Myriad of Updates (Teri)

1) In the second week of September, I received in the mail an official Decree of Nullity! Found myself with tears in my eyes. I was relieved that the process was over and that my first marriage was deemed "null and void ab initio". Kevin liked this part the best: "Therefore it is finally declared that the marriage between the above cited parties is and was null and void ab initio;" with emphasis on the "is and was" part. I am so glad for this outcome since now I'll be able to receive all the sacraments.

2) We've been attending RCIA classes since late August/early September. My favorite part has been hearing where other people are coming from as they're entering the church. I like the chances we get to talk to other attendees to hear their stories. This Saturday the 5th is our first rite - the Rite of Welcome. For those of us who are coming to the church but have already been baptized, we get slightly different rites than those who haven't been baptized. I'll report back what the rite includes after Saturday.

3) Steve Ray, author and speaker is coming to Las Vegas today to speak at our church tonight and tomorrow. Kevin and Rich get to pick him and his wife up at the airport - THAT should be an interesting car ride. Steve Ray wrote the book that captivated first Kevin and then me and led us closer to Catholicism. And Rich gave us the book and prayed for us. Rich has also distributed hundreds and hundreds of fliers about these talks to neighborhoods all around us. InterVarsity style, there will be "interest cards" for people to fill out after the talks so we can find out where the attendees are coming from and how they were affected. Tonight's talk is Steve's testimony "From Baptist to Catholic", and tomorrow includes "The Eucharist: You Are What You Eat", and "Peter: The Rock, the Keys, and the Chair". I'm really excited to go.

4) Last night, we hosted our first prayer meeting since being in the Catholic church. It went great. I loved the group prayer, enjoyed Kev's guitar-playing and singing to God, and was glad it wasn't different from prayer meetings in other churches. What did I expect? Not sure - we even prayed a decade of the rosary and it wasn't freaky. Amen.