Skip to main content

Our Eventful First Day

By
Our Eventful First Day

Hey everybody!

Sunday, we left a little late and had to stop at six atms before we finally got money for the tolls. We were on our way after that. We listened to comedy specials, music, and goats screaming and fainting. We got stuck in traffic for over an hour and arrived a tad bit late. Through the car ride we had a lot of laughs and got to know one another fairly well. Even though we hit traffic it was a blessing in disguise. It was a catalyst for helping us starting to bond better and starting new friendships. When we got their Ned greeted us and gave us a tour of the Father McKenna center. He told us the story of Father McKenna and everything he stood for.

- Tommy Tripodis

Good evening friends and family,

Our first day was very stressful. Besides being way off schedule, we had a jarring experience at Walmart. We were shopping for some of our meals and when we walked in we encountered a man yelling racial slurs. Immediately we removed ourselves from the area and completed our grocery shopping. On the way out of the store, we had another run in with the man. He stood behind Rachel and Kaitlyn in line and was continuing to escalate as he verbally attacked workers and shoppers.  We watched as he was escorted out of the store and when he went to reenter, no one stopped him. The experience was scary, frustrating and shocking. We worked to process the experience in small groups and during our evening reflection. It was important for us to not only express our frustrations for the experience, but we also wanted to address the possible mental health issues that may have been in play. Despite the experience being negative in the moment, we were able to utilize it to begin our discussion about homelessness and that was priceless. 

With love,
Mari Lohitai






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

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

Tearing Down Walls!

By
Today, we continued our mission in deepening our understanding of ourselves, each other, and the problems that poverty and inequality bring. Our day began as usual; sleepy-eyed and ready to help the Father McKenna center in any way possible. Our duties included cooking the meal and serving it, cleaning the center, organizing the pantries, and generally trying to make ourselves useful and helpful. While very important, these tasks were not the catalyst in the change that we experienced today; through talking to the many guests at the McKenna center, to those who live on the street, and to those who were willing to share their life with us, we have begun to break down the divide between “us and them.” And we have realized that we are not so different after all. While the magnitude of our problems might be different, it is what we share that makes us one family of brothers and sisters. From the infections laughter, to the stories of our homes, to our losses of our loved ones, or to the si
1 comment
Read more