Teen Mission to Yakima

Week 1 Thusday, 2011

2011-07-31T12:09:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-31T12:07:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-31T11:44:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-31T11:40:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-28T22:10:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-07-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-07-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

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

Thursday July 28

2011-07-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

Today was most tiring. We had to do a whole bunch of yard work today and it felt like the motiviation of our team was a bit off. But even then we pulled our self together to get the work done. So far its been lots of fun being at Yakima and helping out with the people in need. This has been a great experiance as well for me.

-Paul

Thursday, July 28,

2011-07-28T16:14:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, July 26th

2011-07-26T22:03:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Its Kelsey and i just wanted to let you know that its also my first year on mission and i'm having a great time. i was nervous coming here with no idea of what to expect, but its been a blast learning from the others. Everyone here is so friendly! I'm on the ramp-building team here and we all get to learn from the best, Lowell. He's amazing and has been helping us build ramps for people who really deserve them. Its a humbling experience and i'm enjoying every minute!
Kelsey Nolan

hi uh, Mary here. Mission 2011 is off to a splendid beginning! Its Tuesday and though we are all quite tired and somewhat sleep deprived the full experience is still taking place. Started off working with rain on Monday morning but the sunshine has returned. Running in the mornings, waking up at 5:30 can sound somewhat painful, but has turned out to be refreshing and a great start to the day. The beautiful scenery amongst Yakimas vast rolling hills and blue skies are nice to glance at. Days to go, and people already met it seems to be a successful year already. Digging deeper internally with shares of others is a wonderful part of the mission experience.
Love,
Mary Ryan

Hi everyone! Nathan here from the White Swan reservation in Yakama. To start off this year, I met up with some friends I met from the previous year, but quickly started getting to meet new people, which is a goal I always have for mission. On our site, the first house we were supposed to work at had to be pushed back to later this week because the weather conditions could not let us paint the outside of the house. After we talked it out, we went ahead and started to work on our second house, which wasn't too far from the first. When we got there, we were greeted by 3 dogs, and a few cats. The lady who we worked for was very friendly, and preferred that we call her "Grandma" or "Grammy". Throughout our work of pulling up the tiles and installing new cabinet doors, she baked us a carrot cake with almonds, cinnamon, and apples which we really enjoyed. I look forward to finishing up our job with Grandma, and am looking forward to our second house.

-Nathan Miller

Tuesday July 26

2011-07-26T21:57:00.000-07:00

This is my first year of mission and so far I am having a great time! The work we have done for the lady we have been helping has been hard and dirty but it has been worth it to see the thankfulness in her eyes. We have re-done her cabinets and painted her walls and I have learned to do a lot of new things. Not only has the work been great but the new people I have met and been bonding with has been so much fun! I hope the good times continue!

Molly Shiroishi

2011-07-26T21:52:00.001-07:00

Well hello there, saying I feel like a blog is more of an impromptue, semi-formal, medium of communication I feel that the diction and sentance structure should be as such as well. So here we go, this is my first time at mission and I feel that it will certainly be a weekend to remember. Currently, I have one goal and that is to build at least one ramp a day. Its what I came here to do and its what I want to do, I find the extra reflection stuff tedius to be honest, I would rather spend the extra hours of reflection on starting the next ramp rather than on how I feel because I feel(ironic how I am talking about my feelings when I just said it wasn't about me) that that it would be a better use of my time. Though I guess I do understand why people find it necessary to reflect. Anyways this is getting lengthy and I don't want to be a blog-hog, therefore I hope that this trip results in many ramps built and many happy people.

DFTBA,(Don't Forget to be Awesome)
Andrew

Week Two Ready to Launch!

2011-07-24T09:31:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the the teens and adults of week one for a fantastic week of faithful service! Blessings now for all headed out for week two! Watch this blog to follow their journey!

Friday's Blog

2011-07-22T23:45:00.001-07:00

The one thing I have always been stumped on whenever I am writing, or blogging for that manner is the conclusion. The conclusion is meant to reflect and summarize what has been addressed on the introduction and in the main body. With that being said, this week of Mission has made me feel like one long essay being written. Sunday (the introduction) was hard. This is only my second year of Mission and I know what is to be expected now, but it still feels a little foreign in some senses. The body (Monday to Thursday) is usually the easiest part. We quickly learned how to construct a ramp under the guidance of Lowell; TEAM OUI had formed from an odd sound that Debbie had made and our team was not only able to complete all THREE of the ramps scheduled to us (Finished two day projects in one day) but also got to help Habitat for Humanity a little. All of this immersed with the overall bond our team had formed together. So it is hard to come up with a conclusion, not only in writing a paper but in a blog that I have invested my time in with the past two years. Now that it is Friday night and Saturday is just around the corner, it is hard summarizing an experience in just plain words. Not only have the team and I been working hard, but everyone at our church and BOTH Holy Spirit churches have worked hard and make the week even more special. Tonight we ended our group prayer session with a reflective circle, open to anyone who wanted to voice out their thoughts about their week. I being one of many have had gone and thanked everyone for being a part of this program. I think the worst part of writing a conclusion knows that the end is near. For the time being, it is for me. This is my LAST Year of Mission as a teenager.
So I would like to say the following. First and foremost I would like to Thank God for putting me on this Earth, to experience such a program and interact with great people. I would like to thank my Team Leaders of Team Oui, Pam and Debbie for being amazing, wonderful and caring people. They have truly made a difference in my life while at Mission and I mean that with the utmost sincerity and truthfulness. I would like to thank the rest of the group leaders Mike, Pat, Dan and Steve (...STEVE!) for taking the time out of their busy lives to be with us and help guide us in such an amazing program. I would like to thank EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY TEAM MEMBERS…for being just amazing individuals. It has been a great privilege to work with all of you and I will never forget any one of you. I would like to thank YNIA for hosting the program. Thank You St. Stephens integrating the program. Thank You to Kelly for following me this week on the blog. To my sponsors, thank you for supporting me in this Mission Trip. Last but certainly not least, my Mom. Thank You for supporting me in my faith and my life. I love you and I can’t wait to see you when I get home.
My last words are some from the great Frank Sinatra. When he sang “My Way” (hope I got the title right) he sang “Regrets, I had a few” I claim to not have any regrets…but so far I have only made one. That is, not being a part of Mission earlier, to be a 4 Year Veteran…because this is a great Program
Thank You
Edelmar Navaluna

Wow, this has been one of the most phenomenal weeks that I’ve ever had in the St. Stephens Life Teen youth group but I can’t believe that this week is just about over because it went by so quickly. Time sure does fly when you’re having fun. Today was the last day for work and by the end of the day, I think our group at the reservation was very satisfied with the ending result (though incomplete). We had completed most of the trimming and the painting of the body of the house. Little weeding has been done but compared to the first work day, there has been a major improvement in the appearance and, hopefully, the living condition of the house. It was sad to leave Bonita, Brittany, and the site so early but we now have to give Week 2 a chance to work. To my surprise, I found out that we have a longer schedule. Tonight was a special, conclusive night where we reflected the week in one evening session. It special to all of us and the photo slideshow was a fitting end. I’ll see everyone one of you at home real soon because Mission is about to end.
-Kenny Pham

Wow mission week one is already over. All that time spent prepping and it was done in a blink of an eye. Well last year last night and all I have to say is that I can’t believe that it’s been four years of this. Mission has made me such a better person. Like I can’t even describe the impact coming on these trip has made for the past few years. This week we finished in three days what was supposed to take five days. I loved my group we clicked right away and were a good match to build these ramps. Other than that we had a very successful mission this year can’t wait to turn 21 to come again. Thanks for all the support from the leaders and all you who helped us in our community.
Griffin Boyle

This week has been incredible. The teens on our worksite are amazing. We have really connected as a team. Everyone works together so well. We have been very efficient in building ramps accomplishing much more than we had intended to. We have all become friends. We spend our day laughing together and helping each other out. Each teen jumps in and does whatever is asked of them and many times finds things on their own that need to be done and does it. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with each and every one of them.
Pam Redmond

Thursday Blogging

2011-07-21T22:50:00.000-07:00

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

Out of my three years working with Young Neighbors in Action, I have never gotten as much work done as I have this year. Along with adults: Pat and Dan (a.k.a. Dat Pan) and friends: Elizabeth R., Jenn, Christine, Sean, Tim and Vince working hard in the city, we are getting more accomplished then I had imagined. Over the course of these 4 days we have worked all around the city doing hard labor such as deep cleaning the kitchen, working in the bathroom, and painting an entire home. Aside of the hard work we all contribute to, during our lunch break and at the evening session, we talk about our individual experiences in a religious point of view to understand why we choose to serve those less fortunate. Back at home, I am blessed with some fortunes that some people in the Yakima don’t necessarily have. I personally enjoy doing work like this because God has blessed me with so much that the least I can do is to help those less fortunate. As my last year attending Young Neighbors in Action, I hope I can take what I have learned over the years here, and take it back home and serve God by helping others.
Elizabeth Buslon

This whole week, our group has completed a lot of work. We worked today at an apartment and did a basic spring cleaning. Yesterday we painted a home in the hot sun with some help from previous graduates Matt and Katie. We ended up finishing early and I got a huge nap. It was good to get some extra sleep in the middle of a hardworking week. This week has been a great experience and I feel like we have accomplished a lot. Last year I worked out on the reservation with one family all week. This week I have already worked with 4 different families. It feels great to have the experience of helping multiple people during the week. 
Sean Michael Redmond

The first site we went to was interesting. We had to get rid of things like debris and he was willing to pay for the dump run. By the end of the day when we had finished everything, he was really happy and his wife didn’t even recognize their home. Our second home, we visited a veteran and he seemed like hope was all gone. He had one eye and was going into surgery within the next week. He has one leg and the other leg does not even fit him well. He was so happy to see the progress we had made that day as we pretty much cleaned his whole house. He was very satisfied and liked to talk to us about what he has done in the past. My team has been great and we have gotten a lot of work done. I am proud to be in the group that I am in because this is my last year I can do this before I become a chaperone. I feel like with most teams the work we have been doing has gone through a lot of progress. Most of the groups would take most of the week to do the work that we have done.
Vince Kenny Nguyen

This week has been a fun and challenge filled week. The first day we worked at was Ron and Deanne’s house. We cleaned and then a couple days later painted the outside of their house. Ron did not show much emotion but when we finished painting you could definitely see how happy he was. It was amazing to be able to put that smile on their face for them and give them a whole new perspective on their home. The second day we worked at veteran named Loren’s home. He was very intelligent but he had lost a leg, had one eye and in had cataracts in his only working eye. It was cool to be able to clean for such an accomplished man. His house was in pretty bad shape but we cleaned so much that if I had to live there I could do it and not feel dirty. Hopefully, I can take these experiences and lessons and keep working to extend my faith and knowledge in God and life.
Timothy Robert Denby

The teens on Dan’s and my team have been exceptionally inspiring this week. Dan and I are just team members, the teens have taken the initiative to find tasks to accomplish, whether it is painting cleaning or yard work. The work has been hard and grungy at times, but everyone is taking ownership of their tasks and doing a fantastic job to make the environment they are working in the best it can be. They have also done a great job of showing their love to the men and women we have been called to serve. They are truly taking the teachings of Catholic Social Justice and putting them into practice on our sites. I am proud of the teens I have been working with and all of the St. Stephen’s teens participating in YNIA at Yakima this week.
Patrick Flanigan

Mission—a seven letter word, short, and simple to understand but a difficult task to fulfill. Seeing that this is my third year participating in the Young Neighbors in Action program, it has always been an exciting journey worth going through. I have gained and built several friendships, especially with my team—Dan and Pat (my leaders), and Lizzie, Christine, Elizabeth, Tim, Sean, and Vince. These eight people are full of spirit, hard work, and generosity. I’m glad to have created memories with them in this year’s Yakima Mission. Aside from making friends, the hot sun and cool breeze fit well with all of the tasks we were given, such as cleaning two houses in the inside and cleaning one house on the outside, followed by painting. Although the smell of each task was unbearable, the outcome was phenomenal. I’m VERY proud of my team, but most of all myself. This is because before the take-off to YNIA, I never truly appreciated the cleaning my parents have done and ordered me to do. “Wash the dishes! Sweep the floor! Wipe the counters!” The demands may be irritating, but those little chores do so much for my home. And finally, I thank God for all the events and people he has sent my way, because if he hadn’t loved me so much, I wouldn’t be here to serve others and myself; I wouldn’t have found my “happy place”. I’ve learned so much from this year’s Mission, and I’m sad to know that the end of the week is in just two days. I can’t wait to come back next summer!  God bless.
By: Jennifer Marie Ciriaco

“Get’r done” that was the slogan of one of the churches. I think that this describes exactly what you do on mission – or at least with our group. I was so proud of what he did in such a short time. Our site this year was not just one but multiple sites. We have scrubbed floors, scrapped ovens, shampooed floors, trimmed irises, washed houses and painted. So far we have been able to touch the lives of 4 different households. I must say, my household cleaning skills have improved and so has my stomach for different strong smells.. I feel blessed to have a chance to change these people’s lives. I am grateful for the chance to get away from life back in Seattle and work with friends to give back to those less fortunate or in need. I enjoy working with everyone on tasks. I have had a great time so far and I’m sure the next few days will be great also. I am reminded of the simple joys in giving back from the gratitude we are given by those we have helped. This experience makes me grateful for my family and the people around me. Also, I am so happy to have a clean house to come home to. I look forward to next year
Christine Baker

Tuesday Mission

2011-07-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

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 Debbie’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 Lowell, 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

Monday at Mission

2011-07-18T22:07:00.000-07:00

It’s always hard to write an introduction, especially when it isn’t your first time in Mission. As some of you may know, last year was my first Mission Trip. What I got out of it was an eye-opening experience and I wanted to come back next year. Now, I’m back working on ramps with my leaders Pam and Debbie. Of course this year will be completely different from the last, because I know how everything works and operates. I’m not claiming to be a “Veteran” at this; those are entitled to those who have been doing Mission for four years. I would rather classify myself as, “Trained”. Mondays have always been slow for me and today was no exception. We started off waiting for a representative for VCS (Volunteer Chore Services) to arrive and brief us on what we are to do. As me and the group stood there waiting at camp, all of the other groups were heading out to their sites. I felt discouraged, knowing that they are already on their way to work, while we are just waiting there. However, I got to finally meet the famed Lowell, who has been working with VCS and the Ramp Team specifically for a long time. As we arrive at the first site, we started slow, but it caught on over time. Everyone was able to catch on quickly, as we measured, cut, and drilled boards together to assembly the ramp. We finished quickly, with about two hours sparing before we were to head back to camp. For the remainder of our time, we went to Lowell’s house to prep wood for tomorrow’s project, which is to be a 25ft ramp I believe. The challenge for us today was to find a connection between us and the people we served. For today, it was a smile. Everyone on the team, despite being exhausted had a smile on their face as we returned home. The man that we had built the ramp for had one of the biggest smiles I had seen in a while as he tried out the completed ramp for the first time. That is why I serve, not for the fact that I was involved in building a ramp. It isn’t for the pride. It is because I got to help someone today. I may not have changed the world today, but it is a step in the right direction. I would like to say Thank You to my sponsors who helped me is here this week and to my family, I miss you.

– Edelmar Navaluna

Wow, Mission has been a wonderful experience so far. Today was the first work day where each of the teams travels to work at their work sites. I had a great time at the Yakama Nation reservation. I am blessed this year to have such a wonderful and supportive group this year to help me start out my first year at Mission as a “Rookie.” I know already that through this week, I will be able to know God a little more and to learn to experience His true love.

At our location, we travel to a humble home in the middle of the reservation near the community center. The jobs that have been given to our group thus far are weeding, porch and roof repair, and repainting the outside of the house. So far, we’ve been tasked with fairly easy, yet tiring assignments that will keep us all busy for the next few days. Tomorrow will be when we apply the primer and cocker to the house as well as when the front yard fence needs to be repaired. On the next day, will be when we begin to paint the house. Other continuous tasks (such as weeding and the porch and roof repair) will also be done throughout the week. It will be slow because of the encounters with pesky insects and our long breaks. Rain might also prove to slow us down if it continues throughout the week. Fortunately though, the local dog population keeps us company. One such dog is Cowboy, the friendly pet of Bonita (the native owner of our location). He and his friends come in and out of the yard. We all like to pet him. There’s also another dog (whose name I have forgotten) and a cat that has probably made the most noise that I’ve seen from any cat that I’ve encountered. These are all factors that play a role in the speed of our work and in our attitudes, sort of….

Anyway, I’m having a great time here in Yakima so far because of this significant program of Young Neighbors In Action and all of the thoughtful people in it. I look forward to the rest of the week and what lies ahead.

To My Mom and Dad
I’m having a wonderful time here in Yakima and am very grateful that I was able to sign up for this important event in my life. Although it may be early to say this, I wish that may be able to come back year after year (at least until I leave for college). Also, don’t worry about me because Debbie is taking good care of me. Also, thank everyone in the family for helping to sponsor this trip. I love you!
-Kenny Pham

2011 Mission to Yakima Preparing for Launch!

2011-07-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

Watch this space for updates from this year's mission!

Pat and Megan

2010-07-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

Pat and Megan are hard at work re-flooring the the kitchen.

Thursday 7/22- Ramp Building

2010-07-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

Today my group started to build our third ramp which is 48 feet. I love work with Lowell I’m so glad he is the person we have him as our third adult because he is an amazing man. Also during this week I have connected with the people who we are building the ramps for and I also connected with the people in my group. Lastly’ I’m going to miss everybody I met and Lowell.

Vincent Mottola

Mission is always special times, but this seems even better somehow. The warmth, ok, ok it was hot at 95 and in the sun, but the evenings and mornings have been tonic for this westsider prone to rust! And the kids are so awesome. You would be very proud of each and every one of them! I sure am! Time with Lowell! Finishing ramps and today working on a home South of Wapato. It needed a lot, but our kids were more than up to the task! Primeing, painting, patching, spackling, and cleaning. But they transformed a home in a day…wow!

Rick R

I learned today that dust storms are really windy. Never wear white shirts when you are in a dust storm. The front of my shirt is completely beige while the back is white. Today, we picked up garbage in the yard of the family’s house. I think we picked up more than ten bags of garbage. I thought it was hot today but it didn’t even break ninety. Today we also started putting in tiling. The dining area looks fantastic. We also finished the bathroom with all the scrubbing and the second coat in the last bedroom. The place looks amazing. It is almost time for dinner. I keep walking around with the laptop trying to finish this blog. Yet I am not sure what I wanna say. Yesterday we went swimming and ice blocking. I totally ruined a pair of shorts. Actually I ruined two pairs. It was fun. Turns out it is better to slide down on your stomach better than sitting on your butt. There was a lot of swimming races yesterday. It was fun! Im so glad I got to swim again. Its been much too long. Well its only five days…..oh well. I think I have been saying random stuff too much. I finally opened my red bull I wonder how that will do to me and how well I will sleep tonight. I believe air mattresses hate me. I have had two but they all go flat on me by two in the morning! Ahh. I guess next year I will bring a cot or something. I think I now have the longest blog. Hahahahaa. I think I am just rambling on right now so I should go. Bye

Sammi Nguyen

Tonight is culture night here at Young Neighbors in Action. Thursday is always culture night here, and this year we get to understand more about the native Yakama culture. The fact that it’s Thursday startles me. I can’t believe that this week has flown by already! Each workday has had so much progress and I’ve made so many great friends that I’m going to really miss this amazing experience! My group is building ramps. We get the joy of working with the absolutely AMAZING Lowel, who is the ramp building guru! He is a truly amazing person! Every year he goes to New Orleans to help rebuild homes, and he continues to build ramps by himself during the duration of time he’s home. Being able to work with him is an honor! On my first workday, I was really surprised when they handed me a power drill. I have never used one previously in my life and I was honestly scared out of my wits! Now it’s Thursday, and I can both drill and drive a nail with the best of them! However, there wasn’t much building today. My ramp-building group was split in half; some of us being sent to work on a house on the reservation that needed painting and cleaning. It had been a site that was left unfinished from week one. I cleaned the cabinet doors in both the kitchen and the laundry room from a yellow-orange color back to a clean white. I never thought that a rag, some water, and Mr. Clean could do so much! I also painted, but had a little incident with primer. A fan scared me when it fell from the window behind me, I spun around, and backed up into the wall I had JUST covered with primer. In the words of my good friends: “fail”. Anyway, I’m off to enjoy culture night, enjoy my salmon and fry bread, and learn to dance. So, in conclusion, I love you all, and Mission is amazing!

-Kelcie Hollingsworth

Thursday at Mission

2010-07-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

Helloo Everyone :)
Thursday at Mission has beeen so fun yet so tiring.
At NorthWest Harvest Im sad to say we have one more day left because we all feel so close to the staff and we cant believe mission is almost over. But first, earlier today we went to a food bank and helped them out. I was talking to the people and helping them with their bags and I helped serve. It was lots of fun. I met some really nice people and I loved helping them. Then we came back to NorthWest Harvest and started packaging cucumbers! It felt nice because they were cold and the weather was so hot. Some other kids were there from a program called "Get Set". They are foster kids but I didnt find that out until yesterday. I made some really close friends. It was sad hearing their story but they are glad they are in a better place. Today was our last day working with them and I hope the best for them because they have been great friends to me this week.
God Bless.
xoxo,
Urmika Tejpaul

Wednesday at Mission

2010-07-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

Wednesday at Mission was lots of fun!
It was rec day and father was here with us.
After a tiring day at our worksites I was so excited to go to the park and just hang out.
At my work site though (NorthWest Harvest) it felt like a long day, but fun nonetheless.
We went to 3 different food banks and helped them unload. Later on we came back to NWH and helped them package onions. After this we went back to the church to get ready for rec day. At the park we ate a yummy dinner and I watched people IceBlock. We also went to the pool to have some fun.
We had Mass later on and the day ended on a good note.
Im sad the week is almost over.
xo,
Urmika Tejpaul

Mission So Far...

2010-07-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

This mission has so far been very exciting, I have met many new people from other churches. I have come to find that peeople will travel far to help others...many of which came from California. I have really been touched this week because I have come into close conact with people who care about others just as much as I do and are willing to give up a week of there summer just so they can help many people survive another day. I was stationed at North West Harvest and I was a little bummed because I really wanted to build ramps for people or fix up peoples houses. When I found out that I was on the NWH I was thinking that it was just my luck...no building just sorting. But now that I have come to know the people that I am working with I would never in a life time dream of switching my job, being on this job has exposed me to the other side of helping others. At NWH I did have to sort big containers of food, mostly small sweet onions, although I probably will never want to lay eyes on another onion again I had lots of fun! The First day was filled of putting "good" onions into boxes, and getting rid of all the nasty unedible ones. The second, third and fourth days my group and I went to foods banks to help them out with some packing, and sorting and even gardening. But the second half of the work day we resided at NWH where we continued to pack food into boxes. There was another group of kids that came to help us out for about an hour on the second, third and fourth days, they were from a foster care program that was allowing them to have real life job experiences, it was fantastic meeting them and getting to know some of them. Although their life may be challenging with the experiences they must have gone through, to me they are just other people needing someone in their life to care...just needing a friend in the world. I believe that if you talk to peolpe in a way that shows dignity then they will feel more accepted in the world, feel more like a human being. I am so glad I was able to experience this wonderful way of helping and plan on coming back as long as i can!

Miranda H

Mission 2010

2010-07-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

I am working at Northwest Harvest this week and the food banks that they support. They buy food from farmers or companies donate in order to distrubute it to the local food banks. I help sort this food and package it so that it can be transported. It is very tedious and boring but it has to be done sometime and volunteers are often the ones who end up doing the work. There are also foster kids who are in this program where they learn job skills and do community service that are helping us sort. They are just like normal kids, who might have problems in their life but they do not seem to care. Matthew, an autistic adult, comes twice a week and helps too. He is very good at dancing and is on a team. At the food bank there were a lot of people who need the food. Sometimes they would try to take more than what they were allowed but we had to make sure there was enough for everyone. The food we helped distubute was the same food we helped sort at NWH, which was very gratifying. At the school I have made a lot of friends from other places. Overall, there have been a lot of people that have touched my life this week.

Sean D.

Northwest Harvest, Thursday

2010-07-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

This week working at Northwest Harvest has been great fun. My team is full of welcoming and open people. We hyave had some good conversations, as we sorted all kinds of stuff, from nasty broken cans of corn to the onions which no one wants to see ever again, and there are 8 more bins of those. But along with working in the warehouse where there are volunteers from other organizations as well, sorting and packaging items to go out to food banks, we have also gone out to help at the food banks. Today we got to work at Out Daily Bread food bank just down the road. While talking to people as they picked up food I got to practice some spanish and the time just flew by. It was nice to see some of the faces that goes with this great need. Lisa said on the first day that this Northwest Harvest helps feed over 30,000 families in the central Washington area. All in all i have a great team and a great loction to be working on my last year as a teen mission participant. And if God wills I will be back as an adult team leader in 3 years.

Sarah C

Northwest Harvest - Nathan

2010-07-22T12:54:00.001-07:00

This week has been quite the handfull for me. I am working at the Northwest Harvest site, and almost every day we have had to sort onions. Every once in a while though we have gone to local food banks to help stock the food or serve the food. The work is pretty repetitive as we have to help unload and carry the packages of food to and from the food bank.
At the place where we stay, I have had a lot of fun meeting new people, and talking to the ones that I became good friends with last year. The numbers are also a lot shorter than the previous year for the whole group, dropping from around 140 to the 50s. In some ways, this has been great because I get to spend more time with my friends, but I do not get as much of an opportunity to talk to other people.

Nathan M

Thursday 7/22- North West Harvest Briana Jackson

2010-07-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

North West Harvest has been such an amazing experience for me. Last year i did the reservation so this is way different then what I have done before. We spend most of our time sorting foods such as onions, cucumbers, cans of corn, and blackberries or "bushberries" as they are called here. When food shelters are open we will drive over there and help them do whatever they need. On Tuesday Kristen, Nathan and I sorted clothes into winter and summer piles, while others weeded and bagged beans and rice. While we were there on Tuesday, we also got to try some pinapple juice. There was this lady that was going around to the volunteers giving people some of here juice, and it was so good. I have never had better juice! On Wednesday we went to a different food shelter and helped bag frozen vegetables. Today we went back to that same food shelter as the one we went to Wednesday, and passed out food to people. I passed out beef stew until I got upgraded to beef stew AND bottles of water! There I got a chance to interact with a lot more people like the volunteers that were there. I like hearing stories and being with people so I loved doing that. While we've been here, there have been a group of people here also that help North West Harvest also. These are people that are under foster/kinship care. I got to know a boy names Aaron who is a dancer as well. He is so funny and he has the funniest stories to tell. I also got to talk to his friend Pablo on Wednesday. Even though I dont get to do one on one stuff with families like the reservation, I am loving North West Harvest. I have such a great group on my site, and we all get along. Grace has such a mom like presence, and Kristen has such a great humor, so they are the perfect leaders. Im bonding a lot with people I never would've talked to otherwise so I'm really glad I am here. Even though I miss my family, its gonna be hard to leave! Can't wait for cultural night tonight!

2010-07-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

Bagging Cornmeal at Northwest harvest: when all said and done we made 1,359 individual bags from 500 lbs of cornmeal.

Wednesday 7/21 Yakima Reservation

2010-07-21T13:00:00.000-07:00

This week has been a fun and challenge-filled week and will definitely continue to be. So far I have worked a bathroom (a different one from Elizabeth and Stephanie’s) with Meghan Lynch. First we put in a light fixture above the sink, which was very frustrating, but we eventually got it done. We then started to install a fan for the bathroom, but it is hard because we do not know how were going connect the vent on the fan to the one in the ceiling. I then finished tearing up the rest of the kitchen floor, because much of it was already out and also so we could put new floor boards in. This is what I have done so far. I have also reconnected with people from last year and met new amazing people. I cannot wait to see what is in store for the rest of the week! This has been an incredible, unforgettable experience!

Tim D

So far this week at the reservation has been very productive and fun! We have gotten so much done, such as painting the bathroom and putting in a new floor. I’ve also worked on priming and painting the kitchen and another bedroom. Learning how to do these things by ourselves has been really great and we’ve had a ton of fun along the way. During our breaks we hang out with the five dogs or three babies that are around the house and outside. We also like to eat lunch with Aaron and Alyssa, the two children that live at the house- Aaron loves peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches with Doritos! Our group has really bonded and we all trust each other, which makes working much more enjoyable. My favorite parts of this week are definitely working with and getting to know my group and hanging out with the family that lives at the house we are working at. I’ll be bummed when the week is over!

Stephanie V

For the past few days our group has been working in a home filled with great kids, adults and even dogs. I didn’t know what to expect of the house, but I was ready for anything. In only a week, we had a lot to get done, so we split up into pairs and we were in charge of our own room. Stephanie V and I started on the bathroom. Even though it was a small bathroom, we had a ton of work to do. We started off taking off the door, the toilet, then the floor. Two days into the project Hannah M joined in and helped us out. Never in a million years would I think I would be remodeling a stranger’s bathroom. The amount of work is hard, but as the remodeling is progressing, you can tell that the family is very grateful for everything. This is an experience I will never forget!

Elizabeth B

Day 2 - Northwest Harvest

2010-07-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

This was the second day of my first mission! Yay for being positive and happy. I love the feeling of helping people. Today, my site was the Seventh Day Adventist Church. One half of the group was bagging beans and sorting clothes while my group did a bit of weeding out in the back. To tell the truth, the weather was rather enjoyable. It was a little cloudy and there was a breeze; it was still warm and sunny though. My group cleared a really nice area but were pricked and poked in the process due to many thistle plants.
It felt nice to do something good for the church. During the weeding process I kept wondering what I would be doing at home if I hadn't been here on mission in Yakima. Every time the answer came back to me as "I would be on the couch watching tv." I am really happy I came on mission and can't wait to see what the rest of the week brings!
*Though as a confession I have to say, missing the opening of THE BEST FAST FOOD CHAIN IN THE WORLD (Jollibee) will be sad, but when I get back I will be first in line!*

Kris C.

Northwest Harvest, Tuesday

2010-07-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

I've learned a LOT about food banks over the past two days...where the food comes from, where it's sent to, how it's distributed to the food banks, and who is in need of the services that the banks provide. In the Yakima area alone, about 100,000 people are dependent on Northwest Harvest to supply them with food. That's why Northwest Harvest needs volunteers like us!!! :) Our team is headquarted at the main distribution warehouse for Northwest Harvest in Central Washington. Yesterday we spent the entire day at the warehouse, bagging about 1,400 bags of cornmeal and sorting through bins of canned corn. At the warehouse, we met a guy named Matthew who brightened up our work experience with his AMAZING hip-hop dancing! Today we got to meet even more interesting people as we went to help out at a food/clothing bank that gets their supplies from Northwest Harvest. All of us are excited to see what the rest of the week brings. :)

Leilani B.

Monday 7/19

2010-07-20T12:46:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day on a Native American Reservation. As we entered the Yakima Reserve I didn’t realize we have already entered. Im glad it isn’t too hot here. When we first pulled up we were greeted by a little boy named Caleb. Along with Latte, Whitey, Killer, Sugar, and the other name I don’t remember. She is 19 years old! That’s really old for a dog. They were sweet. Latter even let us pick her up and we put her in a baby rocker. We even put on hot pink shades on her and gave her flip flops. Oh yeah, and a soda can of pink lemonade. She must have enjoyed her self since she didn’t move from the spot for over ten minutes. Latte was a really cute Weiner dog . The family who lived there were really welcoming of us coming into their home. The grandparent’s names were Ray and Linda. They both helped me take four layers of tiles in their kitchen out. Along with the help we had great conversations that made me know them better. I found that Linda’s Dad has the same beliefs in life as my grandpa. We discussed our similarities and found that she used to live in the Seattle area when she was a teenager. Linda inspired me when she spoke about her son. Im not sure about his name but he was killed in a car wreck right infront of the house. He left behind his wife with an unborn child. He is now two months old. It was almost been a year without him in the family. Linda taught me that you can’t dwell on those you love once you loose them. I didn’t feel like I did much work. I spend the day mainly outside picking up garbage and talking to the other kids such as Dwight, Erin, and Alyssa. I even got them to help me pick up garbage. The dogs liked to get in the way though. It was strange to have five dogs surrounding you and following you. Even though I sweated through two shirts just taking out the tiles I felt as though I could work harder. We will see what happens tomorrow then. Maybe by then I can blog more. Yet, I don’t even know the site we are posting this to. Hahaha. Oh well. Now I feel like I am talking to myself. I hope to come back to the site tomorrow and get another warm greeting to help us kick start our afternoon together. There’s so much dust out here. When I showered the water came out brown from all the dust/dirt sticking to my sunscreen. There was a fire yesterday. The smoke cloud blocked the sun and the whole cloud and the surrounding sky turned orange. It was a very pretty sight. A regular camera would never catch the sight. Though I wish we did. We don’t really get much sleep here with all the work we do. Wake up call is at six thirty but lights out isn’t until eleven. Im sure most of us would love to sleep in  We get a lot of bonding and free time though. More than I thought. Most of us sleep during this time. But the other half are outside enjoying the sun  It is strange not seeing a single cloud in the sky. In a distance there is some white form Mt. Adams. I think I now have the longest blog. Opps I hope no one minds. Doesn’t seems like anyone else wants to blog. I wish I had a picture I could post tonight. Maybe tomorrow I can. I have a shout out to my parents. Please enjoy having our guest over. I will try my best to find time to call you. Say hi to Ngoai for me!  Also a shout out to my friends reading this; Thank you for supporting me on going on this trip. To the others who are reading this ridiculous blog of mine. I thank you all for reading and supporting our team on our service trip. I hope you have a nice week.

Beaucoup Merci!
Sammi N.

Welcome to Mission

2010-07-18T20:48:00.000-07:00

Helllooo Everyone.
Whoever is reading this, thank you so much for wanting to see what we are doing here and all the changes we are helping make this week and thank you for blessing us.
Sunday was an amazing day. Mostly everyone toke naps including me on the way here. But once we all got here, it felt like home. We were all energized and excited to get started. This week is a smaller week so there arent as many people, but I think I like it this way because there is this closeness with everyone and it's like a family feeling. Sunday's prayer went great and the music was awesome. We played a few ice breaker games and I got to know people from even my own church better. I honestly feel like I only left for a week and now I am back, this feels like home and I am so happy to be here and to be helping people that need me to help them. Thank You and God Bless Everyone.
xo,
Urmika Tejpaul

Team Two Departs for Yakima

2010-07-18T14:06:00.000-07:00

Following the return of our first team of missioners, the "clean-up hitters" of week two departed this morning (Sunday, July 18th) for Yakima. Prepared work, pray, play and grow these youth and adults are excited for the adventure. Follow their experiences here throughout the week.

Congratulations to Week One for a job well done!!!

Friday July 16, 2010 Yakima Mission

2010-07-16T23:20:00.000-07:00

Friday, July 16th

Our group this week was working building ramps for handicapped people in wheelchairs and walkers. The first place we went to we built a ramp for an elderly lady. At one point, she showed Julie and I the quilts she had been making for her family and friends. She told us that she needs something to do in her house because she doesn’t want to go crazy being stuck in her house with no way out. Her quilts were absolutely beautiful, and looked like they took a ton of elaborate work. At the end of the day, when we attached the ramp to her house and finished it, she choked up and started crying. She was so happy to finally get out of her house and be able to walk around the neighborhood to strengthen her legs. Tuesday we went to a new site, and the people there had two black cats and a dog named Snuggles. The woman who we were building the ramp for was in the hospital at the time, so her son and daughter were there at the house. Her son told us that he went to the Philippines and talked about that to us for a little while and told us that he really fell in love with the music down there. He gave us a CD of Philippines music, and told us to keep it. Its things like that that make me realize how much these people are really like us. Wednesday was time for a new site. There, Lowell, the amazing man helping us build these ramps, shared with us about failure. He told us about his company, and how every time they messed up they’d celebrate their failure. On Thursday he also shared his mother’s Words of Wisdom. They were little quotes she had picked up during her life and wrote them down, and gave them to Lowell when she ‘stopped living’. Lowell truly is an inspiration, and we are extremely lucky to have gotten to work with him. Finally, Thursday and Friday we made a ramp for a family with two young kids, Tristan, who’s seven, and Ava, who’s 4. Their father has condition called Berger’s Disease, where your limbs fall off. The kids were incredibly cute and wanted to help as much as they could. They made our days working there more enjoyable and put smiled on all our faces. There was also a young kitten wandering around who we played with, who we all named Jack. Building that ramp really made me feel good, because I connected with the people who needed it. I felt so incredibly good to help them. I know that the people that have touched my life this week were gifts from God, and I’m so incredibly thankful for that.
~Brittany Redmond

Looking back at the week, I feel that it has been a very rewarding experience. Today we finished a ramp for Vern. He has two young kids that truly touched my heart. Tristan is 7. He was always there to help us paint or learn to use a drill. He sang us a Duck song and told us that we should travel in pirate ships. He then proceeded to tell me that he wanted to be a Pirate, a Cowboy, or a Firefighter. He was always there for a laugh or a smile and it made a larger impact on me to see him with his dad. Ava is 4. She was eager to help us paint and even brought her own paintbrush out. She then decided that she would give us prizes…painted leaves from a tree in their yard. Although the prize was unorthodox, it was still nice to see that she was happy we were there. Leaving them was difficult. They kept asking if we were coming back or telling us that we didn’t finish the ramp so we would stay.
In meeting Vern’s children, I knew that they were truly deserving of the ramp. Because the kids were so full of energy, it was a struggle to keep up with them, especially because he used to have to crawl to his wheelchair outside. I knew that we were making a huge difference in his life as well as the lives of his children.
~Julie Balza

This week has been a great experience for me. I have been building wheelchair ramps each day around the Yakima area. We eased into the ramp building process on Monday. The woman, Marge, already had a ramp built, but there was not enough room to attach it to her porch. So, we built a landing for her, made adjustments to the ramp, attached it, and painted it. Marge could not get out of her house on her own before we built her ramp. She would sit inside by herself quilting all day, except for occasional visits by her son. When we finished the ramp, she walked outside to see it and she choked up in tears. It was amazing to see how amazing of an impact we had on her life. On Tuesday, we went to our next house, where we built our first ramp from scratch. The woman who needed the ramp wasn’t actually there. She was in the hospital because of a kidney failure. Even though we didn’t get to see her reaction, it will be a great surprise for her to be welcomed home with a completed wheelchair ramp to use. The following day, Wednesday, we went to another house to build a ramp for a man named Alan. Alan and his wife, Regina, were very welcoming and friendly. They interacted with us the most. They watched us almost the whole time, and Alan took around 150 pictures of us working. It was great to get to know the people we were helping more. Before lunch, they brought out donuts for all of us to enjoy during a break. When we finished, they also gave us each a can of Sprite. Thursday was the hottest day of the week, and we spent it building a ramp for a man named Vern. I recognized his need most out of anyone else’s because Vern was very young. While the rest of the people we helped were over 50, Vern was under 30 years old. He still has a lot of his life to live, and he needs to get out of his home. Another big reason why his need was obvious is because he has two young kids: Tristan, who is 7 years old, and Ava, who is 4. When their mother was a work, Vern is the only one watching them. They live very close by a busy street, and if one of the kids was to run out into the street, Vern would not be able to get out of the house quickly enough to stop them. Tristan and Ava were both so happy to have us there building a ramp for their daddy. They were always more than willing to help us. They were very sad to see us go, and I was sad to leave them as well. Developing a bond with Vern and his children helped me recognize how much good we were doing for these people.
- Jessica Hendricks

This week I spent time with some amazing teens willing to do whatever was asked of them. We started at Northwest Harvest bagging, boxing and stacking cornmeal, sorting vegetables, washing cans of fruit or vegetables and getting them ready for the food banks.
We had opportunities to work in some different food banks and visit with people. So many touched our hearts. There were young parents looking for clothing for their children, other men and women getting items for themselves and sharing their story. The joy on their faces when we introduced ourselves and asked them their names was a look I will never forget. I am so proud of all of the teens here, all that they accomplished, and their willingness to share their faith with others.
Charlotte Balza

Wow, what a week it’s been! It seems like we just arrived and yet I am stunned at the amount of work we accomplished. I was on the Yakima Reservation team with Debbie and Pat. The Johnson household, we were assigned to, provided shelter for a whole family tree; grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, babies, even great-grandchildren. Surprisingly, I was not that surprised of the condition when we first got there. Yes, there was an assortment of trash, used baby diapers, leftover fireworks, and broken beer bottles strewn across the yard but it didn’t seem that out of the ordinary. The kids we worked with (Matthew, Caleb, Izaak, Alyssa, Angela, Jake, and Mikey) explained that the broken-down trucks filled with garbage bags were their “dumps”. Apparently, somebody is supposed to come regularly to pick up the trash but they never do. Over time and under the harsh wind conditions the bags usually end up ripping and the rubbish inside is blown across the property. The bedroom inside had graffiti and writing all over the cotton candy pink walls. A mother would have looked at the hand-drawn dart targets and cringed, but to me it represented a story, a time when a child (Alyssa, who drew them in her younger years) who wanted to get better at basketball had to make the only game she had.
Over the week, we managed to clean that entire bedroom and repaint it. We painted the laundry room, bathroom, and dining room as well as the ceilings in all of the rooms. Our team was able to retile the bathroom and clean the mildew-infested shower, toilet, and sink. We removed all of the old flooring in the dining room area and laundry room. All of the holes in the walls were plastered and filled in. And yet, in the midst of it all, we were most importantly able to connect with the family and children, creating bonds and memories that will last a lifetime. The kids and grandparents were so helpful and friendly. We made lunch for the kids and ate with them outside on tree stumps every day. The echoes of laughter still bring a smile on my face as I reminisce on all of the fun times we had. Yes, it was hard work but with our singing, dancing, joking, bubble-blowing, and water spraying, everything was more enjoyable and just a blast. Thank you so much to all of you who visited us and all of you who helped make this possible. I cannot speak for others, but I know that this week’s experience has made a difference in my life that I will never forget. Thank you and God bless.

Yours,
Lisa Pham

Today we painted the Yakima Food Bank blue. It was really hot so I mostly stayed inside scooping oatmeal with this crazy lady Lisa. She gave me an epiphany even though she’s crazy. When I spent more time with her she talked about Disneyland and Yellowstone. She reminded me that she was human. That’s all, except for blasting Our God is an awesome God in the Balza-mobile/Mystery Van.
Kim Concillado

Friday, the LAST full day of Mission. To be quite honest, I never would have believed that I could make it through this week. However, there were a lot of things that I could of never comprehended on my week here. I came to church on Sunday, with a sense of nervousness. It is my first Mission and I knew nothing to expect. Sure, I did ask my friends who had gone what was it like and I would get their story. THEIR story, that was the key phrase every time I asked someone. They were telling their story, their experience when it came to mission. Listening to all of their stories, I knew that I had to see it for myself. Again I was apprehensive at first to sign-up for mission. As I went through the process, I got even more nervous. Going to the meetings, the Mission Breakfasts and the Dinner were things I participated in as a supporter. Now I took on the role of the those who were serving me pancakes back then or buying flowers from. The process of preparing for mission was the beginning of the journey…the Introduction to the Story if you will. In a story, there is the exposition. I was introduced to my team during the Retreat we had at church, weeks before mission began. I met my teammates: Alexa, Meghan, Lisa, Aj, Griffin, and Sean. My team leaders were Pat and Debbie. That was what we were, a team going to the Yakima Reservation for their mission assignment. Then came mission itself, the story that takes someone from one end to the other. This is when our team became a family. We all bounded and we accomplished our goal (Details are in the previous blogs). We had transformed to a family. They were more than what I could of asked for. Now the story comes to an end. When the protagonist or protagonists end with something that brings the story to a close. Here is mine. To my sponsors, I thank you for your support. Without you I would of never been here. To my family, thank you for everything that you have done to get me here and overall. To my teammates…I can’t THANK YOU ALL ENOUGH for making this the best week of my summer. Thank you team for helping me COMPLETE MY STORY! And the Theme of it all…A New Perspective! That everyone may take it.
Yours
Edelmar De Vera Navaluna

This past week has been such an amazing experience. Alexa, Lisa, Ed, AJ, Pat, Griffin, Sean, and Debbie were the best group members I could have asked for. The bond that we made over the week was something that we all cherish. We had many conversations sitting on tree stumps outside during lunch, and our team meetings after our night sessions lasted forever, because nobody wanted them to end. When we first arrived at the site, and saw the yard filled with garbage thrown everywhere, I thought that this wasn’t going to be a fun place for working. However, with the enthusiasm from our group and the love that the Johnson family showed us, there was never a dull moment. Debbie has been a constant source of entertainment, from dancing in the car to falling through the floor, to vacuuming Sean’s head; we all love her so much. At the Johnson house, we met the children that lived there. I couldn’t follow how the adults were related, but the children all called each other their siblings. The best part of every day, for me, was not only bonding with our group, but bonding with the children. They started out being shy, but by the end of the week, they were sad to see us go. Even though normally I am a person that likes to get things done in the fastest way possible, I loved getting to step back and watch the children as we showed them how to do something that they’d never done before. Watching them learn, and be proud of the work that they did in their home was an amazing thing. At the end of the week, I thought that not only did we do a lot for the Johnson family in terms of their home, but our relationship with the kids was one that I’m sad to see go. This week has taught me how to see Christ in everyone, and you can get to know a lot about someone by just starting with their name.

Love,
Meghan Dorney

Thursday 7/15/2010 Yakima Mission

2010-07-15T22:17:00.000-07:00

Thursday, July 15th

Thursday, the week is coming to a close. Yet I am getting the clichéd feeling that we had just arrived yesterday. Looking back from the past three days, we had made a great difference to the house. When we had arrived for the first time, everything was uncomfortable, the site, the work, and the relationships. However, everything had gone through a complete turn around. The site looks great, interior and exterior, and the team is working like clockwork. Again, it all goes back to my theme of perspective. Once changed, it greatly influences others associated to it. Now we are all just waiting in the car. Waiting to arrive at the site, waiting to work.
I have returned to the van covered head to shoe in paint. Well everyone is covered in paint. Today, we had to paint the walls of the bathroom and the laundry room. I was in charge of priming all of the walls in the bathroom. Ray, who was the grandpa of the Johnson family, helped me prime the ceiling. It was an exchange of priming and painting all day. However the best part of the day, was having me, (YES ME) install a light fixture. Having NO experience in electricity, I was in charge of installing a fixture that could possibly electrocute me or set the house on fire. However Pat, who was a great teacher, gave me the basics I needed to install the fixture…We didn’t even need the instructions! The best part was when Pat said, “Let’s test it out.” He turns on the switch, with just about everyone surrounding me, and the bulb shined bright with no casualties. Now I am in the back of Debbie’s van, listening to music and playing 13. To my sponsors, again Thank You! To my family, I love you all.
Ed Navaluna

Today I woke up extra late. The tiredness is really getting to me. The only thing that keeps me going is that the kids at our work site expect to see me there. And I really want to be there for them. So I end up eating a super fast breakfast of just cereal and a glass of milk. I brush my teeth and do the morning prayer. Before I know it I am on the road heading towards the Yakima reservation. At this point the excitement is building and I can’t wait to get to work. I started off by helping griffin replace some drywall and making all kinds of important measurements. Next I got to remove some floor. After that I started scrubbing walls. After that I started painting these walls. After that I got to do some sweeping and then more dry walls. For some reason doing this type of work at my house would have put me in a sad mood. But when I am doing it for somebody else it puts me in the happiest mood ever. I love the reservation

AJ Flanigan

It’s Thursday and the end of the week is coming up. Today I had a hard time waking up. I think that the weeks work is catching up with me. But the work I am doing for the Johnson family gives me an incredible feeling. I’m working with and for the whole family who has to live in the poverty that I could never imagine living in. Today I painted a lot around the house. Mainly in the bathroom and in the laundry room. Also I repaired two holes in the wall with sheet rock. The thing that amazes me is that if I was home and I was doing this work, it would kill me and I would be bored out of my mind. But working out on the reservation with my group and the Johnson family time seems to fly by. Like today the first thought I had about the time, was Pat telling that it was lunch time. Working out on the reservation has been great and the rest of the week I expect the same.

Sean Redmond

Wednesday July 14, 2010 Yakima Mission

2010-07-15T22:08:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, July 14th

Our week has some amazing kids on it. They are not only willing to help, they insist on helping. They work together great. The cohesiveness of the group is heart warming. Each of the work groups are really bonding. I am fortunate to be able to be here and work with such wonderful people. It is a very moving experience. This week I am building handicap ramps for those that are house bound. We have built one a day so far and that is the plan for the week. The people we are building the ramps for are so thankful and amazed at what our group is doing. You can see that they are visibly moved by it. On Sunday our kids wrote a song to one of the popular hit songs. Below are the words. We hope to have the video of us singing it loaded either here or on UTube at some point.
We’re St. Stephens and we’re here to serve and learn about our God, we chose the word Ohana to represent our Father and family too. Hey, Young Neighbors lets all do a favor for our family so happily, we’re here for them so willingly. Hey, Young Neighbors we don’t want to miss a single day to show our love, our love, our love.
Pam Redmond

Well we made it to day four and it really seems like it’s been no time at all. I’m working on the Yakima reservation on part of a two week project. This house has six children and four adults living there so as you can tell it is pretty worn down. In my group there is me, Meghan, Sean, Ed, Lisa, Alexa, and AJ then there is Pat and Deb as our “adults”. So far we have taken apart a bathroom and already replaced the floor. But what I was doing was cutting out holes in the wall so I could patch them. Though this was my first time doing this it turned out as a huge success. Meghan Alexa and I were working in the bedroom along with all of the kids to patch up these walls and we were allowing the kid’s to-do their own patch so they could always look back and remember that they had a hand in fixing up this house. Well I have to go and finish up the house so till next time bye.
Griffin Boyle

Wednesdays have always been the longest day to me, even during the summer. So for today, I will be bloging in two parts.
As the morning had begun, I had already gotten that gut feeling that today would be a long one. However that only means that we would have more time to work at our site. We are planning to paint one of the bedrooms in the house and possibly begin to plan and place the particle board for the tiles. Currently I am sitting at the back of Debbie’s van listening to both a collective mix to country and Christian music. For me personally, I have never been a big fan of these genres, however I have actually been enjoying some of the music they play. There was one moment where all came across a suggestive country, something I would of never suspected. However it connects to a theme that I found for myself this week, Perspective. A new perspective not only in the literal but also in the spiritual sense. Now we have arrived at the reservation and just finished our morning group prayer with the children. With the temperatures beginning to rise, and me being stuck inside the van is killer, I will end this part with simply…Do Work Son!
We had just finished another successful day at the reservation. We are now heading back home to “base camp” back at the church for some needed R&R. The focus for today’s agenda was doing a top to bottom scrub down of the walls and ceiling. Moreover, Pat and Debbie were in charge of the bathroom, which keeps looking better as the day rolled on. There was also hole patch up, which was quickly taken care of by one of my team members, Meghan. As for me, I teamed up with Sean and Lisa to work on cleaning the walls and ceiling. Griffin was working with the walls and AJ took care of the floors. Also Father Ed came to the site and helped us work on cleaning the walls and bathroom. Again the day was a success. As I leave off to take a nap, I would like to say some thanks. Thank you to all of my sponsors! Thank you to my family, I love you all. Also I would like to say a special Thanks to my friend Roxanne who has been following recently and letting me know that she has. HI!!!!
Sincerely Ed Navaluna

Our group (Debbie, Pat, Meghan, Lisa, Ed, Griffin, AJ, Sean, and I) just completed our 3rd day on our worksite. So far we have rid up the entire yard of mountains of trash, washed endless walls, patched walls, and torn up flooring. In the next few days we will be installing more flooring, fixing up the bathroom, and painting the bedroom, laundry room, and the bathroom.
The highlight of every day is working with all the kids (Caleb, Izaak, Aaron, Jake, Mathew, and Alyssa). They are always so willing to help with anything they can. Their smiles and energy help keep us all motivated and laughing. :) They are some of the cutest kids I’ve ever seen. I also love spending time with their five dogs. My favorite is named Killer, which is such a joke because this dog is one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever met.
I love how well our group (including the kids) are working together and every day we are becoming more and more like a family. I’m having a blast!
Thanks for all your support!
Love,
Alexa Brandt

This is my last Mission with our teens. I have to admit I prayed hard that I would be chosen for the ramp site simply because I heard of this amazing man who taught the teens not only how to build ramps but how to build a meaningful life. Well, here I am. My prayers have been answered and I have savored every moment of this week. Lowell could be retired now, living a very comfortable life living on the golf courses. Instead he lives humbly and gives his time to God by helping others with ramps. He shares life thoughts with the teens throughout the day and especially at break. This man is everything that Mission could possibly be about. Our teens have been wonderful to work with. They are so eager it’s hard to share the work at times because they want to do it all! They really do have such a spirit of sharing, giving, and learning. I feel truly blessed to work with ALL the teens. I feel blessed as well to be in St. Stephen’s Parish with parishioners who fully suppor t Mission. These teens do all of you proud!
Barb Miller

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

2010-07-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, July 13th

Yesterday we built a ramp for a woman named Margee. It was really sad because she had a ramp but it was just sitting in her yard. The way that her porch had been built did not allow enough room for the ramp to be attached. Because of this fact, we made a landing to attach to her porch that we attached the ramp too. After replacing posts and finishing touches on the paint, we showed her the ramp. She lowered her eye and started to choke up. She asked us if she owed us anything and we said, “Nothing at all.” At this she covered her face and started to weep. It was a really touching day overall 
Julie Balza

This week, my work group was assigned to build wheelchair ramps at various homes in the Yakima area. Our “construction leader” is a man named Lowell. He lives in Yakima and does projects such as this. He worked with us at our site and taught us how to build the ramps. Lowell was very inspiring because of his motivation and patience. Yesterday, after we installed our first ramp, my group and I went to Lowell’s house, where we painted the rest of the wood for the ramps for the remainder of the week. While at his house, we learned some interesting things about him. He inspired a lot of us, including me, because he had a lot of success with careers earlier in his life, and he could be happily relaxing in retirement. But instead, he has dedicated his life to serving others throughout his community and other communities as well, such as New Orleans. He is happy making others happy.
Jessica Hendricks

So far, this mission has been really cool. Building ramps is a ton more fun than I had expected and the rewards of building these ramps are far more precious than I expected. I’m reconnecting with old friends, meeting new friends, and having a good time doing this work; it’s only the 3rd day and I already know I’ll be coming back next year.
Emily Alfus

On this mission trip my group was assigned to build wheel chair ramps. It made me feel pretty good knowing I was making it possible for people who cant get out of their houses to get out more and more easily. We have been lucky the past two days with the shade.
Matt Mead

It has been a nice change of scenery from the usual suburbs. I have got to meet some great people who I would have never met any other way. The things I have seen have greatly changed my view on the world and people in general. It is a remarkable experience and will look forward to next year.
Nick Woltkamp

It is only day 2 of my second mission trip, and I can confidently say that this year is my favorite by far. This year I am more experienced in building ramps, and don’t even consider it as work anymore. I actually look forward on going to the site and building ramps because I have fun doing it! This year I am more prepared and ended up teaching my fellow missionaries certain building techniques that I struggled with last year. I and excited to see how the rest of the week will turn out and am excited to help those in need.
Joey Buslon

This was my first time at mission. I was assigned to build ramps. It was a great team building experience; I got to know everyone really well. The sessions have been great and have really changed my outlook on life and the people in it. I look forward to a few more awesome days!
Eric Madison

Mission is amazing so far, the week is flying by so quickly. Yesterday our group helped at Northwest Harvest and bagged 4 tons of cornmeal, I am pretty sure that I cannot look at anything cornmeal yellow for a while. We have these sessions two times a day, and they are pretty eye opening if you immerse yourself. Today we helped at a food bank; weeding, bagging food and sorting clothes. Everywhere I look I see local volunteers helping out at the food banks, it is amazing how much this community tries to support each other. I can’t believe we only have 3 or 4 more days!
Patrick Pham

Today was a very typical day. Woke up early at 5:30 to help set up the breakfast and lunch tables. Played 13 a lot before going to program. Worked at the sight sorting cucumbers, cans, and bagging beans and rice. I’m very tired and there is nothing I can do to get more sleep. Hopefully there won’t be a large game like there has been in past so I won’t be too tired.
Luke Kemper

Today was good day of nice hard work sorting cumbers, cans, and bagging beans and rice. I had a great time today I sorted lots of zucchini. I liked the looks on the people’s faces at the food bank when I handed them their food.
Blake Cerna

I have decided to start off with the challenge that was given for us today during the morning session. The challenge was to find out what is causing the need that you are helping to serve. My response to it was that the need is caused by a lack of positive outlook. However I believe that the YNIA and our work will give them a place to start. Yesterday when we had arrived back to the church I had the sense of accomplishment. Which our team should have because we had cleaned up a lot of trash. We were able to completely transform the entire exterior of the house to what it was before. However a part of me felt that accomplishment wasn’t complete. When we arrived today to the sight, we had realized that yesterday was the tip of the iceberg. Our team transitioned from the outside to the interior of the house. Each person had something to do. Whether it was placing new drywall with Griffin, cleaning and remodeling the bathroom for Pat and Debbie, cleaning the wall with the girls and finally removing the tiles for the guys. I myself had the opportunity of cutting up a wall and working with the floor and tiles with Sean and AJ primarily. The moment that stood out to me was that all of the kids that were there helped everyone out. We had nearly doubled our work force! At the end of the day, as we returned home, that sense of accomplishment filled up a little more. However there is always tomorrow, and the laughs will continue. To my sponsors Thank You. To my family I miss you all.
Edelmar Navaluna

2010 Yakima Mission

2010-07-12T22:40:00.000-07:00

Monday, July 12th

Today was a complete eye opening experience for me on Mission. Even though the week has just begun, I have already witnessed so much in the time we spent at the reservation. While it was my first year, I have asked others what it was going to be like working here or there and I would get their response and think it through. However it was there experience not mine. As our group went up to the reservation we were all in high spirits. When we arrived however, we all took a moment to awe at the site we were going to work on. However we all worked together to get as much as we could do with what we were given and we all had the consensus that we accomplished a lot outside the house. All throughout that time we made new friends and bonded together as a team. As we all take a break here at the camp, I believe we are ready to see what is in store for us tomorrow.

Edelmar Navaluna

The first day of work this year was so much different from last year! My team was stationed at Northwest Harvest, which is an organization that supplies food to food banks around the US. We “bagged 2 elephants”! Which is our way of saying: we spent multiple hours scooping, bagging, and boxing 4 TONS of cornmeal. Although we didn’t get to see the faces of the people receiving the cornmeal and appreciating our hard work, it was simply comforting to know that each bag we made (approximately 3,000 bags total) could feed a hungry family in need. I can’t wait for more work to do. My team works so well together and we have lots of fun! OHANA 

Sincerely,

Lizzie Rodland

So, today was our first day of going out on our sites. My group and I were assigned to Northwest Harvest. It was great to meet all the other volunteers in addition to bonding with my own group. What we did was bag cornmeal, which is given to those in need. Actually, we bagged “4 elephants” (is what we called it). The “4 elephants” is 4 tons! Yes, ladies and gentleman, 4 tons 
While we were working, I looked around me and I saw everyone working hard, laughing, and bonding; just having fun. We all were working as a team, communicating and such. I was so amazed and inspired. I had a great time.

More to come!

With Love: Jenn Ciriaco

Today we bagged 4 tons of cornmeal. I have never seen so much cornmeal or been covered with so much in my life. My group is working with Northwest Harvest. They had gotten 40 tons of cornmeal recently to give to people who need it. We bagged it up so families could eat it. Even though we worked the whole day doing the same motions I was happy to do it because it’s helping those who need it. Our team worked together very well and had a good time doing it. I am looking forward to working at the food banks tomorrow and helping more. I feel blessed to have this experience.

Sincerely,
Christine Baker

Today was the first day of our week long mission in Yakima. We met up with the Northwest Harvesters group and were instructed that our main task was to start bagging the 40 tons of cornmeal that was recently shipped to the warehouse. Although the work was tedious, the bigger picture of the task we were given was amazing. Instead of just looking at the work as bagging up the simple substance, our group was providing food for people who aren’t able to afford the simple luxury of walking into a grocery store to buy a bag of cornmeal. We were providing for them the opportunity for survival and nutrition. In the future, I will not take little things for granted such as buying a box of cornmeal at Fred Meyers. Some people are not able to enjoy the simple task of grocery shopping and are forced by instinct of survival to travel sometimes long distances to food banks. I am looking forward to getting to know some of the people that we will benefit through our work and realize we have a long and exciting week ahead!

Sincerely,
Chloe Miller

Mission to Yakima 2010 Begins!

2010-07-11T09:07:00.000-07:00

Another season of service begins for the youth and adults of the Yakima Mission. Team One departs today (Sunday July 11th) for a week service, growth and yes, even some fun! Team Two departs next Sunday (July 18th) following the 8:30 Mass.

All our team members are grateful for the generous support of both our parish community and the "Stock Holders" who have made this venture possible. You can follow the experience of our teams on this blog throughout the week.

Barb M.

2009-07-28T01:50:00.000-07:00

It’s truly hard to believe how fast a week at Mission can pass. Northwest Harvest was more than I expected. I knew I would sort or break down food in bulk. I knew I would distribute food at a food bank. I knew I might paint or go pick at an orchard. We did all those things but there was more beyond the meeting of those who would benefit from your labors and possibly hearing their stories. We had the opportunity to pick cherries in the orchard. We were only in the hot sun for maybe two hours but it was enough to experience the heat and difficulty of picking. Between all of us we only picked enough for a salary of about $5.00! Lesson learned. Jacklyn from Northwest Harvest taught us so much about those who pick to the point it reaches our plate and the wonder of God’s work in that whole process. We also were well aware we could never support ourselves in the field! We learned through other’s stories how they got where they were yet so many had hope, pride and faith. I have never received as many “thank you’s” in a week. Families came together and supported each other and what they didn’t need they didn’t take. There was no greed at all in the line. And , for me, every year I attend Mission I am in awe of our teens. All of you have much to be proud of. They are truly carrying God’s love in their hearts. Be always thankful for your family and what you have in your teens and the rest of your family.
Barb Miller

Thursday: Leah H.

2009-07-28T01:48:00.000-07:00

This week I have been working at Northwest Harvest. This is my second year at this site, but we have been doing different things. Last year we picked apricots, but this year we picked cherries. Some things have been the same, like sorting and boxing cucumbers. Today we painted semi-truck trailer coolers with white reflective paint. It was hot and bright, but we had fun. We ended up with paint covering the coolers and ourselves. I enjoyed doing work for others. Mission always inspires me to serve others more often. I hope that next year at college I can find new ways to help others.

Leah Hollingsworth

White Swan: P.J. Crowley

2009-07-24T17:53:00.000-07:00

This year has been my first mission, and it has been very enjoyable! My first day I was somewhat nervous about what to expect, but I was happy to see a cute little lady, named Katherine, who needed help around her house. We started with staining her deck, and shortly learned that although there were many things to do not all of us could do them. So on Thursday half of our group went to a new site to do yard work for a lady named Lucielle. She charmed us with her cute puppies and personality! Her yard was overcome with weeds which we conquered! It was a hard task but we finished weeding and tearing out her deck in two days. This week has taught me many things such as, humility, hard work, appreciation, friendship and much more. Throughout my life I have been completly blessed and am very thankful for the opportunity to come this week!! Our leaders have been awesome and we are all very lucky that they took time out of their lives to be with during this week of awesomeness!

peace out st stephens,

PJ Crowley

Northwest Harvest: Tim

2009-07-24T17:51:00.000-07:00

So far mission has been really fun and challenging. On Monday we went to the Northwest Harvest warehouse. We helped sort and package things for a little bit before we went to a farm called Thompson’s Farm where we picked cherries (mostly binge) for three and a half hours. It is called gleaning when you pick, harvest, and package food, but we only picked the cherries. It became boring after awhile, but then I began to think about people who have to do this to support their families and how much harder that would be. We also ate a little, and they were great. On Tuesday Northwest Harvest sent them to the Moses Lake Food Bank. Tuesday we went to the OIC Food Bank here in Yakima, which is the largest one in the valley. From about 10 am to 2 pm we helped distribute food to people in need. I helped one blind man, which was cool because I got to talk to him. I also helped an older lady who needed help to carry her bags to her house. She kept saying that her apartment was very close and just across the street, but it really was not. We probably walked at least 12 blocks to her apartment, but that was okay because while walking I learned a lot about her. She has four kids (two girls and two boys) and they are all grown-up and married. She does not want to ask them for help because she does not want to bother them, but if I were them I would feel ashamed that my mother is all alone and no family support even though they she has four kids that can help her. It has been really tiring thus far, but I feel great because I get to help people who are less fortunate become fortunate.

Tim Denby

Northwest Harvest:Jesse

2009-07-24T17:50:00.000-07:00

Today, our group did an extreme car wash—two huge semi truck semi truck trailers. They were caked with dirt, and we had to get them spotless in order to re-paint them tomorrow. After a long day in the sun, we cleaned them up at least enough to work with, but after 30 years of wear-and-tear, “dirty” couldn’t even begin to describe these old things.
So, those two are being left for tomorrow’s work, and we migrated indoors to work with produce. The first half of our work was labeling unmarked products, a meat substitute. Following a quick lunch, we moved on to sorting beans into bags for distribution. Personally, I like working with bagged foods. It sure beats yesterday’s crop: Mushrooms that were so far past the expiration date, fungus was growing on the fungus! They didn’t even look like mushrooms anymore.
We weren’t working directly with the needy today, so we never got to see the fruits of our labors, but the thoughts of where the food is going and what it’s going to do is reward enough.

Jesse Prelesnik

Volunteer Chore Services: Friday

2009-07-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

Charlotte Dittmar

This was my first mission and I can honestly say that it was totally worth the hot, upper ninety-degree weather. Going into the week I didn’t have any friends and I was not looking forward to going at all. The first day I made tons of friends.
On the first work day, my group and I were introduced to a man named Lowell Ramfo who was going to help us make ramps. We were going to build a ramp for this man who had such a tough life. His leg was horribly beaten up and he had had 17 surgeries on it. The next ramp was for a woman’s mom and I have to say it was a ton easier to build than the first one. My favorite part about the spot where we were was that the lady who owned the house was selling little tiny puppies and we got to hold them. By lunchtime we were finished and we went to Lowell’s house for lunch where we got to eat the delicious peaches from his tree. Lowell had said that before his mother died at 95, she wrote him the most moving passage I had ever heard. This is what she said:

You can’t get much done starting tomorrow. It’s better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret. Be happy, it’s one way of being wise. Kindness is the ability to love people more than they deserve. Practice makes perfect, so be careful what you practice. Keep your ideals high enough to inspire you, and low enough to encourage you. You can’t turn back the clock, but you can wind it up again. If you have joy in your heart, it will be known by the look on your face.

Just by hearing those simple words made my week and made me realize, in a way, why I was on this mission trip. I am here to serve the lord by being kind and showing love to the people we were serving this week. This was not the only message I heard and will definitely take home with me. At the last place we helped we pulled weeds for an elderly woman, Margrett, who has a bad back and couldn’t really manage her garden herself. Our group went in to talk with her, and one really important advice she gave was, when you get a job have faithfulness because without it you will have a lot of trouble.
This week was very fun and was kind of a roller coaster. It was hot, sweaty, challenging and really fun. I also want to say that I learned how to use a power drill. I know that I will be coming back next year because I feel satisfied about being able to say that I might have changes someone’s life or just day but I feel good about the work I did.

Mike C. : White Swan

2009-07-24T17:46:00.000-07:00

The past few day s have been good. Our site has not a lot to do but what there is to do takes a lot of time. But overall its been fun but very long days. Looking forward to the time ahead.

Wednesday Northwest Harvest: Sarah

2009-07-24T17:44:00.000-07:00

Sarah Carter
Blog Wednesday

The group I am in is working with Northwest Harvest. We are doing what feels like a whole bunch of odd jobs. On Monday we worked in the cherry fields most of the day. I learned when picking those cherries I could not pick enough cherries in a day to feed myself let alone a family and pay for the other basics for living, like a house. It was especially difficult to pick cherries which where quality. Jaclyn, our orchard mom, told us that some buyers or orchard owners will pick through the buckets you bring in and determine if you are even going to get paid for that bunch of cherries you picked. When picking cherries, though it was hard work, it was hard to see the true work we where doing or how we could possibly be helping anyone. Working with Northwest Harvest is a great experience for me because I have only ever worked on the house sites on the reservation where I could see the people I was helping and how they reacted to our presence there. This site is more of a challenge, it helps me to work on the faith element of my religion. It is much more difficult to do a task to do what seems like minor tasks and hope it truly impacts the larger community. Then on Tuesday our group was able to work at OIC, which is the largest food bank in Yakima. There we where able to actually put a face to the people we where helping. We Passed out food and helped people carry the food to their cars. There we served about 275 people. When Lisa, our head supervisor at Northwest Harvest, did the math for us, it was more like 650 people we where serving. Because it was 275 people picking up food for their families and the average family size is 4 to 5 people. It was very humbling to see people of every size, shape, color, age, and gender. And how they only took the food they needed for the time being. Overall this mission has been the most difficult mission yet. I have had to make new friends because I didn’t know very many people going on this week. I have had to do just as much annual labor as previous years if not more. And most of all I have had to have faith that the “odd jobs” are all going to affect someone’s life.

P.S. I got to be up on top of a semi trailer to give it a good wash. =)

Wednesday Northwest Harvest:Annissa

2009-07-24T17:42:00.000-07:00

For the last three days my team has been doing various jobs assisting Northwest harvest. The first day we were out in an orchard picking cherries, we did it for but 3 and a half ours and were already exhausted. My attitude going into the day was not very positive at all, I thought to myself “ how am I going to leave here at the end of the week feeling that I made a change in someone’s life when all we were doing was picking cherries by ourselves out in the hot sun all day?” But then later on in the day while in the cherry picking process I thought about the people who do that job for a living, I thought they are working just as hard, if not harder, than the jobs in this society that get paid much more, but yet they are getting paid so little. I came to my senses and saw past the hot sun for the rest of the day and made it a good experience. Also on Tuesday we went to a local food bank, here we were distributing food to people with the help of the volunteers who work at the food bank. After a while went by the volunteers who work there got to telling us about why they volunteer, one lady shared with us that she is in the same position as the people coming to the food bank, she is on DSHS and is barely getting by, and even though she has so little she continues to give so much….if only everyone could give at least a little.

Annissa Cerna

2009-07-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Pictures have been uploaded to the Photo Album

http://ststephens.albumpost.com

Enjoy :)

Tuesday 21st: White Swan

2009-07-23T07:43:00.000-07:00

When I got to the site, I could tell that week one had done a very good job. Throughout this week, we plan on fixing up the bathrooms, staining the deck, and building stairs to the backyard. On the first day, we were able to get the first coat of stain on to the deck and fix up the first toilet. While we were working, a wild cat came by that was very friendly and we could swear it was a house cat. We gave it the name of Smalls not only because it was skinny, but it responded well to the sound. Today, we brought food for Smalls and he/she really enjoyed all of the attention that we gave. On the site, we put in a new sink, fixed all of the toilets, got the spots of stain that we missed, and got the sides of the stairs put in.

Nathan M.

Tuesday July 21: White Swan

2009-07-23T07:42:00.001-07:00

Tuesday July 21, 2009

Out in the white swan reservation,
Hangin’ in the sun, but it’s no vacation.
A cute little elderly lady is whom we are helping now,
She has a young spirit, and a heart filled with love.
15 minutes till our day is done,
But in reality, when we get back, our work has only just begun.
It’s Tuesday as we speak,
But we have already done so much; it feels like it’s been a week.
Finishing the work that week one left us to do,
But were tuff kids, so we’ll make it through.
Kicking my feet up in shade,
Out on the front porch where we just stained.
We got new sinks, and showers too,
But we still have so much left to do.
We miss our family and friends,
And most definitely, our non-inflated beds.
In a t-shirt and jeans, Father Ed drove for miles,
As well as Grace Daniels, who gave us all smiles.
So much more I could write, but it’s time to go,
I think my group thinks I type to slow.
We miss you all, we will be back soon,
Take care, and stay cool, and remember we love you.

-Hope Van Bruggen

Monday 20th Week 2: Volunteer Chore Services (Sean and Lauren)

2009-07-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

Today, our site group visited Estefan (or Steve) at his home to build him a ramp in the front yard. First Lauren, Sean, Kristen, and Charlotte measured lengths of wood pieces for the framework of the ramp that Lowel (the head contractor) cut for us before we headed to the site.

Claire and Katie primed, sanded, and glossed the plywood that would be floorboards of the ramp. Charlotte and Sam also helped George and Lowel drill the framework of the ramp. It was hard work throughout the day but we persevered in the hot weather and we all had fun doing it.

Lauren, Sean, and Charlotte also had a chance to speak with Estefan about himself and his family members. Estefan moved from El Paso, Texas in 1988 and has been living in Yakima since. He has been living in his current home for the past five years and has gone through some obstacles in his lifetime. He struggled with addictions and has been recovering for seven years. He used to work in construction and his favorite job was doing sheetrock. He and his work partner could do a whole garage of sheetrock in two days. “People were surprised that I loved to do sheetrock,” he said. Estefan has had four surgeries on his right leg and that is what has caused him to become disabled. Through his injury, he still was able to work on his home and renovate it from a 2-bedroom house to a four-bedroom house. He also added a second bathroom and took out his dining room area. He prefers to barbecue with his relatives on the front porch anyway. Estefan’s five-year-old nephew was present while we were working and ended up bonding with Sam. Our team members also got to meet Estefan’s pet Lab puppies DJ and Cookie, who were very small and cute.

Our group will be coming back tomorrow to finish the ramp and we are excited to help this family in need. It was a good start to the week and we can’t wait for what’s to come!

By: Sean and Lauren

Week 1 - Day 5

2009-07-17T22:31:00.000-07:00

So my group is known as the cherry group because that is the only thing we have seen this week. Cherries cherries cherries. Any more cherries and I will go insane. We have probably spent two days of just cherry work. My favorite day so far this week was when we went to the cherry orchard and picked 3 thousand pounds of cherries. Yesterday was one of my least favorite days because we went the homeless shelter and there were 2,402 flies flying around and I probably assassinated 48 of them.

A.J. Flanigan

As the week winds down I am now finding the time to actually blog, after slight prompting. Well what can I say about this week? The most obvious answer to me is it was quite an experience. We have spent the week working at a little old lady’s house replacing a bathroom. At first I was quite daunted by the task. We looked at the old tub full of orangey brown sediment from years of dripping well water, an orange tinted shower that was once white, and a sink that shared the same fate. Our client didn’t even drink the water, only bathing and cooking with it. Once I got over all that I had seen, the task seemed quite manageable, but as the week moved all sorts of delays and unexpected work required before we could actually start prevented the work. Although it is a 2-week site, we hoped to replace the toilet, convert the shower corner to shelving, and replace the old tub with a stand up shower. Unfortunately due to time restraints we only got the shelves, toilet, and base work for the shower finished. Also, the effort that I did not take part in on my site was the yard work. In the back the weeds and dry grass came all the way up to the house, which was a fire hazard. So our team cleared a good 10 feet of weeds along a 30-foot house, and created a garden area. At the end of the week I felt disappointed in myself because of all we didn’t accomplish, but as I looked at what we had done and reflected on the difference created, I felt that I actually had made a difference in this nice old lady’s life. She was so sweet, and appreciated us so much that she even made us cupcakes, necklaces, and bought us soda to drink. What a week.
In terms of the experience, and not the actual work, this week has been far different from almost any other. Time here moves so slowly, it’s almost like you are on a foreign planet. It seems like leaving that parking lot a week ago was months ago, and yet I can’t believe the week is already almost over. You can’t get this kind of feeling in any other manner. To me it is a feeling of purpose and meaning in the world. To truly do God’s work, and profoundly impact another’s life through your actions is like nothing else. Program director Sean said at the beginning of the week, “Some people think they are out to change the whole world on mission, but it doesn’t quite work that way.” In response to this I believe that I am not changing the whole world, but instead I am changing the world of the people I encounter in my ministry. On mission there is always a few things; hard work, good friends, great memories, and the presence of the Lord. This week I have most certainly encountered all of these. This week has been brutal with the hard work and triple digit temperatures, but to me the rewards far outweigh the struggle.

Matt Carter

Week 1 - Day 4

2009-07-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

“You may not be able to change the world, but you might be able to change one person’s world. And that’s all that matters.” The previous is the quote that I have been living by this whole week. My site team and I have been working on a house owned by a woman by the name of Catherine. Catherine is a mother and a grandmother. We have been weeding the backyard and fixing her bathrooms. You walk into her house: it’s pretty organized and well cared for, but when you walk into her bathroom you are surprised. It looked pretty horrible. But we’re coming along and it’s looking really good! The backyard looks amazing as well. We’re planting flowers tomorrow. I have made so many friends already from my church and others. I love mission and can’t wait for my next year.

Briana Jackson

Week 1 - Day 3

2009-07-17T07:10:00.001-07:00

under construction

Week 1 - Day 2

2009-07-16T07:38:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in getting the blog posted. We initially had internet access at the site where we are staying but then somehow we lost it. We're on using borrowed laptop so hopefully we'll get some entries posted now.

-editor

What a day. Fr. Ed arrived around noon and worked with our site. In the A.M. we finished ramp #1 with Mary Elaine. She came out with her daughter and we all took pics. Then off to ramp #2 at Marci's house. Marci fought forest fires for 7 summers in Montana, worked in Asbestos for many years after that, and she may have also been a smoker...but anyway her lungs are shot. She was on oxygen when I saw her and could hardly get around. The day was not too hot and she and her son had the day off, so they wanted to get her out. So she wasn't there when we finished, but she was very hospitable and thankful.
But our lunch was probab hte most intersting part fo the dayf or me. We went to Lowell's back yard where halfour crew prepped the material for tomorrow's ramp. Fr. Ed was also with us, which always makes it special but the highlight was getting Lowell to tell us more about himself. He had just showed us his Carmen Gaia that he remodeled with an electric motor and 12 vold batteries. He goes 60 miles on a charge and can go at least 75 miles per hour! He has been to New Orleans 8 times to help the needy there. And at 58 yrs old, he has sold his business, feels very blessed, and is a model of giving back. He quoted that working with the kids and Mission is his "Soul Candy." He sounded very blessed by his employees and he always wanted to do right by them. last night we learned about the Seven Tenants of Catholic Service and now I was working next to someone who exemplified them.
I shared with Lowell that working with our youth here is a celebration of their youthful spirit, and that I felt blessed to experience this.
Thanks everyone who sponsored us for making this happen. It is truly special.

Rick Ryan

Today we started on our third ramp. The first was for a lady who had a hard winter -she was infected with salmonella and was bedridden till the past few months when she started getting better. Now she is semi-mobile but will be in a wheel chair for the rest of her life so we went to make her a little bit more self-reliant so she doesn’t have to depend on her daughter as much and she has more freedom. The second house we went I didn’t really talk to but for seven years she was a fire chaser in Montana. Then she was infected with aspestus then her lungs gave out so she can’t really do anything. So she was in a wheel chair and will be from now on.

Griffin Boyle

When we arrived at our first project, I was really worried. I had no clue on how to build a ramp and neither did anyone else in my group. But as we got started, Lowell, our ‘guide’, helped us get the hang of things. The first ramp we built was for a woman named Mary Irene. Her mother has gone through many medical difficulties and was unable to enjoy their property without the worry of falling down. But once we finished the ramp, it was so rewarding to know that we built it. I never in my mind thought I could build something like that. Before this, the biggest thing I had built was a birdhouse.

On Tuesday, when we finished, the look on Mary Irene’s mom’s face was priceless when she saw the ramp. It was awesome to see her go down the ramp for the first time. I remember her saying, “This is so easy even I can do it!” It was wonderful to see what a difference we had made in her life. Later that day we split up into 2 groups, boys and girls. The boys worked on a second, smaller ramp while us girls went to Lowell’s house to paint and prepare all the wood for today’s project. I had no idea how much preparations had to be done before you got to start building!!!

I’ve met so many new people this week already. I’ve gotten really close to some people from Montana and have also grown to know myself and those from my church a little better.

Julie Balza

I arrived at my first project not knowing how use the drill, let alone being able to build a ramp. As we drove into the driveway, all I could see were cats- big and small. They even had a litter of 2 week old kittens—which were the most cutest things in the world.
Our group started out with a prayer to start the day and to our surprise, Mary Irene, one of the woman living in the house, joined in. She was the most humble person and was overjoyed to see us working on a ramp for her mother. She treated us with the most delicious cinnamon rolls, ice tea, and watermelon. She also welcomed us into her home.
It was a long hard day for our group but we managed to finish most of the work on the first day. When we finished the ramp on the second day, Mary Irene’s mother came out to walk on it. As she walked up and down the ramp, tears came to many peoples eyes. She was the happiest person alive she exclaimed. She finally can see her backyard and sit outside in solitude. She finally felt independent again. Our group said goodbye to the family and to the kittens and we all left to go build and paint another ramp. It was difficult to leave but we all knew there was more in store for us later that day and the week ahead of us. Today, we are building a ramp in 90 degree weather, luckily some kind people got posicles for us!! I’m excited for what this mission has to offer to me for the rest of the week!

Marie Flanigan

2009 Mission Week 1 - Day 1

2009-07-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

Today (Monday) was the first day that we were to view our sites and begin to work. We took a little longer than I expected because of our store stop and Dan misread the directions twice, but after that we swiftly recovered and arrived at our site. When we first arrived, they looked like a typical family with cars and a house. However once we met her we began to look more carefully about her problems. Her bathrooms had been neglected for years and many plants had been overgrown and overtaken her yard. We divided into two main groups, those who worked on the bathroom that included Will and myself, and outside which was everyone else. The goals for today were for us to remove an old shower that had taken on a lot of damage and other problems with piping. At first it was tough but it ended up coming up pretty easily. Underneath were lots of rat droppings and old insulation. We cleaned that up and managed to remove part of the piping. We then later set our sites on the bathtub scraping out lots of minerals and unbolted it for us to remove it tomorrow. Along with that tomorrow we will be removing the floor, installing a new shower, and working on installing shelving units for the bathroom.

Much Obliged,

Luke Kemper

Today is day one. Today I had to take out a shower. It wasn’t too bad.

Thanks
Will Dittmar

Today is day one. We spent the whole day sorting fruit, getting it ready for the food bank we are going to. Even though it wasn’t exiting we had fun talking and joking around and helping Northwest Harvest.

Mike Prelsnik

Wow! It was the first time I actually got to experience and see what it would be like to live in poverty. I felt like I was on Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I met this tiny little old lady named Catherine who lived by herself out in the middle of nowhere. The bathroom we have to re-model hasn’t been used in 8 years because it is in such bad shape!! There is literally a layer of rusty buildup all over the bathtub, toilet, and shower. I got stuck digging and pulling weeds amongst the wasp nests and spiders! We shall see how the rest of the week turns out!

Mrs. Redmond told me to blog…so here I am mom! Haha

Lots of Love,

Elizabeth Rodland

Today, day one, was very eventful. Working at Northwest Harvest, we worked sorting food; mainly produce. Most of the time was spent separating good cherries from rotted and very nasty cherries. Not that fun. Tomorrow we will be working at a food bank, and the day after that possibly picking the now dreaded and feared cherries. Getting up early and staying up late aren’t working for me. (I prefer staying up late and sleeping in.) AND cold showers do not work for me. Other then that, I’ve made new friends (GASP) and am getting along with those I already know. I LOVE MISSION!!!

Not tired, but trying to stay awake-
-Kelcie Hollingsworth

Today was my first day of mission. My experience at today’s site surpassed any expectations I had for this mission trip. The people there were so generous and nice because they provided us with snacks such as watermelon, cinnamon rolls, and ice tea. The work was really fun. Super tough, but extremely fun. I had no idea that I had the potential to build a ramp. I can’ wait for tomorrow's work.

It is windy. It is dusty. I am sleeping on the ground. What a great experience! I am amazed at the work ethic, compassion and camaraderie of our teens. They give so much of themselves to help each other and those they do not know. Mike Dullenty

Today we went out to build handicap ramps. It was an amazing experience. The family was so welcoming to us when we first arrived. They offered food and drinks. Here we were supposed to be helping them and they were helping us. They were willing to participate in opening prayer with us and be a part of the entire experience. All of the teens were so willing to help and jumped right in. There was so much excitement. In all the excitement they were also willing to share the work with everyone so that each had an opportunity to give. It was such a blessing to be part of such an experience. I can’t wait for tomorrow to meet a new family when we build at the next place. Pam Redmond

A New Year: Mission to Yakima 2009

2009-07-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

Another year has come and our intrepid teens and adults are once again preparing for two week long trips of service and discovery. Watch this blog for their story!
To see photos of our teams in Yakima go to http://ststephens.albumpost.com

Week 2 - Day 6

2008-07-26T06:59:00.000-07:00

Sylvia Cerna

Wow! What an amazing week, I can’t believe that it’s already Friday. I was one of the adult leaders on the site for Northwest Harvest and what a blessing I was given to have an amazing group of teens. They all worked very hard and never complained about where they were asked to work. On Tuesday they got the experience of working one of the largest food banks, Yakima OIC, and they truly connected with this opportunity to help serve these wonderful people as well as getting the to chance to hear their stories; when the day was over they begged to work food banks the rest of the week and they did. They got to go to 3 different food banks and help serve people. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart as each and every one of your teens has touched my life forever!

Luke Kemper

Today was fun because I was immortalized in a food bank in Yakima. We did silhouettes of each other on the side of the building as a mural (which was my idea). We all made different poses and sketched them with pen and then went to town and painted them and made them look good. Also we had a paint war, between Nick, Julie, and I. Julie started it so Nick and me finished it and she got the most paint on her. Also, I got a handprint, in paint, on my butt; thank you Julie. THE END!!!

Noel Buslon

This mission trip has been my third and final mission trip. Each year I take something different away from the trip. But this year has been such a blessing. Knowing that this year is my final mission trip, I believed that I wanted to leave behind something with the younger generation to take to their next trips. I tried to teach them more than what was asked and to be a leader and take action. They also taught me very much. One in particular was Will Dittmar. At our work site he made the connection with Lucille a little more genuine than I thought it would be. From his acts of kindness and openness to someone new, our connection with Lucille went from strangers to a family. This site wasn’t exactly the worst site you can imagine. But I knew God had a plan for each of us as we embarked on this mission. We are all capable to working hard and getting work done, but I do believe that we were there because something was missing in our own hearts and something was also missing in Lucille’s heart. By our paths intertwining together we were able to be open and feel so good about ourselves. I knew that it was fate for our lives to be crossed because of a prayer of the psalms. I received a Psalm 23 prayer card in a Home Depot parking lot when I was 14, and I have kept in my wallet with me ever single day. I didn’t know why I kept it in there, but I did know that one day it was going to be very special. And it was. On Wednesday Father Ed came and had prayer with us. We prayed for all our families and the things we usually pray for. But when Father Ed asked Lucille what her favorite Psalm was, I knew this was the time that that little card in my wallet was meant to be for her. The following day I lead a prayer with Psalm 23, and I have to say that it was one of the most touching moments I have ever witnessed. Possibly one of the most powerful prayers I have ever prayed. It really meant more to me because it was Lucille’s favorite and she broke down in tears because of the beauty of it.
As our week comes to a close I am both happy and sad that we are finished and we accomplished it. I am happy because the joy we were able to put into the Harris family, but I am sad because for one week I felt like I was part of that family and she was my own grandmother and now I am leaving it. This mission week has taught me lessons I never expected to learn on this trip. I expected to learn humility, and not to be judgmental, but I learned the real lessons of family, and how we connected not just as a mission team but as a whole including everyone that we were able to meet. My mission trip was a trip that I am truly going to remember. I am going to miss everyone I worked with and especially Lucille, because she put a light in my heart that is irreplaceable.

Mike Cappetto

As the week is coming to an end I really started to think about what has happened. From the time we got to our site until we finished I really saw a drastic change. At first the little kids were not too sure about strangers coming into their homes and making changes. But no sooner did we bring out the paint they were right there helping all of us. As for the Mother and Grandmother they stayed at a distance watching TV all the time. This was bothering our team because we couldn’t get them to open up for us until today. The Grandmother had a very interesting story; it involved her being in a prison for 9 years. I feel bad for her because it isn’t her fault and she still has to deal with the consequences from it. I hope that the examples that the Young Neighbors set this week will stick with a lot of the people we’ve met, and stick with us.

Week 2 - Day 5

2008-07-25T06:39:00.000-07:00

Mike Prelesnik

Today was cool because I was at a food bank and served homeless people and helped them carry their bags to their cars. But, what made the day really fun was that we had lunch at Lucile’s house, which is the house that another group was painting. They kept saying that she made excellent iced-tea, and she did. She was also the nicest person I have ever met.

Julie Balza

Today definitely felt like the longest day of the week. We got to go to a new food bank called “Our Daily Bread.” Most of the clientele were homeless and some looked just like we did. It gave us a real variety of people and helped us learn more. After that we got to go eat lunch at Lucille’s house. She is such an inspiring person and she actually brought me to tears. We did a prayer including her favorite quote from the bible (Psalm 23) and after we read that, she said a prayer for her family and all of us. It was really touching that even though we had just met us, she was already praying for us. After that we went back to the Yakima Food Bank we went to yesterday and help them sort out things for distribution tomorrow. Overall, this week has been an amazing experience and I can’t wait until next year.

Caitlin Hendricks

I have had the most amazing site and really love Lucille. Lucille is 72 and she is full of personality, I am really blessed to be able to meet her. She calls all of us her babies and she is very grateful for our help. She is very appreciative and the first time she saw what we were doing she started yelling from joy, “Bless your hearts, bless your hearts” over and over. She loves to cook, she makes us ice tea everyday and I do not like ice tea but I could not say no so I tried it and it was amazing. On Wednesday she made us breakfast with biscuits, bacon, eggs, home made syrup, and grits. Everything tasted amazing and she made us an angel food cake today. I really enjoy going to her house and just talking with her. She told us all about her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Her two great grandchildren came over on Tuesday and I was playing with them and the eldest, Destiny, wants to be a dancer like meJ. Another amazing woman is Rosie. Rosie is Lucille’s daughter and Rosie explained that Lucille was her angel and best friend. When Father Ed was talking with Lucille she said that she refuses to take medication and her reasoning was that Jesus suffered so she can too. She was talking about how people complain too much, which I think, is absolutely true. She is really an inspiration to me. I hope that I can be as gracious and welcoming as Lucille has been to all of us. Other than talking with Lucille we have done some work, we are painting her house two different shades of gray. The house is one story but the peaks go up about 20 feet and the sides are covered in shingles so it is impossible to roll. I spent an hour using a roller and brush to finish about a 4’ by 4’ square. We finally went and rented a commercial paint sprayer that was amazing because it made the job go so much faster. Today was definitely the hardest and dirtiest day for me. Kelley and I were working on the roof because her house had a jut out on the roof that also needed to be painted. We were on our backs lying on the roof looking up painting the overhang and we were covered in paint. On the sides of this jut out the walls got smaller and smaller and it was in the shape of a triangle. I had to climb all the way up into this area and paint. I have never had to paint at such weird angles before. I have scratches from the roof shingles all over my legs and stomach and I am sore all over because the roof was so hot it burned (likely 110 or 120 degrees). I washed my hair four times and I am still finding paint everywhere. Even though I got filthy I had a great time and I would do anything to help Lucille. We are almost done we just have some cleaning to do and I am hoping we can go out to the Reservation tomorrow. The weather is great by the way…

Look for her pictures on the photo album site.
- editor

Hello Families and Stockholders

I would like to say that you invested in a great group of teens. They have been fantastic. We were kind of apprehensive about having a week with 150 folks but it has worked out very well. All of the staff members have praised how well the teens have worked at their sites. I have heard nothing but compliments in regard to our teens.
At the site that I am on with my partner Grace Daniel and six wonderful teens we are working at a White Swan residence that needs oh so much work done to it. When we got our assignment they had a pretty substantial list of items that needed to be taken care of and once we got there we knew that we wouldn’t finish them all so we picked the ones that would make life better for the family that lived there. This entailed removing a water damaged ceiling, re-insulating and re-sheet rocking it, removing and replacing a heavily damaged floor, removing and replacing a toilet, relining a tub enclosure, cleaning the kitchen numerous times, cleaning out the dining room, washing walls, priming them with Kilz and painting. The crew did all of this with many young children around with lots of energy. The situation at the house was less than ideal and the teens did a wonderful job of accepting the challenge and working longer hours than the norm. I would like to congratulate all of the parents and or guardians of the teens (Sean, Morgan, Marie, Adam, Laura, and Michael) for raising such wonderful kids. They have been a great joy to work with and I am sorry it is coming to an end. This is why I continue to come on mission each year. Thanks! Patrick Cappetto Week 2 Lead

Annissa Cerna

During this past week I have discovered so much more than what it feels like to help someone out with work, I have discovered the true meaning of family. I have been painting a lady’s house who to me is truly an angel…she has let us into her home willingly and with so much thanks and love. She is one of the most amazing lady’s I have ever met, we are so blessed to have gotten her house as a site, she treats us like more than just a bunch of obnoxious teens, she treats us like her own “babies”…like her own family, and like a family does we have stuck by her side and have done a beautiful job on her home.

Adam Jorgensen

During this week I have realized that being poor is not just because you don’t work its because there is a story of things just failing, actions that lead to you feeling like there is no hope in your life and you give. At my site I only saw hope in the kids’ eyes. They came to help us right off the bat to help us to make the house in better condition. The weird thing is that the mom, dad, and grandma just sit where their big screen is and just watch movies. The funny thing is that all the thing that I want, electronically, like movies and stuff, they all have, but the things I have like a roof over my head, etc., they don’t have. So it’s like opposite worlds. But I am happy that the family looked at their house and decided that this house did need some work to be better. Then they called us for the help.

Sean Cossano

We arrived at the site on Monday and there was no one there so we cleaned up the outside for about two hours before the grandma showed up and let us in to reveal that the lady was there the whole time. We don’t see her too often but her five kids are the most helpful kids I’ve ever met. We tore out the ceiling in the bathroom to expose two rats’ nests; it has taken until today to get it back up. We were at the sight from 11 to 7:30 and it was quite a day. I’m so glad I got the hard site again though, it always helps you realize how easy we have it, and it never ceases to amaze me how god truly works through us to get through to those who need our help in ways that we must see to honestly believe.

Week 2 - Day 4

2008-07-24T06:30:00.000-07:00

Duane Rhodes
Wednesday was another full day of serving the Yakima and the Yakama Nation communities. Everyone made their way back to the Holy Family center in the afternoon and were immediately hustled back into the vehicles and driven to the Franklin Community Park and Pool. We were all treated to a picnic barbeque, ice blocking (a summertime sledding-type event), and swimming! After an evening of playing hard and great food we returned to Holy Family and prepared ourselves for Mass. That night the Eucharist and Mass was presided by Father Ed White. Our day was extremely full, exhausting and most of all, spiritually fulfilling.

Week 2 - Day 3

2008-07-23T06:37:00.000-07:00

Nick Thorpe

My second full day on mission felt much more productive than the first. We were told by Northwest Harvest to go to OIC, a food bank, to help distribute the food. In no time at all, the line was out the door. I had to restock all of the food that we were handing out, and that was not an easy task. Every few minutes I would restock the mashed potatoes, the salad, beef jerky and Corn Flakes, and before I knew it, we were out of mashed potatoes again. Somehow I managed to work up a sweat, even though it was much cooler in the food bank than it was outside (by at least twenty degrees). Our whole group was very productive, but I did have to teach everyone the proper way to collapse the cardboard boxes. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the week has in store for me, and the rest of the teens here.

Week 2 - Day 2

2008-07-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

Will Dittmar

Today was a very fun day. We are in the process of painting a house. The owners name is Lucille. She is extremely kind. She made us home-made ice tea and she was the sweetest person I have ever met. I’m looking forward to the rest of the job.

Mike Prelesnik

This is my first mission, and so far it has been really fun. Today we picked apricots from trees and then sorted a couple tons of cucumbers. It was better than working outside because it was air-conditioned. Picking apricots is a lot harder than I thought it would be.

Matt Miller

For my 4th, and final, mission, I am on the same site as Will. As he said, we are working at a woman named Lucille’s house, painting and doing some repair work on her bathroom. What really struck me today was the difference that just being on one side of the street can make. On the block that Lucille lives on, the majority of the homes (Especially Lucille’s) are all well-kept, and are graffiti-free, and it seems like your typical middle-class neighborhood. However, when you go to the next block over, you can tell that a different type of person lives there. That block reminded me so much of a mix of those old photos that you see of homes during the Great Depression, and the Los Angeles ghettos. All the homes are run-down, some have the windows boarded, and all have some kind of graffiti on them.

But at the same time, even though I know that so much more could be done at that block, I feel extremely fortunate to be working for such a kind old lady like Lucille. She is the definition of selflessness, and she will not take no for an answer any day. She brewed us the best iced tea, and she was very welcoming from the moment that we all got there. Although her well-kept house and yard are not what you would define as a “Mission Home,” her outright gratitude to have us there is going to make this a great experience.

Duane Rhodes

When we pulled up to Miss Lucille’s home I thought that we had the wrong address. We were there to paint the outside of a house. This house, on first impression, seemed to be well kept with a fenced yard with flowers, a nice porch, and hanging birdbaths.
Miss Lucille met us after a couple of knocks on the door and welcomed us all inside. She is a most gracious person with sharing her family history. Her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren came to visit too. We all were able to get to know her and she got to know us too. She is one of those people that could be everyone’s grandmother, she is so sweet and generous.
To top it all off, she made southern sweetened iced-tea! I’m not usually a sweetened iced-tea lover, but she made one out of me.
We are all looking forward to completing the mission and giving back to Miss Lucille by giving her home a fresh coat of paint.

Scott Styer

At the beginning of the day our group went to Northwest Harvest to see what they had for us to do. We were there for about a half an hour talking about how people got to where they were. Northwest Harvest is a food distributor for food banks all across the state. They had us drive to a apricot field where we picked fruit for about 2 hours. We filled up about 10 boxes, which is not very much in price. After 2 hours we went back to the warehouse to pack loaves of bread into boxes and put cucumbers in boxes and weigh them. The work was not very labor intensive and I hoped that I would sweat a little. That is okay though because it is work that had to be done.

Morgan Anderson

I was working on the White Swan reservation today. When we first arrived we knocked and knocked but no one was home… So Pat (our site leader) made a few calls and we decided that we would just clean the yard until they got home. The yard had many cars and piles of cans, trash and car parts. As the afternoon progressed we divided and conquered the yard to the best of our ability by having the girls stuffing all the trash into garbage bags and the guys move old furniture away from the house. After awhile it started to get hotter and hotter and we started to run out of water. Thankfully the family came home and there were four kids and they were ADORABLE. Laura broke the ice by playing catch with them and after that they were sold. They helped with everything. The oldest son was awesome. I was scrubbing the floor and he without asking brought me a bucket with water because he thought I might need it. He is 12 years old! I hated doing anything at that age that was a chore. The second oldest helped me wash down all the walls and the two youngest ran around saying random things and yelling “look!” and then would throw things. But what can you expect? It was hilarious!! Overall today was a pretty productive day considering it started so late. We scrubbed all the living room walls, Laura tackled the kitchen and now you can see the counters and all the boys basically destroyed the bathroom and tomorrow they will fix it. Everyone did an amazing job at helping wherever it was needed. I love my group

Julie Balza

Today I went to Northwest Harvest. I had heard of them since its main warehouse is in Kent, but I never really knew the importance of it. Their main job is to distribute food to different food banks around central Washington. When we arrived, we learned that for the first portion we would be picking apricots. It gave me a lot of insight to those who pick fruits in orchards as a living. We were only out there for 2 hours but I couldn’t imagine being out there for a full day. After that we returned to the warehouse, we sorted bread and cucumbers. It was a little boring at first but after we got going, it gave us time to learn more about each other. Over all, today was a good experience and I’m excited for the rest of the week.

Mission Week 2 - Good to go

2008-07-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

Week 2 - Day 1

Eric Besel

We haven’t gone out to our work sites at all yet, and I can see the Spirit working among us. The initial get-to-know-ya games and activities have quickly dismantled the barriers that we all erect to keep us in our comfort zones. The teens from the different parishes are intermingling easily. Everyone seems to be included and welcome in the various small groups that are forming. I am optimistic about what the next few days will bring…

Online Photo Gallery

2008-07-18T06:54:00.000-07:00

To see more pictures of our mission to Yakima go to http://ststephens.albumpost.com

Day Five

2008-07-18T06:22:00.000-07:00

I started off the week working at a women’s house named Marie and she lived in a mobile home. Though we were doing work around her home like painting, vacuuming, cleaning, and landscaping, my group did not get to meet Marie. This is because Marie was in the hospital for the two and a half days that we were working at her house. However, we did get too meet her nephew named Tom who was a great guy because while Marie was ill, he was there to take care of her. And us being there helping his aunt out seemed to truly touch him because by the end of our time there he was picking up a shovel and a paintbrush and helping us out. This kind of act shows how we can impact people, and change their lives. We also got the pleasure of doing work for Marie’s sister Cecilia and her nephew Kevin who were also great people. We did not get to really talk to Cecilia that much because she was not in good enough shape to be able to leave her house and socialize with my group though. However, Kevin and Tom showed their generosity towards us by giving us candy, pop, water, and smoked salmon!!!!! It was soooo good!!!!! Another big help in our work is Marie’s neighbors who were very generous because they would offer us tools to be able to complete our task. This all showed me how nice of a person Marie probably because of their hospitality too us. After we finished with Marie’s house we went on too a new site, which was a lady named Margaret. Margaret said it herself, she gets tired, her back gets tired, but her mouth could run for days. Her stories tell of how much she has been through, and all of the humor that she has had in her life, her kids life, and in her grandkids life. And these stories aren’t even a small portion off all the stories she could tell us. Margaret had a great house, but it was mainly the outside of her house that needed work. Mainly we weeded outside and made her flowers more noticeable, but she entertained us with her exuberant stories. Also, Margaret owned us a lot of land, so when we would take a break for lunch we would go on a hike to see all of the beautiful land that she owned, and we also got to see a nice canyon. In my time here Yakima, I have met so many great people within my own parish such as Benny and Katie who were in my group, and Morgan, Greg, Stephany, and Amy. And people from other parishes such as… Mike. All I can say is, my time and work here has been worth it.

Love,
Seth O. Gunning
XOXOXOXO7/17/08

This week I have been working at Northwest Harvest, which is a organization that collects food, and distributes it to local food banks of Yakima. So far I’ve been in a St. Stephen’s group, which has been bounced around doing all sorts of jobs. So far we have worked at the largest food bank in Yakima, picked apricots, and worked in the main Northwest Harvest warehouse where we sorted thousands of jars of ancient applesauce. Mom if you read this NO MORE APPLESAUCE. I’ve seen applesauce that was disturbing and smelly, I won’t go into detail. Anyway so far the week has been fun and I just want to let the good times roll.
Matt Carter

Hey kiddos tuberculosis here, well we’re back at mission for another year and I have to admit that we are all pretty excited. It’s my second year doing mission and my 17th in the church as well as I’ve done youth group since 7th grade. I haven’t always liked our church and of course there has been several times when I’ve been tempted to quit. I find that there are to many lectures in our youth group and the people can be to strict. I don’t see faith as keeping quite and sitting still, rather I like to express my love of the lord through movement, joy, and dancing I don’t think that God if he could take the shape of a human being would look like a school teacher, I think he’d be a child, laughing and silly, God has a sense of humor, whether its positive or negative. Last year I guess you could say I was an immature Sophomore/Junior thinking I knew more than I did and still so ignorant about the ways of the world. I didn’t take it as serious as I should have, I tried to, but part of the problem was when your working with children you don’t see the pain because children are always so exciting and full of energy and just fun. Children can be a good message towards the joy and happiness of God but they don’t help one realize the sorrow of human tragedy. This year though I started to think different even before I came here. I got a job during the beginning of summer at a fast food joint (I know how bad that is) called Taco Time and one of the first things I had to warn my boss about was, “I have to take mission week off.”, no question about it (actually I was way more concerned about keeping my job). And he asked me if I was going on vacation, I responded yes. Now though when I think about it I wonder am I really going on vacation, I mean mission is also about having fun, but the strongest point is the call to service. I started to think about my purpose at mission and what I was attempting to do, was I just going there to goof off or was I really serious about bettering the lives of other humans. And I realized that I truly wanted to serve others as a disciple God. So my goal this week became to attempt to not focus on socializing, as important as it is to get along with the other groups, but to do the best I could at my work site.
Tony Buhr

My group and I are working in White Swan. The homeowners are Cliff and Nettie and have graciously let us into their home to help them. For the past days I have mostly been working on the walls. First fixing all the holes in them, and then putting primer on, and now we are at the final step of painting them. We got so much done yesterday, and everyone had a drive to work hard. A huge drive for me is seeing how grateful Cliff and Nettie are about us all coming in to help them. Cliff was talking about how they were so thankful we came because they have been waiting for help for a long time. Cliff had a stroke a few years ago so it’s hard for him to do a lot now. Also hearing their stories is very interesting. Cliff told us a story about how when he was really little he got lost while berry picking and was gone for 3 days. He said that the little spirit people helped him and taught him a song. When he got home he was crying and he dried his tears with a handkerchief. He then hung it on the tree at the side of their house. Ever since then every time he has a meaningful cry or sweats from working hard he hangs one on the tree. Just yesterday they told us that there are also a few dances a year in a house they own next to theirs. It’s special because it is one of the few places where this takes place and people come from everywhere. We all have been doing a lot of hard work, and having a great team to work with just makes it even better.
Amy Shiroishi

This is our 4th full day at mission and we are spending the week working at Cliff and Nettie’s house on the Yakama Indian Reservation. Cliff had a stroke five years ago and now has Parkinson’s on his left side so he can’t keep his house up. It is very interesting learning about the Native American tradition from them and it helps us keep things in perspective about how good we have it. While at their house, we have been painting the kitchen, family room, and hallway. The kitchen is yellow and light green, while the family room is blue. We are also repairing a hole in their floor where they had a leek and the floor rotted away. The hole is where the washer and dryer are so it is crucial that we finish repairing it. Also, Cliff and Nettie’s son made this graffiti for us that said peace on earth and it is very cool. This experience has been fun and I am really enjoying helping Cliff and Nettie to have a better life.
Dominic Denby

Today was are 4th day at missions. We are rebuilding a house for Nettie and Cliff that live on the reservation. The first day we got there the house did not look to bad but it still needed some repairs on the floor and needed a good pain job on the inside. The first day my group just cleaned the house and got off everything on the walls and we also had to decide what we needed for the house. The second day we started to prime the inside of the house. We also got to learn about some really cool stories from Cliff. The 3rd day we got to paint the actual colors inside the house. The hardest part about painting the inside I that the paint drips everywhere and you have to clean it up right away or it will make a big mess everywhere and it is very hard to clean up. Today we are trying to finish painting the inside of the house and also finish the floor and sink. Hopefully the rest of the week goes very good and we can finish the house with everything we have planed on doing to it.
Greg Scott

Day Four

2008-07-17T06:19:00.000-07:00

Today we went to pick apricots at an orchard in Zillah. All that we picked was donated to the food bank. It was amazing! Father Ed helped us. We all thought he was a natural. As we were picking the 23 boxes, almost a whole pallet, we ran into a few snags. There were so many pincher bugs! Most were in attack mode, but once we employed Kristen VanHoomissen’s pick and tap method, the bugs retreated in fear. Another issue was the wheat stickers that constantly snagged on our socks and shoes. Ouch! In the end we each got to try a delicious apricot and all the nutrition that the apricots would give to hungry people made the struggle worth it. Later, when we went back to the warehouse we got to see our packed up apricots. It was great to find that our work produced food that is on its way to people in need.
Leah H.
Northwest Harvest

I am working in White Swan which is about 45 min away from the church that we are staying at. The house that we work at is on a dusty gravel road which in the hot sun doesn’t equal anything good. The owners of the house are a little old man named Clifford and his wife Nettie. When we first drove up they were sitting on there front lawn waiting for our arrival. We didn’t really know what we were getting ourselves into but we were all up for the challenge. Walking into the house we noticed a huge hole in the laundry room which we knew it would take days to finish. So we started by washing and spackling the walls which took the entire day. The second day we got there we started painting the rooms with Killz and the boys worked on the laundry room. We noticed the Clifford and Nettie seemed kind of stand-offish with us but Rick told us that Clifford wanted to tell us a story so at lunch we all went out and listened. On the side of the house there’s this tree which has all sorts on rags and stuff attached to it. We weren’t sure what it was be Clifford told us that he put all of sweat rags on the tree for spiritual purposes. He said also that you could pray around the tree and all your prayers will come true. We all were fascinated by the story and at the end of the day we went around the tree to pray. The third day we got there and started painting the kitchen and living room. At lunch we went to a park called Fort Simcoe which was fun because it was an old fort and all the buildings are still existing. Back at the house we ripped up all the tile and now we only have one more room to paint. I hope that we can make the house look amazing. It looks so much different then before and I’m so proud. Its only going to get better so I am really excited.

Katie J.
Volunteer Chore Services (White Swan)

Post Script

2008-07-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

We're still working out the bugs to upload pictures. Keep on checking.

Tuesday, July 15

2008-07-15T22:11:00.000-07:00

Well, its off to my second day at work in Yakima. Yesterday, we arrived at a trailer park about fifteen or twenty minutes from the church where we are staying. Our main job there is putting a new coat of paint on the woman’s home. A fellow worker and I went with Pat, our group leader to get the paint at Lowes. We kind of got lost in the store looking for the cleaning supplies and latex gloves. After we returned with our six gallons of paint, we spent the afternoon and early evening scraping paint off the deck, washing the trailer, weeding and starting to paint the woman’s home. I volunteered to paint the trim, and I spent a couple hours giving it, and the ground, a new paint job.
The meals here are really good. Last night it was fettuccini and chicken. My group of friends and I, plus some new additions, got in a heated and very loud discussion about the world’s issues and politics. Apparently, this is out of the ordinary for teens to discuss and attracted a lot of (hopefully) positive attention from St. Stephen’s adults. After the Evening Program, we got free time until eleven and we went in at ten ‘till.
I was really shocked about how friendly most of the people were. Almost everyone seems so open minded and accepting. In my sharing group, I’ve talked to/ hung out with each one of them. It’s overall a good environment with good students and leaders helping those who need it the most. I’ve already learned a lot here, and its only the second day. Today I’ll be back on the ladder, painting the brown trim green and TRYING not to get it in peoples’ hair. Even though the workdays are long and the temperature are above ninety, its somehow enjoyable. Off to work again.
-Kelcie H.
Volunteer Chore Services (Yakima)

Day 2
Today my group was able to go to the OIC food bank for a nice portion of the day. It is one of the largest food banks serving Yakima. Today I saw that people come and ask for help because they are not able to provide for themselves and their families. It was a great experience and I also learned that people who come to food banks look like they have things under control. We don’t know the their stories. It’s impossible to find every persons story and some people are just blunt and say: “thank you so much you helped me when I couldn’t figure things out on my own”. For some of the families I was almost brought to tears for the fact even when things in their life were so low, and they resort to that so many of them were amazing and overtly kind. The one thing I know and had the same even more passionate feeling was I couldn’t be one of them if I had to resort to that I would be with the people who run in and out. If I cry looking at those in need I just imagine how dramatic that experience would be for me!
Morgan B
Northwest Harvest

Just a note from one of the adults:
Once again, our kids are a credit to their families and the St. Stephens community. They are, without exception, working very hard. (I think they're learning a lot too!). Father Ed arrived this afternoon and once again ended up in "jail" during the evening game. I think, this year, he was just "visiting the 'least of these' in prison" rather than commiting "crimes". One sad note Yaki-maniacs....our favorite Mango/Smoothie Oasis has, disappeared into the ether. We'll be researching to find a new spot for our mangos with lime and chili pepper. God Bless, and Thanks for your prayers.
Kristen W.
Northwest Harvest.

Online Photo Gallery

2008-07-15T17:46:00.000-07:00

To view photographs from our mission to Yakima go to http://ststephens.albumpost.com/

Monday, July 14

2008-07-14T22:19:00.000-07:00

It was a nice day today and it was not hot as the day we arrived. I did not sleep to well but I was ready to work. When we were sent of to our places to work. I was happy to help out these lovely elderly people named Cliff and Netty. From the story Tom Blackeagle told us about low income. I thought they would earn minimum wage but I was wrong these people only receive about $125 a MONTH and I thought that was bad compared to my aunt and uncle that just came to America for a minimum wage job. When we were done I thought we can help out the old couple for a better home.
Vince N.
Volunteer Chore Services (White Swan)

Today was our first day on the site. We were working on a site out in White Swan. The scenery is beautiful with all the orchards and the colors. The owners of the house are Cliff and Neddy. They have two cute, but shy dogs named Cheech and Chong. For lunch we went to Fort Simco Park where we met with Tom Black Eagle, who gave us some great information on the history of the reservation. Today’s work mostly consisted of cleaning the walls so we could paint them tomorrow. This is going to be a fun week. I have an awesome team who is filled with great conversation.
Sarah C.
Volunteer Chore Services (White Swan)

The dinner was amazing! Alfredo… perfect! The first day at our work sites went well. Benny and I scrubbed the entire outside walls of a house, so we could begin painting. I was looking forward to meeting the homeowner, but sadly, she is in the hospital due to cancer. Our prayers are with her, and we hope she becomes well. We pray that she can return to her newly painted home soon in good health. I’m excited to finish painting tomorrow and possibly start a new project. I love helping the elderly improve their homes. They are such sweet people, and it is so fun getting to know them.

Katie A.
Volunteer Chore Services

Today was the first day that we helped with Northwest Harvest and my expectations of the day were over-exaggerated. . At the end of the day we learned a lot about the people that we are working for. Today we packed applesauce, lots and lots of applesauce. I am very interested in who and what type of people come to a food bank. The woman who is in charge told us, “The economy is getting so some people are coming to these places for the first time in their lives.” I want to do the biggest part I can to make it feel as comfortable as possible with the teens and adults around me doing the things I am!
Morgan B
Northwest Harvest

Sunday, July 13

2008-07-13T22:45:00.000-07:00

When I arrived in Yakima it was as hot when I was I at Vietnam. When I look at the city I thought this city is a lot less fortunate than us. I thought my family that just came over from Vietnam was unfortunate but I was wrong. I felt like when I took my first step off the car, I felt I did the right thing to help others.

Vince N.

Mission Teams Prepare for Departure

2008-07-11T08:40:00.001-07:00

Mission retreat was held Tuesday, July 8th with team assignments, work assignments and who we would be sharing our Mission weeks with, including teams from Boston for week 2 ( July 20 to 27) , and week one with groups from Sacramento and San Diego area amongst others. Stay tuned to Mission Youth posts to begin Monday evening, should ever everything go as planned!!!
Our many fund raisers are all complete. Now the fun and real work begin. Remember to pray for us, for patience, etc.
Week one begins with Mass and blessing @ 8:30 Mass, Sunday July 13th.

Spaghetti Feed

2008-07-10T16:35:00.001-07:00

Photo shows our teens enjoying spaghetti after serving our guests at our final fund raiser in June.

Youth Mission to Yakima 2008

2008-02-27T13:58:00.001-08:00