Holy Redeemer - Food Bank Day!

Today was the food bank day, the day we have worked for all week. We started by breaking up into different groups, one stayed at the church and loaded up all of the donated foods that were collected, one group went to the stores to buy items with donated money, and the third group went straight to the food bank site to prepare. Surprisingly there is a lot of work that goes into setting up a food bank such as sorting out all of the foods, setting up tables, dividing up jobs, and making sure everyone knows what they're doing and saying. Early afternoon we were ready to open up the food bank, it amazed us to see that the families would arrive several hours early and stand in line waiting for the food bank to open just to insure that they would be able to get food. The first several hours there were consistent people going through the lines with their boxes collecting food.  It was shocking to see the children that would go through the lines and only took what they needed versus what they wanted out of love for their family. The people were so grateful that we were there to help them, the people who volunteered were amazed about how gracious everyone was for the food bank. Everyday there is just more eye opening experiences that help enlightens us and show us how hard people work. You could truly see Jesus at the food bank radiating love out of everyone there. 

-Sesheta and Hannah 

Holy Redeemer - Day 3

If yesterday was difficult, today was probably the most eye opening. Waking up at 5 in the morning is not something we like to think of as an ideal schedule day in and day out. Driving through the chilly morning air to a farm in the countryside, we all prepped ourselves for a hard days work, looking forward only to body aches and a small amount of food. We emerged, however, realizing that a migrant worker must endure this lifestyle for months, if not years on end. Despite the fact that we were working at multiple farms, the general consensus was that the work was draining, yet enlightening. Everyone emerged altered by the fact that they understood the hours of picking under the hot sun that it took to put everyday food on the table; a migrant worker is paid minimum wage or below for this labor. Soon after, we were to find out that we would be surviving for the rest of the day on these wages of a typical migrant worker--roughly $1.50 per person. This was difficult at first but turned into a good exercise that further opened our eyes to the extent people who earn this amount must go to buy something as simple as dinner. Despite all of these hardships however, we were reminded at the end of the day that all these people are still human just like us. At the migrant camps we visited in the evening, every single child was interested in the same games or crafts we had grown up with. While the clear distinction was that these children worked much harder to aid their families, they accepted almost as brothers and sisters nonetheless. They say that blood is thicker than water. We found that the world itself can act as one large family.

--Daniel and Justin

Holy Redeemer- Day 2

Today we woke up and went on a walking food drive through different neighborhoods. It was a challenge in the neighborhoods because there weren't many people who came and answered their doors. It was sort of a disappointment when this happened, we really wanted to get as many donations as possible. But when we came to the stores to ask for donations, we were more energized to see all the donations people gave us. Some groups got as many as three full shopping carts. There was even a man who was generous enough to buy a shopping cart full of  food. When we got back to the church, of course, we got to eat dinner, but it was different than normal. Everyone was given a card that had a color that corresponded with a certain table. There were three total tables, one was more of a first class table. They had a three course meal with cheesecake. The second group was more of a middle class with just one main course meal, consisting of soup and bread. The third group was more of a poverty class. They just had tortillas and rice with no seasoning. It was an interesting exercise that taught us to be grateful for what we have. And that some people in this world, aren't as fortunate as many of us are.

- Kara and Sam

Holy Redeemer - Day 1!

We arrived at 6 pm today. Once we got here, we had to unload our baggage and donations from our home community. Our lovely leaders had us play introductory games, make team names, cheers and skits. We learned about the 7 Catholic Social Teachings and each small group did a skit on one of the teachings and the larger group had to guess. It was really, really, really, and we mean really, fun. We got super cool, bright orange t-shirts to wear for food collection day tomorrow and at the food bank on Wednesday!

Love,
Galatia and Emma

Our Lady of Fatima Day 5

Hello reader. Today was our Celebration Day!!!!! We woke up and then went over to church for morning mass. Then we had breakfast. After that all of us went to our designated streets and handed out flyers. Next we went and had lunch. Afterward we went to the pool and jumped off the diving board, slid down the slide and splashed in the water. Finally we went to a migrant camp, there we had a barbecue and played dodge ball with the children. All in all we all had a good day with each other and Christ.


-Saski

Our Lady of Fatima- Day 4

Today we had a food bank it went very well.  We served a total of 112 migrant families. We had a toy section and the migrant children were really happy for even the smallest thing, one child was so happy he carried around his new train set even though it was about his size he wanted to show everyone.  Some families sent there children because both parents were working and they needed food.  I felt sad that some families needed us to have food for the week but happy to help.  All in all it was a great day and I will remember the migrant workers smiles for a long time.
-Jon

Our Lady of Fatima Day 3

Today I worked on a farm. First, I weeded squashes like a pro, next I harvested zucchini, then I watered lots of tomatoes and peppers. Whilst I was weeding squashes, I made a beetle friend. I named him Jerrard. Unfortunately, the farmer squished Jerrard on accident. Gianna and I were the best watering squad ever.  After that, I weeded onions. It was scorching and I thought I was going to catch on fire. We went for 15 minute showers at the YMCA, and I feel so clean! Next we went to a  Market to buy our dinner. My family had three people and we got $4.50 for our dinner. We bought Chef Boyardee and a pizza. After that, we came home and cooked our food. Then we went to a migrant camp and played with the kids. All in all, it was a really fun and rewarding day. 

Sara and Claire

Our Lady of Fatima- Day 2

Today we were tasked with gathering the food for our drive, people's reactions were... interesting to say the least. Some people complimented us on helping out the migrant community, others simply gave a smile; even fewer gave us a look of "I am so done with all these kids asking me for donations." The outcome of the day was surprisingly high, I'm hoping to see what the food bank will be like this year.
-Ben