God is good and merciful He knew I needed this. I dont know how long this will last, but Im glad for it. The Life of a Brother The Catherine St house is super fun. We have 10 guys living in our 2 houses and 7 nationalities represented. (And yes, Im counting myself as French for this tally! Lebanon, Ireland, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, France and the US) With such diversity we have lots of interesting personalities, gifts and talents, and backgrounds: this makes for a very rich life together. Im not leading the house like I was in Lansing, which is also a great relief. I do still have some leadership role as I am helping with some of the formation of the young men who are living with us. I teach a few courses and am doing some spiritual direction for a couple of the guys as they discern their call to this life. Some of my SW responsibilities have me working with younger guys (we call them affiliates) who are starting to look into our life and want to hear more about the Servants of the Word. The Life of a Missionary In our student work, University Christian Outreach, I continue to do a fair bit of oversight and training of our staff workers. This usually means lots of meetings, emails, and desk time. Im also working with some of our newer student groups (in Vancouver, and in Montral in particular) as they grow. This means I get to use my French a bit and do some travel which of course I really enjoy! We now have 9 student groups across North America and have close to 25 staff working full or part-time in various capacities in our outreaches. Its been a real blessing to see this ministry grow. The late nights, the frequent weekend activities, and the transitory nature of student work do make this kind of ministry fairly challenging for those who live a normal life so Im glad for the gift and calling I have. The Life of a Student Ive been working on a Masters in Theology for almost 6 years now and the end is finally in sight. (I hope!!) I took my last class in the fall. Now I am working heartily (10hours per week) on my thesis. I hope to have it done by

the end of the term so that I can defend it in May or June. The topic is: Keeping the Lords Day holy: a study of the implications of the third commandment and its sanctification of time for the new evangelization. Yeah I know, sounds a little thick but Im really enjoying doing a lot of reading and thinking about the impact of the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. Not sure what will come next academically or what Ill be doing with this degree, but I think Im ready to be done with studies for a little while. The Winter of My Retreat Earlier in the month I had a chance to go on / help lead three retreats in a row. The first one was our annual Christmas retreat with my household. Between Christmas and New Year we go away for a week of spiritual refreshment and refocusing. This years theme was on the Letters of Peter and Jude. The week after that I led a 4 day retreat for the younger men in our outreaches who are interested in SW life. Then, to cap off the retiring experience we had a big retreat at the end of that week for all of our UCO groups in North America with 200 or so students and staff. Needless to say, when all this was over I was tempted to ask the brothers for an opportunity to take a personal retreat but since that doesnt fit with the number three, I resisted! The Travelogue As you probably know Ive developed a bit of a photo-taking hobby over the years. Whilst I dont really think Im a photographer in the true sense of the term, I have discovered that if you take ENOUGH pictures, the law of random good luck states that youre bound to have a good one or two. So when you combine the travelling opportunities with the fact that my digital camera (thanks to the tremendous generosity of my parents!) can take ridiculously high amounts of photos, I have created a bit of a reputation of being a photographer. But rest assured, Im well aware that the moniker is underserved. As Ive often been heard saying: its all luck So with that brief moment of lucidity behind us, I will now much less briefly mention my past years journeys across this beautiful continent and my one quick foray across the ocean. These are best illustrated by taking a look at the attached file with photos of these places. Lebanon I spend one week in January visit and auditing our community in Beirut, Lebanon. This wonderful opportunity to see old friends and revisit a fascinating place was spiritually anointed and personally very life-giving. South Carolina During the first week of May, I joined the formation household for their vacation in South Carolina. Through the amazing generosity of a friend of one of the brothers, we were given a week at a house on the beach at Fripp Island. The weather, the waves, and the waterfowl were wonderfully worry-free. On our way to Fripp Island, Brian and I did a hike in the Smokies and we also got in a couple days visit with some dear friends in Maryland on the way home. Vancouver In early June, three of us UCO Staff Michiganders went to Vancouver to lead a month-long student summer household program with our new outreach. I spent 2 weeks here discovering the parks and stunning beauty of that city in the midst of ferocious Stanley Cup fever. California Three days visit to Phil and Cami on my way home from Vancouver was one of the highlights of the year for me. A day to visit the vineyards of Amador county, a day to fearfully walk Rattlesnake trail (and almost begin that final journey home due to a close encounter!), a delightful opportunity to tour around San Francisco and Muir Woods with Megan and Chris (my cousins) who had just come in for a week of vacation.

The North East Corner This years personal vacation time was a road trip to some of the few remaining states Ive never been to: Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. With several of my staff worker friends we did an epic road trip to the North East Corner of the US. This glorious vacation was launched by a terrific visit to the Schalekamps in Albany. Then we climbed a couple famous mountains in NH and ME, followed by several lovely days of discovering the world of tidepools in Acadia National Park. Montreal In the early fall, I visited our budding francophone student outreach in Montral for a few days. What a joy for me to experience and serve our student mission in my other language! On one of the days, the main student leader took me to a nearby national park and we climbed ourselves a little mountain. Snakes, mushrooms, and the fall colors were at the rendezvous. Michigan walks A recent acquisition of a macro lens has opened for me the new world of the minuscule. As a result, some of my day-off fall walks in Michigan turned into voyages of discovery of the wild and wooly bizarre world of insects, worms, centipedes, snakes and arachnids. My vocabulary was enriched as I discovered that the pastime of looking for snakes is called herping. I think if I werent living in Michigan, I might tempted to become a bit of a herper This year I saw 5 different kinds of snakes in the wild and 3 of them rather dangerous. What fun! Well, youve made it this far well done! My endless chatter and blab about myself is now finally drawing to its weary conclusion. Many kind thanks to all of you for your recent photos and Christmas newsletters you are in my prayers! Much love, Nico