the parishoners love nothing more than taking a saturday and having a retreat in the cave. so, we loaded up the trucks and headed out to the cave. i was planning on saying Mass to begin the retreat. as you may or may know, there is an enormous bee hive at the entrance of the cave. to date, no one has ever been stung by these bee protectors. however, as about 50 of us were milling around waiting for the others to ascend, something happened and these bees went beserk. just started stinging everyone. people began yelling and flailing, which just sent the bees into a greater frenzy. so, we decided to retreat down the mountain. since we all have to pass the hive again, it created more confusion and commotion and more stings (long haired girls had it the worst as the little guys just embedded themselves into the hair). well, we finally made it down, greeted the people who were waiting to go up, turned them around, and ended up in the parish center. i took 3 to the hospital, one of which was incredibly swollen. but, we all made it out alive and celebrated Mass in the center and then took this group picture:
