Meet my travel partner, Caitlin!

Our first photo together as VOICA volunteers!!

Caitlin arrived in Albuquerque today! I am so excited for the next phase of formation and to get to know the person who I'll be living and working with for the next four months (She's only serving until May). She's a fellow Midwesterner, hailing from Nebraska, just turned 23, majored in English and Spanish in college, is a vegetarian and has a passion for travel and service. Day one, it seems like we have quite a few similar interests and both have pretty easy going personalities. Yay! The only downside of her arrival is that Sr. Angela felt the need to bring up all of my bad eating habits again, our biggest area of conflict. The upside, Caitlin was pretty diplomatic and kind of even stood up for me. I like this girl already!

Saint Francis Xavier

Today, the Catholic Church honors St. Francis Xavier. He along with St. Thérèse of Lisieux are patron saints of missionaries! It sounds weird to call myself that, a missionary, but when you get down to it I guess that's what I really am. Here's a link to an article if you want to learn more about St. Francis Xavier and his life.

Kindred Spirits

Last weekend was just what I needed. Mary, a past VOICA volunteer that served in Indonesia, came to visit me and packed my weekend with tips, new ideas, travel talk, reality checks and Albuquerque knowledge. And, I got to feel a little bit more my age when we went downtown to play pool and get a few drinks with her brother and his girlfriend who live in Albuquerque and who, like Mary and me, love to travel!

From the minute she walked through the door, Mary boosted my level of excitement by like a hundred. She told me stories about what her training was like in Rome, which was nice to hear since I’m here by myself and sometimes don’t have a clear idea of what I can be doing.  More importantly, she shared what it was like serving in Indonesia. She lived in a small village on the Indonesian part (west) of the Island of Timor teaching English to people of all ages and helping out in a health clinic for almost one year. Although a very different culture than Paraguay, it was great to learn about what she did, the challenges she faced and what it was like living in a hot, humid climate. Her stories about her mission are the best preparation I’ve received so far! Hearing about how she perfected taking showers down to only using two scoops of cold water and actually getting clean was just the reality check I needed. She told me about the wonderful friends she made, the beautiful things she saw, the inspiration and confusion she got from a different way of life, the things she witnessed and heard stories about that made her realize how much we take our freedoms, safety and health care for granted, the struggles she had with learning a new language and not being fluent when thrown into a world where English isn’t common, the foods she ate, how she dealt with missing friends and family back home, the things she wished she would have brought,  and that it’s OK to want to look somewhat presentable and not frumpy all the time.

In addition to sharing about her experience, Mary really took it upon herself to help me with my mission and will be back multiple times before I leave. She brought me a Spanish book and is giving me homework, helped me get books about South America and Paraguay and even helped me go through my clothes and downsize yet again.

The Bad News of Talking with Mary: I’m pretty sure I will get sick. Mary got Dengue Fever and the other volunteer living with her got malaria, and from what she told me about other VOICA volunteers, sickness and disease seem to be a common experience. Yikes! According to the CDC, malaria isn’t in the area of Paraguay I’m serving in, but none of the symptoms associated with any of the diseases volunteers have experienced sound good, so I’m definitely splurging on the best mosquito repellant I can get before leaving!

Some pictures from our weekend...

Disbursing of Thanksgiving meals at Annunciation Parish (the church we go to). The parish collected supplies and money for meals to feed 200 families and more than 1,000 mouths. 

One of the 3 U-Haul trucks filled with Thanksgiving dinner supplies. Most of the meals didn't even go to members of Annunciation parish. 

Pick up site for families from St. Vincent de Paul parish.

San Felipe de Neri Church in Old Town Albuquerque.

San Felipe de Neri Church in Old Town Albuquerque.

5 Reasons Why This Week is Great!

1. Caitlin officially decided to volunteer in Paraguay with me! She’ll be coming to Albuquerque sometime in January for formation, and we’ll leave for Paraguay in the middle of February. She can only stay until May, so please pray that someone else will want to replace her!

2. I can see progress in my Spanish! After feeling frustrated with not being able to understand or speak Spanish, I could actually see improvement in my comprehension last night at the youth group and young adult sessions at San Jose. Gracias, Señor! Plus, I spoke to the kindergarteners in Spanish on Monday and they understood. Granted, while trying to teach me some of the body parts they told me I had a big nose like a witch, but they’re kindergartners so it was cute.

3. I stayed out past 10 p.m.! Last night, Christina and the group she’s going on a service trip with to the Dominican Republic this summer cleaned The Pit (University of New Mexico’s basketball arena) to raise money for their trip, so I tagged along to help. I finally have people I can talk to about things 20 somethings talk about. Gradually I’m building a social life.

4. I have weekend plans! Mary, a past VOICA volunteer that served in Indonesia, is coming to spend the weekend with me. Sr. Angela is out of town at a conference (in Kansas City of all places), so Mary is coming to Albuquerque to show me around and tell me about her mission experience.

5. My ticket home for Christmas is booked! I’ll be back in Missouri for two weeks beginning December 19.

One Week In

It’s hard to believe that I’ve only been here one week as of today. It feels like it’s been much longer, and I feel more comfortable living in Albuquerque and with the sisters than I would have ever thought possible ­­­­­­after knowing them for just seven days. Heck, I feel more comfortable with the sisters than I did after living with my freshman year college roommate for a month or even my housemates in Ireland after a semester. The sisters’ openness and desire to get to know me has really helped me to feel a part of the community. Plus, Sr. Angela makes a mean pasta, loves desserts, actually encourages me to eat ice cream and thinks I’m a good driver! 

Today I attended a Quinceañera retreat at the Spirituality Center. In the Hispanic culture a girl’s 15^th birthday marks her transition from childhood to womanhood. The retreat was to help the girls recognize the spiritual importance of the milestone rather than just the party. Though a good experience, it was also a challenge. Like at San Jose, the retreat was done in almost all Spanish, and Sr. Marilu speaks fast! After greetings and registration, (I asked girls their names in Spanish!) we did some icebreaker type activities. One had all the girls sitting in chairs in a circle with me in the middle. I started the game by asking someone in the circle a question, and then they said something about clothing or how people looked (for example, wearing a red shirt). Then, everyone that fit that description had to get up and switch seats. The person left standing asked the question again to another person. Since I’ve gone over one lesson on Rosetta Stone about clothing and another on colors, I could, for the most part, understand which characteristics were said. I couldn’t however ask the initial question or understand what people were asking me. So frustrating! Thank goodness Sr. Marilu sent me to get some craft supplies after the game. I definitely needed that time to say a little help me Jesus prayer and to ask for patience. I know being immersed in the language is the best way to learn it, but it’s kind of annoying being lost all of time. If you can, say a prayer for my patience and memory! :)

View of our house.

Our backyard

It’s official. I’m accepted!!

For the past year, I’ve been searching--searching for something that combines my passion for learning about new cultures and helping others. Five months ago, I began volunteering at the International Institute in St. Louis after hearing about it from a friend who started volunteering after she served in the Peace Corps in South Africa. I was a teacher’s assistant in an advanced English class for adults and loved it! Although satisfying, I wanted more. I found what I was looking for a few months ago, and now, I’m finally “reaching out and grabbing it.” Beginning this fall, I will be training to become a VOICA volunteer. 

VOICA or the Canossian International Voluntary Service is a nonprofit organization associated with the Canossian Daughters of Charity, an order of nuns founded by St. Magdalene of Canossa. VOICA provides lay men and women (not priests, nuns or monks) the opportunity to grow and live in faith and to share their gifts with others. VOICA volunteers are currently serving in Togo, Congo, Uganda, East Timor, Albania, Indonesia, Angola, Paraguay and Brazil, helping out at a hospital, bakery, library, cyber-cafe, professional center for women and schools for boys, girls and refugees.

I learned about VOICA through the CatholicVolunteer Network/Response Volunteer Directory. It’s a great source of volunteer opportunities both in the U.S. and abroad! Also, in case you’re wondering, even though most of the organizations have ties to the Catholic Church, you don’t have to be Catholic to volunteer.

Why VOICA?

In addition to helping people and learning about new cultures, I’m hoping to help myself by strengthening my relationship with God. Where better to start than the epicenter of the Catholic faith? As part of my preparation, I’ll be spending about three months in Rome prior to going to my mission site. (I’ll practically be neighbors with the Pope!). I’ll be living in a house with other volunteers, learning about the Canossian sisters, communal living, volunteering in general and language and other skills specific to my mission site. (This includes cooking—for those of you who know me well, this and eating the foods I learn to cook, might be my biggest challenge). Once I get to Rome and the VOICA staff has had time to get to know me and what I can do, I will receive my placement.

I’m beyond excited to start this new experience, and I need your help! First and foremost, I’m asking for your prayers. I know there will be difficult days, and I ask for your help in getting through them. Knowing that I have people out there thinking of me and asking God to help me means the world.

And now, what I’m sure many of you were expecting, I'm asking for your financial support. I need to raise $2,000 as a donation to VOICA to help cover the expenses they will incur having me as a volunteer for a year, which is about $5,000. That’s in addition to the cost of maintaining the mission. Because of the generosity of my family and their willingness to house me (Thank you Jenny & Matt!) I have been able to save money to take care of my plane tickets to and from Rome, medical insurance, food, and personal expenses in Rome and personal expenses while I’m in my mission.

For small amounts, checks can be made out directly to VOICA (just put my name in the memo line). You can send them to me and I will send them to VOICA in Rome. For larger amounts ($200 or more), donations are tax deductible. Please contact me for more information or if you have any questions.

Thank you! Grazie! (I’ve got to start practicing sometime :) )

P.S. If you’re interested in learning more about what some current VOICA volunteers are doing and what past volunteers have done, here are some of their blogs. I’m addicted!

http://katiehile84.blogspot.com/

http://karen-missioncongo.blogspot.com/

http://xtremeretirement.wordpress.com/

http://ceciliasadventuresabroad.blogspot.com/

http://www.easttimortrip.blogspot.com/