Friday, August 28, 2009

What Happens When We're Not There

As a long-term volunteer on short-term mission trips, I miss our Christian siblings in the months between our trips. When we first started going to the Dominican Republic in 2000, we had very little contact with our new Dominican friends between trips. These days, phone calls are easier to make and the internet has made it possible to send and receive email, and even to instant message with the people we visit each summer.

This past week I received two amazing emails. One was the thank you message translated and copied here:


Dearly Loved Father Jim,

May the peace of Christ and the Holy Spirit fill you with blessings and the same blessings to the sister church of St. Anne’s. The church of Cristo Salvador joins me in thanking you for the help that you have given to the children, the young people and the older people as well.
Thank you for all the love you bring when you visit us, thank you for the VBS that draws more than 200 children. They enjoy the same friendship and love that you offer to the church and my family. We always enjoy a sermon from Father Jim, God bless him, and God bless Denise, the priest who accompanied the team this year.
The people of Cristo Salvador see that I am not alone. Thank you. They all see that I have people outside of Santiago who help me proclaim the Gospel. It makes me happy to see Martha and her team working at Cristo Salvador. Thanks to St. Anne’s for sending these people to clean, paint and to fix houses of the poor.
I know that God will especially bless the donation that you have sent me for the shelter program. Many children and some older people come to eat and get the attention they need. Without your help, none of this would be possible.
Gracias, muchas gracias, Padre Jim, Martha and all our brothers and sisters at St. Anne’s.
With much love,
Padre Hipólito
Cristo Salvador
Santiago – La Yaguita del Pastor

The second message was amazing... Father Hipólito's church has been selected to receive a grant from the United Thank Offering. The grant will be used to buy a house which will be renovated and used as the new home of the children's shelter at Cristo Salvador! When the next mission team visits, we'll be putting finishing touches on the new shelter.

So, short-term mission trips may be the seeds of long-term relationships. What a gift it is to see those seeds grow, indeed, to flourish. Thank you, God!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Thursday

Today began with pancakes. Mr. Colie woke up extra early in order to make these amazing pancakes for us. After breakfast, our group had a meeting in which we sent off two now un-needed group members to new projects. When we got to the thrift shop, we all split up to continue working on what we had left undone the day before. Some of us worked on the drop ceiling, some finished putting up the drywall, and others began to put a second coat of paint on the other walls. Work continued on that way, everyone working diligently, until the first big news came in the form of a completed drop ceiling. Finally! We finally got the grid all worked out, and all the ceiling tiles cut and placed into their spots. The shop looked amazingly up to date with the new ceiling in place. especially with all the new lights on and working where there had formerly just been bulbs hanging off of the ceiling.

Lunch was fairly uneventful, as we ate our lunches and heard some of the funny stories from other work sites. When we got back to the shop, everyone cleaned up all the saws and other tools, so that we could paint and be already cleaned up when we finished. Painting was long and tedious, especially the trim and touch-up painting and paint scraping (to get it off the windows), but looks really fantastic now that it's done.

Once we finished painting, the job was complete and we were free to relax. So we went to the swimming hole, of course! The water was freezing, but with the higher water levels this year the rope swing was the big hit. The people were willing to brave the frigid mountain water were rewarded with 15 foot falls off the rope swing into the deeper parts of the swimming hole.

After the swimming hole, everyone came home to shower and eat. We ended up getting three guests to come to our taco night, and the food was pretty good. But "taco night" ended up consisting of taco filling on nacho chips. The most amazing thing was that one of the guests brought home made ice cream and frozen yogurt, so we all got to have sundaes for desert. After dinner, we gathered around the card tables and listened to music while playing cards.

And that's about it for today. Hopefully we'll catch up with you again tomorrow!

- Written by Ben

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Why I Do This

I went on a mission trip to Preston County, West Virginia with the church I grew up in several times in high school and college. Those trips gave me many things: practical experience that I've used in my own house, friendships that continue to this day, and a needed perspective on life in a different segment of society than the one I grew up in. But the most valuable thing I got out of those trips was the confidence to lead, even when I didn't know exactly what needed to be done ahead of time.

This is my second time on this trip in three years, and many of the kids who were quiet first-timers two years ago are budding leaders. Others are in the same position I was in at their age -- being stretched to figure things out and keep a crew motivated and productive at the same time. As I listened to the kids in my car discuss going off to college on the ride home from Pizza Hut tonight, I realized how so many of the young people on this trip are rapidly becoming the kind of adults we need more of in this society.

-- James

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

A Successful Day of Starts and Stops

Today was a typical second day at Dungannon, VA. As our crews begin to have early successes, there is often an increase in demand for our services. One of the crews is working on a new Mission Building to support the local Methodist Church. The church's pastor envisions servicing this community with a new center that offers job counseling, substance abuse support, mental health counseling and an extension to the library. He has very big plans for this building and has taken our presence as a positive sign that his vision is closer to coming true.

We were not able to meet many of his demands because the church lacks the funds to purchase the supplies. Our crew sat patiently on site as the church leadership attempted to locate the right people to approve funds and move supplies to the worksite. We spent about 2 hours waiting and finally supplies came to the site. We were able to complete the insulation job and received instructions for future framing.

Our team is thankful to have the work. We are also grateful that the recipients of our services are humble and appreciative.
Written by Clifton

Monday, August 3, 2009

Roof Work

Carol Grish emailed this picture of the Methodist mission roof.

Monday August 3rd

This morning our Region 5 Dungannon Mission team awoke ready and rested enough to begin our first day on the job sites. We packed our lunches, teamed up and headed out. Some of the job sites require the entire week to complete and perfect while others are day or 2 day sites. This morning I was assigned to a roof repair and painting job on an empty building. This old grocery store is in the stages of changing into another mission building. The Methodist church in Dungannon is sponsoring this mission center. We used silver cool seal as well as caulk to repair the leaks. Long mops were great for spreading the cool seal--although it seamed like we all blended in with the new roof by lunch time! We successfully and safely completed the job this afternoon. Back at the Center we reflected on our day's in small groups where discussed the up's and down's of each work site. It is so heart warming to hear of all of the work our mission team is doing. God has blessed up with energy and full hearts to go out into this world sharing his love those in need.

Thank you for supporting Dungannon Mission Team 2009!

Madeline

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Day 2 at the Phoenix Center

It's now day 2 at the Phoenix Center in Dungannon! We arrived on Saturday afternoon
and everybody picked their bunks. We had a lovely barbeque and the coleslaw was a
huge hit! It was SO good. I hear it's on the menu for later this week, as well.
Last night everyone picked their secret buddies and got to know each other a little
better during ice breakers. It's exciting to see so many new faces here! The girls
room had a little bit of an air conditioning problem. It got very very cold! But
Scott has it under control now. We went to the falls today and had a great time. As
usual, the water was freezing but many people went in anyways. Most of the group
took a long and beautiful hike down from the falls. Tomorrow we head out to start
the job sites. Don't get worried parents, but we have a few roof painting jobs.
Tomorrow's blog will tell you about that. Now it's time for Compline and then bed.
Bye from the tiny town in Virginia!

- Written by Kelly

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Here a Mission, There a Mission, Everywhere a Mission!

We typically think of short-term missions as teams who leave home and spend some time in service to God at a place some distance away. For the second year, St. Anne's has had a mission team that sleeps at home and serves God in our backyard.

Mission Possible team members are as young as rising 6th graders. They sing, pray and work together from morning to evening, using St. Anne's as their operations base.

This year the Mission Possible kids did the following:
Monday: team building and planning for a carnival at Common Ground daycare.

Tuesday: painting fences and cleaning tack at Lift Me Up!, a therapeutic riding center in Great Falls.

Wednesday: weeding a field of okra at the Volunteer Farm run by the World Foundation for Children in Woodstock, Virginia.

Thursday: a concert and bingo at a local senior center in the morning, carnival games and puppet show for the daycare center in the afternoon.

Friday: cleaning and pricing toys and other items for sale at The Closet, a local thrift store that provides clothes and household items to anyone in need.

The day camp version of short-term mission trips serves to help solidify for our young people that the opportunity for mission surrounds us every day. Mission is about using our hands while we give our hearts to God. We can do mission work in our back yards as well as we can in any of our other short-term mission settings. It's all about being part of the family of God!

Dungannon News - the Team Arrives Safely!

Well, the Dungannon mission trip got on the road today - and they arrived safely (in spite of the trucks on I-81!). Three churches - St. Anne's, St. Timothy's, and St. Thomas - sent 52 adults and teens to work as God's hands and heart in Dungannon, VA (in Appalachia). Father Jim and Mother Leslie annointed their hands last night at the Commissioning Eucharist and Mother Leslie blessed the cars for the trip this morning.

The missioners will tell us all about the trip this week in the blog - but for now, this is what I've heard:

- They have wi-fi, a big-screen TV, and lots of computers with internet connectivity!!

- The new grill arrived but had to be put together - the very first job was completed successfully and the hamburgers and hot dogs were great (thanks, Mike Colie, for being the grill master!)

- Once again, I forgot to order the coleslaw dressing so the coleslaw makers had to improvise - I hear it was a big hit so I hope they bring the recipe back with them.

- They've found the compline copies, made buddy bags, broken ice (gotten to know each other), and generally have settled in, with the first forays to Dollar General already underway.

Dungannon Team, know that we are praying for your work and safety this week - enjoy church and the Falls tomorrow!
- Susan Ficklin

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Father Jim's General Convention Adventures

We certainly are a traveling congregation!

Father Jim as begun blogging about the General Convention in Anaheim!

And, if you haven't already done so, join the St. Anne's Episcopal Church - Reston group on Facebook!

Dom Rep 2009 Team Is Home!


Today, for the first time in more than a week, I will be making my own coffee and not drinking it with the 10 other members of my team! But, I will use the coffee I bought in the Dominican Republic and I will savor the memories of a wonderful mission trip as I go about a beautiful summer day here in Reston.

Spending the last couple days of our trip on the beach gives us time to unpack the experiences we have had while living in Santiago and being part of the community at Cristo Salvador in Llaguita del Pastor. We are able to laugh at how each of us had difficulty sharing our paint brushes with the kids who wanted to help us. We marvel at how quickly the 150+ kids at VBS became individuals to us, even if we couldn't remember all their names. We point fingers at each other for emphasis in conversation, just like Father Hipólito. We teach Gabriel to swim, play shark with Rosana, applaud Lilian Maria's karaoke performance and float in the pool with Poly and Lilian. We are grateful for the opportunity to rest as a group, knowing we will miss each other when we get back home.

Father Jim as long told us that all our mission trips are more about the relationship than the job. I hope that from the stories you've read over the last eleven days, you have felt the strength of the bond between Cristo Salvador and St. Anne's.

We couldn't make this trip without the support of the entire St. Anne's congregation. The 2009 Dominican Republic team will be sharing some stories during Rev. Denise's sermon on July 19. Come on by!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Transitions

Saturday was a grand day! We split into two groups... las chicas went for pedicures and the guys trooped up to the Monument. We picked up flowers and then headed up to Padre Hipolito's house to celebrate Independence Day in true Dominican form. We ate well, sang some songs and enjoyed cake and ice cream in honor of our country's birth and Yonny's 15th birthday! (Pictures were added on Monday.) The day ended with our meeting and a surprise gift - a burst of fireworks!

Today is Sunday and the Dominican Republic mission team is in the midst of transitioning from Santiago and our Cristo Salvador/Hotel Colonial families to being tourists on the north coast.

For me, Martha, this is one of the most difficult parts of the trip. I spend post-goody-bag time dreading the good byes. Church this morning will be great. We are more comfortable, we know what we're doing, we will be hugged on our way in, and we will be embraced on our way out.

I have tissues at the ready, I know I'll need them.

But, think of us floating in the pool this afternoon! We'll be trying to catalog of all we've done this week so that we can remember it forever. Now, that's a big job!

More soon,
Martha

Saturday, July 4, 2009

We go where we are called….(an intermission from the DR trip)

St. Anne’s short-term missions build on its commitment to serving God in the community and the world. Our church family is providing spiritual and financial support for more than 70 people to participate in missions in 2009. With some trips, we see the results of our handiwork right away (a finished renovation or repaired wall) but usually the work continues after we’re gone. Sometimes it’s not clear what we’re accomplishing. So, we remember that each of us has been called, specifically, by God to participate in the mission. We may not know why but He does – and that’s enough!

I thought it would be useful to provide some background and a summary of St. Anne’s 2009 mission trips so that you can see where God called us to be this year.

Dominican Republic
When Father Jim became rector at St. Anne’s in September, 1999, he came with the dream of taking a team of St. Anne’s parishioners to the Dominican Republic. That dream was realized in the summer of 2000 and has continued as an annual trip. Including the Mission Team of 2009, more than 65 people (youth and adults) have participated in this trip, many of them have gone more than once.

The teams have built fences, hauled and laid concrete block, painted many walls, mixed concrete by hand, pulled nails from forming wood, sewn mattress covers for camp, shoveled piles of sand and gravel, taught Vacation Bible School lessons to 150 children at a time, learned Spanish songs, taped up hundreds of coloring pages, and strung thousands of beads. They have helped build a church, rebuilt a house, constructed a bathroom and built a roof.

Most importantly, the teams have also given and received “la paz de Cristo,” the peace of Christ, in four Dominican Episcopal Churches. The opportunity to serve our sisters and brothers in Christ is certainly a grace-filled experience. Far more grace-filled is the feeling of receiving more than was given. The relationship forged between St. Anne’s and the people of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic is a gift from God.

From June 28 to July 7, 11 adults and teens are working with the church in Santiago to refurbish the church and conduct VBS.

New Orleans
In 2006, St. Anne’s sent a men’s ministry team to work on the cleanup process in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. They spent a week “mucking out” mud, pulling down ceilings and doing other demolition work. We decided to follow this up in 2008 and 2009 with a construction team made up of skilled craftsmen and less skilled workers. We worked on homes to complete “finish work” including trimming out doors and windows, painting, and removing and installing floors. We developed a great relationship with the local homeowners and the teams permanently working for the Diocese of Louisiana and have even provided a permanent member of the diocesan recovery team! More than anything else we do, the people we help treasure the knowledge that someone else cares and that they are remembered.

In February 2009 (right AFTER Mardi Gras!), 10 adults worked on finishing two homes.

Philadelphia
The Philadelphia mission trip takes St. Anne's teens and adults to work and play with inner-city kids as part of a summer program. This is a continuation of our Atlanta trip, started in 2004. Our teens learn to think about what they have to offer others in terms of their time and talents while the children in the summer program benefit from energetic and enthusiastic teenagers who provide them with new activities and new perspectives for the week. We have been told that the children we play with will remember us for the rest of our lives - that someone cared enough to spend time making crafts and playing sports just with them.

In June 2009, 10 adults and teens work with preschool and elementary age children to get their summer started. We taught them some new games and crafts and helped them make Independence Day cards for veterans at the local VA Hospital (because everyone can help someone else).


Dungannon
For more than 15 years, St. Anne’s teens have gone with teens of other Region V churches to Dungannon, VA, in the southwest corner of the state. There, we build or repair homes for elderly, handicapped, or other needy people in surrounding Scott County. The poverty in the Appalachian region remains great, with continuing loss of jobs. In addition to making and keeping friends in Dungannon, we learn to live under one roof with a large group (typically more than 50). With both new and returning teens, as well as college-age adults, and chaperones, we have multiple levels of jobs for team members. Older teens show younger teens “the ropes”, assistant chaperones (college-age) take charge of different tasks on a site – teaching and guiding the teens working with them, and adults fill in where needed. The people we help with are rich with their own stories, music, and families and they share them freely with us. We know that many of the repairs we make are temporary, but they keep our new friends in their homes through another winter. We trust that God will provide what they need when they need it and we are glad to be His instruments.

In August 2009, we expect to send 20 adults and teens along with 30 others from St. Timothy, Herndon, St. Thomas, McLean, and St. Francis, Great Falls.

Mission Possible
In 2008, St. Anne’s started Mission Possible to provide day mission opportunities for middle school-aged youth. Mission Possible is a week-long experience in July in the local area. Starting with some team-building activities, the adults and youth then serve in a variety of ways – helping with food pantries, making and distributing food, working with elderly, and helping other local ministries that need engaged hearts and hands.

In July 2009, more than 20 youth are expected to participate in the second Mission Possible camp.

Thank you to St. Anne's for supporting all of these missions - it is you that send us out and make it possible to be God's hands and feet.

- Susan F.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Friday - Bag Day!

Hey gang,

When we last met we were about to begin decorating the goodie bags to be delivered to the children today, our last day of VBS. The group stuck a sticker on each of the 250+ brown bags and called it a night.

This morning we stuffed the bags with a variety of “goodies” including pencils, band-aids, candy, bubbles, stickers, small toys, and a kazoo. Many of these items were donated by St. Anne's members!

We had a little extra time before lunch so we traveled to the house the 2008 mission team helped build. It was a new experience for many of us. We were faced with a new level of poverty that shook the conscience.

The resident was extremely hospitable. He not only welcomed us into his home with a smile, he also brought out chairs for us to sit in. After talking with him for a while and finding six puppies to take pictures with, we hiked back up the hill to our church for another amazing lunch of beans, rice, chicken, and mango prepared by the best cooks on the island. The lunch was especially important today because today was Bag Day and we needed all the energy they had to offer.

At VBS, after singing a few of our favorite songs, we organized into the “baddest” bunch of security guards that church has ever seen in order to shuttle the kids out while handing them their goodie bags. After they were all out, we sat in the pews and gave each other high fives. We pulled it off-what an amazing week!

We rode back to our hotel and treated ourselves to more Helados Bon—the best ice cream around. After making a run to the Market for some “tourist” things, we all enjoyed hot showers and using the Internet café a few doors down. Dinner was again FANTASTIC - steak, chicken, rice, pasta, tons of vegetables and, of course, passion fruit juice. The day ended with worship time and our “highs and lows” of the day. We are all excited for tomorrow-we are going to a 15th birthday party where we THINK we’re going to learn to Meringue and if we do, we’re SURE we’re going to make fools out of ourselves. :)

Until next time…

Matt

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Thursday... According to Anne and Sarah

This morning we went on a neat tour of Santiago. Our first stop was the cathedral. We didn’t get to go inside because it was under renovation. A friendly man offered to give us his tour of the city. We went to a really cool museum with modern photography, and another photography museum with a water theme.

Our next stop was a folk art museum that focused on Dominican carnival masks. These wild masks were huge and showy and made of everything from buttons to cigarettes to glitter and jewels. Most found them very interesting, especially since the owner of the museum led us on a personal tour of the museum (which was actually an old house in the middle of the city). Our trek back through the streets of Santiago to the gua-gua (van) seemed to be especially hot, but we were all excited to take in the sights and sounds of the city. We returned to the cathedral to find a group of boys playing baseball on the steps. The photo-op was priceless.

Next we arrived at a Spanish Fort where Sara, Matt, Skylar, Sarah, and I took several pictures with the tanks and one of the guards on the site. We were about to get back in the gua-gua when we spotted see-saws and all took a turn before we ran back to the gua-gua and made our way to the Centro Leon.

When we arrived at the Centro Leon, we were all overjoyed to be welcomed by a blast of air conditioning. We were super sweaty and although the outdoor tour had been fun, the indoor museum was a nice change. We wandered through an exhibit about the Dominican Republic and as we looked at typical wildlife, historical artifacts, and read information about cultural traditions, we were all impressed by the how modern and thorough the museum was.

The real point of our Centro Leon stop was to see the process of making handmade cigars. We were hit with a wave of tobacco as we entered the room with several men at stations supplied with tools and lots of tobacco leaves. It was SO cool to watch them work like machines rolling the leaves together and setting them in molds to make their shape. The man who explained the process was really enthusiastic and let us smell different leaves to see the difference in their strength. This was definitely a high-point of the day-it was just so interesting! Of course… there was a gift shop in the next room, and we made some purchases. We were running late though, so we rushed back to the gua-gua and made our way back to the hotel.

The new gua-gua- came to get us from the hotel and we piled in (in our usual crammed fashion) and drove up to the church. A delicious lunch (as usual) was waiting for us when we arrived. It was fantastic (of course). As the post-lunch food coma set in, we were lucky enough to watch Jordan, an amazingly talented 16 year old, as he completed a pencil drawing of Jesus. We admired the finished work, even taking some pictures of it, but soon we had to shift our attention to getting pumped for VBS.

We walked in the door to the church, and were immediately were greeted by the smiles of the children waiting for VBS to begin. We did the Good Samaritan story and acted it out for the kids. We also did a couple coloring pages and some phenomenal songs.

After VBS the chicas made the most successful shopping excursion yet! The boys stayed at the hotel while we hit a clothing store, La Sirena, and the market. Everyone walked home happy with their finds-MUY EXCELLENTE!

Dinner was fantastic, and the showers after were even better. We successfully sang a 3-part harmony-which is incredibly notable-props to Denise for patience with our lack of singing capabilities.

Is tomorrow really Friday? False.

Mid-Trip Bonus Blog Entry!


The 2009 Dominican Republic Mission Team is half-way through this year’s mission trip.
Here are a few observations of the trip so far:

We were blessed with a smooth journey.

Our accommodations are comfortable.

Meals have been outstanding.

Father Hipólito looks great and seems in very good spirits.

The road to Cristo Salvador has been re-surfaced! (Miracle???) But, don't worry, the van ride is still pretty crowded!

Dominican friends welcomed us warmly and send greetings to the people of St. Anne’s, especially those who have been to Santiago in years past – and most especially to Padre Jim!

The weather has been warm but not horrible, no rain at all.

Did I mention that the food has been wonderful?

Little kids look so cute in Moses and Pharaoh headbands and bandannas!


It’s been fun to have guitar players in our group and sing during our evening meetings.



VBS has been mentioned as both high points and low points of the day in our evening meetings. We learn so much every year about how to manage the flow of that short, intense time with the kids. (Father Hipólito makes a great Jonah... no pictures of that, though!)

Lazaro is a terrific host!





Helados Bon makes delicious ice cream.





We got to meet Lazaro's son! Here he is with his grandfather Victor.

St. Anne’s has given this team great support!
Thanks!
We'll have more pictures available soon!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

From Phillip's Point of View

Hi! Phillip Vollman here!

Today’s theme was “Jonah and (or in) the Whale/ GRAN Pez”. We were originally going to do loaves and fishes but…that’s not much of an action story…

Morning was great! We had for breakfast…whatever we had—and we had it with PASSION FRUIT JUICE [!] (it’s kinda a big deal)

We loaded into the van and went on our way to Iglesia Cristo Salvador. On our way we saw schoolchildren—it looks like schools ends quite early in Santiago. We arrived and split into two groups—one that would clean and paint the sacristy, and one that would finish the upper room (this last one had only 3 members.) The sacristy was painted the same color as the upper room—a fab light blue. There were always two or three too many people in the room—Ann and Fiona had nice naps and I had some more iPod Touch time while we stayed out of the way. ☺

After we had finished, we cooled off and prepared for another amazing/chaotic 90 minutos of… VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL—(Dominican Version). The kids were much more well behaved today… we also used a method of handing out crayons that made it harder for people to hog them. They had so much energy—it was amazing to watch them. My favorite part was when Father Hipólito played “Jonah” and played a little trick on Martha by quickly getting to the opposing door of the building that he had departed from… (It was just nice to see how Martha lit up—he is in his eighties, after all).


After VBS we returned to the hotel, rested for a while, and went to market. We went to a superstore called La Sirena, and there I really discovered that the technological items in the Republic did NOT match those in the States by far… We then went to a market and bought items for us and our families…

We had dinner. We did compline… and attempted four-part harmony but settled on two part for now…
That’s pretty much all that happened today—as far as I know*

*(That might not be a lot)

Day 4 - Santiago

We had a great day today! One of the highlights of the day was painting the upstairs room of the church a “cool blue.” Other highlights were when Sara French braided Sarah’s, Anne’s and Ann’s hair and Skylar shared his guitar with a couple of kids.

After a delicious lunch, we started the second day of Vacation Bible School. The theme of the day was “Daniel and the Lion’s Den.” The kids loved the lion mask craft and the room was filled with excitement and music.

We spent the late afternoon getting some much-needed R and R after a very intensive, but rewarding Vacation Bible School. The evening activities included a trip to “Bon,” the local ice cream shop, where we tasted flavors like Cake, Corn, and the classic Vanilla. During our evening meeting we enjoyed “Jewish-style dancing,” while Denise played “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” Although the most exciting part of the evening seemed to be when we wore the googley eyes, for Wednesday’s craft on our own eyes, and proceeded to take funny picture shown below.

-Ann

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Monday In Santiago

The street outside our hotel is beginning to bustle with the sounds of Tuesday morning as I try to consolidate for you the events of Monday!

First, if your family member is on this trip... we are all well and we are all much more rested than we were when I posted a message on Sunday evening!

Second, we are having a great time!

Morning work was to wash the walls in the large room above the sanctuary that is used for the children's day care program run by Father Hipólito. While Denise and crew scrubbed, Padre H. drove Steve, Martha and Phillip to the paint store. We chose a semi-gloss in a lighter shade of blue than is currently on the walls. After lunch, and a song lesson from Poly, we headed down the stairs to greet the kids. The lesson for today was Moses leading the Hebrew people across the Red Sea and how that demonstrates that God takes care of us. The kids colored either Moses or Pharoah pictures attached to a headband. We distrubuted bandanas to wear under the headbands and the sound of staplers punctuated the general hub-bub of distributing crayons, re-distributing children in the pews and explaining that we only had bandanas for the kids who were actually in attendance!

Highlights shared at our evening meeting all included a reference to how much fun it was to work with the children at vacation Bible school (VBS). We will be applying paint today. I anticipate some photos of the blue mission group!

Monday, June 29, 2009

¡Domingo!

¡Hola, Santa Ana!

Fiona here. It’s Sunday night and our internet has been turned off, so this won’t be posted until Monday. But I’ve got to tell about the day while it’s fresh in my mind! Here goes.

‘Twas a bit of a difficult wake up this morning, we’re all still fairly exhausted. We choked down a delicious breakfast of café con leche, eggs and the FRESHEST mango in the world (such martyrs) and packed into our van, which is built for seven, but held 12 of us just fine (except for those crammed in the center…sorry Sarah and Phillip). Arriving at Cristo Salvador was like coming home. Padre Hipólito remembered those of us who have been before and was delighted to meet our seven new folks.

Church, as usual, was an absolute delight. We start off clapping with some super-excelente Dominican songs, which is sort of how you get the feel of the church. There were plenty of familiar faces, and I was delighted when two of them, named Rosanna and Lilian-Maria, came to sit with us. The peace would be familiar to any regular St. Anne’s attendant, as the church chaotically erupts into a noisy hug-fest (it’s always been my favorite part ☺). Padre Hipolito talked about (among other things) the importance of giving, no matter what hand you’ve been dealt. There is a huge amount of gratitude and appreciation for our presence and the work St. Anne’s does to get us all here. So, GO YOU GUYS!

Soon after we were presented with yet another heavenly meal, which we humbly scarfed, and took to playing catch-up. It was wonderful to talk with Padre Hipolito, his wonderful wife Dulcina, and his granddaughters Lilian-Maria and Rosanna. A bit of a food coma set in then, and we spread out taking naps, gathering around the fan, and playing games on Phillip’s iPod Touch. Around 2 we headed back to the hotel for showers, naps, blasting A/C, and general vegging. We finished getting our VBS kit for Monday ready and then sat down for (you guessed it) ANOTHER MIND-BLOWING MEAL. It sounds like I’m overestimating, but I promise I’m not. This eggplant will change your life, unless you’re Matt Miller, in which case it’s plantains.

Towards the end of dinner, Poli (Father Hipolito’s son, another priest), his wife Liliana, and their beautiful kids Lilian-Maria, Rosanna, and Gabriel joined us. It was exactly like a family reunion gone right and it was the final reminder that I was home. Gabriel has become quite taken with his new girlfriend (novia in Spanish, our one and only Sarah Binger!) and I’m sure there will be more romantic updates throughout the week.

As of right now, there is an intense card game going on that I am missing, so I’m done. We are all thinking of you, and being here is just like an extension of the St. Anne’s family.

Peace and love all around,
Fiona.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

A Long Way to Travel, But Dinner Was So Worth It!


The 2009 Dominican Republic Team is on site! We had a very smooth trip - on time flights, all luggage arrived, Ellen put us on the bus and we were checked into the Hotel Colonial with plenty of time before dinner.

When we shared our highlights of the day, dinner was on nearly everyone's list. (We all look exhausted!) We're headed to bed, it's been a long day...but we're ready for tomorrow!

Thank you for your prayers, keep them coming!

One Team In, One Team Out!

As the Philly team says their good byes and prepares to return to St. Anne's, 11 people will be dropped off by family members in the wee hours of Saturday morning to begin their journey from Dulles to Santo Domingo and on to Santiago.

Wikipedia has this entry about the monument shown on the left...

The Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración is a monument in the city of Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic. It was constructed by Dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo in the 1940's as an honor to himself. After Trujillo's assassination and the end of his regime, the government changed the name to "Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración" (Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration).

It is located on a hill in the middle of Santiago with spectacular views of the city and surrounding mountains. It also has a surrounding park and it is an attractive place at night where people go to relax.

Saturday evening, those same 11 will be able to look up the hill at the Monumento. There will be stories to tell, check back soon.

Welcome home, Philly crew!

~Martha

Friday, June 26, 2009

Did we make a difference?

Today was our last day and it was fun, but sad. We played outside all day by doing field day activities – soccer, basketball, hopskotch, ring toss, hula-hoop, four-square, tug-o-war, and water balloon toss. We played outside in the afternoon, as well as crafted friendship bracelets, gimp lanyards, and God's eyes. We bonded so much that it was really difficult for all of us to say goodbye. Many of the kids just walked away mad. I guess they've had so many highs and lows in their lives that they've learned to deal that way. Mr. Harrison, the Manor's director, said that we made a difference and that these children will remember us the rest of their lives. We hope to return next year.

- Anne J.

Projectiles

Today is Thursday, our second-to-last last day in Philly. In order to give the kids something to do for the rest of the summer, we taught them how to make paper airplanes. We then realized that we had given them a skill that involved potential eye-poking, but they loved them anyways. As excited as I am to go home, I hate to leave the kids at the Stenton Family Homeless Shelter. Some of the kids may be a little troubled, but most of them are amazing. The kids have experienced things that a lot of adults will never have to experience, but they still come in everyday with a smile on their face and a positive attitude. If more people could see these kids in action, maybe the world would be a better and more positive place. I cannot wait to go in tomorrow to see what these children can do during field day!

-Kelley F.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Wednesday

Yesterday was a pretty good day. In the beginning we worked with the kids and made bean bags and built towers out of cups while Pierre attempted to teach some willing children how to juggle. I'm not sure if giving children projectiles while others were building cup towers was the smartest of ideas. It was like a big carnival game to the kids. In the afternoon we went outside with the children and I played basketball and football with some of the older kids. I ended up on a team of all 10 year olds and below while the other team had three 12-15 year olds. We ended up winning every game. After that i played football with the smaller kids that had an age range from about 2-5 and I'm going to have to admit that they were just a bit more fun to play with. I think the best part of the day was leaving and knowing that every kid there knew my name.

KJEFF

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Tuesday

Yesterday we went to the shelter and told all the little ones that we were going to make rainsticks. They were ecstatic because we had brought examples and they just loved the sound that they made. Once everyone had finished, we took all the little ones outside on the playground. Most of the children were fine but one little boy named Seth was just having a really bad day. He wouldn't let anybody play with him and whenever we tried to talk to him he would scream and start to kick if we picked him up. Later that day, after we had gone to lunch in a park and gone to the grocery store, we had a pizza party for the older kids. The party was in celebration of the end of the school year. As i was kindly talking to some of the older kids about things, a little kid named Kameron ran straight into me in the worst possible place. I was in a chair quite a long time. As the day wound down we went outside played some basketball and went home. It was a long and tiresome day but, we all had a great time.
Signed by,
Sam A.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Day 3 in Philly

Today was the real start of our mission trip. We arrived at the shelter to be given an entire presentation on the history of the shelter. Mr. Harrison broke our stereotypes of homeless shelters from just being single mothers with young kids to a mix of single men and teenagers. From this we traveled through the tiny halls to the preschool area. All of the kids were eating their snack when we proceeded to meet all of them. They were quite the bunch. Every kid was either excited and maybe a little intimidated to see us but most of them greeted us with the regular, "My name is ˍˍˍˍ, what is yours?” and finished the conversation with “nice to meet you.” Then we started to make masks with the kids. Sabrina, who is in charge of the preschool, thanked us later for doing crafts since they do not have the numbers in staff to support those types of activities. Once those masks were finished with the preschool touch, we proceeded to move onto song and dance while they dried. Kyle, Sam, and I started with some animal sounds once we had gotten them into a circle of chairs. We roared like a lion and meowed like a cat, pleasing the kids greatly. After we all joined in the familiar song of 'Old McDonald had a Farm' then taught them the girl scout's very own 'The Little Duck Song' and finished with 'The Wheels on the Bus.' They had been sitting too long and we were hurting from the miniature chairs, so we got the masks and had a parade on their playground. Every kid was joyed to run around and show of their mask. After the long haul around the playground, we got to have free time on it and play with the kids. We all felt like little kids again. Some of us set up a line for the slide but ending up in a bit of a cutting problem. Some of us were trolls under the bridge. Some of us were wanted to just walk around with them holding their hands. And some of us were given the pleasure to push people around on bikes. The black mats that make up the floor of the playground escalated the all ready hot day, making me at least sweat. Also since the bridge was tall enough for the kids to bike through, we got to run after them crawling under it. After a long fun filled free time, we had to go inside to wait for their parents to pick them up. Thus ending our first enjoyable day of preschoolers.

Signed by
Joel W

Monday, June 22, 2009

Smells, Bells, and Jazz

After a quick breakfast at the hostel, we put on our Sunday finery and headed to the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas to worship.

AECST was founded by Absalom Jones, the first African-American Episcopal priest. The combination of incense and "Wade in the Water" made for a unique, but still familiar experience for us. (No, Fr. Jim, we didn't get up and dance - but we felt you there with us in spirit!) High church and Lift Every Voice and Sing work surprisingly well together. David would have been jealous of the jazz band - I think there were at least 10 musicians, not to mention the male singers that accompanied them. Fr. Shaw and Fr. Bonney welcomed us, along with the rest of the congregation - and look forward to seeing us again next year.

After stopping by Starbuck's (we're not roughing it here!), we visited the Philly Museum of Art and the Reading Terminal Market. We definitely will be headed back to the market again for pretzels, crepes, BBQ, and shopping. We've practiced our songs, cut out the animal masks, planned games and crafts - generally, have prepared for whatever we might find tomorrow.

Compline and a good night's sleep are next on the agenda. As the NZ prayer book says -
What is done, is done;
What is not done, is not done;
Let it be.

~Anne J.

Philly Team - Anne Checking In!

We had a typical drive on I-95... much longer than it needed to be! Once we arrived, we couldn't check in yet so we planned our meals and headed to the grocery store where we raced to see which team could finish up their list first!

We still couldn't check in, so we started our first team-building event - a shopping trip to Target.

We checked in to the youth hostel which is a really old mansion in a park (www.philahostel.org). We planned for Sunday and then started dinner. There was another large group, so cooking was sort of hectic. The non-cookers did the cleaning.







The next team-building event started... playing poker (see picture)! The only rule that was made was that there was to be no gambling. Other team members (adults) decided to read!

~Anne J.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Summer Starts With a Mission Trip

School's out for summer vacation!

Summer vacation means many things: sleeping late; rolling out of bed early for swim team practice; the cheerful tune of the ice cream truck; Wednesday grill nights up at the church; reading for fun instead of homework.

At St. Anne's, summer vacation means mission trips!

The first trip of the season hits the road on Saturday morning. A group of teens and adults will head to Philadelphia for a week of work and play at a family shelter. On Sunday, they are hoping to worship at the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, founded in 1792 by Absalom Jones.

The Philadelphia team will return just hours after the Dominican Republic team leaves on June 27 for St. Anne's 10th annual trip to that country.

But it doesn't end with those trips. "Mission Possible," St. Anne's mission-trip-of-the-day outreach program for our twelve and thirteen year-olds and the Dungannon mission team will hit the road in late July and early August.

Stay tuned!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

And... They're Home!


The New Orleans crew (or is that "krewe"?) have returned
with stories to tell!

And Tim has posted pictures!