A RECENT Sunday Gospel passage (Mark 1:29-39) resonated with David Hood, of St Johns Wood-The Gap parish in Brisbane.
“(It) includes three scenes of a typical day for Jesus – at home with his friends, out among the crowds and alone in prayer with his Father,” he wrote for the parish newsletter.
The young man of faith, who served with the youth-to-youth outreach of National Evangelisation Teams (NET) for two years, said the experience had many “life changing moments”.
One such moment came to mind in his role as “team navigator”.
“I … got the team lost at 10.30pm on a freeway north of Sydney with no petrol in the tank and trying to take an exit off in search of a petrol station with no luck,” David said.
“We had a (retreat for) 160 Year 8 students … the next day.
“Crossing the Nullarbor (Plain) was one of many memorable journeys.”
First unsure whether he “knew enough” to serve on NET and having just completed Year 12, on team, David soon realised the impact of his call.
“As it turned out the time I spent ministering with other ‘Netters’ in schools and parishes, my faith was deepening,” he said.
“I realised the more I was witnessing to others the more I received.”
Prayer proved “pivotal”.
“Prayer throughout my two years in NET was a major part in that ministry, as it was all about growing spiritually by getting to know Jesus a bit more every day,” David said.
“In a typical day of a Netter, it was similar to any day in the life of Jesus.
“I would wake up and make time for personal prayer, head to the retreat for the school day and come back to my host family at night.”
