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!

Mother Cabrini, co-patron of missionaries, pray for us!

St. Therese, co-patron of missionaries, pray for us!

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!!

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! :)