Dear Newman Community,
 
Last weekend Sal took a group of students to Bonita Park Retreat Center in the Ruidoso area for an adventure style, ropes course based retreat we called Camp Amistad. Here is a bit of the experience as told by a few of our students who were able to participate:
 
Carlos Trujillo: Camp Amistad was great. It was nice to get away from school and take in the beauty and fresh air of southern New Mexico's mountainous region (it reminded me a lot of home, which was a welcome surprise). The group building activities were really fun...we definitely found ourselves laughing a lot. This was a great retreat to reflect on our individual walk with God, as well as reflect on the significance of community and companionship. It was good time, I'm glad I went! 
 
Clara Roberts: Camp Amistad was an opportunity for me to deepen my relationships with Christ and with the Newman community. The cooperation and support shown by everyone throughout the retreat was beautiful and I am blessed to have been a part of it. My highlight was probably the zipline and the leap of faith, because I never would have imagined doing those things before this weekend. But through God's grace and the love of everyone around me, I was able to find the courage to trust in Him and not worry about what might happen.
 
Renee Baca: My biggest takeaway from this retreat is that trusting is a choice. We make countless choices each day that contain some amount of trust we place in them in hopes of a greater good. But even when we doubt ourselves and everything around us, God trusts us. He continues to give us life and a mission each day because He believes we can accomplish and overcome them even when we think it is impossible. It brings comfort and peace to know that the most perfect being trusts me, with all my imperfections and mistakes. And, since I now know He trusts me, I am able to freely choose every morning to put all my trust in Him no matter what that day may bring.
 
Peace,
Mona

Greetings!

As the calendar inches closer to the Lenten Season, campus ministry, is running on all cylinders! This weekend a group of students are up in Ruidoso for Camp Amistad, our annual winter mini-retreat. This retreat offers a great opportunity for students to get away from the stress of studies to blow off steam with some team building activities, prayer and reflection in the beautiful Sacramento Mountains. A new initiative, Men’s and Women’s groups began meeting on Tuesday and our Campus Outreach team is working on energizing tabling. Tabling serves as a great initial opportunity to interact with students and share not only our events and programs, but also the energy and enthusiasm of the NMSU Catholic community.

When we gather for these events, and the all the other events throughout the semester, I am keenly aware that we are truly blessed with some amazing students who put so much of their time and energy into these activities. They are faith filled and work tirelessly to balance their studies and part time jobs as they put their faith into action. Please continue to keep them and their efforts in your prayers!

Peace, 
​Sal

As St. Ignatius put it: “our one choice should be this: I want and I choose what better leads to God’s deepening life in me.”

Peace,
​Sal