Last Night at Center Grove UMC

I attended Mass this morning at the United Methodist Church, and the youth put together the service, which was really upbeat, enlightening, and full of great insight to what the youth group has to offer. The service was full of smiles and music and praying, and it was a really uplifting ceremony.

I later attended the youth group session tonight, and we were joined by two other churches, Sherill and Key West. It was really nice to get to meet some of the new youth that came to our youth group to visit, and we all worked together in getting to know one another better. The youth session was focused on self-esteem, how each of us views ourselves, and how we can make things better if we do not have good self -confidence. We talked about certain factors and feelings that make us feel the way we do about ourselves, and how we see ourselves in relation to strength. We discussed every day events that may bring us down and keep us in the shadows of others, and it was interesing to her individual stories from the youth about times when they were looked down upon by others, or treated badly when they shouldn't have been.

After the discussion we all shared in pointing out positive things about one another, and it was clear to see that it lifted some of the youth up, with smiles and laughter. We all adapted really well to being open and honest with one another, and it was a very positive action that the leader took in addressing self-esteem issues in young teens today. We took time to pray for those who feel inferior to others, and for those who feel that they will always be below others no matter what. It was a touchy discussion because it was clear that it made some of the youth uncomfortable at first, but once people started sharing, it was as if the youth realized that most everyone falls victim to self-esteem issues.

After our discussion we got together to pray, and to offer up ourselves and others to the lord. We asked that the lord watch over every individual in spite of the Thanksgiving holiday, and that traveling goes safe, the weather is fair, and that those who cannot be with their families on this holiday know that they are in our prayers. We then discussed the Thanksgiving dinner we will be serving down at the Hope House in Dubuque on Tuesday night. The youth seemed very enthused by our actions to help the less fortunate during the holiday, and many of them volunteered to go down to the Hope House and serve the Thanksgiving dinner with me and the leaders.

It was sad that this was our last night together as a group. I really learned a lot from the youth group, and the leaders as well. I can honestly say that gathering each week, talking, and sharing things about our lives really helped me to become more open, less shy, and a more positive person. I know that I will keep in contact with the youth group at UMC because I became great friends with some of the members, and they have been there for me in times of need as well. This service learning project was a great experience, and if I could do it over again, there would be no doubt that I would choose to go back to the Center Grove UMC.

Last Day at St. Vincent De Paul

When Dustin and I got there, the lady who was working knew exactly what we were they for this time, but that didn't really matter because they guy who told us what to do last time was right out on the store floor and guided us to the back part of the store. When he led us back this time, we started to do what we did last time, taking things out on to the store floor from the back room. After we moved everything that needed to be moved, he had us sweep the floors of the back room like last time. Then he sent us out to set up some TVs to play the movie "The Lion King." I remember having an old TV in my basement and having to set the color and contrast ratios on it. This apparently came in handy when we found a TV where all the colors were screwed up on it. I fiddled around with it for about 5 minutes and got the problem solved.
Eventually, the guy who gave us our things to do had left the building for a bit, so we were directed by some other people to do some more work. Somewhere in this time, Dustin and I helped load a piece of furniture into a guy's car. He seemed really happy that it fit in without having to have the back hatch of his car have to hang open. Apparently he was going on a trip and didn't want to have to take this piece of furniture home first.
After about half our time working there had past, Dustin and I were assigned to sort clothes. It was pretty simple. All we had to do was sort the summer clothes from the winter clothes, and throw out all the bad clothes. Dustin and I sorted clothes and talked for what was the rest of the day. The only thing that happened other than that, was when some other employees left and I changed the radio station to a different one because I couldn't stand the music that was on it, I'm more of a classic to late 80's rock guy myself.
That pretty much sums up what happened.

2nd trip to St. Vincent De Paul

The second time I went, I was with Paul. Other than a set of new faces to meet, it was similar work. We moved heavy items out to the sales floor, swept, and helped carry heavy donations inside. This time there were a lot of people bringing in things to donate, which is nice to see. We also sorted clothes, which was something new. It was simply a matter of sifting through the bags of donated clothing, folding the good articles and disposing of the ones unfit to sell.
On one occasion, a man needed us to carry a piece of furniture to his car and help him load it in. It was a small car, but we managed to fit it in. The man was very grateful for our help, even though I didn't think what we did was that big of a deal. Then again, I'm used to my old job at Target where I had to fit large purchases into people's cars without any thanks. That man's appreciation was quite lifting and it stuck with me as motivation to continue working.
When our time was up, we went to talk to the man nicknamed Lonely to see if he needed us for anything else. He just joked with us and thanked us for our help. As we walked with him, one of the other volunteers started to smoke in the warehouse. Lonely joked by acting as if we were bouncers and told us to throw him out. His sense of joking around with us made me feel as if I was an actual part of the community and not just a visitor. It's these little things that I know will stick with me.

"After" Volunteering

Even though this experience has come to an end as far as this course is concerned, I will continue to tutor. Therefore, my final reflection is a bit premature, but here it is at this point, reflecting back on the hours I have volunteered thus far. The most positive part of this experience for me was watching/listening to the people I had tutored apply what we had discussed. I was thrilled to watch Max make the connection between our discussion of pumpkins to the pumpkin cake he was eating. I felt blessed being able to provide the people I worked with tools or phrases to help them order food or talk to a taxi...daily tasks that we take for granted that they were unable to communicate before coming to Presentation Lanter Center. Leaving the center each day knowing that the people I worked with weren't going to struggle surviving in an English-speaking country was great, and the most positive thing for me was knowing that I had helped them accomplish that. The most difficult part of the experience was developing methods to tutor people my age or older who were of the same intelligence as me without feeling like I was embarrassing or insulting them. My first day tutoring was probably the hardest only because it was new to me. Another difficult task was trying to translate using pictures and expressions when the picturebook wasn't sufficient. Overall though, this experience was not too difficult because the volunteers, Sr. Corine, and all the students had such great personalities and were so optimistic.

Tutoring Days 2 and 3

On Wednesday November 14th and Thursday November 15th I continued tutoring at Presentation Lantern. Although they were my 3rd and 4th visits to the center, my first day there was strictly cleaning, so these were my second and third times tutoring. My second day as a tutor I walked into the classroom and saw smiling faces of a half-dozen tutors and students. These students varied in ages, and were from all sorts of different countries. I was paired up with Norma, a middle-aged woman from South America who speaks limited English. She came to Dubuque with four sisters and a brother and all of their children. Norma has a son and is expecting another child. All of this she communicated to me through pictures and broken sentences. Part of the mission of Presentation Lantern Center is to provide hospitality, so not only do I teach English but I also get to engage in meaningful conversation with people there and learn about their lives. We develop relationships that are more like friendships than the strict student-teacher relationships of many tutoring organizations. The students are entirely voluntary, and we don't have expectations as to how far they need to advance day-to-day, so it is a very stress-free environment. Another wonderful aspect of the center is that students are allowed to bring their children with them. There is a section of the classroom that is carpeted and overflowing with toys to keep the children occupied while still in view of their parent(s). Sometimes I play with the children during our break. There is a big dollhouse that all the little girls enjoy. I find it amazing how the language barrier doesn't stop the children from playing together! Friendships are valued at the center. I have sampled some authentic Japanese teas that some of the women brought to America with them. It truly is a rewarding place to be. While there, I'm reminded of the work I do with special needs students during the summer, and I recall on methods that worked with them that I can try to express points to the new students. On Thursday I had a very difficult time explaining to Norma the difference between "how much" and "how many" and also that "should not" and "shouldn't" mean the same thing. Fortunately we found a way for her to understand, and she was excited to go to the grocery store to buy food! Even though Thursday was my last day of volunteering for this class, I will continue to tutor there because I have fallen in love with the center and the people there!

My Service Learning

Before I Volunteered
I didn't quite know what to expect before I went to volunteer at the Catholic Worker Farm In Key West. I was nervous because I am not used to working for people I do not really know, but at the same time I was at ease because I went with somebody I knew. I didn't know what I would be doing but since I had lived on a farm for 18+ years I figured it wouldn't be that hard. I didn't really have any goals other than to get acquainted with the people I was working for and to do what was asked of me.

During Volunteering
Both times I went to volunteer I went with Jenny. Both times we were there we weeded gardens. The first time I weeded a potato garden while Jenny picked peppers and eggplants. I was having fun and getting carried away with he potato fork and accidentally stabbed it into my shoe. It barley missed my toes but we had a good laugh about it. After we were done weeding the first time we went inside to ask her questions. The second time we weeded out a garden that had run down plats because they had been frosted on. Jenny pulled some of the wrong things and I felt bad for the lady and Jenny, but the lady didn't seem upset. We then pulled old broccoli plants. After we picked them off the garden we put old hay down to cover the ground. We went inside for some cider, and then we came back out to pick up chickens eggs. After that there wasn't much left to do so we left. At first my feelings toward this project were like I was too busy. I had so much going on but when I was actually there I realized that these people have busy lives sometimes too and they still have to make time to get it done. I ended up having fun while I was working. I had the most fun when the kids were outside helping. They made things fun. And when we told them something they listened. They lady we worked for, Mary Moody, was very nice. She made us feel welcomed and invited us into her house many times. Her faith is very valuable to her. I found this out because she is very involved in her work. She was talking about the Hope House often and the other programs they are involved with.

After Volunteering
The most positive part of my experience was knowing that I had helped people. Some I knew better than others. But In a way I had helped the less fortunate, even though I didn't directly help them. I helped people that help the poor. There wasn't really a hard part about volunteering. I think maybe the hardest part was finding the time to go volunteer. I have just been so busy but if you truly want to accomplish something you will set your mind to it and achieve it.

Mt. Carmel

Cleaning Floor at St. Vincent DePaul Fourth/Last Experience

On November 10, 2007, I did my fourth service learning project in the afternoon at St. Vincent DePaul. My job was to go around picking up all the large items on the floor of the store that would that the vacuum cleaner would not be able to be pick up. This included pealing price-tag stickers off the floor. I realized that since this is a non-profit organization, they do not spend a lot of money on fancy cleaning equipment that other stores would. The people are dedicated to providing as much money to charities as they can, even if this means doing some extra work, such as visually sweeping the store floor for large items and price tags.

Over the course of my service learning, I began to wonder why people were drawn to apply to work here. I realized that I actually enjoyed working with the other workers and that I enjoyed the slower paced environment. I also got a chance to ask the manager, Kirk, why he decided to work here. He said that it was because he liked helping people. I can completely understand this. On my first service learning experience at St. Vincent DePaul, I noticed how all the workers in the store knew many of the regular customers by name. In this non-profit business, there is a lot of emphasis put on the interaction with people, and the workers could actually see their work helping others in the community.

The most positive part of this experience was seeing how this place directly helped people in need by providing necessities at a very low price and indirectly via their donations of profit to charities. Another positive part of this experience was having a low-paced work environment that actually forced me to relax and forget about all the chaos going on in my academic life right now. The hardest part of my experience was finding the time to actually do the service learning. The hours listed in the syllabus were incorrect (I was hoping to go there at 7 on weekdays and leave at 9 to get back for my 10am classes, but they did not actually open until 9am which does not give me enough time to get back for class). Since I have class and required activities from 9/10am to 7/9pm every weekday with no or very small breaks between them, all the hours that they were open on weekdays were out of the question. That left Saturdays (they were not open on Sundays), which in my major are rarely considered a day off, because recitals, concerts, work, and other required activities often invade Saturdays and Sundays. I was lucky to find one no-school day Friday when I was able to spend a significant amount of time at St. Vincent DePaul, and one Saturday when I was free to finish up my service learning. Sadly enough, these were the only two times I did not have other required obligations while St. Vincent DePaul was open. I realize that this project was supposed to span more than a two day time span, but I was lucky enough that my schedule even allowed to do any of the service learning, and I was actually able to complete the 10 hours. Also, I went into each service learning experience looking to be enlightened in more than one way, as if each 2 hour time period was a new experience.

~Kristin P.

Shelving Items at St. Vincent DePaul Third Experience

On November 10, 2007, I did my third service learning project in the morning at St. Vincent DePaul. This time, I was in charge of bringing a variety of miscellaneous items from the warehouse, where they had been priced, into the store where they could be sold. I worked with a variety of items such as decorations, kitchen necessities, vases, Christmas items, computer materials, children’s toys, and crafts. I had to search around for the right shelves to put them on. The store was quite busy with customers on this day, and I always felt that I was getting in the way of the customers.

One thing that I really began to realize during this time at St. Vincent DePaul was how much people really do need and want all the things that others no longer need or use. It seemed that every time I put down several items on a shelf, many of them would be gone five minutes later when I came to put more items in that aisle. As I put down many things, I thought to myself, “Why do they even bother putting this out? This isn’t worth buying.” Then, to my disbelief, those items would be gone next time I came down the aisle. This reminded me all the random things that would not sell at our garage sales that my family would take down to a similar store in the area where I grew up. I always knew that it was good to donate our used things, but I never realized how many people need them and will buy them at low prices.

~Kristin P.

Tutoring at Presentation Lantern

On Wednesday Nov. 7th I helped clean and organize the rooms in Presentation Lantern. Presentation Lantern is a place where volunteer tutors help teach English to people who have come to Iowa from other countries who speak little or no English. I straightened some of the shelves and put objects away. Sr. Corine had other small tasks planned for me, but they were running short on tutors so she asked if I'd be willing to tutor instead of clean. The time spent at Presentation Lantern that day flew by. I was asked to tutor Max, who spoke Chinese and had arrived in America two weeks prior to our first meeting. He was from Taiwan and spoke a limited amount of English. At first I was nervous, because I had never tutored someone who was older than me, and I was afraid that he would think I wasn't suited to be his tutor. However, Max was very eager to learn. He told me, in broken English, that he wanted to learn conversations. I used a Chinese/English picturebook to teach him vocabulary. I would point to the word, say it, and then he would repeat the word, trying to match my pronunciation. The translation was printed below in Chinese, and there was a picture of the object to reaffirm what it meant. After the first five minutes, I was completely at ease. We began engaging in broken conversation, resorting to a white board and marker to draw what we both meant when the picturebook wasn't enough. We came to the "holidays" page, and we flew through New Year's and Halloween. However, Thanksgiving was difficult to explain to Max because it's strictly an American holiday. I used a globe to communicate "Europe" and "ocean" and the travel of the pilgrims. I taught Max all about Thanksgiving and the pilgrims and how we feast and the foods that we eat. I was so proud when I saw the light in Max's eyes showing when he finally understood what was being said. During this session, I had spoken of pumpkin pie, which took me quite some time to explain what a pumpkin was, and even harder to explain pie. When we took a break an hour later, it just so happened that there was pumpkin cake being served! One of the volunteers offered some pumpkin cake to Max, and he got a huge grin on his face and looked at me and said "PUMPKIN!" I was overjoyed! I was overcome with a sense of accomplishment and also of self-worth. I had taught Max something helpful! He used the conversation skills we had practiced earlier to say "yes please" and "thank you." On Wednesdays, the building is supposed to close at 3pm, but we were so caught up in our conversations and the company of one another and learning that we didn't notice the clock until 3:30pm! I helped clean up and unplug everything before leaving. While driving home, I couldn't stop smiling. I had a very rewarding day and couldn't wait to go back!

3rd Day

Wednesday was my last day of doing volunteer work. Even though I complete my hours I am planning to keep going some times to Sr. Vincent de Paul and help around a little bit more. Also I am planning on encouraging my friends to buy and used items from this place instead of going to the pawn shop and buy their items.

This last day I was back again into the miscellaneous area. This time was slower than last time just because it was a Wednesday and the last time that I was working was a Saturday so everybody was off to do drop off.

I was classifying items by the ones that were good and the ones that were not buyable at all. This time I threw away some toys that I used to use when I was a kid. I felt so sad and so bad about that I was almost to the point to buy one, but I didn’t. The reason why I didn’t buy any item, it was because I help other poor people in my country by giving them those items that I don’t use, instead of selling them those items.

In St. Vincent de Paul I felt so pleased working there that it was unbelievable. The people were so nice to me and they didn’t over use their power over me by being a volunteer. Even their boss wanted me to work there, but I currently have a job. I told him: “Thank you, for the job offer, but I would rather come here time-to-time and help you whenever I can. This is because I currently have a job, but thank you again for the offer.”

This last day made me realize a lot of good thinking of why I do what I do to help others. And I don’t regret and don’t mind doing this type of service some other in the future.

Sinsinawa Mound

Friday was our last night volunteering at Sinsinawa. We raked, moved rocks, washed rocks, and chatted. Sister Sarah said her Miami trip was very good and busy - she learned much and met new people. She invited us to dinner and we were excited - last time we had a great experience eating with the sisters. When we were eating dinner, Sister Mary Owens announced that it was our last night and we were met with applause, which seems silly for our seemingly small contribution, but that is just the way these wonderful women are. They are incredibly appreciative - all the sisters were thanking us when they deserve the thanks - we were warmly welcomed into their community. It shows the wonderful character that they all have because women we had never been introduced to came up to us to sincerely thank us - they spread joy, love, and thanks to all. The entire night was rather bittersweet - I was so glad we could help them, but it was sad to think it was the last night. Sister Sarah and Sister Mary Owens invited us to come back to visit and to bring our families - Sister Sarah said we should come see the garden next fall, but I'm sure they will see me before then. They are an open, amazing community, one that I'm glad I could interact with and be part of - if only for a little while.

He's in on Monday

I travelled to St. Vincent Depaul to complete my service learning requirement today and when I arrived I was told the coordinator was not there so I had to come back on Monday. Ive been searching all semester for volunteer opportunities and have encountered much difficulty. Ive completed well more than half of the required hours. However, I feel even more so now like like twelve disciples as they were sent out to proclaim God's message. becuase they continually encountered difficulty and I am discovering the same. However, I am consistent in my approach just as the disciples were. I feel possibly this is my connection to the spiritual values: consistency.

Last day at the Sinsinawa Mound

Today, Friday November 17th was my last day at the Sinsinawa Mound. I've had such a great experience working with the Sisters and it gave me a great feeling knowing that I helped them, as they have also done for me. I was sad knowing that tonight was going to be my last night at the Mound. Working so closely with Sister Sarah, I've realized how much I looked forward to my visits and service hours at the Mound. Tonight, Sage and I helped her with a few tasks and we also joined her and Sister Mary Owen for supper afterward. We helped her gather the leaves outside in the garden into garbage bags. There were also more than a dozen bags of rock that were piled in the rock garden. She told us she thought they would look better if she put them in the back of the garden, so we moved them for her. For the remaining time, we continued cleaning the rocks for the garden. Tonight I realized how much we had accomplished in a little over 10 hours of service. Sister Sarah said she will most likely wait and finish the remaining part of the rocks for after winter, and that we are welcomed to help. I'm glad that I chose to do my service learning at the Mound. It was something different and I've learned a lot about myself and others. Both Sister Sarah and Mary Owen are such kind and caring women. I feel that are so aware of everyone around them and will make time for everyone. It reminds me of the parable of The Lost Sheep in Luke 15 that I had discussed in class. We talked about how many people are quick to judge others based on their past mistakes, and how we should be more forgiving. Sister Sarah and Mary Owen are great examples of individuals who are so giving to others. They never expect anything in return, but yet are so willing to be of themselves. And I don't necessarily mean this with physical objects, but more of their time, patience, and sincere care for others. They see good in everything, if something is bad, it doesn't have to stay that way. I feel so grateful to have worked with them and got to know them. At supper we visited with them both and Sister Mary Owen made an announcement to the group of sister eating that we were done with our volunteer project and they all thanked us by applauding. Some sisters even came up to us at our table and thanked us for what we had been doing. Many told us how great the rock garden looked. I was so appreciative of their hospitality and general care for us while we were there. I have gained so much for this experience and I know that I will go back to visit those I met.

Hope House

Tuesday, November 13th at the Hope House a group from Dyersville came and prepared the meal. They were a group of women and a couple of teenage girls were with them. Tonight I brought my son with me to show him where I had been going on Tuesdays and also to show the people I have met a big part of my life. Don thanked me again for the cookies I brought last week. He asked me about my son's father. Usually this could be uncomfortable to someone you don't know very well. But it did not really make me uncomfortable. I guess I am very comfortable about who I am here more than other places.

Hope House

This Tuesday night, November 6th, two groups of students showed up with food. One group from Loras and one from UD. Jenny told us how a few weeks ago no body brought the meal. She said since they get most of their food from the farm the only thing they had a lot of was eggs. They made omelets for everyone that night. I am sorry I missed this I would have loved to been there to help. After this conversation they decided to serve both meals. They would send the leftovers home with the people who came to dinner. Also, mentioned was the fact that this was the beginning of the month and not as many people had come for the meal because they have food available. I brought some cookies made with splenda because Don has diabetes and does not usually get any dessert because it is always made with sugar. He was very grateful. The conversation is about their family, and their everyday lives, people genuinely care about each other.

Hope House

I have been having a few problems blogging. I can't find my posting for this week so am posting a new entry. I write in a journal ever time I serve before blogging so I know what happened this week. This week I went to the Hope House Tuesday October 16th. A group of students from Loras came and brought pasta, salad, garlic bread, and dessert. I was going to sit by Don, a man I sat by before. But instead I went to see if any help was needed in the kitchen. After that I went to the livingroom where a different group was sitting to see if they needed anything. I sat and ate at this table tonight. One of the people at the table I sat at was a woman around my age. She told me about how her apartment was broken down and the landlord did not plan to fix it up. She was very open and willing to share her problems. After dinner I helped clean up and one of the men and I washed up the dishes with help from some of the Loras students.

Last Day on the Farm

Friday November 9th was my last time working on the Catholic worker farm. Mary had me pull some broccoli out that was done for the season. After doing that I used a sort of tiller to break up the dirt where the broccoli had been. Once that was finished I got to go inside to warm up. I sat at the table with Mary, one of her friends, and Jessica to drink some hot cider. We got on the topic of pets because Ester, Mary's daughter, had just got a new cat. So as we enjoyed our cider we talked about our pets and so on. once we were warmed up Mary had us go and lay hay down where I had tilled to prevent weed growth for next year. After that there was nothing really left to do so I walked around with Patrick and Ester to help them gather the chicken eggs. I found this exciting because it is fun to look in and see all the fresh eggs that the chickens produce. Once we were all finished I thanked Mary for everything and went on my way.
I thought working at the farm was a really good experience and it actually turned out to be quite fun. I feel as if I have got a clearer idea of what it means to be a catholic worker. Mary and her family inspire me to try harder to give up sometime and help others. The farm they have, all the work they do, all the food they grow is meant to provide for others. I greatly respect what they do for those people at Hope House. If they were not available where would their food and shelter come from. I feel privileged to have been apart of providing for those less fortunate people. I believe that I have grown slightly from this experience. I now tend to look at everything I do to make sure nothing is taken for granted, because there are people out there that are very unfortunate. I hope to someday be as generous as Mary and her family are. I think that this is possible, but change does take time. Overall, I thought it was a very good experience. I may not of enjoyed the gardening part of it but I have to realize that my hard work really helped Mary out, and I am helping the less fortunate in the long run.

St. Vincent DePaul

On November 8th, I was at St. Vincent's Warehouse from 12:30-5:00pm. The first task I was assigned was to peal price stickers off of dishes in order for them to be placed out on the floor. The dishes we were working with were beautiful and appeared to be brand new. I ended up asking where they were from, and came to find that a store that was going out of business donated them. I was so impressed that they even received donations from corporations. A couple of the regular employees where sorting through clothes near by. I think that her name is Kelly, but she was trying on just about everything that passed by her. By the end of her fashion show, she ended up sporting a classic clip on tie and hunting hat. She was stunning. All of the employees make the tasks humerus and enjoyable. They are full of life. After peeling a tons of stickers, I began to sort jewelry. It was pretty overwhelming at first because you don't know where to start. I just started matching earring and sorting them into boxes. I felt pretty clever because we didn't have plastic bags or containers to place matches in, but i began ripping square pieces of paper and sticking them through it. It worked really well and helped to organize some of the chaos.

Into the Streets

I know that this is coming later than Sept 15th, but I have had the most difficult times with my blogger account. On Saturday Sept 15th I participated in Into the Streets and I volunteered at Presentation Lantern Center in Downtown Dubuque. We were greeted by Sr. Corinne, and she made us feel welcomed right away. She said that she has a theory that within the first 3 minutes of entering a building, a person knows whether or not they feel welcome/comfortable, so her goal is to make everyone feel welcomed as soon as they walk in. Presentation Lantern Center is a volunteer-based program that provides tutors for people who have just moved to America from all over the world and cannot speak English well or at all. Sr. Corinne had just had knee surgery, so she needed help cleaning the entire building. I scrubbed the floors, vaccuumed the rugs, swept the floor, wiped the blinds, dusted the furniture, and disinfected the toys. It was a lot of work, but it was great hearing Sr. Corinne's inspirational stories about some of the people who have passed through those doors over the years. My favorite story was when Sr. Corinne decided in the middle of a task that we all needed to take a break and have some coffee and "just talk." She didn't care if we'd get everything done, she wanted to talk about who we were. She told me that at 11am everyday, no matter what, a bell rings and everyone has to stop what they're doing and sit at the large table and take a break and enjoy each other's company. I thought that was a great demonstration of hospitality. Sr. Corinne said that she always makes sure there's a pot of coffee and some treats for visitors to enjoy. After finishing all of the heavy cleaning, I was eager to come back when the building was open to experience the tutor-student interactions.

Nursing home visit

Well I couldn't find one of my post from october. I must have done something wrong and it never was published. Well I went to a nursing home to help out with mass and observe the anointing of the sick. It was really amazing to see the elderly so excited be able to attend mass at the nursing home. It is really a highlight of their day. most of the elderly from the whole nursing home was there. I had to stand in the corner. My job was pass out song sheets and rosarys. I suprised about how many family members come in from the community to attend mass with their loved ones. I noticed a couple in the back. He was sick with a terminal illness, he couldn't swallow very well so he had to spit out all his saliva. She was very helpful and ok with the fact that he couldn't help it. She helped and supported him, you could see the love just pouring out of each other. It was one of those bitter sweet experiences.
After mass, we visited a lady that was diagnosised with MS at the age of 15. By the time she was 20 she had to stop working and needed assists with all her daily activities. She is now blind by she has a good sense of vision. She knew was I was in the room. It was amazing we talked about how she lived her life and never was bitter about the disease. She told me that you need your time to experience all you can! You never know when you can come down with a disbilitating disease.
Just to wrap this whole service learning experience up, I learned alot from the members of the St. Joesph the worker community and the community of Dubuque. All the people I visited with told me stories about growing up and living in Dubuque and it just made me appreciate what it has to offer today. It was very interesting hearing from the people. They love Dubuque and wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I met people that have lived in totally different ways of life. but they all said that the parish and their faith was always the center of their lives. They told me that they could not get through the hard times of life with out God, family and friends.

Sinsinawa Mound

On November 1st, Heather and I continued our volunteer work at Sinsinawa Mound. We were chatting with Sister Sarah as usual and she informed us that she would be traveling to Miami for a few days for a national Treasurers Conference. She said that the topics of the conference would focus on Medicare, social security, and Medicaid. By the sound of it, it is annual and she was looking forward to seeing other Sisters from across the nation. This shows the wider connection that Sinsinawa shares with the nation - sending members to attend conferences in which helpful knowledge for all is acquired for outreaching service and conversing with others from all over to share news and glad tidings. I look forward to hearing about how it went from Sister Sarah.

November 10,2007

Today I went to volunteer at the Sisters of Charity, Carmel Mound. I was looking forward to volunteering because I had not volunteered for a couple of weeks. In the activity center Joanne ( worker in this facility) was showing a video of her father in the Korean War, since it was Veternans day this past week. I helpped transfer a couple of sisters to and from thier rooms. The movie was eye-opening. I usually do not have an interest in the events in history, but it was interesting since I had a personal connection to the person being interviewed. Buster Welter, Jo's father was drafted into the Korean War for two years when he was 18 yrs old. He discribed how he was GI ( government property) This meant that he worked for the government, but you were basically just like a tool or weapon because they did care who you were. I found this really disappointing and shocking because it reminds me how some individual's in society do not think those with disabililties have emotions and feelings. Therefore, these individuals do not always recieve the appropriate education, or services necessary. Also, many people may stare at those with disabilites, when really all they want is someone to talk with them. Buster relates being in the army to hunting. He used to always go squirrel hunting because you are out at night looking for the Chinese, and waiting for them to show up, then you fire. The only difference between squirrel hunting and the army is the Chinese fire back. I believe the community that Buster was appart of had to have a really close bond. There had to be a sense of trust, communication, and support. All of the army members needed to support eachother, and motivate one another to keep fighting for thier country even if one individual felt they could not continue. There needed to be strong communication so that all members new their role and responsibilies. This movie was very eye-opening and I thought i was able to relate some of the content to what we are learning in our religion class.

St. Vincent DePaul

During my experience at St. Vincent Warehouse I was assigned many different activities. During my first time I organized books into different categories, and then put them on display for people to buy. My second experience I was assigned to peel off price tags off of dishes that were donated to the warehouse. Then after that was accomplished I began the very big task of organizing through jewelery. On my third day of volunteering I was instructed to help one of the employees organize shoes, place them in large barrels, and weigh them for shipping.
During my days of volunteering I met some very interesting and fun people. The employees that I worked with made my experience worthwhile. They kept me interested and laughing throughout my entire experience. It made it seem like I wasn't even volunteering, but instead like I was just hanging out with some of my friends. They all had a very open mind and got along with each other very well. It seemed like they had a very successful community.
One of the things I never realized was how much stuff gets donated to the warehouse. In the back there was an entire cage full of clothes, and it seemed as though every time I came back there was always something new or new books to sort through. Also it was really neat to see how appreciative the people who came to shop there were. They were so grateful for all the things offered at the warehouse. It makes me realize how lucky I am, and to be very appreciative for all the things and for all the opportunities I am presented with.
Even though I have completed my 10 hours, I think I will want to go back and continue to volunteer there.

Recue Mission

My last time at Dubuque Rescue Mission was actually last week and it's just taken me a while to post my comments. The last week went much the same as the previous weeks. They served dinner and we got to help and observe the community of people who go there. I have really enjoyed going there and it's just such a fun atmosphere to be in. Everybody is very friendly and so open to us being there and helping out and they are always thanking us for coming. Volunteering at the Rescue Mission has definetely been a highlight of my semester and even though I'm done with my required service hours I'm still planning on going back every week until the end of the semester.

My last night at the Maria House

I was sad tonight would be my last night, but hopefully I will get the chance to visit or maybe even volunteer there again. We ate dinner together and it was nice because the lady and children who had moved out a couple weeks ago came for a visit and I was able to see them again. It is nice to know that they are doing well and the Maria House has again accomplished one of their goals of helping women become self sufficeient.
It was one of the residents birthdays(she turned two)! We sang Happy Birthday and encouraged her to blow out her candles, it was pricesless seeing her smile as she opened a Dora Doll, that the Maria House had given her for her birthday. You can tell that the whole home really is each residents true family at this particular time in their lives.
After the celebration some sisters came and made greeting cards with the mothers. I helped one of the sisters entertain the chidlren iwth coloring pictures.
It was a good night, though sad, I have learned so much from each women that I will carry with me.

I did something I always wanted to do

This week instead of going to see someone from the St. Joesph the Worker parish, I volunteered to take an dog named Muffin to a nursing home for pet therapy. I figured it was a good way to incorporate two things I enjoy together. I love volunteering at the humane society and I like visiting with older people, they have so much knowledge and things to tell you, they never get old. Ha that's kind of Ironic older people never get old. Anyways, Muffin is a cute little dog that never barks and loves to get lots of attention, She's part cockier spaniel and something else that do not remember. I took her to the nursing home and was greeted by a room full of resident's waiting to hold and pet muffin. Some of them wanted Muffin to sit on their laps. Specially this little lady, She insisted that muffin sit on her lap. Well, I was alittle hesitate to put her up on the lady's lap so I just held muffin by her lap. The little old lady took her right out of my hand and gave her a big hug. It was so sweet. I can see my it is called pet therapy, the people's faces just light up when they see a dog walking around the halls. We traveled to every one's room that was on the list. They would tell me about when they are little they had a dog named.. so and so. and it was the greatest dog ever. It's funny they remember their childhood so well. It's just amazing. elderly patients never cease to amaze me.
This was something I have always wanted to do, but the times always conflict with my class schedule, it happens on Friday's at 10am. So the last two Friday's we had off I was able to volunteer. It is very rewarding to do it. The resident's love it and do not want you to leave. It was funny we were walking through the cafeteria area and some ladies were having some coffee and rolls. One lady kept throwing pieces of her roll at Muffin while we were trying to leave. Muffin would just stand there waiting for another piece. It was like a game the never ended.
I took away from these experiences a adoration for the elderly person. They are still have some child left in them after all these years. They have been though a lot and you can tell just by looking at them that they have lived a full life and they deserve to spend their last years enjoying the simple things such as a pet the visits. Some of them had to leave there pets at home when they came to stay at this nursing home. It would be hard to leave such a good companion.

Catholic worker farm

Friday I will be visiting the Catholic worker farm for the last time. I am excited to see what Mary has in store for me to do. I am hoping that I get to switch from doing gardening to something else. I have nothing against gardening but it would be fun to do something else. But whatever I'll be doing will be fine because I am helping out the Mihm family and those at Hope House. I am hoping that I will experience something that I can really reflect on when I come back to do my blog. I am also looking forward to seeing the kids again because they are always amusing and they make work fly by!

Center Grove UMC

This past Sunday I went to church at the site I volunteer, Center Grove UMC. The members of the church discussed the food drive they are holding this month to raise enough food to supply a few families during Thanksgiving.

On Sunday Evening I attended Center Grove UMC and we did something a little different when we gathered together. We all met to discuss the Mass session that the youth are going to lead on the 18th of this month, and we talked about the important things that the youth wanted to report to the congregation of what the youth group has to offer.

Then we discussed what we were going to do that night, and we talked about the night being a "mentor" sunday. What this means is that on one Sunday out of the month the youth go to someone's house to learn something different. This time we went out to a farm and we helped one of the youth's dad change a tire after he showed us how it was done, and he then showed us how to check the oil in a car. The point of doing this was to supply information to the youth just in case they ever get in trouble with their cars. It was interesting and we all had a good time trying to figure out what we needed to do in order to get the tire on right. After the tire was on we then gathered for prayer, and we offered up things we were concerned about, and we then prayed for one another. Then we had dessert and went back to the church to reflect upon our experience that night.

Hope House

I went to the Hope House for the second time today, Nov. 5. Penny was home taking care of her sick son. Tony most likely had a respertory infection. Penny said it was caused from running around outside without a coat....that's what boys do, huh? Everyone was pretty melo and we were watching Home Alone 2. Ab, was a new guest that I had met today. He made a lot of comments and referances to drugs, which upset me a bit. Mostly because Tony is not very old and even though he seems to already know too much about drugs ect. I don't feel that he needs anymore reference in his life. I also met Ron today. He and I had a long conversation about a lot of different aspects of life. He has really gone through alot of hard times. We discussed the health of our families- where sadly cancer was common. We discussed our own health and past history. Ron once had 4 surgeries in one week! So he is glad to be here and well. I was really impressed with him because he does physical labor in order to make money, so for a man who hasn't had the best health it's great news. I helped Penny set the table for dinner. All together there was going to be 16 people for dinner. I think that it is awesome that the Hope House is able to provide that meal for so many people. Penny was in charge while I was there because none of the workers where going to be home until 5 this evening. As I was leaving, others began to show up for dinner. I thought this was funny, so I thought I would share. One gentleman walked in and asked if the clocks were right. Penny nodded, and he disagreed that it was an hour later. For the past two days his clock was wrong- he forgot to set it back. We all had a good laugh.

St. Vincent Depaul

I went to St. Vincent Depaul Warehouse on Friday Nov. 2 and helped set the floor and sorted through an abundant amount of books. I was really suprised when I walked into the back room, only to find a huge amount of donations. I guess I never realized the amount of stuff they recieve. I help unload a few cars the came to drop off donations. It was neat to see how wilingl people were to give away a lot of really nice possessions. All the workers at St. Vincent's were very inviting and fun to work with. We conversed and listened/sang to the radio as we worked. I really enjoyed going through all the books, since I am an a big reader myself. It was fun to point out interesting/bizarre book to one another. I did have a hard time recycling some of the books that were not in the best condition- I have never thrown out a book before! I was told if I found a good series of books, I could put them on a special display. So I decided to put out 5 James Patterson hard cover books I had found, and before I left for the day they were sold! I was kind of excited. Everyone here works as a team. People are placed in certain areas but in any time of need one worker drops what they are doing in order to help. Everyone also tends to joke around a lot, which helps create a positive envirnment. St. Vincent's cares about creating the best surrounding for their customers. I feel that they do that by taking effort in sorting and placing iteams on the floor. Everyone is personal and involved. It was neat to see the behind the scenes of what it takes in order to provide this service to the public.

Service at Sinsinawa Mound

Last Thusday, November 1st, I volunteered again at the Sinsinawa Mound. Sister Sarah greeted us and told us that she had been able to lay down the rocks we had previously washed, so all we had to work on that day was cleaning a new layer of rocks. We worked on that while Sage and I talked to Sister Sarah about her upcoming trip. She told me that she has an upcoming trip to Miami, Florida for a National Treasure Conference. She explained that there would be around 800 people attending and that they were going to be discussing issues dealing with Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. I realized how involed Sister Sarah and many of the sisters at the Mound are with issues involving their community, as well as surounding communities and issues involving people in te United States. I think the issues they are involved in are crucial to our lives, and it's great they do so much to participate. We have volunteered 10 hours at the Mound so to meet our deadline we will be volunteering either one or two more times. And on our last visit, Sister Sarah would like us to eat supper again with her and a few of the other Sisters. It's great knowing that what I am doing is making a difference and helping them, but I also learn so much about other people and other communities.

Dubuque Rescue Mission

On Tuesday of this week was the last time I was required to go to the Rescue Mission for class. This week at the mission they had people there who would be able to help the people who come to the mission with finances and investing. I thought this was a good idea and hope that it helped the people who signed up for it. I have decided to continue to go to the rescue mission even though I have fullfilled all my hours for class. The people there are very nice and always make it a fun time

Center Grove UMC

On the 28st of October the Center Grove UMC youth group went to Sherill to meet with the church there. We watched a video on what it means to be healthy and happy, and we then sang songs about love and peace with one another. After the songs we all sat around in a circle and listened to scripture readings done by the Sherill pastor, and we were then given a sheet of paper that we had to read. The sheet of paper talked about some hard times that individuals may go through in life, and that they may lead to suicide. The examples listed were divorce, breaking up with someone, thinking that no one cares about you, feeling like you are a nobody, and more. Then we took time to let the youth and anyone else share if they had lost anyone to suicide, or if they themselves had ever attempted it. It was interesting to hear the Pastor tell us a story about a time when she thought her life could not get any better that she actually considered suicide. It was a very touching youth service that night, and we discussed options that people have when they feel like they just cannot go on. After that we discussed what we will be doing for this week's youth group session, and we discussed the Thanksgiving dinner at Hope House that we will be serving. We also started selling coupon books to the communities to raise money for Christmas families, and also the youth camp trip.

Center Grove UMC

On the 21st of October I met with the youth group at Center Grove UMC in Dubuque. We gathered around eachother and listened to scriptures of the bible that the pastor had picked out, and we then talked about what it means to grow spiritually and to be able to rise above everyone else. We talked about how it is important to recognize the changes we need to make in our own lives so that we become the best we can be. Some stories were given by the leaders and the youth that told about signs they have been given in their lives where they felt they were calling them to "rise above" others. It was interesting to hear these stories and see the effects they have had on both the youth and the leaders. We related these stories back to a guest speaker that we had the week before. His name was Pastor Charles, and he came to the youth group hours to discuss what he does for his outreach service to others, and he told us of the school that he helped bulid in Camaroom, Africa for the less fortuante children there. It was amazing to see the pictures he showed us, and to see how the help of one individual changed the lives of so many.

2nd Day

My second post… This post it is different than 1^st Day (http://servicelearningrels204.blogspot.com/2007/09/1st-day.html). On the 1^st day I attended to Dubuque Humane Society and this day I went to St. Vincent de Paul Society. The experiences were the exact opposite of each other; one had to do with animals that have been a banded and the other one has to do with humans who give, to hopefully receive something back in the future.

Today I noticed that the world that we are living in is only being enjoined by a few people. What I mean, is that between the three kinds of societies that are in this world (low class, middle class, and high class), only the high class is the one who really enjoy the world with out any problems. We have people with nothing trying to become somebody. In their path they help or get helped by somebody else from the same kind of society or lower.

I never been in a place or imagined a place where people could go to buy used stuff. After volunteering at St. Vincent’s, I realized that I should be grateful with what I have and should not be thinking about buying more stuff. Sometimes in our society we don’t realize or know our limits to what we should have. We are so selfish with ourselves that we never think that there are people in the world who are needy. Whenever we go to the mall we always say “Oh, I think that I would wear this shirt some day in the future.” Instead we should be thinking, “Oh, how about if I buy some shirts and/or food for somebody that need it more than I do.

I think that we categorize too much and don’t appreciate all we have, and never say thank you to God for what we have, and how we got it.

Service Learning at the Sinsinawa Mound

This past Friday, October 26th, I continued with my service learning at the Mound. We had not been back for a couple weeks because Sister Sarah had been gone on a trip. She was gone down south on a Conference in which she attended with another Sister from the Mound. She said the trip was enjoyable and productive. This week went quite well because we have almost reached the wall in the rock garden. We worked on a deep layer of rocks this week and I noticed how much more work was required to wash the rocks because of how dirty they were. Next week when we go we will be able to lay down all the rocks we cleaned. Sage and I worked hard on cleaning these rocks for two hours, while Sister Sarah showed us which layers were to be cleaned first. When we first started this project I wasn't sure if what we were doing each week was going to be apparent to myself and other people, but this past week we stepped back and admired our work accomplished thus far. We all noticed how our work compared to the rocks not yet cleaned and relayed, and what we have been doing has payed off. I can tell that our work has made the rocks look newer and more organized. After we worked on the rocks for two hours, Sage and were invited to eat with everyone in the Cafeteria. We were invited to eat with Sister Sarah, Sister Mary Owens, and another Sister. We sat down and we introduced ourselves and Sister Mary soon got up. We soon realized that she was announcing Sage and i to the other sisters eating. Sister Mary said that we had been volunteering for the past couple weeks and that we had been working hard on the rock garden. We then stood up and they all clapped for us. It was such a good feeling because the sisters are all so welcoming to everyone and they made us feel like we were helping them so much. After the meal Sister Sarah showed us around and there were a couple of bulletin boards outside the cafeteria. There were pictures of many soldiers and it said there name and where they were currently at. I realized how the Mound is a place where people come to give hope. They are all sweet, and caring people. They seem to always be giving to others, whether they know someone personally or not. Also, I was touched by a board that had prayers on it. People that work there, sisters, and also people in the community who call in a prayer can have it posted on the board and everyday they pray for all of them. It is so touching because I read a few and some wanted to pray for a relative having surgery, and others called in and asked them to pray for the people in California who were affected by the fires. She also told us that there is a channel at the Mound, that displays the daily prayer on the screen. This allows the Sisters to be in their room and be aware of the requested prayers and pray for all of them. I thought this affect of kindness and love for people near and far tells us about all the good these sisters do each day.

Sinsinawa Mound

Getting back into the volunteering phase after a couple weeks off due to scheduling conflicts, Heather and I went to Sinsinawa Mound on Friday, October 26. As corny as this may sound, it felt rather refreshing to get back to helping Sister Sarah and get away from school stress for a little while - the Mound is a very welcoming place and comforting. We chatted a bit with Sister Sarah about her conference trip and got a lot accomplished with our work - by next week, we suspect that we will reach our goal of reaching the wall with the rocks - it is kind of surprising how far we really have gotten in a relatively short time.
We were able to stay for dinner and sat with Sister Sarah, Sister Mary Owens (the volunteer coordinator) and another Sister. Before we knew it, Sister Mary Owens had gotten up from her seat and Heather and I were kind of startled when we heard our names announced with a welcome from the Sisters. It was so sweet - they have welcomed us into their community. We found out things about them (the Sisters we ate with), but they asked a lot about us - our futures, families, interests. I think this shows how our interest in helping them leads to them wanting to know about us. I also believe with that concept that the elderly want to learn about new aspects in younger peoples lives - for example, Sister Sarah asked about how we relax and the TV shows we watch. Dinner was really enjoyable and I hope we get the chance to do it again.

Hope House

Today I went to the Hope House or the Christian Worker House for two hours. It was a really positive experience. Brian, is one of the workers who live there, was making breakfast when I first arrived. Penny, who lives there, was working on the computer in the living room. Brian and I discussed the goals and some of the background of Christian Worker Houses across the country. I found it interesting that there is no central or headquarters to this ministry. Plus, anyone can make an Christian Worker House-all you have to do is place a sign above the door and write to an existing Worker House. Neat, huh? Plus, this Christan Worker House has a farm! They grow a majority of their own vegetables, their milk, eggs and some other foods come straight from their own farm. They live in an organic, natural lifestyle. Brian was full of really cool facts on a number of different topics. Ruby, a consistent visitor to the house, came over for breakfast. She was a fun and energetic lady. She wants to become a motivational speaker and feels like that is one of her callings from God. She is very rooted in her faith and discussed the importance of prayer. Throughout her life, she has never been led astray by God and he has always provided her with a way. It was really cool to she her excitement radiate off her as she spoke about her faith. She is a person that glows. I feel like in the short time I was with her I got to get to know a lot about her. I helped clean the kitchen and do dishes. I then cleaned the bathrooms and swept/dusted in the dining room. Again in a more natural setting, instead of using commercial cleaning products, I used vinegar and water to clean. It worked really well, and I'm considering starting to use it in my own house. Brain really appreciated the help in cleaning the house. It may become a weekly thing for me to help out with. Overall, I felt really comfortable and rewarded after leaving the house. I look forward to going back :)
-Kenzie

Service Learning RELS 204 Fall 2007: Fourth Day at Mt. Carmel

Service Learning RELS 204 Fall 2007: Maria House
Last night I went to the Maria House, even though I have passed the minimum hours I still continue to go because I really enjoy going and I know I am helping the women by watching their children so they can enjoy some recreation time alone. Last night was different because the women stayed at the house and carved pumpkins. I had a great time watching them all work together. For many of them it was their first time carving pumpkins and they really seemed to enjoy it. The children watched and help pull the"goo" out as they called it. There were a lot of smiles in the room and there was such a positive atmosphere. I learned that there are so many things that we take for granted such as something so simple as carving pumpkins but for some people they don't get the chance to engage in something so fun.

Fourth Day at Mt. Carmel

Today marked my fourth day at Mt. Carmel. As I was getting ready to go to Mt. Carmel this morning I realized that I was truly looking forward to going to my service learning. In all honesty, this was a first. It's not that I didn't have fun working there in the past, I just never really wanted to get up 3 hours early so that I could fit in my service learning before going to religion class. I think the reason I was so excited today was because I have started to create some relationships with the sisters there that I am working with. The first sister I help is named Sr. Julissa. She always greets me with a big smile and asks how I am doing. I get a similar response from all of the sisters that I help. Since I have been there for the past few weeks, we have started to get to know each other better and I am really starting to feel like I am a part of their community.
While I was taking one of the sisters to her appointment she asked me if I was considering working with "the aged" in my life. I don't know why but this question stumped me. I have never really thought about continuing this experience any further then this class, but I don't see why I couldn't. After I delivered that sister I stood in the elevator and thought about how being with these sisters has impacted my life. They really have left an imprint on me. Last Monday, for example, I saw that one of the sisters I always take down to therapy was not on my list. I was so worried that something terrible had happened to her that I asked one of the orderlies. Turns out she just had a appointment that she had to go to. I feel like my response was an indication as to how much these sisters are starting to mean to me.

Books at St. Vincent DePaul Second Experience

Today (Friday, Oct. 19), I did my second service learning hours in the evening hours at the St. Vincent DePaul Warehouse. I helped a worker sort books by category, take off any existing price tags, and put the books on the shelf in the store for people to purchase. It seemed as if no end in the pile of books existed. I was amazed to see the vast amount of high quality books and many that I would love to read in the piles of donated books.

As an education major who has many elementary education major friends, I was surprised to see so many quality children’s books in good condition. Elementary teachers are always buying tons of books through book orders trying to build their personal libraries that they can use in their classroom. I will be referring my friends to check out the children’s book collection at St. Vincent DePaul because children’s books are only 10 cents for paper back and 15 cents for hard cover. This is an unbelievable deal for books in good condition (I have one friend that just spent over 80 dollars buying 20-25 books from book orders). The woman I worked with said that children’s books are the biggest category of books that are donated, but they are the slowest to sell. This would be an excellent opportunity for teachers to build their book collections, while contributing to a community that helps those in need.

Books at St. Vincent DePaul First Experience

Today (Friday, Oct. 19), I did my first service learning hours in the late morning hours at the St. Vincent DePaul Warehouse. My feeling going into this assignment was one time: Is this going to be worth my precious time, and will I even have time to do any of this service learning assignment. Coming into this assignment my goal was simple: to get this project done without it interfering with my very busy music life. My goal has now changed to using this as a way to relax and unwind from my busy life.

My life this semester has been constantly running from one thing to any other, and each of those things has been high intensity activities and rehearsals. One of the very first things I noticed when I began volunteering is that everything that goes on at St. Vincent DePaul Warehouse is done at a slow, relaxed pace. The workers use their time there to learn about each other and learn new things from the items they take in. My job was sorting books, and one of the things that the worker I was paired with often would do was look through the books she was sorting and pick out an interesting fact that she did not know before. Since she had not gone to college, sorting books was a way for her to continue learning in life. Something I noticed over all was that there were not strict things that the workers had to get done each day. There were guidelines, but it was not absolutely necessary for each task to be complete by the end of the day. As usual for this semester, my Tri-College Free Day was not a day off, and it was just as busy as a normal Friday with rehearsals and service learning. When I showed up to volunteer, I was again running from one hectic, and actually working in a slow paced, low-challenge environment was extremely relaxing for me, and it relieved a lot of the stress I had coming into it.

~Kristin P.

St Vincent Depaul

I was pretty anxious to start my service learning at St. Vincent Depaul because my work and school schedules finally allotted me some time to do so. From talking to classmates about their experiences, I really wanted to start my service and try to connect with a faith community. When I first got there, I talked with the first employee I saw. I told her who I was and that I was there to meet with Kurt (I believe his title is "director".) A goal of mine was to try to get the first person I came into contact with to open up to me a little bit. So, I started probing her for answers about what exactly they did there, what all occurs in terms of donations, buying of goods, redistribution of money from the goods sold, food vouchers, item vouchers, etc. I immediately found a sense of pride in the fact that items I had donated before were used in two ways, sold to those that can afford to buy them cheaply, and then that money was allotted to people who cannot afford clothes and food so they could have such necessities of life.

I worked a lot of the day with a girl about 8 years younger than me, she is a new employee there. She dropped out of high school about two years ago, and this is her first job so that she can "pay some rent." She also wants to save some money for the GED, which I was very happy to hear. For the most part, I opened bags of donated clothes, put shoes in a bin, purses in a bin, and then all the clothes into the bailer and compacted them. I noticed the pace of the other volunteers/employees to be some what slow, kind of like the overnight stocking shift at target, just floating through the shift. I was moving so much faster than everyone, but they appreciated it I think, because I was doing some of their work anyway. Some conversations I had were similar to other classmates, about community service sanctioned by the courts or by school, how many hours, etc. I was kind of distraught that some people made comments like, oh thats not too bad a number of hours, or that will go by real quick. I was hoping they would be more rooted in the community and WANT it to be more hours so that I can be a part of the community more!
In doing this work, I felt a sense of meaning to what I was doing. Someone, somewhere, that needs clothes, might get them a little bit sooner because I was helping sort through all the bags of donations. Cold Iowa winter is approaching, I know it can be bad.

I will be going back to complete my hours next week, and probably go a few times extra after that. I want to be able to talk to some of the people that buy the items on the sales floors, and help them in any way that I can, as well as talk to a few other employees/volunteers and see why they choose to work at St. Vincent Depaul. I also hope to continue to talk with the girl that I worked with, to help her figure her life out in some way possibly, she is a good kid, just needs some guidance. From the start of our work, I thought about my regrets of not continuing to earn my degree in Education, to make a difference in the schools. I Guess my degree that I am earning in Business will have to be used for something meaningful, for me to feel successful with it.

A goal I have is to find out more about the community that exists at St. Vincent Depaul, because everyone does talk to everyone else and they are all there for a reason, I think people will talk to me if I ask questions and share about myself as well.

Bereavement meeting

Today I attended a meeting at the St. Joesph the worker parish for people that are dealing with a loss and are going through the greiving process. We started by reader a the gospel of Luke chapter 17: 11-19 I think it was about the ten lepers and only one came back to thank Jesus for cleansing him. We reflected on its meaning and said that it would be a good thing to think about all the people we have forgotten to thank and give them a call or send them a note thanking them. Then we went on to watch a movie about how the church is like a hospital for our spiritual life. When we are grieving the Church community gives us support. the movie talked about how family can help the individual grieving and so can a church family. It said the church is like a family not an institution. I couldn't stay for the discussion after because I had a class to go to but what I did observe was good I feel like the people there needed to here that the church is a form of a family.

Service Learning RELS 204 Fall 2007: Homebound visit

Service Learning RELS 204 Fall 2007: Maria House
Last night I went to the Maria House, (October 17, 2008) I sat in on the House meeting which gave me more insight into the women's lives. They talked about how during the holidays alot of people from the community will be donating and even sponsoring families at the Maria House. I am really proud of Dubuque for being so active in helping these homeless women. It is a great amount of Charity. I think the community could improve with a more hands on aspect though. I think you really get a feel for what these women and children are going through by meeting and talking to them instead of just dropping off donations.
They also talked about the rules and made sure that everyone was aware and following them like it is expected of them. There have been alot of staff going to the Theresa Shelter now that it is open during the night and day and some of the rules have been forgotten about so it was just a reminder. I see so much empowerment when I go to the Maria House, all of the women are required to work and/or go to school while they are living there. They all have chores that must be done and at the same time they work together if someone will not make it home on time to get their chores done.

Homebound visit

Today I visited a woman that is homebound and lives alone. It was a joy talking to her and learning about her life growing up in Dubuque. She is around 80 years old, when she was growing up in Dubuque, she talked about how there was no julien dubuque bridge. The only way to get across to the other side was a wooden bridge by eagle point park. It the top deck was for cars and the bottom trains went underneath. I thought that would have be cool to see.
She also talked about how when she was young and married to her childhood sweet heart that she followed out to California. He was in the service and they were married on treasure Island. After world war two they came back to Dubuque and started a family. For a getaway on the weekend, her parents would watch the kids and they would ride the trains from Dubuque all the way to chicago. I also asked her how Dubuque has changed from when she was a kid. She responded by telling me that Dodge street, highway 20... used to be all houses along the road. As a kid she lived along that road. So that area has completely changed. She also told me when the Mississippi river flooded the down town area was all under water because there was no dike or flood walls.
She told me about her family. She thinks about her husband and daugther everyday. Some days are better than others when it comes to being able to talk about it. Her daughter used to live with her and her husband, and one morning her husband told her to come into the kitchen. They found her daugther dead on the kitchen floor. She had suffered a massive heartache at the age of 51. A year later her husband did the same thing. Her son lives in a near by town but she lives alone which she is ok with she gives alot of visitor from St. Joepsh the worker parisher, where I am volenteering. As we were sitting there she had two people stop by. One was a person from the parish bringing her supper. and the other was the neighbor across the street that mows her lawn and takes out the garbage for her every week.
Comparing this experience to the other visits with elderly of the parish. It was probably one of the more sad ones that affected me. She is such a sweet lady, living alone with her dog. all the other places I have visited had other people like themselves living all around them in nursing homes and apartment buildings. I think the fact that the parish cares enough to come visit and caught up with the person for a few hours is great.

Rescue Mission

Tonight I continued with my service at the Dubuque Rescue Mission. Not much changed this week we still helped serve dinner to all of the people who showed up. One thing I love to see every week is how everyone interacts with each other and their relationships with one another. They pretty much act like one big family and they all seem genuinely interested in each other. Also I've noticed recently since we've been going there for a little while now how everyone is just kind of used to seeing us and I think they almost expect us to be there. They are always so nice to us and seem genuinely glad when we walk in. I also noticed how grateful people are for the help and how some of them always make sure they come and thank us before they leave. Overall my experience is continuing to be a very rewarding and enriching one.

St. Vincent De Paul experience by Paul

I didn't know what to do for this service project at the start and thought that I would have a hard time finding one to do that involved a Christian community and one that would be flexible with my actual job. It turned out that Dustin would mention the idea about working at St. Vincent De Paul and when I called St. Vincent De Paul up, I found out that their schedule was very flexible. Later, Aaron asked if he could join us too, so there was three of us on this first day.
When I first got there I didn't know what to expect. I usually frequent both St. Vincent De Paul and Goodwill to search for things I like to collect, but had really never known how the store ran in the background. We walked into the back room and I found it to be surprisingly large. There were two big shop floor rooms with items organized into categories. The first room had an electronic area, a child toy area, a bed parts area and a clothing area with a big compactor that was used to compress unwanted clothing. The second room had an office for one of our supervisors, tables, computer electronics, other random furniture, and a truck loading dock.
I was surprised that when we first walked into the place, a guy that I think was named 'Tom' asked us if we were there by court order. I actually laughed in response and he told us that a lot of the help that they get there is court ordered. We started off the day by taking a table out onto the display floor in the St. Vincent Store, and then proceeded to dust all of the furniture that was in the second room. Dusting the furniture didn't seem to take us that long. Our second task was to sweep the two shop room floors. We took a while to do this, and while I was still doing it, our supervisor gave Dustin the task of breaking down boxes and Aaron the task of sorting bed parts. Eventually we all helped Aaron sort out the bed parts because this was the longest job. We then moved all the bed parts that didn't match to a place where they would be picked up and taken to the dump.
Another supervisor at the store room asked us what our majors were at Clarke and when he asked me, I told him that I was a CS major and that I dealt with computers. When he heard that, he told me that he wanted me to fix a computer problem for him. I then told him to ask Dustin instead because Dustin is better at normal computer problems and I don't like to fix computer issues. Dustin helped him with his computer while I watched what he was doing and Aaron talked to the computers owner. Dustin seemed to fix all the computer issues so the guy bought us lunch.
After that, we did a little more furniture set up on the show room and went home.
I think that this was a good experience. It somehow reminded me of what it is like to work at a grocery store, where I stock things on the shelf on the display floor. I thought that everyone there was easy to deal with, we didn't run into any bad situations from my experience. The only bad thing about this deal is that I didn't get paid for my work, which is why it's called community service...

Dubuque Rescue Mission

I went to the Dubuque Rescue Mission again today to continue me service project. I helped serve the dinner meal like I normally do. The people who come to get meals there still amaze me at how grateful they are for our help. Everyone is so nice. Serving food there and seeing all the people who come through makes me realize how good I have it in life. The rescue mission is like a family for the people who work there and the people who come to get meals from them.

First Time at St. Vincent De Paul

Last Saturday was the first time I went to St. Vincent De Paul to help out. Before going, I was a bit nervous about what I would be doing and who I would meet. Since I went with a couple other students, I wasn't as nervous as I could have been. I also tried to think of a few good questions to ask while I was there. The main thing I wanted to know is their exact mission. I knew they helped the poor, I just didn't know exactly how.
When we arrived there, we were greeted by one of the guys in charge (sorry, I can't think of his name off the top of my head). The first thing he asked us is if we were there by court order. This surprised me at first, but after some time I realized the court uses this place as a spot for people to perform their terms of community service. In a sense, those serving a court order here can be thought of as helping the poor. They may not necessarily be lacking money, but they can be lacking guidance of what's right and wrong.
When we went into the back room, our first task was to clean off the wooden furniture, which was no small task. Thanks to the generosity of others in the community, there was a mountain of tables, chairs, and cupboards waiting to be sold.
As we were cleaning, I asked the guy who assigned us this task about what they do with the money from all the sales. He explained that they give out vouchers to those who need a little help with such things as paying their bills. They also obtain food from the food bank and give it to families in need. He also mentioned that unlike Goodwill, all the money stays in the community and the CEOs of St. Vincent don't get paid a cent; they work purely on a volunteer basis. This struck me as a surprise because I thought that someone in charge like a CEO would be getting some monetary compensation for their efforts.
As the day went on, we were given more tasks, such as sweeping the back room, sorting different items, and carrying furniture to the display area. One of the furniture sets that we cleaned and set up for display was sold that day, which gives me a sense of accomplishment. It is a good feeling knowing that something I took part in went toward helping out someone less fortunate.
After about 5 hours, we decided it was time to call it a day. It would be best for us to come on a separate occasion so we can meet more of the other volunteers. I plan on going back this Saturday to help out some more, and possibly make a difference.

Second Day at Catholic Worker Farm

On Friday October 12th I went to the farm again. This time I knew what to expect so I wasn't nervous. I was actually excited becasue I got to see Mary and the kids again. Jessica came along with me this time. When we first arrived we were sent outside to the garden to weed. I also picked peppers and eggplant. As we worked outside I had fun talking to Mary's two boys Francis and Patrick and her little girl Ester. I asked them if the had to work on the farm like we were doing. Of course they said yes. I also talked to them about what they liked to do and what they were doind at school. Mary informed us later that she homeschooled her children. I myself have mixed feelings about homeschooling becasue I can see it as a positive and a negative. It is a positive because children get to be with thier families and in MAry's case the boys are around to help her with the farm chores. The negative is that kids that are homeschooled don't get as much of a chance to go out and socialize and experience new things.
After we worked for about an hour we wnet back inside and I asked Mary some questions. I learned what their mission statement was first. Second I had her describe to me what her spirituality was. I lved her basic answer. She said her spirtuality was that of a radical christian- to go back to christs teachings of serving, loving, and bringing peace especially to the poor.I thought this was interesting because it ties right in to what we are learning in class. Jesus' main goal is to serve the poor as is theirs at the farm.
I went on to ask her what others form the outside society did for them. She replied that many individual contribute things such as money or food for Hope House. Also a church took out a second collection for this purpose. Also in order for the family to pay for thier home the BVM's from sisters of the chairity gave them a $60,000 no intrest loan. I think that it is amazing about how generous people are. It really doesnt matter how much you give, as long as your giving. Even the smallest amount can truley help people out there that are starving and hame no clothing or shelter.
After my questions were asked I went back outside to weed a strawberry bed. Then once all the weds were out I mulched around the plants. MAry really didn't have much for me to do after that so I called it a day. Before I left I overheard one of the residents from Hope House say that her parents were not religious. This just made me think that you don't have to be born into a religious family in order to have a religion. You are the one that chooses your own spirituality and you can be the one to decide which faith based community, if any you want to join.

My Experience at St. Vincent Depaul

Over the past four weeks I have been experiencing "hands on" what it is like to serve the needy. I have been engaged in several activities, whether it was sorting clothes, hanging them on hangers, or bring the clothes to the main floor at St. Vincent Depaul. I was very welcomed by many of the employees when first starting my service hours. As time continued, I learned a lot about this community that I became a part of in such a sort time. I observed that all the employees are unique in their own ways but in the end everyone worked together for the same common goal, serving those in need. I truly feel each individual there values what they do everyday and are there for good reason, to help anyway they can. Yes, some of it was for the money, but when I talked to one lady, she said she really gets personal satisfaction out of working at St. Vincent Depaul knowing she is helping/working for the needy. All and all, I would say the most positive part of this service was working in a multicultural community and learning from all of them in a unique way. Its good to finally realize that many small deeds can have such a big impact in the community of the poor. In a short period of time I have discovered a journey towards self-awareness and I am in hopes to continue in supporting the needs of surrounding community.

First Day

This last Wednesday was my first day at my service learning site. I am doing my service learning at Mt. Carmel where I am working with elderly sisters who can no longer manage to get themselves to their physical therapy appointments. This is my second time working at Mt. Carmel and I was welcomed back with open arms. I was shocked at how many of the sisters not only remembered me, but remembered that I am an elementary education major from Clarke College.
I love working with these nuns because they take a personal interest as me and I feel that they really appreciate all that I am trying to do for them. Even though, to me, it doesn't seem like I'm doing all that much, to them it means the world. All too often we take for granted the fact that if we want to go somewhere there isn’t much holding us back. Sure some of us may not have say a car to get to the grocery store, but at least we are able to get up and walk down to the kitchen or dining hall to get some breakfast. Working with these sisters has helped to show me that we must not take for granted the little things in our lives.
It is these people who we consider to be poor, but they are certainty not poor in spirit. Even though one of the sisters has a very progressive form of Parkinson’s disease, she still has a smile on her face and greets everyone she sees with a “Good Morning!” and when asked how she is doing she replies with “Wonderful!”. She doesn’t try to burden others with her problems, but tries to lift people up by displaying her courage and her ability to triumph over adversity.
I am looking forward to spending more time with these sisters.

First Day

I am at Mt. Carmel helping the nuns get from their rooms to their wellness appointments. The first day there I was with Annie W and she had been there before so she showed me the ropes. Some of the nuns are really funny and will tell you if you are going the wrong way down to their appointments. They also want you to "park" them in the correct spots by the wellness department. Another thing we will be doing is helping the nuns move back into the Mother house. I believe their was some remodeling and also some were sick and had to be moved. So Annie and I will be moving all of their boxes back into their other rooms.

St. Vincent Depaul 10/13/07- " I had to learn that I was not special"

I went to St Vincent Depaul on saturday with paul and dustin. we got there at 9:30am and was greeted my a rather chipper mid 20's man that was going to be leading us through the day. We first began with cleaning off tables and moved them to the sales floor. Then, we swept the entire back room warehouse-like building. Following this, it was my job to go through stacks of bedposts, find ones that are alike, and tape them together with a tape gun. I had trouble with the gun. and when a worker assisted me, I was upset because I felt the ignorance I cameto abolish. Here I was a college student almost ready to graduate being instructed how to do something by someone that I felt was not as educated as me. Thankfully, I cast aside this thought and accepted her help pleasently and was polite. This was the one incident that stuck out in my mind. I had to learn that I was not special, or any different than anyone becasue Ive almost completed a college degree. I got tired and began wishing we could leave. However, I forced this to the back of my head. then, we were called to the office to fix a computer. While Paul and Dustin were working, I conversed with the coordinator and observed my surroundings. I was thankful for the opportunity to do relational service in addition to work. We concluded our time at approximately 1:30 after moving more tables and setting chairs in the front of the store. This was a good step on my journey of self -understanding and competency.

Week 6 Experiences

The search for a new campus ministry director continues. Several good candidates have surfaced and we will commence with contacting references and interviews in the month of October. Every faculty member on campus is asked to provide service to the college and the community as part of their job responsibilities at Clarke. They are evaluated each year and asked to reflect on this contribution. Clarke is part of a wider community and it is a responsibility of each faculty member to build up this community.
Dean

Dubuque Rescue Mission

Today was the third time I went for my service learning at the Dubuque Rescue Mission. The last three times I have been there I have gotten a chance to get to know the people that work there and they are all very nice. I also have been seeing that the Rescue Mission is more than just a place for people to come and get a hot meal. It is a place where everyone is welcome and treated like family. Everyone is also so appreciative of us coming to help serve the meals. It is a great organization that helps many people.
Meagan

1st Day

This being my first post, I would like to start saying that my community service opportunity is really different than what others may be doing. My first 10 hours I’ll be focusing on animals which are left behind by others and they are trying to be relocated someplace else. By going to the humane society (which link will be shown at the end of my post) I thought about L’Arche and Vanier, how people are marginalized because the way they are. That is one thing that we need to improve as a community.

On My first day I didn’t do whole a lot. Basically was just learning how the program works, but also in addition to this I learn a lot. I could not believe on what people are capable of doing with animals; the actions that they take just because they just wanted too. I mean, do people think about the actions that they take that it will be for their own benefit but without affecting others life? I bet that after you listen to this story you will think that most of them DON’T just the same way that I did.

There was a family that had a dog for 8 years and after the dog grew up and the color of his hair changed, the family decided to get rid off the dog. This was just because the color of the dog didn’t match the color of the furniture any more.

If a human did this with an animal that own it for 8 yrs., how capable is doing it to a person which it is limited to do certain things. Starting right there, I think that we need to change and make a difference as a community.

link: http://www.dbqhumane.org/

Observation #2

September 29,2007



Today I went to Sisters of Charity to do my service learning project. I was excited to go because the first time I went was alot of fun. Today when I arrived I helpped prepare juice and snacks for the sisters after Bingo was finished. There was about twenty five people playing bingo, and I helpped the nuns who could not see the numbers on the bingo cards. I thought it was interesting how one nun was very competetive and would get frusterated when her number wasn't called. This nun had six bingo cards and towards then end of the game she said bingo acouple of times, even though she knew she did not have it. This reaction from the nun really surprised me because I usually percieved nuns to be always happy and not really competitive. Then there was another lady who won bingo three times and everytime she would feel bad because the lady next to her had not won any bingos. After bingo, I was able to socialize with the nuns. I found out that Sister Margarite used to be a Chemisty professor at Clarke College. She said that she really enjoyed teaching and was always enthusiastice about it because then her students enjoyed it more. Also, I talked to Sister Annina who described when she taught children in the slumbs of Jamaca for six weeks with another sister. She teaching was fun, but the little boys didn't always behave so she would have to tell them to listen so they could help them learn. This reminded me of the service experience i had in Mexico spending time with children in poverty.

trouble

Ive been trying to locate a spot for my service learning requirement. However am having difficulty finding one. I fist began after class on week one contacting What I believed to be the Dubuque Community Food bank. I then discovered an overload of volunteers and no need for more. I followed with a question "where would I be able to volunteer?" I was then directed to St Stephens Food Band Where I was in contact with the coordinator there and scheduled to work 8-9 am on Mondays and 11-12 on Wednesdays. However, I drove around the city of Dubuque for an hour and a half searching for this location and could not find it. I then contacted my coordinator at the center and expressed my concern. The following week I once again attempted to find the location and was unable to. So, I contacted St Joseph the Worker's ministry because I had located it whille searching for St Stephens. I called the location and gave my name and number and reason for calling. The caller then informed me that I will be contacted when the coordinator is able. This was Wednesday. I have not been contacted. I am confused. Im trying to connect with a service learning location but running into difficulty. It reminds me of a true search for Divine inspiration of some sort. I will continue to search and have faith that I will find a location