Day three.

Another wonderful and very busy day! We spent the morning working on three separate projects – one group planted trees with the New Jersey tree foundation, another group helped build the play ground floor at the school playground, and the third group went and led the music at an ecumenical prayer service. Then in the afternoon we went back to painting, shoveling and trimming, and working outdoors.

Our students continued their incredibly enthusiastic work, jumping in with abandon to any project they were asked to do. Today was a day of hard work – digging, cutting trees, planting trees, raking, lifting heavy foam mats, etc. Our students earned their dinners!

One thing I have not mentioned is how we reflect each evening. Our students spend about 10 minutes writing in journals about what they have experienced today. Then we go around and each person shares their thoughts, questions, reflections from the day. It is a wonderful way to unpack the experience that they are having, and it is a very holy time of day. It is the time when our kids open their hearts and share how hard it is to come to a very poor place like him and to see such beautiful and wonderful people, and not always know how to help. But we are here to have our hearts opened, and to invite God into our hearts. And the people of Camden somehow have the key that opens us up.

One last thing... We have spent the past two evenings in the backyard around the fire pit... And having some intense Camden basketball games!

Cooking dinner!

Day two.

It has been a really fun and really busy day! A few of us went running this morning over the Ben Franklin Bridge to Philadelphia and back. It was cold, and uphill both ways, but we made it.

After breakfast and morning prayer, we walked to the Catholic Cathedral of Camden where we split up into three groups for our morning volunteer service. One group did the sandwich ministry and handed out the coats that students have collected this fall to bring to Camden. They served homeless men and women who lined up for food and clothing for over two hours.

A second group went to New Visions, a homeless shelter where people can spend the daytime. The homeless often spend their days being pushed from one public place to another, never really able to rest. This place gives them a warm place have a meal, look for a job, take a shower, and to feel safe.

Our group sat and talked with them with the morning, listen to their stories, and learning about what their lives are like.

The third group was ready for manual labor! We raked leaves, cleaned up trash, and then the heavy work – moving huge blocks of granite that have fallen from the old convent building. The boys even built a granite stand for a large cross that was placed in the cathedral lot – a reminder of God's presence even in a very broken place.

After lunch we went back to holy name school and played with the kids at recess.  After recess, we came back to the house to talk with Rick, a young man who shared his story of drug addiction. He was a powerful speaker, and helped us to understand a little of the plague of drugs that cause such pain in Camden. 

Later we were broken into family of five students, and we went to shop for our dinners in the local corner stores. Each family had one dollar per person, and that was all they had to buy their dinner. It is an interesting and very eye-opening practice to try to shop on such limited funds, which is what most people in Camden have to eat for each meal.

After shopping we went back to Holy Name for after school care, and now the kids are cooking their "family meals". This evening we will have Mass together in the house chapel, and another time to reflect.

We are all weary from working so hard, but it has been a very wonderful day.

Day one.

We arrived safely, and after brief orientation were

put immediately to work. Father Mike McCue, the director of DSW, told us a little bit about Camden and what we would be doing over the next three days.

Most of our group went over to paint the home of a Camden resident who is close to the volunteers at DSW. Apparently their painting was aided by their wonderful singing. The owner of the home was so grateful she bought pizza for everyone for dinner. 

The rest of the group went to the Holy Name school playground to clean and prep the playground for painting. Afterward we went to the afterschool program to play with the kids. The students there were so excited to see our kids, and you would've been proud to see our young people reaching out to these kids in Camden.

After dinner we had an evening of reflection and discussion. We closed our time today with prayer in the chapel, and after a few minutes of hanging out and talking in the common room, everyone went to bed. The kids are pretty wiped out from the long day, and we have a lot still ahead of us.

Please know you were all in our prayers, and we thank you for supporting us in our work here.

30th Street Station!

We made it to Philly, and we are waiting for our ride to shuttle us over to DeSales Service Works in Camden.

We are on our way!

Everyone was on time this morning... I was really impressed. Now we are on the train, and a bunch of kids just went to the dining car for some Amtrak breakfast.

We should arrive about 12:15 in Philadelphia, and be in Camden by 1.

We will update more this evening!

Keep us in your prayers - we are praying for you!

Day 3 (and 4)

Sorry for missing our post last night... we were all having an intense game of Apples to Apples (a board game) and wore ourselves out! Yesterday was a beautiful day - in many ways. The weather turned from snow to sunshine overnight, and by the afternoon we were wearing shorts and t-shirts. And the day was also a joyful day of work and laughter. In the morning most of the group went out to flyer the neighborhood with flyers publishing the schedule for Holy Week - basically a personal invitation to church. The kids really enjoyed this because they got to see Camden, and they got to talk to many people in the neighborhood. They were surprised by how friendly everyone was - as one student commented, "Everyone I said hello to said hello back - everyone." Another group went to North Gate Park to continue the cleaning project from the day before. We swept, and raked, and picked up trash. We were joined eventually by the group doing the flyers, and when our cleaning was done, we went home for lunch. After lunch we spent the afternoon working in the garden, filling an enormous pothole in the alley, and painting. The students built and painted a huge cross which they made from old boards found in the alley. The kids worked so hard, and made a real impact on the space around the house and the Catholic grade school. In the evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner of chicken and rice (cooked by the boys) we spent over an hour reflecting on our work and our time here. We have been so impressed by their thoughtful reflections, and the questions they are asking about poverty and hope in Camden. It has been a privilege to be with them. This morning we will have our final reflection and prayer, and then head to the Cathedral for Mass. From there we go off to the train station, and home.

Camden Day 2

It has been an intense couple of days... filled with hard work, a lot of laughter, and some powerful experiences of service. This morning we woke up to a beautiful snowfall. A few of us braved the snow to go for an early jog around Rutgers Campus. After breakfast, we walked to the Cathedral in Camden, and met a group from Salesianum High School, a Catholic boys school in Wilmington, DE. Our students and teachers spent the morning ministering to the homeless. Half of our group worked in the sandwich ministry at the Cathedral, cooking and distributing food to the homeless. The other half visited New Visions, a day shelter, and spent time talking to the men and women who were gathered there. It is a safe and warm place where they can rest, wash up, and get a hot meal. We then traveled back to our home in North Camden, and spent some time with the students at Holy Name, enjoying their lunch and recess period with them. Back at our house, we had lunch and listened to a talk by Kenny, a man who works for DeSales Service Works, and was homeless for most of his adult life. He is our shepherd in the community, always walking with us and keeping an eye on us. He told us his story, and we were deeply touched by his honesty and humility. After lunch, we went out to shop for dinner. Dinner today is called the "Bodega Meal". The bodega is the term for the small corner stores that are the main source of food for most people in Camden. We divide our group into "families", and each family receives $2 per person, which is about what families in Camden have to spend per meal. We had to shop for dinner as a family, and you could not spend more than your two dollars per person, and you could only eat what you could find in the shop. It is an eye-opening experience. After shopping, we went back to the school to help with the after school program. It was a beautiful sight - our students running and laughing and playing with dozens of little kids from Camden. The room was filled with laughter, and the little ones certainly wore out the teenagers! This evening we spent about 90 minutes talking about the day. The kids had really good questions, and I was so proud of how deeply they are feeling and thinking about their time here. It is a challenging thing to experience a community that suffers such poverty. Our kids are making the most of their time here. Tomorrow morning we get ready for some manual labor! We will be working to repair the alleyway behind our house, and cleaning up North Gate Park. You are all in our prayers! Thank you for keeping us your prayers.

Spring Camden day 1

Good evening,

We made it safe and sound after a very smooth train ride. The kids did well with the ride and we made it to DeSales Service Works around 1:00. We had a brief orientation and then right to work. We split into three groups: one group went with Kenny, one of the workers at DSW who was formerly homeless, to clean up the local park a little bit, the second group worked on salvaging plants from a garden to move to another garden within the DSW back yard, and the last group traveled to a local church that is no longer being used to remove a statue of Mary to be placed within the garden. After this service time, we went to the local grade school, Holy Name, to help work with the after school program. Our kids did an outstanding job of being present to these kids who are starting for attention. They played games with kids, helped them with their homework, and most importantly simply spent time with them. When we returned to the house a group cooked dinner while the others settled in, played basketball, and relaxed a bit. After dinner, Fr. mike McCue said mass for us in the small chapel and in his homily he challenged the kids to live in the moment and be moved by the little things in live. He said that often times we do things that do not change culture or society, but they can push things in the right direction. As long as we keep pushing and helping others see the good in things than we are truly being present and human toward one another. At the end of long, simple day this was a good message to hear. The reflections about the day were thoughtful and meaningful for our kids. You can see that they are taking things seriously and living in the moment which we often do not get to do.

Off to bed now with pictures and more to follow in the morning.