Skip to main content

Last Day

By
A friend may be waiting behind a stranger's face...

Friday, May 11th 

Today was our last day at the Father McKenna Center! Though we are very tired and ready to return home to our own beds, we will miss our FMC friends deeply. I am very glad that the students got a chance to reflect on and write about their experiences with some of the men at the shelter and at the Peace Meal, but I wanted to take a chance to reflect on the relationships we built with other volunteers or staff members. The staff at the shelter arrive early every morning, some as early as 4:45 am to start breakfast. Regular volunteers show up routinely at 7:00 am to start their day by serving and connecting with the men. The staff and volunteers were both so welcoming and friendly. Austin was one of the staff members that I worked most directly with -- he is a Jesuit Volunteer Corps member who manages the FMC food pantry. It was awesome to hear about his experience and compare it to our experiences as an AmeriCorps VISTA. We love meeting people who just get "it" and can talk about the social justice. One of our dearest friends was Jhonny. Jhonny is the maintenance man at FMC. He is a very hardworking man and put us to work! We scrubbed walls, bathrooms, organized closets. He was so grateful for us that he bought us ice cream! It was a great way to end the week with a special dinner and ice cream with Jhonny. We feel so loved by the FMC staff and can't wait to come back and visit soon!

~Don't wait for happiness to be thrust upon you. Seek it out in service and learning ~

With love,

Joe & Kaitlyn  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Safe Arrival Back in Erie

By
We have arrived back in Erie! After a week full of encountering new people and reflecting on our experiences at the Father McKenna Center, we have all returned safely to our home base. Thank you for following along with this blog of our trip. The implementation of our knowledge into our daily lives will not be an easy task, but we are well prepared to take it on. We all have learned so much through our experiences this week and are excited to share and show others what respect for human dignity truly means. Homelessness is an extremely complex problem in our country, and we have all struggled to grasp what the best response on our part should be. At the end of this trip, I have come to affirm that complex problems do not have easy solutions, and that solving huge problems like hunger and homelessness involve more than one person or one ABST group. However, the power of one is still strong and present everywhere- we experienced that through meeting amazing and inspiring individuals th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day four!

By
Day at Capitol Hill! Hey Guys! Today we got the honor and the privilege to go to Capitol Hill to meet with Representative Mike Kelly. He is the representative in Erie where Gannon is. We were able to tell him our experiences so far this week and the stories we have heard. We advocated for policies to help the homeless both here in DC and back home in Erie. He was able to tell us his feelings towards homelessness and poverty and his possible solutions to the issue. We would like to thank Rep. Kelly and his office for giving us the opportunity to talk to us during his busy schedule. We then got an amazing tour of the Capitol building. After that, we all walked to get lunch at District Taco and reflect on our time in the Capitol building. Then we walked to The White House to take a picture with the Gannon flag. After the picture, we all split up and went to different Museums. Being able to enjoy the amazing weather in the nation’s Capitol was a great way to relax during this busy...
Post a Comment
Read more

We arrived safely!

By
Arrival in D.C. Today, we left Gannon at 12:00pm to head for D.C! After a long ride, we arrived safely at Holy Redeemer around 7:30pm and got settled in. Tomorrow we will be working at the Father Mckenna Center serving food to the homeless shelter. -Ellen
Post a Comment
Read more