Week 1 Thusday, 2011

Thursday Blog
This day was pretty fantastic! Hahaha today we really had to kick it into gear with what needed to get done. We still need the second coat of paint on the outside of the house as well as the eves and all the trim, plus the lattice. We have lots to accomplish and it would mean the world for Bonita (the lady we are helping) if we could get it all done tomorrow. However this week was really good!! When we first got to the res we met Bonita and her daughter, along with the neighbor dog Cowboy. He was sweet…then there was it, the most annoying kitty of my life, hard to paint around it with the constant meowing and always being around. I feel really glad and accomplished for the work that was done this week. I am so glad that I came this week!!
Miranda Hruby

This week, I have been working on the reservation on a lady named Bonita’s house. Our main jobs were to weed the yard, paint the house, and fix the roof, part of which had been destroyed in a recent storm. Because I know next to nothing about roofs, I have been focusing on the first two jobs. On Monday, I learned that weeding can actually be fun (mom, dad, you can ignore this part). The feeling of pulling out a huge weed is awesome! The rest of the week thus far has been spent on painting, which I also did not know much about previously. Going into the job, I figured it would take maybe 2 days to complete painting the outside of the house. This was a huge underestimate because we have been painting all day since Tuesday, and we still have lots to finish tomorrow. However, we have all been working hard to get it done, and hopefully it will be by the end of tomorrow. I can’t wait to see Bonita’s reaction to the finished house!
Jessica Hendricks

Tough day today, painted a lot had a Mexican fiesta and danced wearing a sombrero! Tomorrow is Friday wooooohoooo. I’m going to miss Bonita she is a great women and I’m happy I helped rebuild her house. Oh yeah and I have to cook pancakes on Saturday not looking forward to that. I had a fun week see you Saturday after noon.
Blake Cerna

Getting close to wrapping up a wonderful week on my first ever Mission, I have enjoyed working with the kids so much. They are truly amazing. Our site has had some pretty difficult work including pulling weeds in the hot sun, painting the exterior of the house and repairing the roof. The kids have an amazing willingness to try new things and work tirelessly all while keeping things fun and light. I know they work hard, because every day on our 1 hour ride home, they fall asleep after about 5 minutes (all of them). Thank God for diet Coke. Yesterday, I took my first ‘ice blocking’ trip down a large grass hill at a park nearby. I really enjoyed the ride. That was kind of symbolic of the whole trip. Took a chance and had a great thrill.
Steve Redmond

I love being here with our St. Stephen’s teens. They are amazing, fun, generous, loving and hard- working young people. Sharing this experience with them is one of God’s greatest graces. I hope and pray this week has transformed their lives, renewed their faith and filled their hearts with love.
La paz, Debbie Dullenty
It’s been slow these past couple of days, as you can tell I missed blogging yesterday. Wednesday was “Hump Day” at camp. Everyone is exhausted from the constant routine of session, work, dinner and session. How the camp handles such a beaten and week crew is by taking everyone to the Park and Swimming Pool for some R&R (Rest and Relaxation). Now it is Thursday and everyone is feeling the effects from yesterday. Everyone is waking up late; evident by the “early bird” crew (& adults) I drink coffee with at the table. However, everyone is fresh and ready to take on another challenge. For Team Oui!, we spent the morning at Lowell’s house waiting for a shipment of lumber and prepping for another ramp we were to make for the day. (Our group is doing an extra because we finished our three ramps ahead of schedule). We met a wonderful woman named Mardella, who was the sweetest lady. Again, we finished the ramp again in time. I want to say thank you to my sponsors. To my family, I love you. To Pam (for making me type at super speeds). Finally to my friend Kelly, who is following me, Thank You and high!
Edelmar Navaluna
This year’s Mission trip has been, once again, one of the best weeks of my life. I’m working with my mom, Pam, and Debbie at the ramp site. Our team has succeeded in building two two-day ramps in one day each, and we’ve gotten really good at working as a team to finish each ramp at a fast pace while still putting all our effort into making them look good. Today we met a woman who lived alone and whose family lived far away from her. She loved talking to all of us and shared a bit of her life with us. She talked to me about her family and how she is so proud of all of them. I’ve also connected really well with the people on my team, and also with Lowell, the man who helps us with our ramps. He’s a man with very good graces and shares his humor and wisdom with us. I’m sad that this week is coming to an end, but it makes everything worth it when I look back and think about each person’s smiling face as they took in what we did for them.
Brittany Redmond
I finally get to blog again because yesterday, we had mass with Father Ed so there was no time for blogging for anyone. I’m still thoroughly enjoying my Mission trip though. Sessions, prayers, and meals are getting better and better with each passing day. This also applies to work on the reservation as crews continue to accomplish greater tasks. For our group on the reservation, more painting, trimming, and porch repairs progress further into satisfactory results. If I’m not mistaken, I’m sure everyone is developing a sense of accomplishment. Today was Culture Day and we celebrated the Mexican culture with a fiesta for dinner and a dancing performance.
Overall, today was another pretty good day. I’m glad that Rick and Fr. Ed could make it down to visit us here. Again, I’d like to say that I’m blessed to have such a great group. They have all been maker my time here in Yakima a lot of fun as well as easier for me when it comes to work. Their support and openness allows me to be able to step outside of my comfort zone to become a little bit more social towards others. But I’d like to quickly thank everyone that has supported me on this trip as well as those who have allowed me to go on Mission. I thank you all! Mission allows me to grow in faith together with everyone as I learn more about God’s relationship with us. We are quickly approaching the end of the week and I look forward to a faithful and meaningful conclusion.
-Kenny Pham

Week one Mission 2011

I have always wished I was a morning person, but I just don’t think it is in the cards for me. It is difficult, to say the least, for me to stay focused and enthusiastic when I have woken up at 6:50. When we first arrived at our job site to build ramps this morning, I stood in the background while our leaders happily greeted the family. The minute I met the two young children of the family, though, I immediately had more energy and a big smile. I really felt God’s grace when I looked at the kids talking and laughing. It feels just as good to put in hours of work to transform their lives as it does to make them smile. I now realize that an opportunity to change lives is worth waking up at any hour.
-Savannah Linders
When just coming back from dance camp where I got minimal sleep and then waking up at 3 in the morning to arrive to Yakima, I wasn’t exactly super stoked to be up and moving. However, I ended up having a blast. Our first day on site went well. We got a whole ramp done. It was amazing to see their faces when they saw our completed work and we could see the man come out of his house with no problem. I am very blessed to be working with the amazing teens and leaders that I am. Two years ago this elderly man named Jim spoke one night during prayer and really moved me. By the end of his speech I was balling my eyes out. He said he might not even be here the next year. The church Holy Spirit is here and they brought Jim. I was so happy to see him here, and I can certainly feel God’s presence when I see Jim here. I can’t wait to see what the rest of this week has for our team and to reach out to others that are in need.
-Briana Jackson
Yakima has been a great experience that I will never forget. We started off the journey with a relatively short drive but with minimal space to move. When we got to the sight I met the people that run the place and they are some of the nicest people I have ever met, full of love and laughter. The first day we did not do any work besides set up and get to know each other. I have met some wonderful teens and adults that just seem so spiritual. We played basketball the first night where after I felt like one hundred degrees and had puddles of sweat dripping off of me. I was told stories of all the cold showers that everyone has to take but they fixed the showers and only the guys got hot showers and they felt good. On Monday morning, our first work day, it started off slow but then we got in Debby’s car where she was blasting music so loud that air was coming out of the speakers. When we got done working on the ramp that day the man seemed so happy that people were willing to help him. It seemed to have brought joy to his life and seems that it will continue to make an impact on his and his family for the rest of their lives. That was my favorite part of the day/trip, to see the smile on the person’s face because what is life about if you are not smiling and having a good time. I cannot wait to help more people to make a difference in the world and know that my work is meaningful.
-Connor Relph
Coming back to mission for my fourth and final year feels so good! I have more energy here than I have for the past 4 weeks combined. My enthusiasm may have been a little bit much for the first day because I all really wanted to do was play football and shoot hoops. I was happy to have a good workout that day, but that combined with being out of shape and sleeping on the ground made me very sore for the first work day. That day was a slow start because we were delayed and most of us were rookies when it came to actually building the ramps. But Lowelle, who has been like a Sherpa to us, has been so great and easy to work with and we finished the project very quickly. I’m currently blogging from the 2nd site but it is looking as though we are going to be finishing it today event though it was scheduled to be a 2 day project! I am so proud of my team and I love them like family because we get along so great and I know that I will be able to count on them for anything. The main highlights so far from today would probably be us working so well as a unit and just all the funny stories we can tell and just make each other laugh and make it not even seem like work. That’s my update for now, I’ll make sure to have at least one more update this week if not more. I was objective about writing this blog at first because I have no stock holders to check up on me, but it is really nice to just let out how I feel no matter how many people see it.
‘till next time- Luke Kemper

Today my team and I busted through another ramp successfully. The first one we completed yesterday was a mini warm-up compared to the one we completed today. Everyone worked together so well today because we actually knew what we were doing with our experiences from yesterday. We were all able to efficiently work together and construct a much bigger ramp in the same amount of time. I love the feeling you get when you see the final product of something, knowing that you were a part of the creation of it. It is amazing to know that we made something out of nothing. My favorite part of our day at the worksite is when we see the reactions on the people’s faces we helped. To see their bright smiles and the great joy they have makes all of the work in the Yakima heat worthwhile (even though today started off raining!). I’m so proud of my group and how much we can accomplish and change someone’s life in just one day. I can’t wait to see what wonderful experiences the rest of this week will bring!
Love, Alexa Brandt

Have you ever washed a car? Well I’ve washed a house. Mission has been a TON of work so far. And after trimming hundreds if irises, I discovered that I will never become a gardener.
Today I met a veteran. His name is Loren. He has one leg and is blind in one eye. This makes it almost impossible to clean. So you can guess how long it took me and the 3 other girls in my group to clean out the kitchen! I was in charge of the sink, which had about 2.5 inches of mold/slime that had the consistency of rust. I had to use a piece of metal to scrape out the entire sink. It took me two hours.
What struck me the most today was seeing how successful, accomplished, heroic and athletic Loren had been in the old days and how he ended up in a mobile home that hadn’t seen a sponge in years and restricted to his wheelchair and magnifying machine to see.
This is why I am here. To bring back love and hope into the lives of the people I meet. Can’t wait for the rest of the week to unfold.

Love,
Elizabeth Rodland

Today was an eye-opening experience for me at Mission. First and foremost, it rained…It RAINED in Yakima. According to the newspaper I read yesterday it was supposed to be one of the hottest days of the week. Instead, it was about 60 and raining….it got me a little homesick. Besides from the weather, our team (now titled Team OY!...OIU…oyi?). Either way it spelled, we arrived at our site for today, about to tackle what was supposed to be a two day project. Immediately everyone got settled in, bringing out their drills, unloading wood from Lowell’s trailer, and ready for the word. As we worked, we had done so with such speed, applying quickly what we had learned from yesterday. By the time it was lunch, the ramp was about 90% finished. The team had clicked. I think it was because of the two children. I believe it was Pam who said, that it was the two little children who gave us the added inspiration to work today, besides from the man (believe his name was Omega…An awesome name) we were helping build the ramp for. The children were there watching us from time to time, interested and excited to see us. It brought joy to me for sure. What also brought joy to me was that Lowell was shocked at how efficient we were in the project. The ramp that was supposed to take two days, we finished in one. How we finished the ramp was a miracle. We began to run out on everything. One by one the drills became to die from all the work. The full can of paint, so became a puddle and the wood, short and worries that we may not finish. But we pulled through. The scraps, casted aside became nearly a perfect fit. Every last drop of paint became salvaged to touch up unpainted areas. How that ramp was finished spoke to me.
Nothing is ever perfect, there will odds and ends, loose pieces that at first have no value, but in the end may or will make a huge difference.
It also became a sign to me that this team was special. We all may be different…but we make something special…a family. I want to say thank you to my sponsors and to my family I love you all. Edelmar Navaluna

Here’s a brief summary of my day here at Mission:
• Wake up early to rain to get ready for breakfast and send-off to work
• Arrive at work site to apply primer to the outside of the house
• Come back to the program site for other sessions and prayer
• Have dinner and a simulation game of “trying to get a meal for the day”
o I got to be a police officer, had to arrest people for bad behavior
• Formulated plan for tomorrow
• Lights out
This was a very, very brief summary of what I did today on Mission. I know that I was called by God to serve here in Yakima. I also feel very fortunate to have this as my first year (despite the ridiculous rain) along with my team and work site. I love you all and I’ll blog later. See you tomorrow Mom and Dad!
-Kenny Pham



(Helloooooo! So I love St. Stephens and I just found out about your guys blog thing, and I wanted to let you know, it is SO COOL. Well what a great program you guys run ( Love, your favorite straggler from Holy Spirit, (which I will probably switch to St. Stephens hehe, Kimmie))

Week 2 Mission 2011

Many lessons, many smiles, many friends, many miles
to live our Mission we are called
and thou Yakima is behind us
we have vowed not to leave this Mission in Yakima.
We have learned about living simply,
We have learned about the Amserican Bishops and Catholic social teaching,
we have learned about sacrifice some by ourselves
and we have learned about great perserverance by those we serve.
Let us remind each other to live our Mission a little each month and not leave this great experience behind!

Thanks all for energizing me,
Rick Ryan

Friday July 29, Mission week 2

Friday, Yakima, week two, 2011

So today we went and cleaned out three different peoples homes. When we went to the first place the little thirteen year old boy asked to kiss both me and charlotte. (we said no) then we had gone to shirley’s home and she had just gone through a series of surgeries and was not able to upkeep her yard, so I went to town with the ho. The women had a grandson who was involved in a gang so she had basically taken in his daughter like one of her own. She was the kind of woman who was not physically capable of watching us work she still was doing whatever she could with the use of one arm. By time that we had left her other grandson had even started to pitch in with the weeding. The last place w3e had gone was to this elder woman’s home, her name was Anna and she baked us cookies. By that time we had all been really used to the heat and we just wanted to get the job done. I haven definitely taken a lot from this experience especially since after four years I will not be returning to young neighbors. Every summer this has been the thing I look forward to and it will be sad to not come back. I hope that in the future I will be welcome to come back as a leader because this has been one of my favorite high school experiences.
Morgan Boyle

As a first comer to mission this year I wasn’t sure what to expect, I was a little excited but more nervous. I expected this to be a not so fun week and be strictly work and prayer, which was part of it but I got a lot more out of this than I had expected. This was one of the hardest weeks of my summer but one of the most memorable. I’ve never worked so hard in my life but had so much fun doing it. Sure there were some highs and lows in each day but every day was worth it. My group really made this a great week for me and pushed me through my low moments. We did a lot of yard work and painting this week which was a little challenging with the weather. Yesterday we helped a lady named Amanda and she really inspired me, I stayed inside and did basic cleaning because she had heart and other health problems which prevented her from doing them herself, she had to be one of the sweetest people, we had some great conversations. I’d have to say this was by favorite memory from summer so far.
Madison Cloyd

Thursday

Hey there! Sammi here.I have not blogged all week and I'm sorry. Then again I do not know anyone who actually reads this. Maybe Debbie and Barb! Well hello. Today was cultural night and there was some amazing dancers. We had to learn how to tie a bow with a partner with your feet. On Monday there was a thunderstorm in White Swan. If anyone remembers that town was destroyed with a fire. Only 3 homes where rebuilt but we are started working on a different house with a lot of white paint. Today was a paint war. Our site spilt in half then we had another team join us. Paint war was started and some people got paint five starred by me. Poor kitty we met. It was so SKINNY! I feel so bad for the little thing. It was probably only two pounds. I hope I get to see grandma again. I knew she really liked me. But our group did spilt in half. I guess I should just give her a letter with some good bye words and my contact information. Tomorrow is our last day doing service. I'm going to miss everyone here... I always hate leaving and there are only a few people from the other churches that actually come back. I think I'm more rambling that actually blogging. I got some footage on the vloggging Flip Camera though. Gotta get our photos before we all leave. No one is apparently blogging anymore for the rest of the night and I don't even know what time it is anymore. I have washed my hair 7 times since this afternoon and there is still paint in my hair. By the way I would like to shout out to my Mom and Dad for their 20th anniversary. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you two. But, I'm here in spirit and call you when ever I can. They are getting mad that I am always texting the family though.. I find it rude when it's just family and a text here or there as we wait for others to get in the car. The adults are starting to organize the chairs. Maybe I need to get off of this...
Not many people are in the gym. I wish I brought my laptop so I could finish my book. I need to start to get back to work..
I wonder how this will go. I do want to keep my prayers for Father Brian and for all of those we are ALL serving. Thank you to all of your have supported and funded us to be here. It truely is a once in the life time experience.
Much love all the way from Yakima,

Love
Sammi Nguyeb

Greetings from Yakima!

Howdy! :)

It's been a long yet rewarding week so far, and the weather has been warm and sunny. I'm working around the city of Yakima doing various types of work, from weeding to housework. So far, we've been to six different sites in four days, and I think my entire group is running itself into the groud with how hard we've been working. Exhaustion is setting in as we face our final day of work, and I'm reminded that I have to say goodbye to all of my new friends I've met here at Holy Family and from those that I've made in my own work group. I cant beleive that this is my last mission. I'm definitely going to be sad to leave and I'm going to miss everyone!

With much love,
Kelcie Hollingsworth

Our Time in Yakima!

Hey there! This blog is brought to you by the people here at Yakima who are awesome enough to let all the teens blog and instantly let eveyone know whats up!

For the past week I have resided in a general maitinace group, which may sound boring and not very helpful, but some of the people we cleaned for truly could not keep the conditions of their house up to regular living standards by themselves. Thats where we came in, we vaccumed swept, weeded, mopped, wipped and sprayed our way through 6 sights.

One would think that doing all of this work, we would be the ones to bring hope to the people who we cleaned for. Instead they ended up being hope for us and the light that guided us through our long hot days. Even though many of them had smaller, messier homes than the kids here in Mission, they were always very welcoming and enthusiastic, encouraging and inspiring us to continue the work even though we were exhausted and sweaty.

Today I weeded more than i ever thought possible, but with every weed i added to the pile, i felt a sense of accomplishment and joy because i knew that this was all part of God's plan, even though it involved me getting tired and dirty.

I hope that myself and all the people here will continue this mission throughout their lives and be the light for their families and friends so that they will want to know the Lord.

With lots of love
From Casey Miller