Groups Return to Campus Saturday

The party on campus has kicked off with pizza, music, and great stories!
We've already welcomed home the following groups (its now 8:15pm)
Manchester
Maine
Maryland
Mississippi
Fuller
Costa Rica
The Philadelphia group worked at the Inn late for lunch today, and should be on the road now and home around 10.
The Phoenix and Navajo Groups have landed safely at Logan Airport and are being picked up on the bus as I write.
New Orleans should land at 8:45, be picked up by the bus, and all 3 trips should be back to campus by 10:30pm.
Thanks for your continued support and prayers for all of our groups!
Check in again in May when we send our Summer Plunge trips to South Dakota and Appalachia!

Saying Adios to Costa Rica and our CFCA Family!

Greetings from tropical Los Chiles!

After three days of hard work in the humid 80-degree weather, we had our amazing day off on Tuesday! Once we finished breakfast, we walked down our street to the Rio Frio where we boarded a boat and began our adventure downstream. About every five minutes, the tour guide had the captain pull over to the side of the river and pointed out numerous animals and indigenous trees. We saw Howler and Capuchin monkeys, three crocodiles, a bat, some lizards, and TONS of birds. At one point, we even got to walk through part of the rainforest and walked to the very border of Nicaragua. When we finished, we ate our lunch and then walked to the neighborhood field near the house we are building for the Martinez Espinoza family. There, we saw our friends Jose Carmelo, Isaida, Arturo, Hansel, and many other familiar faces. A game of futból with about 15 kids on each team began and many of the little Costa Ricans dominated the game. Being able to bond with these kids through the game without the language barrier interfering was a great feeling. We were all sad to have to leave for the day, and so were they, but all of the kids hugged us goodbye.

When we returned to the work cite today, the metal roof was added to the house and it made the house look even bigger! We are finishing up the last room with the cement floor and hopefully tomorrow we can begin a new step of the house building process. The house has come a long way since we tore down the Martinez Espinoza’s original house. It’s amazing that in just 5 days we have built the frame of the house already. Ellie, our translator from CFCA, told us a few days ago that this is the fastest a St. A’s group has built a house! We are so proud of our progress and are so motivated to get this house completely finished for the family that we hope that when we leave Friday afternoon, we will have accomplished our goal.

Sincerely,
Maire Lynch ’13

Groups finish up their service work during their last day on SBA!

The Fuller group finishes off the exterior painting on their house!

No rest for the weary! Spending their last day chopping wood in Navajo Nation!

Strangers at the Inn on Monday are now our greatest friends in Philly!

Our Maine'rs welcome a new family to making a new home at H.O.M.E

All trips having a great week...Mid-week check ins all positive!

Hello friends and supporters, 

  All the groups checked in last night, and everyone is having a wonderful time at their service sites. Maryland is in love with the kids at the Benedictine School! Here is a picture of them celebrating at a Mardi Gras party! How fun! 
  The Navajo group called as they were getting out of their service at the school, and preparing for a Native American sweat lodge experience. This has always been a wonderful experience for the group in understanding the Navajo spirituality and I am looking forward to hearing how they enjoyed it!
   The Phoenix group has the unique experience today of joining the Andre House staff at White Tanks cemetery, where on the first week of the month, the staff volunteers to perform burial ceremonies for the unclaimed dead of Phoenix (mostly the homeless population, or people who cannot afford a proper burial.) I had the blessing of having this experience several years ago and it was one of the most moving experiences of my life. I am so happy this group gets to truly embody the Gospel message than literally giving food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, and burying the dead...they are doing all of these this week.
   All of the other groups are doing wonderfully, waiting for them to email or share more stories that I can then share with you. Please continue to keep all the groups in your prayers!

Sincerely, Joycelin

  

Hello from Sunny New Orleans!

Hello from sunny New Orleans!
We are having a blast getting to know the kids at the St. Joan of Arc Carholic School. They are so full of life and energy; it's heartbreaking to learn how much Hurricane Katrina impacted them and their families. We have been able to visit the lower ninth ward where the levees broke during the storm, which has been very emotional and made a huge impact on our lives. Ms. Frost, the principle of the school, is such a special and wonderful person who has made this school a place where these children can be loved, as well as able to learn in an environment that strives off of their faith and hope. She was able to give us a tour of the lower ninth ward where we were blown away by the destruction and devastation that is still so evident today. She then so kindly took us to dinner where we had all varieties of New Orleans' specialty; seafood! We hope you enjoy the pictures of these awesome kids and we are looking forward to spending the last 2 days with them!
Love,
Jenn and Cait and all of NOLA

Camp Glenmary gears up thanks to student help!

Camp Glenmary, running since the 1970s and has been the site of two weeks of camping open to low-income kids in northeastern Mississippi and two weeks of "Catholic Camp," a time when Catholic young people from that same area gather as a group to experience the uniqueness of not being in the minority. Father Tim Murphy,  the camp's director, says without hesitation that our volunteers "make camp possible."

Our students are working hard to prepare the camp for this summers children, raking and burning leaves, cleaning cabins and windows, and helping Brother Terry on the tractor! Today they helped reorganize at the local food bank and tonight they are going to Elvis Presley 's  house! How cool! 

Here is a recent email from Morgan Seney, student leader:
We started off the morning with a home cooked meal provided by Mr Kelly, a member of the Aberdeen church community. He made us biscuits, grits, and sausage- a traditional southern meal! The group has been working hard raking, cleaning, and preparing the dorms for when the kids arrive this summer. As we clean and prepare the camp we can start to picture the kids running and playing on the fields, having bonfires, and having the time of their lives at summer camp! We can't wait for another day of work in this beautiful Mississippi weather!!!!

"I was hungry, and you gave me food" - Matt 25:35

Guests wait outside in Soup Line

The Andre House of Hospitality is a Catholic Worker ministry to the homeless and poor populations in Phoenix, AZ. Our students have been making daily dinners for 200-400 guests every night, as well as sorting clothing donations, mopping floors, running the drop in center, and running the soup line. Our group was very moved by the core staff at Andre House of students just out of college who have dedicated a year to doing this work day in and day out. They have also enjoyed the company of Fr. Eric Scimmel CSC who is the Andre House Director. They were reminded of the importance of their work when a volunteer told them that 38% of those who are homeless will wake up in the morning and not speak a word to anyone all day. Just a reminder that a smile and a hello can mean a great deal.
Thank you to Fr. Eric and the staff of Andre House for teaching our group about true unconditional hospitality!

Group slices fruit for tonight's dinner

Learn more at andrehouse.org