Since I haven't written anything in almost a month, maybe you think I've given up on blogging. Maybe you think I broke my laptop, and now have no access to Blogspot to be able to post. Maybe you think I quit Christ in the City. Maybe you think I've become a hermit. Let me assure you, if you are thinking any of these things, you are wrong. But if you are thinking that maybe I tried getting sleep for a change, or maybe I want to spend less time on my computer and more time with people, or maybe Christ in the City just keeps me super busy, then let me assure you, you are indeed correct. It's been pretty crazy since Thanksgiving- we've hosted a fundraising breakfast, helped with a different fundraising event, finished our basketball season, watched the Parade of Lights, held a 48 Hour Lock-In/Christmas Party for homeless youth and young adults, welcomed the new Church year with an all-night adoration vigil, and decorated multiple buildings for Christmas. (So good luck trying to make me to put up a Christmas tree when I get home, Mom.) Today was my last day of actual service before break, so I want to introduce you to some of the people I've met. (And for the record, I'll probably be changing all of their names.)
First, there's Guadalupe and her sons Jorge (6 months) and Isaiah (8). Guadalupe is one of the moms who comes to the Gabriel House for assistance, but she also comes to volunteer. Jorge comes with her; we've nicknamed him the house baby. Isaiah comes when he doesn't have school and is pretty much my shadow the entire time. He tries to be very helpful, and is so considerate of the moms and kids we serve. ("We should give them some gloves in case they get cold," or, "I think she would like this sweater.") He likes to try to translate for me sometimes. Once he thought he was translating, but after about 3 minutes of conversation, he realized that I was speaking Spanish, and he was actually just repeating what I was saying. Guadalupe also has a 14-year-old son and 2 nieces who live with her. She and a couple of her sons are in Mexico now visiting Guadalupe's husband, so please pray for their safety.
Then there's Fr. Moore, who is originally from Poland and was ordained when Pope John Paul II was bishop there. He now lives at the Mullen Home and illumines the lives of all those around him. When I ask how he is doing, he always responds with "Better now that I see you!" He is so full of life- even in his old age, he makes me think of what JPII must have been like. I'm convinced that he will be a saint.
At the Sam House, I've been blessed to get to know Shirley pretty well. She is going through RCIA right now, and never misses a bible study. Though she's had a lot of difficulties in her life, she is doing really well now- working, looking for housing, growing in many ways. A Dominican brother gave her a rosary, and it has become her comfort. I've watched her transform within the past few months into a more joyful, more peaceful, more confident Shirley. Her desire to always help others gives hope to struggling residents who come to her.
Though I've only met her twice, I also want you to know Bailey. She first walked into the Gabriel House a little too confidently and independently for a 16-year-old: she had no parent or guardian with her and had never been there before. I can guess that she's probably been through a lot in those 16 years. She is pregnant with her first child, due in February I believe. She has a lot of spunk, and has many hopes and dreams for her future. She refused any assistance other than material- she doesn't really want help, just things. Please pray for Bailey and her little unborn baby!
Lastly, there's Tyrone, whom I met at one of our Saturday lunches in the park. He is a poet, and can recite his poems all day if you stay and listen to him. His poems are actually pretty good. They're mostly short, but they express the depth of his thoughts and emotions. He's trying to self-publish a book of poetry right now. He understands very well that his role is to guard and protect women- his sister, his mother, his 12 month old daughter. He religion-hops, including Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, and some other religion I've never heard of. And I've heard of a lot of religions. He thinks of God in a very pantheistic way, but I don't think he means to be a pantheist. He spends his days on the streets reciting poetry, hoping to make some money and inspire some souls. He's had a long and rugged past, but is generally working toward a better future, especially now that he has a daughter to provide for.
As different as all of these people are from each other, from you, from me, they are more similar than different: they are all persons with value and dignity, created by God who loves them eternally. (In the words of Fulton Sheen, "we consider all the world as dust and ashes compared with the value of one human soul." Or something like that.) They are all longing to be united with Him, whether they know it or not. They are all awaiting an infinite joy, which is coming in the disguise of a tiny child, simple and humble. This Advent, let's pray for those who, like the Christ child, have nowhere to rest their heads at night. But let's also pray for those whose hearts are restless and have nowhere to find peace and joy.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
When there's nothing else to blog about...
Have you ever experienced that moment when you suddenly realize you haven't posted a blog in almost 2 weeks, you are out of witty ideas, and there have been no significant events in your recent life to talk about? I hadn't either, till today. Since I've got nothing else to blog about, I'll just tell you about some of the other moments I've experienced lately.
-That moment when you are holding a baby and someone starts asking questions about him as if he is yours...
-That moment when you realize that all three of the elderly women playing Wii bowling just beat your personal high score...
-That moment when your greatest joy is that everyone sang a hymn to the same melody...
-That moment when you and a group of missionaries Google Street View your homes, and you realize you're probably the only one in the house who grew up in a cornfield...
-That moment when you find yourself using "Google Street View" as a verb...
-That moment when it's 10 minutes before you're about to talk to a bunch of lawyers, and you're not quite sure what you're about to say...
-That moment when you start winning your made-up game of Guess-What-Size-The-Baby-Clothes-Are-Before-You-Check-The-Tag...
-That moment when you feel so accomplished for implementing an organized system for donated kids' shoes (aka put them in a bag and write the size on the bag)...
-That moment when you are told to find a magazine picture depicting where you want to be, and you decide on the picture you want before noticing that the caption says "A Nebraska Adventure"...
-That moment when you realize that Thanksgiving is less than a week away...
-That moment when you squirt grapefruit juice all over yourself and the person beside you, and you remember why you don't eat grapefruits that often...
-That moment when you realize that you're the one falling asleep playing Chinese Checkers, while the elderly are awake and alert...
-That moment when you learn just how many times you must have watched Remember the Titans when you were younger, cause you can still quote most of the movie after several years...
-That moment when you know how many diapers are in your hand, give or take one, without having to count them...
-That moment when a lawyer asks you what you think people's views are towards the homeless in this city, and you find that you actually do have an opinion for him...
-That moment when you're happily sleeping in the car, and you wake up because your ears are popping due to altitude changes...
-That moment when you come home from a run to find confessions going on in the front room...
-That moment when you begin to understand why people who don't ski still come to the mountains in the winter. Let me demonstrate for you... [photo credit to Liv]
-That moment when you are holding a baby and someone starts asking questions about him as if he is yours...
-That moment when you realize that all three of the elderly women playing Wii bowling just beat your personal high score...
-That moment when your greatest joy is that everyone sang a hymn to the same melody...
-That moment when you and a group of missionaries Google Street View your homes, and you realize you're probably the only one in the house who grew up in a cornfield...
-That moment when you find yourself using "Google Street View" as a verb...
-That moment when it's 10 minutes before you're about to talk to a bunch of lawyers, and you're not quite sure what you're about to say...
-That moment when you start winning your made-up game of Guess-What-Size-The-Baby-Clothes-Are-Before-You-Check-The-Tag...
-That moment when you feel so accomplished for implementing an organized system for donated kids' shoes (aka put them in a bag and write the size on the bag)...
-That moment when you are told to find a magazine picture depicting where you want to be, and you decide on the picture you want before noticing that the caption says "A Nebraska Adventure"...
-That moment when you realize that Thanksgiving is less than a week away...
-That moment when you squirt grapefruit juice all over yourself and the person beside you, and you remember why you don't eat grapefruits that often...
-That moment when you realize that you're the one falling asleep playing Chinese Checkers, while the elderly are awake and alert...
-That moment when you learn just how many times you must have watched Remember the Titans when you were younger, cause you can still quote most of the movie after several years...
-That moment when you know how many diapers are in your hand, give or take one, without having to count them...
-That moment when a lawyer asks you what you think people's views are towards the homeless in this city, and you find that you actually do have an opinion for him...
-That moment when you're happily sleeping in the car, and you wake up because your ears are popping due to altitude changes...
-That moment when you come home from a run to find confessions going on in the front room...
-That moment when you begin to understand why people who don't ski still come to the mountains in the winter. Let me demonstrate for you... [photo credit to Liv]
Monday, November 5, 2012
A shared story...
Since Christ in the City is so much broader than just my role, I want to give you a taste of that broader mission. So I decided that from time to time I will share a story from one of my teammates' experiences. Today you get a story from Joseph, who is on our Homeless Task Force. (So basically, his main apostolate is doing street ministry during the day.)
Minnesota Runaway
On August 27, the feast of St. Monica Colleen, my teammate, and I went to the 16th street mall where we normally minister for a couple of hours a day. We typically reach out to the homeless youth, and we found a group of young people so we sat down to enjoy their company with hopes of sharing our hearts with one another. After a few minutes a young man by the name of Vladimir came walking up to us. He was talking about the fun night he had before. We let him go on and on for a bit glorifying his crazy night until one of the other guys who was with us let him know that he had church people present, or as many of the youth call us, "outreach." Vladimir was taken aback. He asked why the heck they were hanging out with people like us. The other young man let him know with much conviction that we were good people and we help them out. Hearing that come from the other young man's mouth gave me a sense of accomplishment, and not so much in a prideful way but it made me realize how much the Lord is really present in our ministry to allow us this gateway in and be welcomed. Much to my amazement, the young man who vouched for us was an ex-gang member and a drug dealer. Needless to say he doesn't just let anybody sit down with him. Ok sorry, I went off on a tangent.
After Vladimir understood why we were there he let his guard down a little bit so Colleen and I pulled him aside and asked him what the heck he was doing there because just at first glance you could tell he didn't belong there. He told us that he was a 18 year old runaway from Minnesota and had been on the streets for two weeks. He had stolen a golf cart, had the charges dropped, hitch hiked to Utah, and got a bus ticket to Denver. When we bumped into him he had been in Denver for three days. Colleen and I looked at him after we picked our jaws up off the ground and told him if he was willing that we would help him get home. We had since pulled away from the group and, with a glimpse of hope that twinkled in his eye, he said he was willing, and that he had seen things in the past two weeks that he never wanted to see again. As our supervisor Adam says, if you have the smallest opportunity, you take it and run with it because it might be the last chance you get. We grabbed Vlad and took him away from the group so we could get a game plan.
It turns out that we didn't have to try that hard because the good Lord put this situation right in our laps and all we had to do was cooperate. See, Vlad was adopted 6 years ago from Russia and has some wonderful adopted parents from Minnesota. His mom purchased him a bus ticket and the rest is history. So we thought....
The nearest time we could get a bus was six hours away and this is where our adventure truly began. We had lots of time to burn and it was getting close to lunch and we just had some McDonald's gift cards donated so we took Vlad out to lunch. Who do we bump into at McDonald's? None other then the same young man that vouched for us earlier at the park. Colleen and I were constantly worried that Vlad was going to run out the door or sneak off because we thought just maybe that he truly didn't want to go home. Vlad sensed this so he constantly reassured us he wasn't going anywhere other than his bus station when the time came. It really is funny how the Lord works because the other young man who we will call "True" for the sake of anonymity spoke more truth to Vlad at lunch than we ever could have. True has been on the streets since he was 13 and he is 32 now. He looked at Vlad and told him if he ever wanted to runaway again to take a long walk around the block and blow off some steam. True never had parents to look after him, he never had the security of a roof over his head, for the past 19 years True had to fend for himself. I sat back and watched the Holy Spirit work through him and see the conversion in Vlad's heart. He knew what True was trying to say and he ate it up even more so then the chicken sandwich that he ordered.
After our meal the clock started ticking, and Colleen and I chased this amazing young man around Denver for 7 hours. Minute by minute Vlad was on a mission to find a cigarette and have a smoke. He spoke like a smooth car salesmen and surprisingly enough he scored quite a few smokes. I didn't agree with it, but I couldn't help but sit back and watch the charisma that this young man carried. I day dreamed about how successful he will be when he gets home and gets back on the right track. As time when on it got closer to the bus departure so we went to Greyhound and waited, all while denying offers for crack, other assortments of drugs, and making sue Vlad didn't run. Finally his bus was called and we got in line with him. His mom had worked out a deal with the bus company because Vlad has lost his ID during all of this, but the bus driver didn't care what kind of deal his mother had made. The bus driver was obviously having a bad day and said Vlad did not look 18 years of age and he would not let him on his bus without proof of identity. We tried to explain the situation, but he just wasn't having it. He got so upset that he started yelling for security, Colleen burst into tears, and Vlad ran out the front door of the bus station. I didn't know what to do. For a moment, time stopped and I had to reassess the situation. I knew I had to talk to the bus driver, but that would be pointless if I didn't have Vlad. I snapped out of it and chased Vlad down. For all I know he took the bus driver's bad attitude as rejection, but I wasn't going to let him feel rejected. He is more than that.
I eventually caught up to him and calmed him down and we went back inside. The security guard was actually a really nice guy and helped us find another bus route with a bus driver who would work with us. We sat with Vlad for another hour and finally it was his time to leave us. A part of Colleen and I had very mixed emotions about him going. In the few short hours that we had spent with Vlad, we had truly fallen in love with the guy. We knew that he needed to get back home though. We said our goodbyes and two days later, after a missed transfer in Kansas City, we received confirmation from Vlad's mom that he arrived safely home and he was taking his first shower in two weeks.
I still think and pray about Vlad on a daily basis and please ask for yours prayers for him as well. All this happened on the feast of St. Monica who is the patron saint of moms. All it took was a short phone call to Vlad's mom and everything else fell into place. This day was especially close to home for me because I fell away from the faith for 8 years but my mom never stopped praying for me. Gotta love moms, but you can even thank the little rascals like Vlad and myself because we make our mothers saints! :)
Minnesota Runaway
On August 27, the feast of St. Monica Colleen, my teammate, and I went to the 16th street mall where we normally minister for a couple of hours a day. We typically reach out to the homeless youth, and we found a group of young people so we sat down to enjoy their company with hopes of sharing our hearts with one another. After a few minutes a young man by the name of Vladimir came walking up to us. He was talking about the fun night he had before. We let him go on and on for a bit glorifying his crazy night until one of the other guys who was with us let him know that he had church people present, or as many of the youth call us, "outreach." Vladimir was taken aback. He asked why the heck they were hanging out with people like us. The other young man let him know with much conviction that we were good people and we help them out. Hearing that come from the other young man's mouth gave me a sense of accomplishment, and not so much in a prideful way but it made me realize how much the Lord is really present in our ministry to allow us this gateway in and be welcomed. Much to my amazement, the young man who vouched for us was an ex-gang member and a drug dealer. Needless to say he doesn't just let anybody sit down with him. Ok sorry, I went off on a tangent.
After Vladimir understood why we were there he let his guard down a little bit so Colleen and I pulled him aside and asked him what the heck he was doing there because just at first glance you could tell he didn't belong there. He told us that he was a 18 year old runaway from Minnesota and had been on the streets for two weeks. He had stolen a golf cart, had the charges dropped, hitch hiked to Utah, and got a bus ticket to Denver. When we bumped into him he had been in Denver for three days. Colleen and I looked at him after we picked our jaws up off the ground and told him if he was willing that we would help him get home. We had since pulled away from the group and, with a glimpse of hope that twinkled in his eye, he said he was willing, and that he had seen things in the past two weeks that he never wanted to see again. As our supervisor Adam says, if you have the smallest opportunity, you take it and run with it because it might be the last chance you get. We grabbed Vlad and took him away from the group so we could get a game plan.
It turns out that we didn't have to try that hard because the good Lord put this situation right in our laps and all we had to do was cooperate. See, Vlad was adopted 6 years ago from Russia and has some wonderful adopted parents from Minnesota. His mom purchased him a bus ticket and the rest is history. So we thought....
The nearest time we could get a bus was six hours away and this is where our adventure truly began. We had lots of time to burn and it was getting close to lunch and we just had some McDonald's gift cards donated so we took Vlad out to lunch. Who do we bump into at McDonald's? None other then the same young man that vouched for us earlier at the park. Colleen and I were constantly worried that Vlad was going to run out the door or sneak off because we thought just maybe that he truly didn't want to go home. Vlad sensed this so he constantly reassured us he wasn't going anywhere other than his bus station when the time came. It really is funny how the Lord works because the other young man who we will call "True" for the sake of anonymity spoke more truth to Vlad at lunch than we ever could have. True has been on the streets since he was 13 and he is 32 now. He looked at Vlad and told him if he ever wanted to runaway again to take a long walk around the block and blow off some steam. True never had parents to look after him, he never had the security of a roof over his head, for the past 19 years True had to fend for himself. I sat back and watched the Holy Spirit work through him and see the conversion in Vlad's heart. He knew what True was trying to say and he ate it up even more so then the chicken sandwich that he ordered.
After our meal the clock started ticking, and Colleen and I chased this amazing young man around Denver for 7 hours. Minute by minute Vlad was on a mission to find a cigarette and have a smoke. He spoke like a smooth car salesmen and surprisingly enough he scored quite a few smokes. I didn't agree with it, but I couldn't help but sit back and watch the charisma that this young man carried. I day dreamed about how successful he will be when he gets home and gets back on the right track. As time when on it got closer to the bus departure so we went to Greyhound and waited, all while denying offers for crack, other assortments of drugs, and making sue Vlad didn't run. Finally his bus was called and we got in line with him. His mom had worked out a deal with the bus company because Vlad has lost his ID during all of this, but the bus driver didn't care what kind of deal his mother had made. The bus driver was obviously having a bad day and said Vlad did not look 18 years of age and he would not let him on his bus without proof of identity. We tried to explain the situation, but he just wasn't having it. He got so upset that he started yelling for security, Colleen burst into tears, and Vlad ran out the front door of the bus station. I didn't know what to do. For a moment, time stopped and I had to reassess the situation. I knew I had to talk to the bus driver, but that would be pointless if I didn't have Vlad. I snapped out of it and chased Vlad down. For all I know he took the bus driver's bad attitude as rejection, but I wasn't going to let him feel rejected. He is more than that.
I eventually caught up to him and calmed him down and we went back inside. The security guard was actually a really nice guy and helped us find another bus route with a bus driver who would work with us. We sat with Vlad for another hour and finally it was his time to leave us. A part of Colleen and I had very mixed emotions about him going. In the few short hours that we had spent with Vlad, we had truly fallen in love with the guy. We knew that he needed to get back home though. We said our goodbyes and two days later, after a missed transfer in Kansas City, we received confirmation from Vlad's mom that he arrived safely home and he was taking his first shower in two weeks.
I still think and pray about Vlad on a daily basis and please ask for yours prayers for him as well. All this happened on the feast of St. Monica who is the patron saint of moms. All it took was a short phone call to Vlad's mom and everything else fell into place. This day was especially close to home for me because I fell away from the faith for 8 years but my mom never stopped praying for me. Gotta love moms, but you can even thank the little rascals like Vlad and myself because we make our mothers saints! :)
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Many Hats
When I was younger, I used to love Dr. Seuss's The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins. I don't remember the outcome of the story or the point of it, but I remember wondering, how could he possibly wear 500 different hats? Where does he even keep them all? I definitely don't have 500 different "hats" in my life, but as a missionary I find myself wearing hats that I never thought I would. Here are some of the different hats that I will wear from time to time, some of which I never saw coming till they were plopped on top of my head.
1. Mathematician / Engineer: When our handyman Joe found out that I majored in math, he started to bring to me some projects around the house that required more math than he was comfortable with. Most of them are more engineering-type problems, and I have not been trained as an engineer. I help him when I can, and tell him I can't when I can't. Even still, he calls me his "little engineer".
2. Grant Researcher: I've always been intrigued by the idea of grant writing, and now I'm getting an inside look at it by helping one of our leaders with research to include in the proposal he is writing. I spent two days in the office last week just doing research on chronic homelessness and other organizations in the area. If you think you're done with research when you graduate college, don't become a missionary. (I secretly enjoyed it though. It's much more fun doing research without having to write the paper.)
3. Teacher: I had not planned on teaching this year, since I gave up an offer to teach in order to become a missionary. Granted, teaching a class on philial and agape love to adults trying to get back on their feet at the Samaritan House looks very different from teaching math to junior high students, but it is teaching nonetheless. I love the opportunity to teach these people, though, because so many of them have never been introduced to the idea that love is not just a feeling. So many of them are at the Samaritan House because they are hungry for more in their lives.
4. Technological Advisor: From sending a text message and turning on the computer to updating the website and scanning documents, I am continually helping people with technology. I now spend two hours a week helping a resident at the Mullen Home print labels for library books, and at the Gabriel House, our director schedules meetings with the website designer at a time when I will be there. I don't mind teaching people about technology -- I'll be the first to admit that it is frustrating when you don't understand it!
5. Street Missionary: Ok, I definitely saw this one coming. I mean, that's a huge part of CIC. But with my position, I only expected to do street ministry once a month. A while ago, though, as I was walking from the bus stop to the Gabriel House, I decided to be adventurous and take a different path for those few blocks. That's when I found Brenda on the corner begging for spare change. I talked with her for a little, gave her some of the lunch I had packed, and came back to sit with her after my day's work. Whether or not I see her again, I was able to bring Christ to her and to encounter Christ through her in that moment.
1. Mathematician / Engineer: When our handyman Joe found out that I majored in math, he started to bring to me some projects around the house that required more math than he was comfortable with. Most of them are more engineering-type problems, and I have not been trained as an engineer. I help him when I can, and tell him I can't when I can't. Even still, he calls me his "little engineer".
2. Grant Researcher: I've always been intrigued by the idea of grant writing, and now I'm getting an inside look at it by helping one of our leaders with research to include in the proposal he is writing. I spent two days in the office last week just doing research on chronic homelessness and other organizations in the area. If you think you're done with research when you graduate college, don't become a missionary. (I secretly enjoyed it though. It's much more fun doing research without having to write the paper.)
3. Teacher: I had not planned on teaching this year, since I gave up an offer to teach in order to become a missionary. Granted, teaching a class on philial and agape love to adults trying to get back on their feet at the Samaritan House looks very different from teaching math to junior high students, but it is teaching nonetheless. I love the opportunity to teach these people, though, because so many of them have never been introduced to the idea that love is not just a feeling. So many of them are at the Samaritan House because they are hungry for more in their lives.
4. Technological Advisor: From sending a text message and turning on the computer to updating the website and scanning documents, I am continually helping people with technology. I now spend two hours a week helping a resident at the Mullen Home print labels for library books, and at the Gabriel House, our director schedules meetings with the website designer at a time when I will be there. I don't mind teaching people about technology -- I'll be the first to admit that it is frustrating when you don't understand it!
5. Street Missionary: Ok, I definitely saw this one coming. I mean, that's a huge part of CIC. But with my position, I only expected to do street ministry once a month. A while ago, though, as I was walking from the bus stop to the Gabriel House, I decided to be adventurous and take a different path for those few blocks. That's when I found Brenda on the corner begging for spare change. I talked with her for a little, gave her some of the lunch I had packed, and came back to sit with her after my day's work. Whether or not I see her again, I was able to bring Christ to her and to encounter Christ through her in that moment.
Monday, October 22, 2012
What I've learned...
So this list format that I've used for my last few posts has been working pretty well for me. I think I'm going to try to stretch it a little farther this week as I present to you some things that I've learned from my experiences here. Clearly, I already knew some of these things factually before, but now I know them experientially as well.
-There is less oxygen in Denver than in the Great Plains. There is less oxygen in the mountains than in Denver. There is a direct correlation between the level of oxygen and my ability to breathe when I work out.
-Yogurt is good for a long time past the printed date.
-The way we should treat the homeless person, the addicted person, or the poor person is... like a person.
-Sometimes the best thing God can do for us is to remind us of our littleness.
-Mountains are big. And beautiful.
-Kicking a soccer ball requires much more technique than you'd think. Unless you already know how to kick a soccer ball, then I'm sure you know just how much technique goes into it.
-Sometimes it's not a bad idea to follow the high-altitude directions for baking.
-"We are called to greatness, not to comfort." -Pope Benedict XVI
-A self-defense class can make you sore for days.
-Learning prayers in Spanish isn't that hard if you just memorize a couple lines at a time.
-Truth and charity are inseparable concepts- you cannot have one without the other. (See Caritas in Veritate by Pope Benedict.)
-Carving rounded letters on a pumpkin with a 5-inch long knife is no easy feat.
-Playing basketball with people is a great community builder. (I definitely already knew this one, but some of my teammates got to learn it.) :)
-Sometimes people's needs are more than we can meet, but there is always something we can do for them. Blessed Chiara Badano, a young woman who was in the hospital with cancer for the last part of her life, said, "I have nothing left, but I have my heart, and with that I can always love." Even if we can do nothing else for people, we can always love them. And pray, of course.
-The only way we can really accomplish anything is if we let God accomplish it through us.
-Skype doesn't work 3-way.
Also, here's the article about the Gabriel House that was recently in the Spanish Archdiocesan newspaper. Sorry if you're not bilingual.
-There is less oxygen in Denver than in the Great Plains. There is less oxygen in the mountains than in Denver. There is a direct correlation between the level of oxygen and my ability to breathe when I work out.
-Yogurt is good for a long time past the printed date.
-The way we should treat the homeless person, the addicted person, or the poor person is... like a person.
-Sometimes the best thing God can do for us is to remind us of our littleness.
-Mountains are big. And beautiful.
-Kicking a soccer ball requires much more technique than you'd think. Unless you already know how to kick a soccer ball, then I'm sure you know just how much technique goes into it.
-Sometimes it's not a bad idea to follow the high-altitude directions for baking.
-"We are called to greatness, not to comfort." -Pope Benedict XVI
-A self-defense class can make you sore for days.
-Learning prayers in Spanish isn't that hard if you just memorize a couple lines at a time.
-Truth and charity are inseparable concepts- you cannot have one without the other. (See Caritas in Veritate by Pope Benedict.)
-Carving rounded letters on a pumpkin with a 5-inch long knife is no easy feat.
-Playing basketball with people is a great community builder. (I definitely already knew this one, but some of my teammates got to learn it.) :)
-Sometimes people's needs are more than we can meet, but there is always something we can do for them. Blessed Chiara Badano, a young woman who was in the hospital with cancer for the last part of her life, said, "I have nothing left, but I have my heart, and with that I can always love." Even if we can do nothing else for people, we can always love them. And pray, of course.
-The only way we can really accomplish anything is if we let God accomplish it through us.
-Skype doesn't work 3-way.
Also, here's the article about the Gabriel House that was recently in the Spanish Archdiocesan newspaper. Sorry if you're not bilingual.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Catchphrases of a Missionary
Since I've now been out here for over 2 months, I'd like to share with you some of the things that may be said and done as a missionary that may never happen in the real world...
-"What are we going to do with this huge donation of cocktail sauce?"
-Humming the Tantum Ergo in the office.
-"How and when would we have watched that commercial you're talking about?"
-"I guess some guy from the Vatican is coming over for breakfast this morning."
-"Did somebody try to break in or was that just the radiator?"
-Genuflecting before entering a doorway because we're used to genuflecting before walking by our chapel doorway.
-"We could get curtains that match the papal flag!"
-"Wow, there's a lot of crucifixes on that wall."
-Turning a file cabinet into a desk because there weren't enough desks for everyone who's in the office on some Mondays.
-"Someone used me to make a drug deal today."
-"I feel so guilty about sleeping in till 9 on my weekend off."
-Cleaning the kitchen multiple times a day and yet it's still never clean.
-"Can we send you home with some bread loaves and pastries?" (to a volunteer)
-"No, I'm not a cop. And no, I'm not wearing a wire, that's just my scapular."
We have a lovely newsletter that was recently put together by an awesome alumni, and as soon as it's on the website, I'll send you a link to it. Also, I was pictured in the Archdioceasan Spanish newspaper, and as soon as I figure out which machine I can scan that in on, I'll share that with you as well. :)
-"What are we going to do with this huge donation of cocktail sauce?"
-Humming the Tantum Ergo in the office.
-"How and when would we have watched that commercial you're talking about?"
-"I guess some guy from the Vatican is coming over for breakfast this morning."
-"Did somebody try to break in or was that just the radiator?"
-Genuflecting before entering a doorway because we're used to genuflecting before walking by our chapel doorway.
-"We could get curtains that match the papal flag!"
-"Wow, there's a lot of crucifixes on that wall."
-Turning a file cabinet into a desk because there weren't enough desks for everyone who's in the office on some Mondays.
-"Someone used me to make a drug deal today."
-"I feel so guilty about sleeping in till 9 on my weekend off."
-Cleaning the kitchen multiple times a day and yet it's still never clean.
-"Can we send you home with some bread loaves and pastries?" (to a volunteer)
-"No, I'm not a cop. And no, I'm not wearing a wire, that's just my scapular."
We have a lovely newsletter that was recently put together by an awesome alumni, and as soon as it's on the website, I'll send you a link to it. Also, I was pictured in the Archdioceasan Spanish newspaper, and as soon as I figure out which machine I can scan that in on, I'll share that with you as well. :)
Sunday, September 30, 2012
What did and didn't happen.
Today I'm going to share with you a list of things that did happen since the last time I've posted and a list of things that didn't happen since then......
I DID get outside of Denver. We went driving through the mountains and got out to explore a little bit too. Yvonne said, "You just don't realize how much you need to get out of the city till you're out!" To which I replied, "Well, sometimes you do..."
I DID leave a phone message for a woman in Spanish. She didn't understand it, but she called back and I explained again, and this time she understood. That's good enough for me.
I DID go to another Rockies game- their last home game.
I DID receive a million dollars in the mail.... unfortunately, all the bills said "fake" on the back. Thanks, Joe.
I DID figure out how to register a team for a local basketball league.
I DID rejoice with a woman who attends our bible study at the Sam House, who told us she is going to become Catholic!
I DID play in the rain for half an hour during the only thunder storm that's happened since I've been here.
I DID skype with all of my roommates from last year.
I DID get assigned as Master Chef for the upcoming week, and Bishop Conley is coming for breakfast this week. Get ready for a taste of the Midwest, Bishop!
I DID hold a two-week old, four pound baby girl.
I DID drop Bri's breakfast on the ground. Then, in the process of making more eggs for her, I dropped and broke the plate too.
I DID find what I believe to be the only hill within my current running radius. I decided that I enjoy running on varied terrain more than I dislike running up hills.
I DID wear my Nebraska hoodie, and was greeted by 3 different supporters. The only negative comment I received was from a teammate whom I have yet to convert. :)
I DID listen to an awesome talk by Cardinal Arinze. Here's a picture of him, Archbishop Aquila, and some of us missionaries.
I DIDN'T get completely rid of that hematoma that's been on my leg since sliding into 3rd base back in early May.... maybe in another month it will disappear.
I DIDN'T go hungry.
I DIDN'T play cards.... lame.
I DIDN'T receive my new blood donor card in the mail yet.
I DIDN'T get tuberculosis. Two TB tests have proved so.
I DIDN'T clean my room.
I DIDN'T remember the new Spanish word I learned this week: the word for a swing. Spanishdict.com reminded me that it's un columpio.
I DIDN'T stay in contact with as many people as I wanted to.
I DIDN'T learn to bilocate.
I DIDN'T write blogs for the Mullen Home like I was supposed to. Guess I've been failing at a lot of blogs lately.
I DIDN'T get bitten by a bug, cause they don't exist in Colorado.
I DIDN'T get a back massage.
I DIDN'T get mistaken for a homeless person, as a few of my teammates have had happen to them.
I DIDN'T have anyone come visit me... I'm still waiting....
I DIDN'T figure out my way around Denver yet. Seriously, I know I'm bad at directions, but who builds a city like this??
I DID get outside of Denver. We went driving through the mountains and got out to explore a little bit too. Yvonne said, "You just don't realize how much you need to get out of the city till you're out!" To which I replied, "Well, sometimes you do..."
I DID leave a phone message for a woman in Spanish. She didn't understand it, but she called back and I explained again, and this time she understood. That's good enough for me.
I DID go to another Rockies game- their last home game.
I DID receive a million dollars in the mail.... unfortunately, all the bills said "fake" on the back. Thanks, Joe.
I DID figure out how to register a team for a local basketball league.
I DID rejoice with a woman who attends our bible study at the Sam House, who told us she is going to become Catholic!
I DID play in the rain for half an hour during the only thunder storm that's happened since I've been here.
I DID skype with all of my roommates from last year.
I DID get assigned as Master Chef for the upcoming week, and Bishop Conley is coming for breakfast this week. Get ready for a taste of the Midwest, Bishop!
I DID hold a two-week old, four pound baby girl.
I DID drop Bri's breakfast on the ground. Then, in the process of making more eggs for her, I dropped and broke the plate too.
I DID find what I believe to be the only hill within my current running radius. I decided that I enjoy running on varied terrain more than I dislike running up hills.
I DID wear my Nebraska hoodie, and was greeted by 3 different supporters. The only negative comment I received was from a teammate whom I have yet to convert. :)
I DID listen to an awesome talk by Cardinal Arinze. Here's a picture of him, Archbishop Aquila, and some of us missionaries.
I DIDN'T get completely rid of that hematoma that's been on my leg since sliding into 3rd base back in early May.... maybe in another month it will disappear.
I DIDN'T go hungry.
I DIDN'T play cards.... lame.
I DIDN'T receive my new blood donor card in the mail yet.
I DIDN'T get tuberculosis. Two TB tests have proved so.
I DIDN'T clean my room.
I DIDN'T remember the new Spanish word I learned this week: the word for a swing. Spanishdict.com reminded me that it's un columpio.
I DIDN'T stay in contact with as many people as I wanted to.
I DIDN'T learn to bilocate.
I DIDN'T write blogs for the Mullen Home like I was supposed to. Guess I've been failing at a lot of blogs lately.
I DIDN'T get bitten by a bug, cause they don't exist in Colorado.
I DIDN'T get a back massage.
I DIDN'T get mistaken for a homeless person, as a few of my teammates have had happen to them.
I DIDN'T have anyone come visit me... I'm still waiting....
I DIDN'T figure out my way around Denver yet. Seriously, I know I'm bad at directions, but who builds a city like this??
Monday, September 17, 2012
I LOVE MONDAYS!
I love Mondays. No, I'm not being sarcastic. Yes, this is real life. I love Mondays!
First of all, Mondays are great because usually I get at least a little more sleep over the weekends, so I feel slightly more awake than I do the rest of the week. Also, we start Mondays with mass and a holy hour. (And even though I do have that extra bit of sleep in me, I still find myself falling asleep in adoration, but what better place to sleep, right?!) Then, we have a great breakfast, and since our weekly chef typically does the shopping over the weekend, nothing is expired yet and we have things like fruit and yogurt sometimes!
After breakfast we have intellectual formation, so a speaker comes to our place and gives us a lecture on a variety of topics. Today we just finished up salvation history, and I learned a lot about the Old Testament world that I never learned before. Next I do some office work for about 3 hours. I never thought I'd be excited to do office work, but I really enjoy it! I get to email a bunch of people about a bunch of things, and I get to create and organize files, and work with the company of one or two other missionaries who do office work that day as well as our director. I also get to have lunch with them, and today we had a great discussion about literature and our culture and immaturity and I don't even know what else. It was awesome. :)
You're probably thinking right now, Wow, what an awesome day! Could it get any better? Indeed, it can. After my office work is done, I head to the Samaritan House with 3 teammates to join the 2 already there. We eat dinner with the residents (at like 4:30, which is weird) and also catch up on how each others' day was. I try to pop my head into Bri's office and say hi. We split into 3 groups to lead children, teen, and adult bible studies. I'm with the adult group. So far, we just go through the readings for the following Sunday, then pick a book of the bible to read from and discuss if there's time. We never know how many people will show up, if they've come before, if they're Catholic, if they want to talk your ear off or not say a word, but there hasn't been a bible study yet that wasn't fruitful in some way.
The 4 female missionaries at the Sam House on Mondays will also have the opportunity to join an ENDOW study with the women residents there. ENDOW stands for Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women, and is based on JPII's letter to women. We're there to help the women understand their dignity, but mostly I find that we learn from them. In two weeks, I'll also start teaching the class that I was talking about in a previous post. It's a 12 week class, once a week, but we split it into 3 sections, Community, Philia, and Spirituality, and each of these 4 week sections will be taught by 2 of our missionaries. So I'll only be teaching the class a third of the times we go to the Sam House. (Knew that math major would come in use somehow.)
Finally, we come back and have a little free time before night prayer, then I'm free to sleep! Or chat with people. Or blog. It's a full day, but I dare say I'm changing the reputation of Mondays, one week at a time.
First of all, Mondays are great because usually I get at least a little more sleep over the weekends, so I feel slightly more awake than I do the rest of the week. Also, we start Mondays with mass and a holy hour. (And even though I do have that extra bit of sleep in me, I still find myself falling asleep in adoration, but what better place to sleep, right?!) Then, we have a great breakfast, and since our weekly chef typically does the shopping over the weekend, nothing is expired yet and we have things like fruit and yogurt sometimes!
After breakfast we have intellectual formation, so a speaker comes to our place and gives us a lecture on a variety of topics. Today we just finished up salvation history, and I learned a lot about the Old Testament world that I never learned before. Next I do some office work for about 3 hours. I never thought I'd be excited to do office work, but I really enjoy it! I get to email a bunch of people about a bunch of things, and I get to create and organize files, and work with the company of one or two other missionaries who do office work that day as well as our director. I also get to have lunch with them, and today we had a great discussion about literature and our culture and immaturity and I don't even know what else. It was awesome. :)
You're probably thinking right now, Wow, what an awesome day! Could it get any better? Indeed, it can. After my office work is done, I head to the Samaritan House with 3 teammates to join the 2 already there. We eat dinner with the residents (at like 4:30, which is weird) and also catch up on how each others' day was. I try to pop my head into Bri's office and say hi. We split into 3 groups to lead children, teen, and adult bible studies. I'm with the adult group. So far, we just go through the readings for the following Sunday, then pick a book of the bible to read from and discuss if there's time. We never know how many people will show up, if they've come before, if they're Catholic, if they want to talk your ear off or not say a word, but there hasn't been a bible study yet that wasn't fruitful in some way.
The 4 female missionaries at the Sam House on Mondays will also have the opportunity to join an ENDOW study with the women residents there. ENDOW stands for Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women, and is based on JPII's letter to women. We're there to help the women understand their dignity, but mostly I find that we learn from them. In two weeks, I'll also start teaching the class that I was talking about in a previous post. It's a 12 week class, once a week, but we split it into 3 sections, Community, Philia, and Spirituality, and each of these 4 week sections will be taught by 2 of our missionaries. So I'll only be teaching the class a third of the times we go to the Sam House. (Knew that math major would come in use somehow.)
Finally, we come back and have a little free time before night prayer, then I'm free to sleep! Or chat with people. Or blog. It's a full day, but I dare say I'm changing the reputation of Mondays, one week at a time.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Building Community One Soul at a Time
This past week has been so great. Wanna know why? I'll tell you why. In a word, community. I've had so many opportunities throughout this week to spend some quality time with people. Like learning guitar with James. Or "stargazing" (we only saw one that night) with Bri. Or going to Walmart with a Spanish-speaking resident at the Mullen Home, and finally understanding that she wanted to buy a chicken. Or running with Morgan. Or getting to know Monica, one of the volunteers at the Gabriel House. Or having a dollar coke date at McDonald's with the other Bri. Or trying to find a park with Abby, and never quite making it there. I could go on, but I'll spare you. To top it off, we threw a big party at our house on Saturday for Mother Teresa's feast day, which was earlier in the week, as well as Mary's birthday.
Those of you who are familiar with my apartment last year know that we lived by the motto "Building community one stomach at a time." And since we don't do outreach with food in quite the same manner as our apartment did last year, I've adapted this motto to fit me better this year. (I literally am just deciding on this for my motto as I type this, and since I usually carefully think through these things, it could potentially change, but for know I think it will work.) For my time with CIC, my motto will be "Building community one soul at a time."
The thing about community is I don't just love it cause it's enjoyable. It's much deeper than that. Entering into community with others, whether it's those you live or work with or those you meet just once, allows us to experience Christ in a very real way. What does that even mean? Well, Christ dwells in the heart of every individual that we meet- we are all made in God's image and likeness. Every time we encounter another person, we can encounter Christ. ("Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto me.") Community gives us the opportunity to know and love Christ better by knowing and loving those around us. Genesis 2 even notes that "it is not good for man to be alone." We were made to enter into communion with one another and to gain a deeper love and understanding of God through our relationships.
Mother Teresa notes that loneliness is the worst kind of poverty. Perhaps that is because isolation from others (not just physical isolation, but mental, emotional, spiritual isolation) is really isolation from God, since He himself is community. He's a Trinity, who relate to one another in perfect communion. (Side note: I'm not sure if I'm supposed to use the verb in the singular or plural in that sentence since I refer to God both in the singular and in the plurality of his Persons... if anyone wants to interject with their thoughts, I'd be really interested in knowing what to do there!) Since God is a relationship and we are created in his image and likeness, it is our joy and our duty to enter into relationships with Him and his children. The community we build here on earth is so great, but it is just a shadow of what heaven will be like- eternal communion with God, and through that communion, eternal communion with each other!
A professor at Benedictine once put it this way: when we enter into community with others, when we start to suffer when they suffer and rejoice when they rejoice, our souls are beginning to overlap. (Figuratively, of course. It's an analogy.) The same is true for our relation to God, and the more we know and love Him, the more our souls begin to be transformed into Him. In heaven, we will be in perfect communion, and our souls will all be completely overlapping and entirely united in God.
So I didn't mean to turn this post into preaching, this is really what's been on my mind a lot lately, so I just thought I'd share it with you! I meant to post some pictures too, but I think I'll save that for a later time since I haven't uploaded them to my computer yet. Until then, I plan to just build community one soul at a time!
Those of you who are familiar with my apartment last year know that we lived by the motto "Building community one stomach at a time." And since we don't do outreach with food in quite the same manner as our apartment did last year, I've adapted this motto to fit me better this year. (I literally am just deciding on this for my motto as I type this, and since I usually carefully think through these things, it could potentially change, but for know I think it will work.) For my time with CIC, my motto will be "Building community one soul at a time."
The thing about community is I don't just love it cause it's enjoyable. It's much deeper than that. Entering into community with others, whether it's those you live or work with or those you meet just once, allows us to experience Christ in a very real way. What does that even mean? Well, Christ dwells in the heart of every individual that we meet- we are all made in God's image and likeness. Every time we encounter another person, we can encounter Christ. ("Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto me.") Community gives us the opportunity to know and love Christ better by knowing and loving those around us. Genesis 2 even notes that "it is not good for man to be alone." We were made to enter into communion with one another and to gain a deeper love and understanding of God through our relationships.
Mother Teresa notes that loneliness is the worst kind of poverty. Perhaps that is because isolation from others (not just physical isolation, but mental, emotional, spiritual isolation) is really isolation from God, since He himself is community. He's a Trinity, who relate to one another in perfect communion. (Side note: I'm not sure if I'm supposed to use the verb in the singular or plural in that sentence since I refer to God both in the singular and in the plurality of his Persons... if anyone wants to interject with their thoughts, I'd be really interested in knowing what to do there!) Since God is a relationship and we are created in his image and likeness, it is our joy and our duty to enter into relationships with Him and his children. The community we build here on earth is so great, but it is just a shadow of what heaven will be like- eternal communion with God, and through that communion, eternal communion with each other!
A professor at Benedictine once put it this way: when we enter into community with others, when we start to suffer when they suffer and rejoice when they rejoice, our souls are beginning to overlap. (Figuratively, of course. It's an analogy.) The same is true for our relation to God, and the more we know and love Him, the more our souls begin to be transformed into Him. In heaven, we will be in perfect communion, and our souls will all be completely overlapping and entirely united in God.
So I didn't mean to turn this post into preaching, this is really what's been on my mind a lot lately, so I just thought I'd share it with you! I meant to post some pictures too, but I think I'll save that for a later time since I haven't uploaded them to my computer yet. Until then, I plan to just build community one soul at a time!
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Life
As I was trying to think of something to write about for this post, I was complaining to my teammate Liv that nothing has happened this week. She very patiently reminded me that I don't have to write about a life-changing experience, that it's just nice sometimes to read about a simple story or a normal occurance too. I decided to take her advice and just give you a bunch of snippets of my life.
Not only do I feel confident in taking the bus now, I actually made a friend the other day. That's right. I made a friend on the bus. Her name is Sasha, she's 19 and living on her own cause she comes from a rough family. She's working evenings at a sandwich shop while taking classes for a GED. She's a pretty cheerful girl, and wants to become a pediatric nurse. I'm excited to hopefully get to know her better since she takes the bus to work about the same time I'm coming home from the Gabriel House.
I taught 3 of my teammates to play pitch! That made me pretty happy... even though we lost.
Our handyman, Joe, who lives with us, took me and my teammate James out to lunch last weekend. It was really awesome... We laughed about how we hadn't had a real burger in so long. :)
It feels like our house has pretty much turned into a food bank. The past week or so and the next week or so, we are receiving donations that usually go to a different place, but it's closed right now. Our fridges, freezers, and pantries are overflowing with food, although most of it is really random stuff. In fact, today a few missionaries took a bunch of the bread we have and just handed it out to homeless people. Our multitude of donations will probably end in about a week or two, but for now, it's nice to not feel guilty about snacking.
So one of the things I do once a week is lead a class at the Samaritan House, a Catholic shelter designed to help people off the streets and help them find housing and employment. Part of what they have to do is attend a certain amount of classes, such as the one we are teaching. My teammate Bri and I are teaching the 4 classes about brotherhood/ philia, so if you have any thoughts on what our curriculum should include, let me know! One interesting thing about our classes is that they will include a service project. I'm sure you are probably thinking, Really? You're gonna do a service project with homeless people? Who are they going to serve? But I'm really excited about this. Think about the times you've had an opportunity to give back to others. It makes you feel dignified, not to mention it helps you grow in virtue. Now think of a time that you've felt like everyone was helping you and giving to you, but you were unable to give back. It's rather belittling, isn't it? I don't know exactly what we will be doing, but I'm excited! (Again, if you have any ideas, feel free to let me know!)
Not only do I feel confident in taking the bus now, I actually made a friend the other day. That's right. I made a friend on the bus. Her name is Sasha, she's 19 and living on her own cause she comes from a rough family. She's working evenings at a sandwich shop while taking classes for a GED. She's a pretty cheerful girl, and wants to become a pediatric nurse. I'm excited to hopefully get to know her better since she takes the bus to work about the same time I'm coming home from the Gabriel House.
I taught 3 of my teammates to play pitch! That made me pretty happy... even though we lost.
Our handyman, Joe, who lives with us, took me and my teammate James out to lunch last weekend. It was really awesome... We laughed about how we hadn't had a real burger in so long. :)
It feels like our house has pretty much turned into a food bank. The past week or so and the next week or so, we are receiving donations that usually go to a different place, but it's closed right now. Our fridges, freezers, and pantries are overflowing with food, although most of it is really random stuff. In fact, today a few missionaries took a bunch of the bread we have and just handed it out to homeless people. Our multitude of donations will probably end in about a week or two, but for now, it's nice to not feel guilty about snacking.
So one of the things I do once a week is lead a class at the Samaritan House, a Catholic shelter designed to help people off the streets and help them find housing and employment. Part of what they have to do is attend a certain amount of classes, such as the one we are teaching. My teammate Bri and I are teaching the 4 classes about brotherhood/ philia, so if you have any thoughts on what our curriculum should include, let me know! One interesting thing about our classes is that they will include a service project. I'm sure you are probably thinking, Really? You're gonna do a service project with homeless people? Who are they going to serve? But I'm really excited about this. Think about the times you've had an opportunity to give back to others. It makes you feel dignified, not to mention it helps you grow in virtue. Now think of a time that you've felt like everyone was helping you and giving to you, but you were unable to give back. It's rather belittling, isn't it? I don't know exactly what we will be doing, but I'm excited! (Again, if you have any ideas, feel free to let me know!)
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
random things
For the last 2 days, I've pretty much been going non-stop from 6:30am to 11pm or so. It's really intense, but it's really exciting at the same time. Since it's now at that 11pm mark and I am feeling a little sleep-deprived, I thought I'd just tell you a collection of little things instead of trying to make a cohesive post today.
My typical daily schedule looks something like this: wake up at 6:15 (either by alarm or roommate when I sleep through my alarm), mass at 7, morning prayer, breakfast, head of to whichever work I will be doing that day, get back around 4, spend an hour either running or doing other work or talking to people or doing laundry (....so much to do, so little time!), evening prayer at 5, dinner, chores, then either free time or spiritual dialogues or head to the Samaritan House (see below) or whatever else is planned, night prayer at 9, then the rest of the night is free to do whatever- check emails, talk, post a blog, whatever. This definitely varies from day to day, but I just thought I'd give you a rough idea of how I spend my time.
Today I worked at the Mullen Home with the Little Sisters of the Poor. Among other things, I joined many of the residents in saying a rosary. The sisters and residents are starting a novena to St. Jeanne Jugan (foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor), since her feast day is in 9 days. Afterwards, I was talking with a sweet old lady about St. Jeanne Jugan when she asked me, "Is she dead yet?" I found that mildly humorous.
So growing up in a town of about 5,000 and going to college in a town of about 10,000, I have very little experience with public transportation. As in, I went to DC once, and that's about it. I take a bus twice a week to one of my placements, and I'm not gonna lie, I was really nervous. More nervous than I was for the actual work I would be doing. My thoughts went something like this: What if I get on the wrong bus? How do I know which intersection to get off at? I can't understand what the bus driver is saying. What is this piece of paper he's holding out to me as I walk on? etc, etc. You city people can laugh, but this was a serious concern of mine! Thankfully, Bri, who was a CIC missionary last year, came with me the first day and talked me through it. We'll see if I can manage to make it there later this week without her!
Some of the other, smaller, things that I previously mentioned that I will be doing include helping to lead a weekly adult bible study at the Samaritan House. We had our first meeting this week, and we found out we were leading it not much before we met. There are 3 of us leading it, so thankfully we were able to bounce ideas off of each other and tag-team it. Only 2 people showed up this time, but seeing as it was a last-minute announcement, I was satisfied with that! I'm excited to see what direction this goes in the future. There are also children and teen bible studies that I may help out with from time to time.
In other news, I went to my first Rockies game this week, and they won!
My typical daily schedule looks something like this: wake up at 6:15 (either by alarm or roommate when I sleep through my alarm), mass at 7, morning prayer, breakfast, head of to whichever work I will be doing that day, get back around 4, spend an hour either running or doing other work or talking to people or doing laundry (....so much to do, so little time!), evening prayer at 5, dinner, chores, then either free time or spiritual dialogues or head to the Samaritan House (see below) or whatever else is planned, night prayer at 9, then the rest of the night is free to do whatever- check emails, talk, post a blog, whatever. This definitely varies from day to day, but I just thought I'd give you a rough idea of how I spend my time.
Today I worked at the Mullen Home with the Little Sisters of the Poor. Among other things, I joined many of the residents in saying a rosary. The sisters and residents are starting a novena to St. Jeanne Jugan (foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor), since her feast day is in 9 days. Afterwards, I was talking with a sweet old lady about St. Jeanne Jugan when she asked me, "Is she dead yet?" I found that mildly humorous.
So growing up in a town of about 5,000 and going to college in a town of about 10,000, I have very little experience with public transportation. As in, I went to DC once, and that's about it. I take a bus twice a week to one of my placements, and I'm not gonna lie, I was really nervous. More nervous than I was for the actual work I would be doing. My thoughts went something like this: What if I get on the wrong bus? How do I know which intersection to get off at? I can't understand what the bus driver is saying. What is this piece of paper he's holding out to me as I walk on? etc, etc. You city people can laugh, but this was a serious concern of mine! Thankfully, Bri, who was a CIC missionary last year, came with me the first day and talked me through it. We'll see if I can manage to make it there later this week without her!
Some of the other, smaller, things that I previously mentioned that I will be doing include helping to lead a weekly adult bible study at the Samaritan House. We had our first meeting this week, and we found out we were leading it not much before we met. There are 3 of us leading it, so thankfully we were able to bounce ideas off of each other and tag-team it. Only 2 people showed up this time, but seeing as it was a last-minute announcement, I was satisfied with that! I'm excited to see what direction this goes in the future. There are also children and teen bible studies that I may help out with from time to time.
In other news, I went to my first Rockies game this week, and they won!
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| Mother Cabrini, co-patron of missionaries, pray for us! |
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| St. Therese, co-patron of missionaries, pray for us! |
Thursday, August 16, 2012
We are mostly done with training and have begun different ministries within the community. The last few days of training were super busy, consisting of a team-building scavenger hunt throughout downtown (which my team won, by the way), Theology on Tap, intellectual formation, a visit and house blessing from Archbishop Aquila (which made front page news in the Denver Post today), lunch with the homeless in the park, and many other activities. We've heard lectures on the history of Denver, become regulars at the Cathedral, and done some serious cleaning and gardening. After almost 2 weeks of getting to know my 13 awesome teammates who hail from Wisconsin, Texas, Missouri, California, and many other places, we were given our placements. Mine is ........... drumroll.............. working at the Little Sisters of the Poor's Mullen Home for the Aged as well as the Archdiocese's Gabriel Project, working with pregnant women and their unborn children. I will also be doing a couple other smaller things. You'll hear more about all of this after I get into it a bit more. I'm very excited about my work! I get to work with people at both ends of the spectrum- those just beginning life, and those who have lived much. It is going to be a great year!
Some of the placements of my teammates include the Homeless Task Force (basically doing street ministry as a full time job), coordinating all volunteer directors for the archdiocese, managing cases at the Samaritan House, and working in an inner city school. Our placements were decided based upon our interests, skills, the needs of the community, and what will help us to grow the most. We all committed to CIC without even knowing what our placements would be, but I think we all agree that our director did a great job with each of our placements!
In other news, we had an open house yesterday, and I got to meet many of the generous supporters of CIC. It is amazing how much the community looks after us! Christ in the City is so much more than just 14 missionaries. Others donate time, money, supplies, and food to help us out. When we did lunch in the park last week, the wonderful parishoners at Holy Name parish provided all the food for 150 people, as well as stayed around to serve the food and talk with the people. My teammate Christine was right when she said "we're just the lucky ones who get to wear the Christ in the City shirts." To all those who support us, thank you!!
Some of the placements of my teammates include the Homeless Task Force (basically doing street ministry as a full time job), coordinating all volunteer directors for the archdiocese, managing cases at the Samaritan House, and working in an inner city school. Our placements were decided based upon our interests, skills, the needs of the community, and what will help us to grow the most. We all committed to CIC without even knowing what our placements would be, but I think we all agree that our director did a great job with each of our placements!
In other news, we had an open house yesterday, and I got to meet many of the generous supporters of CIC. It is amazing how much the community looks after us! Christ in the City is so much more than just 14 missionaries. Others donate time, money, supplies, and food to help us out. When we did lunch in the park last week, the wonderful parishoners at Holy Name parish provided all the food for 150 people, as well as stayed around to serve the food and talk with the people. My teammate Christine was right when she said "we're just the lucky ones who get to wear the Christ in the City shirts." To all those who support us, thank you!!
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Day 2
So I've been in Denver for two days now. We have training for the rest of this week and next week, and I've already learned a lot about what to expect and what my year of service will entail, but I've got a lot to learn still! The house we live in, called the Seton House, was built in 1915, so it carries with it many little blessings, including no air conditioning, one shower for 10 girls, and a layout that is impossible to learn. Denver, too, has graced me with blessings of city noise, perpetually chapped lips, and a very limited view. (Earlier today a teammate commented that the sky was so clear and beautiful, and my first thought was, Yeah, all three inches of it that I can see. I'm working on being more positive toward city life.)
But my journey so far also brings many other, perhaps more easily noticable, blessings, like so many wonderful people, learning more about what it means to be a missionary with CIC and afterwards, and a huge house with plenty of space and a garden/fountain area with apple trees and grape vines. And while I don't like being hot all the time, or waking up in the middle of the night to loud trucks driving by, I know that these little sufferings really are gifts from God, so that I can join my sufferings to the cross for the salvation of souls.
Teresa of Avila once suffered a broken arm, and was unable to do much of anything for a while. (Broken arms were a bigger deal back then.) During this time she asked God, "Why have you given this to me? It is just holding me back from doing the work of your kingdom." To which God replied, "This is the way that I treat my friends." Teresa quickly retorted, "Perhaps that is why you have so few." (I'm completely paraphrasing this, by the way.)
It's true, though. The sufferings that God chooses to give us, whether it be no air conditioning, a broken arm, or homelessness, are not easy. (If they are easy for you, I commend you. When you get to heaven, pray for the rest of us.) But through his cross, Christ chose the path of suffering as the path to heaven. And at the end of time, no one will be allowed into heaven without carrying a cross with them (says some saint... sorry I'm sometimes bad with details).
So anyway, since I've only been here for a couple days, I didn't have much to update you on, but maybe in one of my next posts, I'll try to give a full rundown of what Christ in the City really is and what I will be doing here... once I learn a bit more about that myself! :)
But my journey so far also brings many other, perhaps more easily noticable, blessings, like so many wonderful people, learning more about what it means to be a missionary with CIC and afterwards, and a huge house with plenty of space and a garden/fountain area with apple trees and grape vines. And while I don't like being hot all the time, or waking up in the middle of the night to loud trucks driving by, I know that these little sufferings really are gifts from God, so that I can join my sufferings to the cross for the salvation of souls.
Teresa of Avila once suffered a broken arm, and was unable to do much of anything for a while. (Broken arms were a bigger deal back then.) During this time she asked God, "Why have you given this to me? It is just holding me back from doing the work of your kingdom." To which God replied, "This is the way that I treat my friends." Teresa quickly retorted, "Perhaps that is why you have so few." (I'm completely paraphrasing this, by the way.)
It's true, though. The sufferings that God chooses to give us, whether it be no air conditioning, a broken arm, or homelessness, are not easy. (If they are easy for you, I commend you. When you get to heaven, pray for the rest of us.) But through his cross, Christ chose the path of suffering as the path to heaven. And at the end of time, no one will be allowed into heaven without carrying a cross with them (says some saint... sorry I'm sometimes bad with details).
So anyway, since I've only been here for a couple days, I didn't have much to update you on, but maybe in one of my next posts, I'll try to give a full rundown of what Christ in the City really is and what I will be doing here... once I learn a bit more about that myself! :)
Monday, July 30, 2012
t minus one week
This is it- the countdown begins (as if I haven't already been counting down). In one week, I will be in Denver, CO beginning training to be a missionary with Christ in the City for a year. I will be giving you more information about what specifically I will be doing when I get out there, but for now suffice it to say that I will be working with the poor and homeless, striving for the authentic development of every man and the whole man (Paul VI, Populorum Progressio).
I'm really excited to start working with CIC, and yet I also feel so much peace. I don't know what specific placement I will have out there, I don't really know any of the people I will be working with yet, and I don't know how I will handle living in the heart of a major city. (Seriously, that's a big change for me!) But even with all this uncertainty, there's a peace in knowing that I am doing what I'm supposed to do, what I've been called to do. It wasn't an easy decision for me to make, but choosing to give this year in service with Christ in the City was the right decision for me. And knowing that, I can handle the uncertainty.
I'd like to tell you that I've been so organized and prudent in preparing for this next step. I'd like to say that my consistent and diligent work throughout the summer will allow me to simply kick back and relax before this journey begins.... But let's be honest, I have a lot of packing, laundry, and cleaning to do before then, not to mention 3 more days of work, an encyclical to read, and trying to fit in time with my family and friends. But I'm not worried, because I know I'll get everything done and it will all work out just fine. (That's not to say I won't be worried when it's midnight on the night before I leave and I'm just starting some of this stuff... but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.)
I have a feeling a lot is going to happen in the next year. I will be changed to become more like Christ, and hopefully I will transform lives in Christ as well. But for now, I just wanted to let y'all know that I will try my best to keep up with this blog so you can stay informed about what is going on in my life and stay involved in my mission!
I'm really excited to start working with CIC, and yet I also feel so much peace. I don't know what specific placement I will have out there, I don't really know any of the people I will be working with yet, and I don't know how I will handle living in the heart of a major city. (Seriously, that's a big change for me!) But even with all this uncertainty, there's a peace in knowing that I am doing what I'm supposed to do, what I've been called to do. It wasn't an easy decision for me to make, but choosing to give this year in service with Christ in the City was the right decision for me. And knowing that, I can handle the uncertainty.
I'd like to tell you that I've been so organized and prudent in preparing for this next step. I'd like to say that my consistent and diligent work throughout the summer will allow me to simply kick back and relax before this journey begins.... But let's be honest, I have a lot of packing, laundry, and cleaning to do before then, not to mention 3 more days of work, an encyclical to read, and trying to fit in time with my family and friends. But I'm not worried, because I know I'll get everything done and it will all work out just fine. (That's not to say I won't be worried when it's midnight on the night before I leave and I'm just starting some of this stuff... but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.)
I have a feeling a lot is going to happen in the next year. I will be changed to become more like Christ, and hopefully I will transform lives in Christ as well. But for now, I just wanted to let y'all know that I will try my best to keep up with this blog so you can stay informed about what is going on in my life and stay involved in my mission!
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| Pray, hope, and don't worry. -Padre Pio |
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