Our host, Dave, has graciously suggested that we extend the breakfast 30 minutes. I am sure the youth will enjoy the extra sleep, and the adults will enjoy the extra ... peace and quiet.
We are looking foward to an other great day with our youth.
They are part of an awesome community ... thank you.
GOD BLESS!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Last Night
Well ... this is our last night/morning of the mission trip. The youth are currently sitting around a fire talking and sharing with each other. They enjoy being with each other and they enjoy their time together. Like every night, we will end the night with prayer, and will thank you for your love and support.
We have a fun day planned for the youth tomorrow. We will be returning some time between 6 pm and 8 pm.
Thanks again, and GOD BLESS!
We have a fun day planned for the youth tomorrow. We will be returning some time between 6 pm and 8 pm.
Thanks again, and GOD BLESS!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Drive Home... day 2
We were up late last night. We had an intense dance party with ballet, hip hop, jazz and something shaun calls "butterfly hands". We danced until the leaders yelled. Four times. After our hour long dance party, stretching late into the night, seven thirty came really fast. We spent most of the drive either asleep or dancing and arrived in Manzanita at five o'clock. We were dismayed to find that the temperature had dropped over twenty degrees to a chilly sixty five degrees. The beach was beautiful and Sean, Josh and Alex all braved the chilly water to swim while the rest of us splashed around and shrieked at the cold. Alex then proceeded to eat a live swimming thing while the rest of us were completely freaked out. He said it was no different than sushi. We didn't agree. Then he ate another. We buried Zach and took many, many pictures. Our wonderful hosts then made us an amazing spaghetti dinner with many different kinds of unique salads. It was a long and exhausting day. All of us have mixed feelings about returning to "reality". We're all slightly dismayed about leaving one another after nine days of bonding and love. But we'll definitely spend the rest of the night fitting in as much fun as possible. (By ghost hunting)
Love and Blessings,
Catrina
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Greeting's from Grants Pass
I hope you are all doing well and want to thank you for keeping us in your prayers throughout our Mission. I can't believe we are on day eight as it seems like we just left. You should all be so proud of the amazing kids you have. We have had an amazing journey and I feel truely blessed to have shared this time with our youth and my fellow leaders. We had a long drive today, but the music, laughter and conversations was awesome. We had pizza upon arrival and then praise and worship with Julie and Ryan, youth group leaders from St. Anne's which was amazaing. I would write more as believe me there is so much to share but it's lights out in five minutes so got to go. Blessings and love to you all. Shirley
Friday, July 23, 2010
Last Day of work
This is just a quick update prior to dinner. We wrapped up our last day of work with an "exciting and unexpected" finish. Around Noon, Mark cut his thumb. Fortunately, "Nurse" Susan was his adult leader and she put her great skills into action. Besides that good news, it resulted in all of us ending the day at the same work site for "one last end of work" photo with everyone in the picture. It was a great and fitting way to end the work week.
Our youth continue to shine and set a positive tone for the mission trip. They are working hard and getting tired, but they continue to push forward. They are learing a lot about Catholic Social Teaching, and are starting to understand their role. It will be exciting to see how they apply what they are learning.
By the way ... prior to dinner last night, we had a quick visit from Maria Shriver ... yes, the "First Lady" of California (Arnold's wife) stopped by to talk with the youth about the importance of service. It was great for the kids to hear from her.
We will be hitting the road around noon tomorrow, and will be traveling to Grants Pass. The youth director at St. Anne's is excited about our group coming in for the night, and is planning an excited night of activities ... pizza, games, praise and worship, etc.
Thank you all for the comments and for reading the blog. We hope it has been informative, interesting, funny, ...
It is hard to get the youth to devote too much time to the blog. They are much more interested in "hanging out" and "bonding" with each other. They continue to grow closer together and closer to God. They are all on an awesome journey.
We have 25 unique experiences to share. The great thing is that each of these experiences is helping us build a strong foundation for our community - at Holy Cross and beyond at these youth grow and mature.
Thank you for this opportunity, and thank you for your continued support and prayer.
GOD BLESS!
Our youth continue to shine and set a positive tone for the mission trip. They are working hard and getting tired, but they continue to push forward. They are learing a lot about Catholic Social Teaching, and are starting to understand their role. It will be exciting to see how they apply what they are learning.
By the way ... prior to dinner last night, we had a quick visit from Maria Shriver ... yes, the "First Lady" of California (Arnold's wife) stopped by to talk with the youth about the importance of service. It was great for the kids to hear from her.
We will be hitting the road around noon tomorrow, and will be traveling to Grants Pass. The youth director at St. Anne's is excited about our group coming in for the night, and is planning an excited night of activities ... pizza, games, praise and worship, etc.
Thank you all for the comments and for reading the blog. We hope it has been informative, interesting, funny, ...
It is hard to get the youth to devote too much time to the blog. They are much more interested in "hanging out" and "bonding" with each other. They continue to grow closer together and closer to God. They are all on an awesome journey.
We have 25 unique experiences to share. The great thing is that each of these experiences is helping us build a strong foundation for our community - at Holy Cross and beyond at these youth grow and mature.
Thank you for this opportunity, and thank you for your continued support and prayer.
GOD BLESS!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Hello and GOD BLESS:
Well ... we are getting closer to the end of our week of service here in San Francisco. Our 4 work groups have had a wide variety of experiences; however, they all have one thing in common about their activities ... they have all been doing God's Work. All of the work groups are accomplishing different tasks, but are all fulfilling the needs of God through their own calling for this week.
I have had the honor of working with each of the work groups these first 4 days. I am extremely proud of each one of them. They have come down here to serve and to do God's Work ... and they have done that well. You should be proud of them. They are representing all of you very well.
Additionally, they have been an active and enthusiastic part of the evening program. They have coordinated and facilitated many activities with the group from Divine Savior (Sacramento, CA). Our youth are an open and friendly group with outstanding "social skills" that open many doors.
We had a Mass last night for the Young Neighbors in Action participants. This was our second "private Mass" thus far. They have been intimate and special. Our youth have been alter servers, lectorers, singers, etc. They have been challenged, and have willingly accepted the opportunity to service.
We are all excited about the remaining days of this mission trip. We are all excited about our journey with Jesus. We are all excited about the search for those special "God moments" that provide an insight into God's love for us.
Thank you all for your help, support, and prayers. We continue to pray for you, and we hope that the Holy Spirit continues to embrace you and your family.
GOD BLESS!
Well ... we are getting closer to the end of our week of service here in San Francisco. Our 4 work groups have had a wide variety of experiences; however, they all have one thing in common about their activities ... they have all been doing God's Work. All of the work groups are accomplishing different tasks, but are all fulfilling the needs of God through their own calling for this week.
I have had the honor of working with each of the work groups these first 4 days. I am extremely proud of each one of them. They have come down here to serve and to do God's Work ... and they have done that well. You should be proud of them. They are representing all of you very well.
Additionally, they have been an active and enthusiastic part of the evening program. They have coordinated and facilitated many activities with the group from Divine Savior (Sacramento, CA). Our youth are an open and friendly group with outstanding "social skills" that open many doors.
We had a Mass last night for the Young Neighbors in Action participants. This was our second "private Mass" thus far. They have been intimate and special. Our youth have been alter servers, lectorers, singers, etc. They have been challenged, and have willingly accepted the opportunity to service.
We are all excited about the remaining days of this mission trip. We are all excited about our journey with Jesus. We are all excited about the search for those special "God moments" that provide an insight into God's love for us.
Thank you all for your help, support, and prayers. We continue to pray for you, and we hope that the Holy Spirit continues to embrace you and your family.
GOD BLESS!
love is, is what gets
hey this is Sean L. and Alex D. good morning everyone we are getting READY TO GO TO OUR WORK SITES. We went for a run this morning with Rob, the music director. We saw a mansion. the nuns turned it into a hospital and a school in the early 1900's. we played kickball and duck, duck, alligator last night before we got free ice cream :^} god bless every one and we'll get back to u later in the day with some pics and more great news
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Hey! It's Hannah!
Hello Everyone!
Today is Tuesday, and we just got back from our worksite. Im covered in red paint and I can't wait for tomorrow. I wrote a blog for thismorning but I didn't get a chance to post it then so I am just going to type up all the information and add anything I missed.
So thismorning, we got up early. Really really early. Yesterday was our first day at our worksites with our small groups. The people we met and the experiences we had were so unexpected and moving. My group went to St. Anothony of Padua's which is near Stanford University. The community over there is very blessed, and to my suprise, is very generous in giving their help to the poor. St. Anthony's has a huge dining hall where they serve anywhere from 400-600 people in a day, food from the kitchen. We served 550 at lunch yesterday and about as many today. On top of this hearty meal, they receive bread, fruit (some fresh, some not so much), flowers, cakes, pies, clothing, and other items that are donated from Costco and Safeway. The amount of food donated there every day is so immense that they have to throw whatever isn't taken that day in the garbage. Today though, I was able to talk to one of the volunteers named Fran and she allowed us to take 5, 30 gallon trash bags of loaves of bread instead of letting it go to waste. We are going to have Jorge is going to take the bread to his work site tomorrow since they are in need. Yesterday, I worked in the kitchen crew. They were HILARIOUS, I have to admit, but the most hardworking and dedicated people I have met. One of the crew members, Mariano, stood with us for 3 straight hours serving food. While Carol and I were complaining of knee and back pains, Mariano still stood over 60 years strong without a peep of discomfort. His humor kept us motivated and the people we were serving motivated us even more. Back in the kitchen, I helped an elderly man name Jake cut lettuce for a salad. At first we just made small talk about what kind of service I have done, where I grew up, those sorts of things. A few lettuce heads later, I finally asked, "Jake, what about your background? Where are you from?" And it began. We shared our life stories over 5 toseed salads. Jake was born and raised here in a small town in California, served our country for 2 months before he got sick and went home since there was no war going on at the time, he blew glass for a living, met his wife, got married and moved to the next town over. He had two sons and one daughter. One of his sons is the coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, his daughter became a teacher, and his other son was an engineer. I mentioned to him my love for football, but that I didn't think that the Seahawks were going anywhere this year. He agreed whole heartedly. I asked if he liked baseball and he enthusiastically replied, yes and as a matter of fact, his nephew was the coach for the Mariners a few years ago but is now the coach for the New York Mets. =D This really got me thinking, (and very excited). What was someone with such a full life and famous relatives mixing salads with an 18 year old from a little town in Washington? Curiously I asked what brought him to St. Anthony's and he humbly replied, "To serve." Such a simple answer, yet it meant the world. I realized that no matter how high our status is, no matter where we are from, how much money we have, no matter how many famous coaches we are related to, we are all human, and we are all called to serve. The rest of the day I spent working for a gentlemen named Bob, painting over the fire lanes that needed a touch up of red paint. This gave me plenty of time to reflect on the adventures and stories I had heard during the day. I thought of the 94 year old lady volunteer who brought life to the group and encouraged them to keep moving. I thought of the head chef who didn't speak much English but how he didn't miss a beat on bringing out more food to serve. I thought about you, Holy Cross Lake Stevens, the Knights of Columbus, my mom and dad, friends and family, who like these people, were motivated and worked so hard to make so that my youth group and I could be here to serve and give back to the community. It was around 8:20 am so we had to leave for our worksites again and I had to go finish painting all the curbs and prepping the other curbs to be painted. Today was a completely different experience. In stead of serving hot food to the people, I was handing out all the desserts and cakes and such. I got to interact with so many new people. I was working with a few elderly ladys, (who I nicknamed them the Golden Girls), Fran (who would have played the part of Rose) and Hasna (this adorable old Armenian woman who reminded me of Dorothy). Many of the people who came through were Hispanic so I had to refresh myself on my Spanish. A few of the people remembered me from yesterday and welcomed me with warm smiles. I am noticing that the more I talk to the people I have met (such as Fred, the safari guy and Robert the old timer/comedian {ex. me: "How is your day sir?" Robert: "Well I'm still above ground!"} ) the more they are opening up to me. More and more people are starting to stop and converse about their lives and ask about why I drove 3 days from Washington State just to help little old them from a small town in California. I hope to build stronger relationships with these people who all have very unique stories and very different backgrounds. It is only day two and they are already having a huge impact on my life and my perception of it. I wish I could bring them all home so you could meet them and hear their stories first hand. It is so humbling seeing how very alike I am with the people I am serving. The adults have been reminding us to think about what it would be like to be in their shoes, but I am noticing that I am in their shoes. I am just a normal person, who is living life trying to find meaning, dealing with struggles, and looking to find a friend, always. We all are just like the people we are serving. The only difference is that they are on one side of the table, and we are on the other. So overall, I just wanted to say THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! For your prayers, support, and love you have continually been sending our way. We are all so very thankful, more than this huge paragraph could ever express.
Sincerely,
Hannah Jordan
Today is Tuesday, and we just got back from our worksite. Im covered in red paint and I can't wait for tomorrow. I wrote a blog for thismorning but I didn't get a chance to post it then so I am just going to type up all the information and add anything I missed.
So thismorning, we got up early. Really really early. Yesterday was our first day at our worksites with our small groups. The people we met and the experiences we had were so unexpected and moving. My group went to St. Anothony of Padua's which is near Stanford University. The community over there is very blessed, and to my suprise, is very generous in giving their help to the poor. St. Anthony's has a huge dining hall where they serve anywhere from 400-600 people in a day, food from the kitchen. We served 550 at lunch yesterday and about as many today. On top of this hearty meal, they receive bread, fruit (some fresh, some not so much), flowers, cakes, pies, clothing, and other items that are donated from Costco and Safeway. The amount of food donated there every day is so immense that they have to throw whatever isn't taken that day in the garbage. Today though, I was able to talk to one of the volunteers named Fran and she allowed us to take 5, 30 gallon trash bags of loaves of bread instead of letting it go to waste. We are going to have Jorge is going to take the bread to his work site tomorrow since they are in need. Yesterday, I worked in the kitchen crew. They were HILARIOUS, I have to admit, but the most hardworking and dedicated people I have met. One of the crew members, Mariano, stood with us for 3 straight hours serving food. While Carol and I were complaining of knee and back pains, Mariano still stood over 60 years strong without a peep of discomfort. His humor kept us motivated and the people we were serving motivated us even more. Back in the kitchen, I helped an elderly man name Jake cut lettuce for a salad. At first we just made small talk about what kind of service I have done, where I grew up, those sorts of things. A few lettuce heads later, I finally asked, "Jake, what about your background? Where are you from?" And it began. We shared our life stories over 5 toseed salads. Jake was born and raised here in a small town in California, served our country for 2 months before he got sick and went home since there was no war going on at the time, he blew glass for a living, met his wife, got married and moved to the next town over. He had two sons and one daughter. One of his sons is the coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, his daughter became a teacher, and his other son was an engineer. I mentioned to him my love for football, but that I didn't think that the Seahawks were going anywhere this year. He agreed whole heartedly. I asked if he liked baseball and he enthusiastically replied, yes and as a matter of fact, his nephew was the coach for the Mariners a few years ago but is now the coach for the New York Mets. =D This really got me thinking, (and very excited). What was someone with such a full life and famous relatives mixing salads with an 18 year old from a little town in Washington? Curiously I asked what brought him to St. Anthony's and he humbly replied, "To serve." Such a simple answer, yet it meant the world. I realized that no matter how high our status is, no matter where we are from, how much money we have, no matter how many famous coaches we are related to, we are all human, and we are all called to serve. The rest of the day I spent working for a gentlemen named Bob, painting over the fire lanes that needed a touch up of red paint. This gave me plenty of time to reflect on the adventures and stories I had heard during the day. I thought of the 94 year old lady volunteer who brought life to the group and encouraged them to keep moving. I thought of the head chef who didn't speak much English but how he didn't miss a beat on bringing out more food to serve. I thought about you, Holy Cross Lake Stevens, the Knights of Columbus, my mom and dad, friends and family, who like these people, were motivated and worked so hard to make so that my youth group and I could be here to serve and give back to the community. It was around 8:20 am so we had to leave for our worksites again and I had to go finish painting all the curbs and prepping the other curbs to be painted. Today was a completely different experience. In stead of serving hot food to the people, I was handing out all the desserts and cakes and such. I got to interact with so many new people. I was working with a few elderly ladys, (who I nicknamed them the Golden Girls), Fran (who would have played the part of Rose) and Hasna (this adorable old Armenian woman who reminded me of Dorothy). Many of the people who came through were Hispanic so I had to refresh myself on my Spanish. A few of the people remembered me from yesterday and welcomed me with warm smiles. I am noticing that the more I talk to the people I have met (such as Fred, the safari guy and Robert the old timer/comedian {ex. me: "How is your day sir?" Robert: "Well I'm still above ground!"} ) the more they are opening up to me. More and more people are starting to stop and converse about their lives and ask about why I drove 3 days from Washington State just to help little old them from a small town in California. I hope to build stronger relationships with these people who all have very unique stories and very different backgrounds. It is only day two and they are already having a huge impact on my life and my perception of it. I wish I could bring them all home so you could meet them and hear their stories first hand. It is so humbling seeing how very alike I am with the people I am serving. The adults have been reminding us to think about what it would be like to be in their shoes, but I am noticing that I am in their shoes. I am just a normal person, who is living life trying to find meaning, dealing with struggles, and looking to find a friend, always. We all are just like the people we are serving. The only difference is that they are on one side of the table, and we are on the other. So overall, I just wanted to say THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! For your prayers, support, and love you have continually been sending our way. We are all so very thankful, more than this huge paragraph could ever express.
Sincerely,
Hannah Jordan
Hello From SanFran.....
Hi this is Blake and Brandon AND the amazing Nikole,
We're here at the Lantern in San Francisco. It's a school to learn English as a second language and also a place to gather . It's our second day here and we have already improved the building greatly. On Monday, we weeded, painted a bathroom white, folded clothes (which will go to the salvation army), organized the kitchen, and sterilized the chairs and tables. We all had some fun times painting with our paint fights and war paint that Nikole did! After we finished working, we went to Garfield Park and drove through some parts of the city to look at the paintings on the buildings. Today we've been spot cleaning the floors, painting another coat in the bathroom, sorting and recycling garbage, and cleaning the bathrooms. During lunch we are going to the day labor to feed the workers. After lunch we plan on coming back to the Lantern and power washing the windows. So far we have all learned no matter what the task, big or small, it's always appreciated. Sister Mora runs the Lantern and it's inspiring to see how dedicated she is to help all these people. It's also really great how Sister Mora gives us a lot of delicious cookies and snacks while we're working. We Love Our Moms! ;)
We're here at the Lantern in San Francisco. It's a school to learn English as a second language and also a place to gather . It's our second day here and we have already improved the building greatly. On Monday, we weeded, painted a bathroom white, folded clothes (which will go to the salvation army), organized the kitchen, and sterilized the chairs and tables. We all had some fun times painting with our paint fights and war paint that Nikole did! After we finished working, we went to Garfield Park and drove through some parts of the city to look at the paintings on the buildings. Today we've been spot cleaning the floors, painting another coat in the bathroom, sorting and recycling garbage, and cleaning the bathrooms. During lunch we are going to the day labor to feed the workers. After lunch we plan on coming back to the Lantern and power washing the windows. So far we have all learned no matter what the task, big or small, it's always appreciated. Sister Mora runs the Lantern and it's inspiring to see how dedicated she is to help all these people. It's also really great how Sister Mora gives us a lot of delicious cookies and snacks while we're working. We Love Our Moms! ;)
Sunday, July 18, 2010
St Mary's In Corvallis
We were blessed once again to have an awesome host parish on Friday night. Jean and Bert, and the youth group, greeted us with a BBQ, games, and a movie. Their warm welcome and awesome support was very special, and is hopefully some that we can reciprocate in the future.
It is amazing how God works in our lives.
We have a great group of youth on mission with us again this year. The continue to be open to the will of God. They are respectful, enjoyable, and open. You should be proud of them.
We are all very thankful for the support of the Holy Cross parish community and all of our families. You have done a great job with your kids.
We look forward to sharing our stories with you once we return.
Have a great day and GOD BLESS!
Peace!
It is amazing how God works in our lives.
We have a great group of youth on mission with us again this year. The continue to be open to the will of God. They are respectful, enjoyable, and open. You should be proud of them.
We are all very thankful for the support of the Holy Cross parish community and all of our families. You have done a great job with your kids.
We look forward to sharing our stories with you once we return.
Have a great day and GOD BLESS!
Peace!
the sauna you cant escape
Why hello there ladies and gents this is your pal josh lund reporting livish from Chico California! My day started at the b... crack of dawn when four of us trekkers (myself, Nikole, Catrina, and Monte) sluggishly emerged from our makeshift beds and went on a surprisingly peaceful jog around oregon state university and back before the rest of the knocked out crew even opened a wink. soon after i found myself squeezed in the back of the explorer snuggling up to brandon. my ride consisted of a very refreshing nap and an exchangement of several blood-curtling scary stories that had several of us giving ourselves earmuffs and hiding our heads behind pillows. it didnt really dawn on me how freaking hot it was outside until a rest stop somewhere along our trip (Weed, CA Rest Stop ... the site of the youth pyrimid). stepping out of the car i felt like i hit a wall of hot humidity. i seriously think i could have fried an egg on the cement. over a hundred degrees is quite the contrast to the weather im used to! Arriving in chico we walked into our nights sleeping quarters after some pizza and Mass. after discovering the presence of a pool there was a moments rush to change into our suits and then it was splashes till well after the sun went down. following the wet rampage everyone got there first showers and we sat down to an amazing praise and worship session with Blake playing the guitar. it was amazing, that is, until we were interrupted by two giant roaches! haha now here i am typing this up for yall. okay this is josh signing out. we're all thinking of you guys back home, and praying for you.
we are off to our mission site tomorrow. we are excited about the opportunity to do God's work and to serve.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Thanks to everyone for celebrating morning mass with us today as we are heading out for our mission trek to SanFrancisco. Father Jay celebrated mass and had a great homily about service to the less fortunate and it was a great message.
We have had so much support from our community with respect to prayer, fundraising, the auction, and our youth program in general and want to thank all of you and especially our great group of parents.
We will be praying for all of you while on our journey.
Now it's off to Corvallis for our first segment of the journey!
The mission trek leader team -Monte, Jorge, Carole, Shirley, and Susan
We have had so much support from our community with respect to prayer, fundraising, the auction, and our youth program in general and want to thank all of you and especially our great group of parents.
We will be praying for all of you while on our journey.
Now it's off to Corvallis for our first segment of the journey!
The mission trek leader team -Monte, Jorge, Carole, Shirley, and Susan
Sunday, July 11, 2010
This should have been a POST and not a COMMENT to the initial POST:
We are running down the home stretch.
We have the Send-Off BBQ on Thursday at 6 pm. We will be packing the vans, so please make sure you bring your bag (with all your stuff ... but pack light) and sleeping roll with you to the BBQ on Thursday.
We will be attending Mass on Friday morning at 8 am at Holy Cross, and then will have breakfast before we depart on our mission.
Thank you to the great Holy Cross community for all of your help and support. You will be in our prayers daily, and thank you for keeping us in your prayers. May the Holy Spirit continue to shine through you.
GOD BLESS!
We are running down the home stretch.
We have the Send-Off BBQ on Thursday at 6 pm. We will be packing the vans, so please make sure you bring your bag (with all your stuff ... but pack light) and sleeping roll with you to the BBQ on Thursday.
We will be attending Mass on Friday morning at 8 am at Holy Cross, and then will have breakfast before we depart on our mission.
Thank you to the great Holy Cross community for all of your help and support. You will be in our prayers daily, and thank you for keeping us in your prayers. May the Holy Spirit continue to shine through you.
GOD BLESS!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Hello:
We are opening up the "blog" for our mission trip this summer. This will give everyone an opportunity to "test it out" before we leave, and allow us time to answer any questions you might have. Test it out, and stay tuned for future posts.
Please note that you are able to respond/reply to the posts.
Please let me know if you have any question.
Thanks a bunch and GOD BLESS!
Monte
We are opening up the "blog" for our mission trip this summer. This will give everyone an opportunity to "test it out" before we leave, and allow us time to answer any questions you might have. Test it out, and stay tuned for future posts.
Please note that you are able to respond/reply to the posts.
Please let me know if you have any question.
Thanks a bunch and GOD BLESS!
Monte
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