Maryfran

Sunday, July was a full day, and it was the first time the entire group worked as a team and found ourselves experiencing many of the same emotions as a result. We began with breakfast and then gathered out front in the courtyard for morning prayer. I kept copies of all our reflections and prayers but neglected to date them. As I look back now my sense is that today we used the one attributed to Oscar Romero where he reminds the reader that " We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's Work". I'd have to call this one of "our Oscar Romero days" (we had others) in that much of what we were exposed to today reflected upon him, his ministry in El Salvador and his messages. ... read more

Not everyone shared their motivation for taking this trip but I found this piece interesting from those who did. For many participants, it was their first mission trip. They, like me, always wanted to try something like this. For many others it was one of several. The group from Marietta, Georgia had been on many trips...for some kids starting in Middle School. Fr. Riley told us that their parish began offering domestic mission trips to the Middle School Youth Groups and the parish had done some interesting work in several US locations as well as Jamaica and Haitii. Pretty impressive outreach I think when service is a mainstay of any church community. One man shared that his typical way of helping others was always "to write a check". When this opportunity presented itself for him, he ... read more

Saturday, July 24th was our first official day of work. At Friday night's supper, Sr. Gloria explained the work projects available to participate in and the jobs at each site. She invited us to choose daily where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do. There was a sign-up sheet posted each evening for each site. Private transportation would take us to each location (vans with Fiat-employed drivers). Day 1 I signed up to work with three others at Miguel's house. Miguel is a Fiat employee who had lost his home in a mud slide. Fiat was helping him rebuild. Miguel lived with his mother and father and four children. The house being built for them was going to be really nice in comparison to many in his neighborhood (corrugated tin roof and walls). ... read more

Entry #1 Post Trip Reflections This summer I took my first foreign mission trip. On July 23, I departed with 14 others from St. Thomas of Villanova Parish and headed to San Salvador, El Salvador . We were part of project FIAT (Faith in Action Together, an outreach of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus). The sisters have a mission house there (Casa Voluntariado Santa Rafaela Maria), built for the express purpose of attracting and housing volunteers to come and help them with their work for the Salvadoran people. While there I had hoped to write a running blog describing each day, but unfortunately we learned, shortly after arrival, that the computer available for general use was malfunctioning, as were both the mission house phones! Although Sister Gloria (the leader of this week’s mission) ... read more

We leave at 3:45AM from Phillie on Friday, July 23, so I am starting to gather what I need to take. The Project FIAT website is very helpful in providing lists of suggested clothes and supplies to pack. Our team leader, Anne has suggested we plan to leave behind whaever clothes we can upon our departure. They will go to the people we are serving, so I'm trying to pack some "extras" to leave on my bunk. We are also packing arts and craft supplies, games, cards, and balls to use with the children. I plan to hit up Joanne's Craft store and the dollar store this week. Tonight, I went looking for all the colored pencils and markers in the house left over from our kids. I know I could buy new ones but once ... read more

On July 23, 2010 I will be joining 18 other people from Villlanova, Pa on a mission trip to San Salvador, El Salvador. We are being sponsored by the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Bryn Mawr, Pa. The mission is Project Fiat. The Sisters operate a volunteer mission house there and invite groups to join them in their work for a week at a time throughout the year. I know only one other woman in this group so far, but I fully anticipate that after this experience, there will be a special feeling among all of us. Having been to Central America (Honduras) 24 years ago, I have a sense of what I will see and the kinds of people I will meet. I am both excited and nervous. I do not speak ... read more