sdlfosih

       To choose something from this experience as being most significant is somewhat of a challenge for me, I would expect it is and has been for anyone who has taken part in this immersion. There have been so many instances in which I’ve felt overcome by the Spirit, and it’s impossible to know what moment God will draw my attention to in the future. Yet, as I take more time to reflect, it is the people of the LA Immersion 2016 that have made the deepest impact on me. First and foremost I must mention the amazing people with whom I shared every step of this experience. From my fellow Flyers to my incredible new friends from St. Mary’s and Chaminade, I am tremendously blessed to have shared such an amazing journey with them, and to have witnessed their thoughts, reflections, and responses to the experience. It was beautiful to see the bonds we were able to build upon the foundation we all share, the Marianist charism, and how that allowed us to enter deep...

It has been almost two weeks since our return from the LA immersion, and not only did the 7 days in LA fly by, but so have the two weeks since we have left. Between returning to school, unpacking, and starting basically a full time job in student teaching, it’s really forced me to be intentional in setting time aside to reflect on the conversations, experiences, and friendships from the immersion. In the weeks leading up to the experience we had the opportunity to engage in several readings, and a few videos to introduce us to some of the people and injustices we would encounter, as well as to get us thinking about the experience ahead. The readings were powerful for me in the weeks leading up to the immersion, but it was actually   meeting these people we read about, experiencing Skid Row first-hand and not just in a Youtube video, stepping foot into Homeboy industries and meeting some of the homies, that was most powerful for me. It pushed me to see the importance of human intera...

Hello, My name is Elyssa Barja Lim and I come from Chaminade University. I am part of a Marianist Lay Community in Chaminade called Hokupa'a. I was blessed to be chosen as one of the four participants to present our school. This trip has sincerely opened my heart and mind to everything and everyone I never imagined. Today is the last full day we have together before we disperse to our separate directions and go back to our college life. How does one even begin the conclusion of this wonderful and empowering week? Getting to know people, filling our hearts with their faces and names, and listening to everyone's different stories, you start to realize that God has been present all along. I noticed that it was during their darkest moments that they found redemption. All the people who run the programs we've visited were great people with great stories, but as were the people whom these programs were made for; for example, teachers like Emma who stayed in St. Rays, Paco from Ho...

January 9, 2016 Hi all, My name is Barbara Falcon-Mendoza and I am a sophomore at St. Mary's University in San Antonio Texas. Back in San Antonio I would volunteer at various organizations and met many people in need, but I never really sat down to listen to them. Instead, I was always focused on how I could help them, if they needed food or clothing--mainly material things. This trip has changed that. I've learned to listen to the people's stories, because sometimes that's all they need at the moment, or all I can give them for now: an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on. Today was our fifth full day of our LA immersion and we spent our evening at the Marianist Brother's house in West Hills, LA. I got to meet new people within the Marianist community and had time to reflect on all the things that have happened throughout the week. The main question we were asked to reflect upon was: "Where have you felt the holy spirit the most throughout this week?" ...

Hello, my name is Tim Fasano and I am a junior at the University of Dayton. Today began the same as all the others, early, but unlike the last two days the rain let up and we were blessed with the uplifting sight of the sun. My group had the opportunity to work with the people of Union Rescue Mission, an organization filled with many devoted individuals who allow their faith to drive their vocation of being Christ to the people of Skid Row. We served in the kitchen preparing and serving lunch to a large number of men, women, and children.What struck me most about this experience was the opportunity I had to meet two men, Giod and Victor, both of whom are residents at the Mission. Giod had been homeless and living on the streets for some time before coming to the Mission, and Victor had found the Mission through a reference from his pastor. Both of these men shared a little bit about themselves, and on the surface our interactions may seem quite ordinary, no different from a conversatio...

January 6, 2016 Hello all! My name is Sarah and I am senior at the University of Dayton in Dayton, OH. It has been a busy past couple of days, filled with so many wonderful experiences, beautiful stories, and new friends. Today we started off making our first stop at Homeboy Industries, an amazing ministry started by Father Greg Boyle to help gang members walk away from the violence and addictions, and provide them with the tools, encouragement and love to turn their lives around. Many of us had done some reading and watched some videos about Fr. Greg and the homies, but being able to visit the ministry and hear peoples stories firsthand was really amazing as we were able to put faces to many of these stories. So many things struck me during this visit, and I wish I could write about them all. We began by sitting in on the industries morning business meeting and thought of the day. The thought of the day was given by Fabian, a past gang member who has completely turned his life around ...

Aloha ka kou, ‘o Kalawai’a Shibata kau inoa. Hello, my name is Kalawai’a Shibata. I am a sophomore at Chaminade University . This is the second day of the L.A. Immersion trip and so far I am practically speechless for the things I have witnessed today. Today, myself and 5 other people went to Rescue Mission center and helped with their morning breakfast operations and had the tour of the facility. I met people from all sorts of backgrounds and ethnicities. When we first arrived on site, we were put to work in the kitchen for breakfast duty, there we got to serve and interact with the males of the program. All of them were very thankful to be given breakfast and had the best manners, “Good morning, thank you very much”, “Sir, thank you for breakfast”. The one person that stood out to me the most was this man who I spoke to me the most. We didn’t talk very much out side of the “thank you” and “you’re welcome”, however his actions spoke to me the greatest. When he first came through the ...

January 4, 2016 Hey everyone! My name is Denise Ma from St. Mary's University in San Antonio, TX. This morning we started our day at the Good Shepard helping them do a little house cleaning and inventory. At the end of our service, Bro. Brandon talked with us about how the shelter was structured. The sisters convent in the front and the mothers and children towards the back. He pointed out how this was a representation of how the sisters are laying down their lives to protect these families from people who want to harm them. That really struck something in me. We always here the stories of Jesus laying down his life for us and here He is right in front of us. Through the sisters we can see His love for us and how love will always conquer evil. We were also able to drive through Skid Row in the afternoon. We've all saw the documentary and heard so many things about the homeless population, but I don't think anything prepared us for what we saw with our own eyes. Every corner...