Pumpkin Pictionary!

Newman House was filled with the familiar autumn aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg last night.

In our Halloween and All Saints' Day themed cell, QCCC got their hands dirty carving pumpkins! Instead of carving the usual witches, Frankensteins, or creepy-faced pumpkins, we carved out Catholic-related images by incorporating Pictionary into the activity. A communicator for each of the two teams was responsible for describing what to carve, while the clueless team members did their best to follow. In this cluelessness, one group even ended up carving a whale and jelly bean on their pumpkin instead of Mother Mary holding baby Jesus! Through this activity, we realized that proper communication is an essential part of being in a community like QCCC. Sometimes, communication doesn't necessarily have to be through words. We should be able to tell if others are having a bad day just by the way they act, and in turn, go up and talk to or comfort them with our warm smiles.

In the spirit of All Saints' Day, during our weekly Saintspiration, we talked about how this feast day came to be and why we celebrate it. A trivia-based activity followed and we were able to show-off our knowledge on the saints!

While everyone was busy figuring out what to carve and figuring out questions about saints, we had some delicious pumpkin seeds being prepared in the kitchen. These crunchy snacks along with some warm apple cider were definitely a tasty treat for our exhausted pumpkin carvers!

As the night came to an end, we had a short reflection on how each one of us are like pumpkins in the eyes of God. He picked us all individually from the patch with His loving hands. He took us in and washed off the dirt off of us through Baptism. He removed all the yucky stuff inside of us (greed, hate, selfishness) and carved us with eyes to see His love, ears to hear His word, and mouths to spread His good news. Lastly, He placed a light inside of us for the whole world to see. We should use this light inside of us and share it with all those around us. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

                              

Builders of Faith and Unity

"Careful...steady...STOP SHAKING THE TABLE!"

After a long weekend of turkey, stuffing, (or Chinese food) and giving thanks,  QCCC had an enjoyable night with Jenga and building...structures...? Although building houses with a deck of cards wasn't as easy as it seemed, we managed to have fun building some rather interesting structures with a hybrid of cards and Jenga pieces (thanks to our well-trained Queen's engineers!). Through these activities, we made connections with building our faith and creating unity within the community. Jenga was an excellent analogy because one lone wooden block at the base supporting the structure is not ideal and the structure is bound to collapse. Likewise, we usually cannot grow in faith alone; we need others by our side to enrich our lives and provide support when we need it most. 

Trust, and the sense of unity is an essential ingredient in a community like QCCC. Without these crucial components, there really is no true community. In our "Circle of Faith" activity, we placed our 100% trust on the person who supported us. As we realized from multiple attempts, unity and team-building does not work if we are hesitant in putting our trust in others. Failure will also arise if we don't act as trustworthy people in our community. We soon learned that fully placing our weight on the person behind us, and being completely reliant was the key to success.

St. Vincent Ferrer was introduced tonight for Saintspiration because he is the patron saint of builders. We learned a lot about his life and work as a follower of Christ through some beautifully hand-drawn cartoons with an interesting accompanying story. St. Vincent was known for strengthening the Church through his preaching, missionary work, and teachings. We should follow St. Vincent's example and and act as pillars for the present and future Church.



Here are some more intense photos...

Secret Cell Will Always be a Secret

We had our Secret Cell last Friday! Where did we go? Good question! Well, good luck at asking us because it's strictly a secret. Meanwhile, let's tease you with some photos!

 QCCC will be taking a break over the Thanksgiving weekend, so look forward to our next cell on October 18!

Pow! Bam! Superhero Jam!

Nananananana BATMAN!

In our last cell, we displayed our teamwork and superhero qualities as we raced across the dangerous peanut butter river on floating fruits! Our QCCC superheroes showed strength, perseverance, and leadership as we piggy-backed and carried our sidekicks over to the other side.

There are many modern day superheroes as well as people in our lives who we look up to as superheroes. Jesus calls upon us to act as superheroes in our daily lives. When we reach out to people who are lost in their faith, when we are there to support someone on a bad day, or when we help share other peoples' burdens, we act as superheroes in a special way. It is very important for everyone to act like superheroes so others in our community feel safe and loved.

Jesus and superheroes have many things in common; however, Jesus possesses additional qualities that we don't typically see in superheroes like Batman or Superman. Jesus died on the cross for his enemies and all those who persecuted him. On the other hand, we only see Hollywood superheroes endlessly fighting their enemies. We should take some time to reflect on the true way to deal with those who hurt us--the way Jesus would want to see us treat others. Jesus does not need weapons or use violence because He is the ultimate weapon sent down by God. His peace and love are enough to touch the hearts of everyone. He is the ultimate superhero in our lives, and we should live every day the way Jesus did.


We concluded the night with an interactive Saintspiration (with COOTIE CATCHERS!) on St. Joan of Arc, a saint who acted like a superhero before she was martyred. St. Joan of Arc teaches us to always put our faith in God, because He will always be with us through all our battles.

The Heart of QCCC: Building a Community

We always tell our new members that they don't have to be Chinese or Catholic in order to be a part of the QCCC family. However, a heart of community and a mindset of togetherness is essential for our growth. In our last cell, we demonstrated to one another the importance of community through an activity where everyone was assigned a physical disability as well as a handicapped partner. With our handicaps, we need the support of others to help us in areas where we are weak. Likewise, we need to support others in areas where they are incapable. We reflected on how we can overcome our daily obstacles whether it is by ourselves, with our friends and family, with QCCC, or with God. From this, we learned that it is often difficult to face challenges on our own, and that is why QCCC is always here with an open heart and open arms to accept and love everyone who comes our way. We are a family to lean on when you feel weak or abandoned.

The message was strengthened by the Story of the Butterfly, and we learned that God will give us challenges and obstacles only so we can grow stronger and taller, but He will never challenge us in ways we cannot overcome.

We concluded the night with Saintspiration on St. Angela Merici (patron saint of the sick and handicapped) and of course Singspiration (with an encore of QCCC's version of "I Knew You Were Trouble" eeeeekk!!)

Remember, we're always here for you to lean on!