Trip to West Virginia

It has been a very busy last week for me! On Saturday morning our group packed up headed to Wyoming County, West Virginia to spend 3 days working the Passionist Volunteer Domestic Program. We rented two mini vans and it was about a six hour drive to our site. When we arrived at the Glen Fork School (our site) we moved into our room. Nine of us girls would be sharing a room for a few days...just like a big slumber party!! We found out it wouldn't just be our group staying there, over the next couple of days volunteers would be moving in to spend anywhere from a week to the whole summer working with the program. We had the afternoon off so we spent it playing ultimate Frisbee and after dinner some intense basketball games. The next morning we had mass around 11 but it was a 20 minutes drive to get to the closest catholic church. Mass was held in a very small local church in Pineville. I think there is something so beautiful and intimate about sharing an experience like mass in such a small church. The passionist volunteers took up most of the space in the pews and community members filled in the edges. The local community was so warm and welcoming, anxious to know where we were all from and how we were enjoying our stay. After mass we headed back to our site and our afternoon was filled with information sessions and get-to-know-you activities. We got to meet a lot of the volunteers that had spent up to 18 summers working with this program. It ranged from one volunteer to entire families. I found it to be inspiring and exciting that so many generations can come together to work for a common goal. Sunday evening we had a commissioning into the program with prayer and songs as well as the anointing of hands and forehead. We also received our passionist volunteer necklace that had been hand cut by one of the volunteers. This sounds cliche but it was really amazing to see such passion for the program. We got to pick our job sites for the next day after the commissioning! I chose to work at a soccer camp the next day. There would be two sessions, one in the morning with young kids and older kids in the afternoon. I was so excited for this opportunity! Soccer Camp was an absolute blast on Monday. Joanine and i were the two PVI's that went to soccer camp and then other volunteers that would be staying a week or longer came as well. Our morning session was filled with lots of running away and just trying to keep the kids as active as possible. We did some drills but for the most part just played games like minnows and sharks as well as the blob! Our afternoon session was a little more intense because the kids were all headed into there freshmen year in high school. We did a lot of running and scrimmaging. By the end of the day i was exhausted but had a really great day! We packed up and headed back to our site. Monday evening our PVI group ran reflection. Six of us asked a person we had worked with that day if we could wash there feet during the reflection. All of them agreed and during reflection we first read the passage from the bible where Jesus washes his disciples feet. We then asked those six people to come up and we each washed there feet. After this we asked them to share what it was liked to be served and to have there feet washed and how that might relate to the service they provide during the day. There answers were amazing and humbling. They were son honored and touch that a group of young adults would do something like this. You could tell it really touched there hearts. I finished washing Zach's (a kid from soccer camp) feet and then got up to go back to my seat, as i sat down i noticed Jean washing Maryanne's feet. She did it with such grace and compassion...it literally brought tears to my eyes. Through this orientation process sometimes i take a step back and realize how lucky i am to be here and what wonderful people i am surrounded by. Its such a humbling and inspiring experience. We loaded up the vans Tuesday morning and headed back to Pittsburgh! We stopped at a national park and took some really amazing photos! They are posted on my Flickr account and the link is on an earlier blog!
Wednesday was back to more presentations. Robyn Ryan came to talk to us about theological reflection. He asked us before lunch to take sometime to write about a service experience we had before. What happened in it, who it involved and how it challenged us spiritually and with our faith. I chose an experience i had in South Dakota while installing a bunk bed in the last house on our last day. The house was just a trailer and falling apart. The room we were installing the bed in for a little boy wasn't cleaned out so that was our first task. While cleaning out the room the grandfather who owned the home went into a back room and when he came back out the smell of marijuana filled the small trailer home. Also one of his grandson's who was only about 8th or 9th grade age wise came out as well. You could plainly see that they were both high. This experience was extremely hard for me. I was filled with so many emotions--anger, sadness, frustration, and some hopelessness. When we got back into the truck to head back to our site i broke down in tears. I was challenged in so many ways with this experience and really questioned where God was in all of this. It is something that i still struggle with today but is also the reason i continue to serve and walk with those who are the most vulnerable with the hope that i can create change and justice. After sharing this experience with those i will be traveling to Jamaica with they were able to ask questions about my experience. It was a great activity for us because we will have to do that often when we are in Jamaica. We will be having lots of experiences and its so important to be able to process it with my home community. They all shared stories as well which gave me an even better understanding about who they are and how i can be a support to all of them. Our group as a whole that will be going to Jamaica has been really trying to make an effort to spend more time together and really get to know each other. Yesterday afternoon we all went out to lunch and then the girls and i had a girls afternoon walking Carson street window shopping and talking about our lives and our trip to Jamaica. On Wednesday Night we got gold pass tickets to Kennywood Amusement Park!!! Our night was filled with rollercoaster rides and other crazy rides! It was really a great night to be out with great people. Last night we had tickets to the Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Game! Again just a really fun night with amazing people and even better the rain held off and the Pirates won!
We have presentations today on Catholic Social Teaching. Tomorrow there is a presentation on the Jamaican Experience (im really excited for this), and Sunday is our offical Commissioning into PVI!!! I really cant believe how quickly orientation has gone but it also makes me so excited and ready to head to Jamaica!!!!