Week 4: Sacred Heart Bellingham and St. Anthony's- Monday

Today we woke up to eat breakfast, and to do a morning activity. About half of us kids got red wristbands, but didn't know what it symbolized, or what it had meant. I didn't get a wrist band. we went outside, and there was a "spider-web" made of yarn set up for us to go through. The rules were that we had to go though the "web" without touching any of the "webbing", if we do touch the webbing, then we had to go to the back of the line and do it over again. The people with the wrist bands got a harder time going though the web, and the people without the web had an easier time with going though. Do you see the theme so far? If not, I'll tell you about the rest. After the activity, the wristbands and the non-wristbands got separated into their groups. The non-wrist bands got to do the photo-scavenger hunt, and the wristbands group had to go and clean up the area, and neither knew what the other group was doing. Well the people with the wristbands symbolized as the migrant workers, who didn't choose their way of life and have no say in how they want to live, and the non-wristbands symbolized as the regular people you see who are born with a good life. After we visited the migrant kids and played with them, which was really fun. Ten we went to the grocery stores to do some tabling. I thought it was nice to meet such nice and generous people willing to donate to the food bank, there were some people who ignored us and avoided us too. But overall it was a good day.

Jasmine: Assumption 

In today's morning activities we focused on privileges and it really hit me that we should be thankful for the privileges we have and that we shouldn't take what we have for granted. For example, in one of our activities we were seperated in to two groups. One group having red wristbands and another with no wristbands. While those with no wristbands stayed outside and had a scavenger hunt, those with wristbands had to prepare lunch for us and also had to prepare lunch for themselves. After hearing that they had to work hard, while those with no wristbands got to have fun outside, I felt that it was really unfair for the those with wristbands. That just because of one little thing, such as a wristband, they were treated differently. After this realization about privileges I feel that we should be very thankful for every privilege that we have and not take what we have for granted.

- Kaitlyn: St.Anthony's

Week 4: Sacred Heart Bellingham & St. Anthony's- Sunday

On the first day... it felt good to be back after a year, I'm so excited to meet new people not just from the other parish but the people I haven't gotten to know from St.Anthony's. And I'm really excited to work with the migrant workers and play with the kids at the migrant camps. Being back for an 8th or 9th year of Agape makes it feel like coming home. I can't wait to see what this week holds, in the me activities but new experiences. This is one of my favorite ways to grow in faith; by serving. Thank you God for the chance to help others and make a difference in others' lives. Let's have a great and fun week!

           - Jessa Delosreyes : St.Anthony's/St.Theresa's

This week at Agape, we are focusing on The Corporeal Works of Mercy.
 Today, we covered the two works: Bury the Dead, and Visit the Sick. A core team member explained that in our case, to Bury the Dead means to bury thoughts thinking that migrants are lower than us, or somehow people to be avoided. And to Visit the Sick means to visit people that have been forgotten or ignored.
I can't wait to see what we will do tomorrow! I have really enjoyed being with, and meeting new friends from different parishes. I hope to help relieve some of the work load of the migrants later this week.
             -Ellen Nichols: Sacred Heart

Week 3: Holy Redeemer & St. Louise: Thursday

Agape Celebration Day!!!  Today was our celebration day at Agape which meant Mass at Assumption Catholic Church, lunch, and swimming at an aquatic center. The culmination of the day, however, was a BBQ at Sunrise Camp with the migrant farmers and their families.  We spent hours playing, crafting, and  hanging out with the migrant kids.  The relationships and bonds of friendship among all were strengthened.  God allowed me to grow close to my migrant buddy, Bianca.  Her and I beaded and did each other's hair.  My eyes were opened in a new way to how alike we are.  Our celebration at Sunrise Camp was the best part of the day.

Today is Agape Celebration Day! First, we had our group meeting in the halls. After that, we prayed the rosary, went to Mass, then we WET(Joke) SWIMMING FINALLY. We drove to Sunrise Camp to celebrate a barbecue with the migrant workers. At the end, we had a dancing party listening to multiple songs. AGAPE!! WII MII SONG. -Joshua Almanza St. Louise

Week 3- St. Louise and Holy Redeemer- Wednesday

7/13

Today is Wednesday July 13th and it was food bank day!! It was a really fun, busy, tiring and eye opening day. It was great to see everyone today. We served 91 families. Everyone in the Agape group worked hard to make this day go by smooth and make all the migrant families feel comfortable and welcome as today can be very uncomfortable for them. It was very eye opening seeing all the kids there getting food for their families while the parents are at work. Everyone that I have met this trip has been very friendly and sweet to all of us. It has been another great year here at Agape and I cant wait for the next 2 days left. - Madison G




Today we put on a food bank for the Migrant workers. All the youth and volunteers worked hard today to make every thing go smoothly. It was an eye opening and difficult to comprehend experience for me and i think for some other people. We have this night and this upcoming day to enjoy. We had very tastey tacos today - Max A



Today we had a food bank for the migrant workers. everyone unloaded all the donations from the vans and put them on tables. we helped over 90 families. it was really fun.-Pia C.

Week 3: Holy Redeemer & St. Louise- Tuesday

Rachel G 

      Today 7/12/16 we woke up at the crack of dawn, 5:15 a.m. in order to get all of our work done! After a hearty breakfast, we drove over to Breckenridge Blueberry farm and had to weed for about an hour. After that, we picked blueberries for about 45 minutes. I picked 9 pounds of blueberries! Having to imagine what it would be like to pick berries for 15 hours every day; and then imagining that we had only done a fraction of that time, was shocking to think about. After having sandwiches for lunch, we drove to the YMCA to take a shower (it felt so good to be clean)! Then, we went back to Sunrise Migrant Camp to play with the kids. It was so fun! Today was a great day; it was so fun to put myself in the migrant worker's shoes, but also difficult because I was hungry and we couldn't have snacks in between meals. However, overall was a very good day. I can't wait for tomorrow! :)

Jack H

Today is Tuesday the 12th.  Starting at 5:15am, we got up and ate breakfast in an attempt to fill our empty stomachs.  Then we proceeded to go to a farm to understand the struggles of farm life.  From pulling weeds to feeding the cows, it was an exhausting 4 hours.  afterwards we received our first shower in three days, which was glorious!  We were then given our daily wage to create a dinner.  My family decided to team up and combine our money($11.25) and feed 9 people.  We succeded in feeding that many by pancakes, eggs and bacon. We then went back to the Migrant camp and Played with the children until it was time to go. And after our extremely long day, we are currently eating leftovers from dinner as I speak.  signing off and excited for our food bank tomorrow, Jack H.

Week 3: Holy Redeemer & St. Louise- Monday

Today we did quite a number of things, including group activities to show inequality, playing chain tag with migrant kids, and tabling for food outside of marts. The starting inequality activity was a red web of strings we had to get through without touching the web. Before this event, some people were given wristbands. Those without wristbands were able to take a shortcut that was discovered, while the ones with wristbands had to take the harder normal way. After the web of inequality, the people without wristbands played a variety of games while those with wristbands made them lunch. After lunch we visited the kids at Sunrise migrant camp, who seemed very excited to see and play with us. It was a very cool experience to see us connect with the migrant kids. After we left, we were out to table at grocery stores. The experience had its ups and downs, the people who would ignore you and the people who donated quite a bit. The experience ended up being saddening and joyful at the same time. The day was packed, and every second of it was rewarding.

Peter Leonhardt

Sophia McKinstry (Saint Louise)

                    Today was so much fun! In the morning after breakfast, we did an activity where there was a red "spider-web" made of yarn. We had to get through it without touching the web. This activity was very difficult because before the activity, some people were given red wristbands. The people that did not receive the wristbands were given an advantage; they could take a shortcut and get to the other side faster. However, the people that had the wristbands had to go through the normal way and were called out for small things (like if their hair touched the web, they had to start over). After the web of inequalities, the people with the wristbands went to the kitchen to prepare lunch, while the people without the wristbands got to play games and hang out. For lunch, the wristband people had a simple lunch of tortillas, beans, and rice while the non-wristband people had sandwiches, cookies, and chips. These activities helped me learn more about how the migrant workers are often treated differently than us. After lunch, we went to Sunrise Migrant Camp to play with the migrant kids. It was so much fun! The kids were so sweet, and I met a girl named Gabriela who only spoke Spanish, so I got to practice my Spanish-speaking skills with her quite a bit. We also played tons of fun games and did crafts with the kids. After that, we went to table at grocery stores around the area. There were lots of positives and negatives about this experience. For example, some people would donate tons of food and money, while others would simply ignore us and walk by. Overall, today was a packed, great day. I had lots of fun, and I look forward to tomorrow when we put ourselves in the migrant workers' shoes and learn how their lifestyle is each day. Can't wait! 

Week 3: Holy Redeemer & St. Louise- Sunday

Nick abell:  first day nice ride to agape making new Friends.talking to new people having new chores.i got a great view to see the motions.ready to help people in need.

Julia Savas (Saint Louise Parish)

     The first day of our Agape Trek was very adventurous. First, we went to a park to have lunch and got to play some basketball with some people from outside our parish. We got to meet new people and have a good time! Then we visited a beach and went on a hike where we climbed trees, met many adorable dogs, and had a great time together! After many car rides, we finally got to Sacred Heart Church where we are spending the next 5 days. We were welcomed by the wonderful staff and played some introduction games and reflected on our busy day. Can't wait for the next week meeting new people and serving God.

      

 

Week 2: St. Catherine of Siena- Thursday

Aidan Rubio

Today was Celebration Day after a long week of work. First, we did the usual but we then did the Rosary in the morning and then we headed out for Church at Assumption. The church was beautiful and then we went back to Sacred heart to get all of our stuff ready for swimming. We swam for awhile and then went straight to Sunrise for a barbeque and some games, we played sprout ball and had dinner with our buddies and played for a little longer before we had to leave. It was sad to leave them because of all the fun we had over the week, so we took some pictures and said our goodbyes. We came home expecting to go to bed pretty early but were surprised by ice cream and a dance party. We are going to bed pretty soon so we can be ready to pack up our stuff and go home.

Dan Pruin

Today was a fun but impactful day at Agape. We woke up at seven thirty to eat breakfast. Next as we sat down for morning reflection we were given Rosaries to pray. After praying the Rosary we finished morning reflection and began to set up to watch a film on some of the migrant workers. We continued our day by going to  Assumption Church for mass. When we arrived at Assumption we were supprised to see that they were having a funeral. We continued to go to mass anyway and we paid respect to the dead. In doing this we remembered the Corporal Work of Mercy, Bury the Dead. We came back to Sacred Heart after mass to have lunch. After lunch we finished preparing to go swimming. We went swimming at the Arne Hana Aquatic Center. We had lots of fun using the diving board even though we couldn't enter the hot tub. After swimming we packed up to go to Sunrise to play with the kids and enjoy a barbeque. When we got to Sunrise to play with the kids a seven year old named Junior asked us if we wanted to play Sprout Ball. After playing sprout ball for a little bit. I made friends with a little boy named Juanito. He became my buddy for the rest of the night until a gave some one else a piggy back ride. He became my friend again at dinner time and was super sad when I told him I had to leave. But before we left we got a picture with the migrant kids. When we got back to Sacred Heart we were surprised with a ice cream party. after that we did some word puzzles and then went to bed.