Saturday, July 4, 2015
The Club room
Safely home
Friday, July 3, 2015
Diana: Friday
The Final Final - I guess it seems only fitting that I write the final blog post, as today marks my mission trip graduation of sorts. Mission trips have offered me opportunites to travel, to meet new people, to learn new cultures, and to activate/feed my faith in God. Wyoming was my fifth and final mission trip and as I board the flight home to San Francisco I can firmly say it has left me no less refreshed, revived, and renewed as in years past.
Over the years I have become very comfortable with the idea of service... I have defined it through my experiences, have written about it for college essays, and use it quite easily in conversation...yet this week in Wyoming brought my understanding of service to new heights. These are some of the people and interactions that made it happen:
Ms.Polly showed me how to express sincere, and heart warming gratitude.
The kids at Kids Club reminded me of my love of soccer, playing with kids, performing, arts and crafts, and just how privileged and blessed my life really is.
Steve, a parent from Arkansas, showed me how to be the most steadfast, loving, and willing server - and how I can serve far beyond the initial call.
Each sunset, lake, mountain, waterfall forest and buffalo reminded me of the worlds natural beauty and how vital it is that we protect it.
The St.Mary's group inspired me to stay focused and continued to remind me how fun service can be when alongside friends.
...and much, much more.
Service is integral to my identity, and for this I partly blame these mission trips. While I often miss the laziness of summer, friends, and comforts of home (this week I especially ached for my matress!) these mission trips continue to be highlights of my summer, and the past mission trip weeks accumulate to some of the most meaningful times of my life. Thank you all for affording me these experiences...you cannot begin to understand their effect on me.
- diana silvestri
Slight delay
(United flight 6441)
And guess who's on the plane with us: Rod Dugliss!!
Jack: Thursday
Yesterday was unfortunately our last full day of service! First we started off the big day with some delicious breakfast burritos prepared by Saint Mary's finest youth, and then we had our morning devotional time reflecting on our relationship with God and what we could do better. Then we departed to work at a nursing home on the reservation and help Polly - a proud member of Shoshone tribe - with weeding and raking her yard. After part of our group had chatted with and lifted the lives and hearts of the those in the nursing home and the other group had seen the beautiful smile of Polly looking at her yard. Then we ate our PB & J's and headed off to Kids club.
We reached the church where kid's club was being held. We set up crafts projects, books to read, and outside activities. Meanwhile some of us were picking up the kids from their houses across the reservation from both the Shoshone and Arapaho tribes. When the kids reached the church we were immediatly busy playing tag, face painting, playing basketball, etc. As the day drew on our friendships grew deeper, and when it came time to say goodbye we had to drag our buddies back to the car because they wouldn't leave us for anything.
After a hard day of work we had a cookout with some if our buddies that we came to know and become friends with. Then we held a group prayer session talking about how God has worked through us by granting us courage, minds, and the openess of the people we were serving. Lastly we participated in a Foot Washing Ceremony which gave us a chance to really reflect on the week and also be able to connect with God and our leaders through prayer.
We ended the long day after midnight, having spent some time alone as a church group reflecting on our week and sharing kind thoughts about each other.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Maddie: Wednesday
Today we started out with the usual morning routine and ending with a de-briefing for the day. After our devotion time we headed out to kids club, a place for children on the reservation to spend a part of their day having fun and being looked after, sort of like a day care. I was a part of the group in charge of crafts, so we set up tables in the art room for painting and drawing. We also brought out some letter beads so the kids could make necklaces with their names on them. I had some one on one time with a younger kid, Norman, who showed me the best way to paint a rainbow (this involved a shade that was a mixture of brown, blue, and grey). We had a lot of fun meeting and playing with the kids but eventually it was time to leave. After saying goodbye we headed back to the school to have a moments rest and eat dinner (it was taco night!) After dinner, the whole group all piled back into our cars to go to a traditional pow-wow. There we sat in a huge circle along with a bunch of other town members and tourists. The dancing was incredible! It was unlike anything I had ever seen and I learned so much about the culture just from simply watching. At one point the leader asked us to join in dance and I am proud to say that there was a large amount of San Francisco representation in the dance circle. After the performance we had the chance to talk to some of the dancers and even take selfies with them! They were all so amazing and nice, and we even met a Shoshone pageant queen (who was only 15!) Today was definitely one of my favorite days from the trip and I will never forget the dancers and how kind and welcoming they were. I am so grateful that we had the chance to see such a spectacular show case of their culture.
Ryan: Tuesday
Yesterday was our second day of service. We woke up and ate some delicious frosted flakes. After enjoying our breakfast at seven am, we departed for morning devotions. We had a fascinating conversation about the technicalities of selflessness.
Next we departed for our various service projects. My group headed for Patricia's house to complete our painting job. The sun was blazing as we toiled away. Just as the sun became too much we heard thunder. A massive rain storm (at least by California standards) moved in. Afraid of lighting strikes, we bailed on the paint job 45 minutes early. We arrived at "home" and recoverd for an hour before going to shower.
That evening, two Shoshone women came and spoke about what it is like to live on the reservation, and some Shoshone history. Afterwards they sold jewelry (I got a necklace). It was a very full day!
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