On The Road

Greetings to all Blog Readers.

Have just spoken with the Gehlen team and they are right on schedule. They left a couple minutes after 6 a.m. this morning and are almost an hour into their return. They have decided to stop fewer times on the way home so their return trek won't be quite as long. I will keep you posted throughout the day.

Take Care,
Seiv

Serving Others

It’s beautiful day in the neighborhood – the neighborhood of Holly Springs, MS, that is. We finally had a warm day, a gorgeous sixty-three degrees, which for some reason felt more like the upper 70’s. Maybe that’s because we’ve been working in forty degree weather since we arrived.

We ate a breakfast of pancakes and French toast, then delivered flyers to announce the Heelan group’s Easter Egg Hunt this coming weekend. At nine we left for Holly Springs to visit Ms. Washington. She was profuse in her thanks for what our group had done for her. She had to hug every singles missioner before we could leave. What a nice lady! Our group photo in front of her newly painted house also includes Ms. Washington and her dog Cocoa. We gifted Ms. Washington with some items Linda’s group had put together for her. She was overwhelmed and enjoyed looking through the items and deciding which person would get each one. She donned her mission shirt so we could take her photo with her gifts.

We moved on to the Garden Café, aka soup kitchen, to begin preparations for the evening meal we planned to serve to the Holly Springs clients. Our menu included sloppy joes, mashed potatoes, green beans, cake, and banana bread. Our students baked thirty loaves of banana bread. They are great banana mushers. They also peeled eighty pounds of potatoes. Parents, take note of the skills these students have gained during this mission trip.

We also delivered the three picnic tables built by our group. They are very sturdy and will make a great addition to the soup kitchen AND summer feeding program for the children. Lois Harrison and Kelly Tartt, the director and assistant director of Sacred Heart Southern Missions mission program, loved those picnic tables. In fact, Lois purchased three plaques that our missioners attached to the picnic tables so everyone would know who had built them.

We did have a little time to enjoy ourselves today. The students played in the back yard we’d cleaned, visited, and just relaxed. Then began the frenetic preparations for supper. Everyone set to work to prepare beverages, set tables, set the meal onto the serving area, etc. Lois introduced us to the people, and Fr. Ries began the prayer. The missioners then sang “Jesus, Remember Me” while Janet accompanied us with her guitar. We’ve enjoyed lots of good music during this trip, thanks to her planning and the great singing of our group.

The people we served enjoyed every bit of food. All of us grabbed our plates and sat with them to enjoy some conversation. Everyone there was quite friendly, and I believe all of us had some interesting conversations. Linda snapped as many photos as possible. We cleaned that place up in fifteen minutes – you wouldn’t believe how this team can work when they get moving. Then we headed next door to the church.

Mr. Faris joined us after Mass to take us on a little historical tour. We toured an antebellum home, much of it in its original condition. Then we toured the original Catholic church which included information about the yellow fever martyrs. Thanks to Mr. Faris for taking his time to show us some of our history.

I am writing this blog as we drive from Holly Springs to Walls. We’ll be too late to welcome the Heelan team, who arrived while we were in Holly Springs. I have a feeling we’ll be awake for a couple more hours as our students share some of what they’ve been experiencing with the Heelan team. We will take a little time to do our final junta meeting and read aloud the message from Seivert. I will keep Seivert posted as we travel tomorrow so you’ll all know when your family members will be back. Time of our morning departure is six. We will say our good-byes to Fr. Ries tonight and let him sleep in a bit before he takes off for Boyce, LA, to visit some friends.

Sleep well, y’all!

St. Francis / Gehlen Catholic

Dear Gehlen Catholic Mission Honduras / Mississippi,

My last blog to you begins with many thank you's. Thank you's that don't come close to 'paying' for what they have done. To Mrs. Bickford and all the chaperone's on this trip. How can one even begin to express the gratitude that is fealt by so many. The word 'fealt' itself comes from the Latin 'fidelitas', meaning 'faithfulness'. A perfect description of those that have gone to serve others. Amazing actually, when you think about it. In this day and age when everything seems to center around the individual and how do I please myself, we at Gehlen have a group of students and adults at the most important time of the Church year, serving others. Others they don't even know. Tonight, with Fr. Ries and the priests in Mississippi, they will wash the feet of others. Do you think Christ would have done anything else? This is your Church. This is your faith. This is 'You'.
So you see, the many thanks you receive from me are muted by the very power of the night. The very power of the moment. The very power of who we are. Catholics, Christians, and people who care.
So thanks to all the chaperones. I am stunned by your love and dedication to those who have less. But, I know, deep in my heart I should have expected it.

To all you young people. I personally want to thank you for your commitment first to Honduras and now to Mississippi. You have done well - more than well. My only hope for you is that you will grow in this mission and return more deeply committed than when you left. That is the experience of our journey in this life. To use a sports metaphor, it is so easy in this culture to take our 'eyes of the ball'. To not see things clearly. To become complacent in our lives. When I was young I truly wish I had had the wonderful opportunities you have had to show your love and compassion for others. I remain always amazed at what young people can do when given the chance. You are and have been great representatives of yourselves, your families, and your school. I am sure that the people of Mississippi are a little better tonight because of your commitment.

One of my favorite Saints has always been St. Francis. My father's name was Francis and of course all of you know my brother's name is Francis and I was elated when our new Pope chose the name. Maybe you can already tell in the few blogs I have posted. In any case I wanted to give all of you a special message tonight - your last night serving those who have less. I have chosen four paragraphs from one of my favorite readings about St. Francis. I publish them for all of you tonight, knowing full well they will be read by Mrs. Bickford at your nightly Junta. They are taken out of context but I think you will get the message of what Francis was all about.
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  The bishop was very kind to Francis; he told him to return the money and said God would provide. That was all Francis needed to hear. He not only gave back the money but stripped off all his clothes -- the clothes his father had given him -- until he was wearing only a hair shirt. In front of the crowd that had gathered he said, "Pietro Bernardone is no longer my father. From now on I can say with complete freedom, 'Our Father who art in heaven.'" Wearing nothing but castoff rags, he went off into the freezing woods -- singing. And when robbers beat him later and took his clothes, he climbed out of the ditch and went off singing again. From then on Francis had nothing...and everything.

   Slowly companions came to Francis, people who wanted to follow his life of sleeping in the open, begging for garbage to eat...and loving God. With companions, Francis knew he now had to have some kind of direction to this life so he opened the Bible in three places. He read the command to the rich young man to sell all his good and give to the poor, the order to the apostles to take nothing on their journey, and the demand to take up the cross daily. "Here is our rule," Francis said -- as simple, and as seemingly impossible, as that. He was going to do what no one thought possible any more -- live by the Gospel. Francis took these commands so literally that he made one brother run after the thief who stole his hood and offer him his robe!

   Francis did not try to abolish poverty, he tried to make it holy. When his friars met someone poorer than they, they would eagerly rip off the sleeve of their habit to give to the person. They worked for all necessities and only begged if they had to. But Francis would not let them accept any money. He told them to treat coins as if they were pebbles in the road. When the bishop showed horror at the friars' hard life, Francis said, "If we had any possessions we should need weapons and laws to defend them." Possessing something was the death of love for Francis. Also, Francis reasoned, what could you do to a man who owns nothing? You can't starve a fasting man, you can't steal from someone who has no money, you can't ruin someone who hates prestige. They were truly free.

   Francis was a man of action. His simplicity of life extended to ideas and deeds. If there was a simple way, no matter how impossible it seemed, Francis would take it. So when Francis wanted approval for his brotherhood, he went straight to Rome to see Pope Innocent III. You can imagine what the pope thought when this beggar approached him! As a matter of fact he threw Francis out. But when he had a dream that this tiny man in rags held up the tilting Lateran basilica, he quickly called Francis back and gave him permission to preach.
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To all of you. Thanks for carrying into action all our words. St. Francis once said, 'Preach the Gospel everyday, use words if necessary.

Take Care and Godspeed on your travels Home.
R. Seivert

 

Passing The Torch

Greetings To All Readers

Bishop Heelan Mission Honduras / Mississippi left Sioux City minutes ago (6:30 a.m.) for their long ride to Mississippi where they will join later tonight with the Gehlen Catholic team. We wish them good luck on their trip and will be waiting their arrival sometime late tonight. The two teams meshing together for even one night is quite special at this time of year - Amazing when you think about it. Carolyn Bickford will help Fr. Cosgrove and the Heelan team in using the blog and all are welcome to read their daily reflections and 'join' the site - giving you the opportunity to send messages and make comments.

The St. Thomas More Mission Honduras / New Jersey team leaves April 4th for their work on the east coast from the devastation caused by Super Storm Sandy. Eventually we hope to track all their efforts as well.

We are extremely proud of all three groups. It always amazes me what young people can do when they are given the chance and the outlet to do good. St. Francis would be happy today.

Take Care,
R. Seivert

Got'er Done

What a fantastic day! Every time we turned around another group reported they were DONE with their project.


The Cornelius group (Kevin, Stu, Angel, McKenzie, Derek P., and Jacob) finished installing carpet. They put a door and roof on the shed. They were the last group back to the compound, but they DID finish their job.

Linda's group (Linda, Ryan, Elizabeth, and Maggie) emptied the remainder of the bags, sorted through everything and put them into containers for Sacred Heart Southern Missions, created two gift bags of items we'd brought for the Cornelius' family and Ms. Washington's family, and took items to the Thrift Store to sort items into piles for distribution.

Janet's group (Janet and Catherine) cleaned the girls' and boys' buildings. Catherine scrubbed toilets and sinks, vacuumed, organized, dusted, and joined the group that went to the Thrift Store.

Dave's group (Dave, Carolyn, Derek B., Joey, Abby, Shelby, Andrew) started by cleaning the back patio area. They cleaned up dead leaves, dug out an overgrown bush, scrubbed tables, trimmed trees, and did any type of outdoor clean-up or organization needed. They then painted eight sheds in the Dehon Village area of Walls

We had a very nice Memorial Mass for Steve Shea tonight. It helped to make us feel a part of Gehlen Catholic School, who had their service at 9 this morning.

We surprised Fr. Ries at tonight's junta by each of us telling him something we appreciated about him. Then we presented him with a plaque we'd all signed. Though it was obvious he was quite touched, he responded in typical Fr. Ries fashion - with plenty of good humor.

Tomorrow we'll meet Ms. Washington and present her with a gift bag of goods. We'll also pose together as a group in front of the finished home.

After that it's off to the Garden Cafe in Holly Springs to peel potatoes and bake banana bread. We'll be serving clients our sloppy joes, mashed potatoes, green beans and banana bread, and doing a little singing for them. We'll clean up before heading to the Holy Thursday 'Washing of the Feet' Mass in Holly Springs. We'll end the day with a tour of a Southern Plantation home by the current owners.

Upon our return to Walls, we'll prepare for the arrival of the Heelan team, if they have not yet arrived. We hope to have time to give them a few tips for their mission trip and wish them luck.

No pics tonight. I plan to blog from the Garden Cafe and include some photos of the final day. Some last notes from you to read to the group tomorrow would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to those of you who have been sending comments. We wrap up every junta by reading the previous night's blog and every comment you send. Tomorrow will be our last chance to do that.

I'll be wrapping up our mission trip blog tomorrow. Tune in for the wrap-up.


Missioner notes -

RYLIE STAY AWAY FROM MY ROOM!!!! MY CLOTHES BETTER BE LEFT ALONE!!!

For everyone else…miss you and can’t wait to see everybody Friday…everybody better be there to welcome me home. J I told you not to touch my room, Dad. Well, bye, love you, miss you, and see you soon.

McKenzie

Hey everybody, it’s Shelby. I made it back safely to Mississippi and got back to work right away. Last night I helped put some screws into the picnic tables to leave my mark on them. It was a long and tiring day, but I was very happy to be back. Today we woke up to beautiful weather, which allowed us to get a lot accomplished. My group helped clean up around the compound and finished painting the sheds that another group worked on last week. Now that the weather is finally nice, we have enjoyed being outside around the bonfire. Mom, please order me a short sleeve t-shirt and a crew neck sweatshirt. Hope everything is well back in Le Mars. Bye.

Hello Dickman Family! Hope everything is going well in Le Mars. Maggie and I have been very busy, as demonstrated by the blog. Having a great time with Fr. Reis, all the chaperones and the GREAT young adults. I find myself impressed everyday by their zeal and great work ethic. The parents not able to be a part of this have a lot to be proud of. Hate to see the end of the mission but looking forward to reuniting Donna, Drew and Abbie. Love you all…

Stu

Home Makeover

It's been a busy day and it's not over yet. The abbreviated version is this - We worked on Ms. Washington's home and finished the picnic tables. I picked up Shelby at the airport. We had grilled burgers and brats for supper - quite late. It's 8:54 p. m. at the moment, and we are just cleaning up from supper. In a few short minutes we're having mass in the chapel, and then we still need to have 'junta.' I am going to upload the photos now so you can see our productive day. I'll try to blog more after we've finished everything else.

We Are F-A-M-I-L-Y!

This morning I convinced Lois to let us work as a group. She listened and acquiesced to my wishes. Thus, all missioners climbed aboard and headed to Holly Springs this morning. We had a bit of a late start due to my meeting with Lois and some printing work I had to do, but they really hit the ground running. Within five minutes of parking, everyone was raking, putting leaves onto a tarp and carrying them to dump over the fence, pulling volunteer trees, pick-axing a trench, digging, pulling weeds, cleaning a metal bench, and so much more. Because we worked so well as a team, our water project was totally completed, and the team got to watch the water flowing from the sprinkler system. 

Celebrating a successful water project

Since I had to take Shelby to the airport, I was unable to witness the spraying of the water, but I'm going to test it myself upon our return on Thursday. What these missioners accomplished today was absolutely amazing. Teamwork really pays off!

Digging trenches

Tomorrow we go to Ms. Washington's house. I think you need to know a little background about this lady. She was married years ago and had two daughters with her husband. He deserted his family when the girls were young so Ms. Washington raised them herself. Her ex-husband apparently abused drugs and suffered an overdose, which eventually caused him to have seizures. When he reached the point where they were going to put him into a state facility, she stepped in and took him into her own home. She had to quit her job to take care of him because he needed the saliva suctioned from his mouth every thirty minutes - around the clock. She only sleeps in 30-minutes increments so she can do everything for him. Hospice comes in daily for two hours. During that time she runs any errands that need to be done. Her two grown daughters are not happy with their mother for taking in their father, but they do use her as a babysitter, leaving their four children there almost every day. Since Ms. Washington was taking care of her ex-husband around the clock, there was no one to keep up with any house repairs, nor could she afford to pay to have them done. Some family members actually fell through the rotten floor on more than one occasion. Much of the plumbing is in disrepair, and there were actually open areas in the walls that allowed anything from outside to come inside. Previous groups have installed new subflooring and laminate floor tiles, caulked the outside walls, painted some indoor walls, and put up new siding in the 'holey' spots. Tomorrow we are going to paint the entire exterior of the house, remove, clean, and paint the shutters, replace the back outdoor stairway, install a new vanity, sink and faucets, and lay cement walking block to protect them from the mud when walking from the back door to the front of the house. Our team is going to be busy, but they'll be extremely excited to do this for a woman who really acted as a true christian.

Ryan & Derek B. put pipes together

Wednesday we'll need to finish painting sheds, installing carpet, and weeding at a school. Thursday morning will be for any little details we did not finish, and we'll head for the soup kitchen (Garden Cafe) in the afternoon. As I type this blog, the missioners are in the shed making picnic tables from the wood our mission group purchased today. Once we've finished three picnic tables, we will place them behind the Garden Cafe to be used by any clients of that facility and for the children in the summer feeding program. 

Cutting picnic table  boards

Setting screws for the picnic table tops

AND NOW FOR SOME WORDS FROM OUR MISSIONERS ---

We finished our mini water project today. I went with Lois to Home Dep-O  (Depot) and we bought all of the pvc pipe and connecters and sprinkler heads we needed for the raised planters (which we built) that the system is being installed for. It was pretty cold again, but it sounds like Iowa is much colder. Lois said that the last 3 weeks have been in the 60’s and 70’s here.  Hello to my family: Keith, Teri, Michaela, Carlyn, and Jackson. I hope you are all happy and preparing yourselves for Easter! God bless.

            -Derek Bretey

Well its finished, and my hands are purple but we got it done; our water project is done. We got the Garden Café work done and we are there again on Thursday to cook and serve those that show up. Tomorrow we are at Mrs. Washington’s house painting, installing a vanity, installing walking pavers, and building stairs that lead from the back door to do. Then Wednesday we are at the Cornelius household installing carpet and finishing the shed in back.

I also want to say hello to those that are back home in the cold(er) weather, and that I am not really missing any of the white stuff on the ground. Dad, if we are digging a trench for the mound in the back yard don’t forget to get a pick-axe.

Also those in Web design, will someone tell Ashley hey for me, thanks. That is all for now.

-Ryan Bates

Aye yo, Abby here. Today was a great day. I know that because I am super tired. We all worked today at the Garden Café, and we got it finished! I had the honor to swing the pick-axe. It was pretty great. I never thought I’d say this, but thanks Dad and Mom for giving me some knowledge on how to work hard. It’s definitely coming in handy. Katie… I don’t even know what to say. You’re making it hard for me to pick a funny story to tell people about you. There are just way too many now. We’ve been talking about you quite a bit, and I finally beat you in being the “great freking.” You held up your end very well, but my dinosaur beat your ways. (: I am having such an awesome time; it’s been more than I imagined. I love you all much, and I can’t wait to see you this weekend. 

Today was a great day. We got to work as a group finally. I learned how to use a pick ax and how to fill a trench!!!! Don’t get any bright ideas, Mom, because I am booked for the summer ;) I am having so much fun with everyone here, and we are all having a blast. Today we went to the soup kitchen in Holly Springs to finish up our project, and tomorrow we are going to Ms. Washington’s house. Yesterday was a fun but freezing day in Memphis. We got to go shopping on Beale Street. Emily- tell Nathan that I am somehow surviving with the unorganizational skills of everyone else L. I try and clean, but everyone makes fun of me. Mrs. Bickford told me I could help with cleaning before we go home so tell him not to worry because I will leave this place spotless. Also- I forgot to get you something yesterday…JK! Dad and I would never forget about you or Mom. I don’t want to go back home to reality, but I can’t wait to see you and Mom on Friday and go back to work on Saturday. Love you lots

            ~Catherine~

NICHOLLE-

Can you pretty please sign these people up for prom. Their tee-shirt nickname will be in parethensies. If there is no name, then just use their regular name.

Elizabeth (Lizzard) Adult Medium

Ryan (Bates) Adult XL, Ashley Collins Adult Large

Maggie (Mags) Adult Small, Andrew Adult Medium

Derek B Adult Large, Shelby Adult Extra Large

Fabio (Rivera) Adult Medium (Alli is date, have her sign herself up)

Angel (Chagolla) Adult Large (Emily H. is date, have her sign up)

Derek P. He will let you know nickname tomorrow… you know how he is

Jacob (Jabba) Adult Small, Kenzie Shelgren Adult Small

Abby (Abbs) Adult Small, Jordan Langel Adult Medium

Catherine Small Adult (make sure James signs up)

Tell Danielle to sign Joey up too

Thanks so much for doing this. We miss you and hope everyting is going great back at school. Tell everyone hi from all of us and we miss them too.

Catherine 

Message From R. Seivert

Dear Gehlen Students and Chaperones,

Greetings from a 'still' cold LeMars and northwest Iowa. I have been reading all of the blogs each day and watching the weather patterns crossing the deep south and wondering if you will accomplish all your jobs assigned. My sense is with the leaders and students you have on this team you will finish early and do much more - typical Gehlen work mentality.

Frank returned from Honduras last Monday evening with all kinds of news. One big piece of information important for you and the team from St. Thomas More is that the water project in Las Uvas began last Monday. Both Angel Paz and Julio Rivera are working the project along with the people and children of Las Uvas.  You might not be there but know that it was your hearts, hands, and hard work that paid for these wonderful people to be able to have clean drinkable water for the first time in their lives. While in Mississippi helping others you are still having an impact in the daily health of so many children 2,400 miles away.  You are doing two monumental things in your young life in two different places on this planet with the same feeling and intensity that the Gospels proclaim we all must have. A few years ago at one of our send-off celebrations in the gym I said that Jesus was the first missioner - that God sent his only son to go and do as he wanted him to do. Today you are following in that same path and I only hope your work for Honduras and Mississippi will make a lasting difference in your future lives. I often tell others I didn't really start living until I started helping others on a daily basis. Being a servant to others is one of the most important and powerful jobs that our faith calls each of us to - each and every day.

Keep up the great work Gehlen Catholic Mission Honduras / Mississippi and continue to strive to help others along the way.

I know that many of the Heelan families are also reading the daily blogs from you. Frank also told me that the two houses paid for by the Heelan team and program are under construction. It will ultimately be good to see photos of both the water project in Las Uvas and the 2 new homes in New Capital.

Take Care,
Richard Seivert

Civil Rights and the Blues

Our free day began with Palm Sunday Mass at Christ the King Church in Horn Lake, MS. Fr. Ries concelebrated with Fr. Gene, who welcomed us all to their church. The procession began in the back of church with palm waving and Hosannas all the way back to our pews. After church we posed for a group photo in front of the altar and were given a tour of the ten-year-old church.

The drive to Memphis took approximately twenty-five minutes. We braved the wind to walk around outdoors and visit a few historical sites before entering the National Civil Rights Museum. Our first stop was the site of Martin Luther King's Assassination - the Lorraine Hotel. The kids were amazed at the information they learned at the Civil Rights Museum.

Our next stop was Beale Street - home of the Blues. Since it was soooo cold today, we opted for a trolley ride to Beale Street. We ate lunch/supper at BB King's Restaurant while listening to live music. Most of us ate some delicious barbeque. Then we spent an hour shopping before heading to our vehicles. We took a circuitous route to drive past Graceland, Elvis's home.

Everyone is anxious to get back to work tomorrow. We hope the weather cooperates. I think our goal is to finish every job we've been assigned, and perhaps a bit more.

Message to my Web Design Class: There'd better not be any cookie crumbs in those keyboards!!! Mrs. Schroeder, you are WAY too nice. I sure hope you are all working diligently.

Our juntas seem to be lasting longer and longer as we grow more comfortable with each other. Tonight we also had a sing-along as we drank our hot chocolate. Our hope is to entertain the people at the Garden Cafe (soup kitchen) when we serve and eat with them on Thursday night.

Our Mission Continues

Today our groups were split into three. Dave's group went back to work on the sheds. They believe they have to finish only one shed and then paint them all. Kevin's and Stu's group returned to the Cornelius' house. They installed carpet in one bedroom and half the family room. They also tore the roof off the shed in preparation for a new one. Linda's, Fr. Ries's, and my group drove to Home Depot to start our day. We picked up some power screw drives, two pick-axes, and a chain saw. Before going to our job site, Kelly took us to Ms. Washington's house. That's where we'll be working on Monday, so I'll save all that information for then. I'm sure it's a story you'd like to hear in its entirety. We headed back to work on leaves, branch trimming, etc. Some of the guys went to work with the chain saw; others carried chunks of wood to the dumpster out front. The rest of us finished raking the leaves and pulling out the volunteer trees. The guys also finished all the trimming that was needed along the fence, cutting off any trees pushing against the fence. I even tried my hand with an ax, chapping up a good section of a large tree branch. As we ate our lunch, we were horrified to hear a loud clap of thunder. We jammed our sandwiches into our mouths and rushed to complete our job. The weather, however, did not cooperate. We stored the tools in the shed and sought shelter, hoping to wait out the rain. Eventually, Kelly suggested she take us on a little historic tour around Holly Springs and then return to the compound. (That Kelly is just full of interesting information.) The other groups came back much later than we because they didn't have rain in Walls. I guess we'll do our best to finish on Monday. According to the forecasts we're seeing, we should have sunny days for the remainder of our work days.

Our special treat tonight was pork chops, which Janet had marinated and Dave, Stu, and Kevin grilled. Janet also made cheesy potatoes. Sr. Margaret Sue dropped by to thank our group for the work at her school and left a strawberry dessert for us. YUM! Everyone is eating so well that the snacks are barely going down. Janet had made a Stations of the Cross presentation, so we participated in that service at 8 and had junta right after. 

Dee Dee Cornelius welcomes the crew who check out the home repair progress to date

Everyone is ready for a little tourist day in Memphis tomorrow. After 10 a.m. Mass at Christ the King Church, we're heading for the museum. We'll then walk to the Peabody Hotel to see the ducks marching through the lobby, a major tourist attraction, I guess. Eventually we plan to be at BB King's restaurant so we can enjoy some Mississippi barbeque and music. I have a feeling we will also do a little shopping. Kelly might be joining us, which would be great, since she is such a treasure trove of information

Stu and Billy install the pad

Andrew Lipp

Mission Mississippi has been a good experience so far. It hasn’t been that motivating to me so far, but I am hoping to feel a spark soon. It is more difficult because we aren’t working side by side with the people, or at least I haven’t yet. It still has been a good time with the group though, getting to know everyone a lot better. I also haven’t felt homesickness yet. Our mission group has been like a family to me. I’m healthy, happy, and looking forward to the upcoming days. I do fill a little dirty though, but I think I can overcome this. Thank you Mom, Dad, Marisa, and Krista for supporting us. Especially Rachelle for sending us that lovely picture of yourself! See you all soon!

Fr. Ries

We finally arrived in Mississippi, and we have had beautiful weather, rain, rain and more rain.  We have done a lot of digging with our group and praying. We are the holiest group around.  We have Janet doing cooking and music for Mass - yesterday she had to decide cooking or singing; she chose cooking to keep everyone happy.  Yesterday at noon, we were forced by Kelly, who is a good Baptist lady, to eat meat pizza, otherwise she was going to throw it out. So we had to call upon the Holy Spirit in which we then had another theological moment in which we had the Lord change that meat to fish.  That was the best fish pizza we ever had.

Jacob Begnoche

Hey guys, skink whisperer here. Things have been going pretty well so far. It was a little slow at first, but now that we are getting the hang of things it’s going a lot smoother. The weather hasn’t been as warm as we were all hoping, but it’s better than Iowa. Sleeping on a cot isn’t as good as the couch back home. I’ve been enjoying the chess, Chinese checkers, and conversing with my fellow peeps to pass the time. The food’s been great so far, and I’m really looking forward to the pork chops tonight! If I think of any other good stuff to tell you, I’ll blog again soon. By the way, anyone find my wallet yet? Love you guys.

P.S. Hey Joe, I’m expecting all of my laundry to be put away when I get home, and Emma, that is a very interesting story that you told me. Bye!

Derek Probst:

Hmmm, what to write, what to write… Well, basically I’m having a good time down here in Mississippi. It is cool to be able to know that I am doing some good in the world. Since we aren’t really working with the people, I sort of wish that I could see how my actions are affecting people instead of just knowing that what I’m doing was helping people but maybe that will come later. Oh we can’t use any water in the guys’ area today because it is “blocked,” but I’m pretty sure Mrs. Bickford just said that so that it is more suffering for us like it would have been in Honduras. Um, despite the fact that it is warmer here and we’re pretty busy, I do miss the Iowa, and I guess I sorta might a little tiny bit or maybe a bit more than a little bit or who knows, a lotta bit miss some of the people that might possibly be in Le Mars like maybe my family or Nicholle, but those are just possible examples… So ya, that’s my blog for tonight. Thanks for reading, bye y’all (that’s my Southern accent).

Elizabeth Bates:

I am having a very fun time down here in Mississippi so far. The last two days it has been kind of rainy and muddy outside, but we are still having fun. Today on our job site we found a frog and Maggie was freaking out (but just a little J). To the web design class “What do you think you are doing eating cookies!!!” haha. Yesterday we played a very very physical game of basketball in the driveway. It was a lot of fun. Tomorrow we are going to Memphis and going to the Civil Rights Museum. Well, I have to go now the living room is being rearranged for dinner so see y’all later. Oh ya by the way hi Mom, Dad, and RubyJ. Bye-bye

Ryan Bates:

I am having a very exciting time down here in Mississippi. I am truly learning a lot while I am down here too. Although Saturday we got wet and Thursday night we got rained out ,we spent the day Friday cleaning the Garden Café. We will hopefully finish the work we are doing in the Garden Café sometime early next week. I also want to tell everyone back home that I am doing well and that I only have one little boo-boo while playing basketball Friday night, but other than that I am doing well.

Maggie writes in her junta booklet

Angel carries away the rotten shed door

Missioners Check In

Catherine- Hi Mom, Emily, and everyone else reading,

Today was a great day since it was a rain day. My group sorted out all the supplies we brought and we found pink/purple hair spray and I got Dad’s hair sprayed! We didn’t tell him it was permanent though (JK it is washable). Everyone in our group got our hair painted and we were delivering bags when the other group drove by and we did the cancan for them J Oh by the way mom, I am too busy to help you out this summer. Hope everything is going well at home and keep Sally entertained for me.

Dave and Janet

Having a great time (watching McKenzie laugh).  It has been fun getting to know the kids and “encouraging them” on the job.  Cooking is going great lots of help and no meals ruined up to this point. 

Catherine & Shelby sort donated goods

Hey guys, Abby here. 

Everything is going very well! Today has been my favorite day, mostly because I didn’t encounter any bugs..yet. My group sorted through all the bags and put them all in the right place. It’s amazing how much stuff we brought. I can honestly say I spend a lot of my time laughing. Everyone just gets along so well. As of right now my hair is purple. I think I’m going to keep it this way after I graduate Mom and Dad. I really miss and love all of you.

Hello! IT’S MCKENZIE!!!! 

I am now an excellence kitchen cleaner!! Today I helped clean out fryers at the soup kitchen! Dad be proud…I am an excellence painter, hammerer, and drill user now!! Repairing outbuildings has made me a great carpenter! Dave is teaching me lots of life skills. Having a great time…I might come home with a six pack just from all the laughing I am doing, hope all is well at home! Say hi to everyone and tell Jacey I will be home soon so she can save her legs and won’t have to ride her bike.

Hey guys!! It’s Maggie!

J I am proud to say that I have learned the skills of the drill and hammer. I am ready to build something now! On our first day, we got to meet an amazing (and pretty funny) couple, the Cornelius’. We were able to help them lay down some padding for carpet and we basically got the entire shed covered in wood. I can’t wait to go back and finish the project! Today we got to go clean up the garden café, which is their soup kitchen. We had a great group and got a lot accomplished! And for everyone asking, yes I did freak out about the spider! I am really hoping I never run into one! And to the Web Design Class, I miss you guys too, since it is definitely my favorite class (hopefully I get some extra credit for saying this)J. And Nicholle, I tried the red velvet pancakes. They were delicious! And to my family back in Le Mars, I miss you guys! I hope the house is still in good condition and won’t be in too much of a wreck when dad and I get back. And good luck to Abbie tomorrow at AAU!! (Derek says good luck to Carlyn too!!) Rock their socks off! J Miss everyone and love you all!

Sorting crew goes wild with purple hairspray

Stu,

Missing Donna, Drew and Abbie. Wish you all could experience what we are in Mississippi. Feel very fortunate that we have Fr. Ries with us and we are able to receive graces from daily mass in the Sacred Heart chapel. Best of luck to Abbie and the 7^th grade girls AAU volleyball squad and even better luck to Donna on the trip there! Drew, good luck this weekend at HyVee! Love you all!!!

Hey guys!!! It’s Joey. 

Having a lot of fun working with everyone here. It is a great experience. I am missing everyone at home: Mom, Dad, John, and you too Brian. Of course I am missing you too Danielle hope you are not dying without me haha. Love and miss you a bunch.

Linda here – 

Hello to my hubby, kids and grandkids, family and friends.   Am doing great and doing lots of different things. Weather has not been the best but they have given us a variety of different jobs.  Love to all.

Soup Kitchen cleaning crew powered through the grease

Hey everyone, Shelby here! 

Mississippi has been a ton of fun so far we are constantly laughing. The team is really starting to get close and there is a lot of bonding between people. Even though today was wet and chilly we found plenty of things to do. We found time to play pinochle, bingo, and an intense game of basketball. Hope everything is well back in Iowa!­­­  

Hi from Carolyn,

Mya, I hope you get lots of good stuff at the YMCA Easter egg hunt. I can hardly wait to get home and play with you, buddy! Paige, I hope you're keeping your mom and dad chasing after you. Grandma loves you! Hi to you too, Jay, Drew, Miranda, and Ali. We are staying plenty busy here in Mississippi. Would you believe we were under a winter storm warning last night? Lois and Kelly told us we brought Iowa weather with us. Obviously, the yucky weather created problems today. We had to work indoors. One group sorted through our donated goods, the other 'detailed' the soup kitchen. I worked with the latter group. Scrubbing fried on grease that has collected on a fryer basket is NOT easy. 

Seivert, thanks for keeping an eye on Pakka and Angel, along with Lyndsi. Appreciate all the help.

Parents - You should all be VERY proud of your children. They are representing their families, their school, and themselves wonderfully. They pitch right into work, do whatever we ask of them, participate wholeheartedly in our religious services. I knew I would love working with this group.

Oh yes, you'll be happy to know the following: ALL STUDENTS HAVE DECIDED THEY ARE GREATLY ENJOYING LIFE WITHOUT THEIR ELECTRONIC DEVICES, AND THEY AGREED THAT THEY WOULD BE HAVING LESS FUN WITH THE DEVICES. THEY UNANIMOUSLY AGREED THAT IT' IS A GREAT RULE! Keep that in mind for future car trips!

Serving in Mississippi

Our first day of work got off to a great start. After a breakfast of pancakes Kelly arrived to divide us into four groups. Each group did a different job.

Dave, Janet, Fabio, McKenzie, Angel, and Derek P. worked on sheds. They tore off old wood and replaced it with good stuff. They they painted the new parts. They also got to build a new door for one of the sheds. They are confident they can finish their job by noon on Friday. They met Bubba, who liked to supervise and chat with them. He challenged Angel to play a little football, so the kids got a big kick out of him.

working on the shed

Linda, Jacob, Andrew, and Catherine worked at Sacred Heart School. They weeded gardens and hauled those weeds through the school and out to the dumpster. The students in this school like to find turtles and bring them to the garden. They consider it their own special turtle sanctuary. The missioners came across the turtle sanctuary as they were weeding. They also caught a blue skink, which Jacob placed on his cap for a photo op.

cutting boards

Stu, Kevin, Maggie, Shelby, Elizabeth worked at the home of Billy and Dee Dee Cornelius. Billy and Dee Dee were both laid off from their Fed Ex jobs a bit over two years ago. Because of that, they didn't have money for their utility bills, so their utilities were turned off. They were using candles for light and one day a candle did not get blown out when both of them left the house. They think one of their animals knocked over the candle and started the house on fire. The house has to be totally rebuilt, but they had no jobs or money. So over the past two years, Sacred Heart Southern Missions has been rebuilding their home. Today our missioners were helping this couple put down carpet in their house. The carpet was donated to Sacred Heart Southern Missions. Upon their return, these missioners should be able to help you with your carpet installations!

Jacob's skink friend

Fr. Ries, Ryan, Derek B., Abby, Joe Mayrose, and I worked in Holly Springs at St. Joseph's. Our jobs included building a compost bin from scrap wood, picking up and disposing of branches, raking leaves, cleaning the planter boxes, building three new planter boxes from scrap material, tilling the garden, and cleaning out the mulch from inside a small fenced area. The area we are working in is about half an acre. They also are going to have us dig a trench tomorrow and lay pipe for a watering system for the new planter boxes. YES! We are going to be pick axing! It's a water project in Mississippi. We met Sr. Linda there, who told us that do social services with their clients. They help them with money management, work on budgets, and encourage those who have not finished high school to get their GED. In fact, there was a GED class going on when we were there.

building a compost bin

Those were the basic activities of the day. By the way, Jacob says Madeline may use his laptop for 27 minutes today and he has no idea where the glove is. We are greatly enjoying your comments to our blog.

The team is meshing well. It's obvious by the amount of time it took to get through tonight's junta. There were giggles and stories and comments that kept interrupting our normal conversations. There was a lot of laughing tonight.

Today Abby performed the 'ant dance.' That's the dance a missioner performs when they stand atop an ant pile until ants are crawling up your legs and biting. We got her into the bathroom so she could make sure all ants had been removed and then had her lather up with benadryl ointment.

The carpet-laying group enjoyed time with Whiskey, the dog. He's really the neighbor's dog, but Billy and Dee Dee don't think they take care of him, so they've sort of adopted him. He walks around carrying a big stick on which he constantly chews. I thought he wanted to play and tried to get it the stick, but he wouldn't let anyone touch it.

As you can see, it was a fun-filled eventful day. Although Lois told us our jobs would take us the full time that we're here, we're pretty sure we'll finish them by tomorrow or Saturday. She just isn't used to our Iowa work ethic. Go missioners!

Welcome to Mississippi

As Seivert reported, our team arrived in Mississippi a little after 7 p.m. It was a LONG ride, but everyone did well. The only mishap was a failure to follow the GPS in Memphis, and that resulted in an interesting, rather circuitous, route through the city. Other than that, the trip was fairly uneventful.

We stopped in St. Joseph's at iHop for breakfast this morning. Fr. Ries generously bought breakfast for the whole group. At each pit stop all missioners switched into different vehicles so we 'd get the chance to visit with various fellow missioners. We can already feel the team bonding.

Upon our arrival we were met by Lois Harrison and Kelly Tartt. They introduced us to what the Sacred Heart Southern Missions is all about. Something that surprised us was that Mississippi is the poorest state in the U.S., and the county in which we are working is the poorest one in Mississippi. She described the pride of these people and how excited they'll be to meet us. They do not think of themselves as poor, but she says they most definitely are in great need. Many times they will actually give of their need because they are such a generous people.

We were given a quick tour of our living quarters. It is quite secure and comfortable. The girls were excited because there is a large room where they can all be together. Linda and I decided to bunk together, and Janet chose a room close to the kitchen, since she'll be in charge of overseeing meals. The guys will have to sleep in two or three separate rooms. There are more of them and the rooms were not set up the same way. The 'compound' is very nice. However, we had a (what I will call) Honduras moment when Abby found a spider in her bed. The girls were successful in eventually cornering and capturing the trespasser, much to their relief.

After our tour everyone got busy emptying the trailer and storing the materials. Janet and Dave got to work on grilling hot dogs and making beans, which we finally ate a bit after 9. By the time we had our 'junta' and a 'nuts and bolts' meeting, the team headed for bed around 11. They should be exhausted from the early morning, long vehicle ride, and the general excitement of the new mission experience. They get to sleep in until 6:30 tomorrow. Lois is coming at 8:15 to divide us into groups and send us off to work.

Oh yes, I see some of you are concerned about Jacob. Of course, he's with us. When he didn't show up at school and I couldn't reach him or his dad by phone, we drove to his house to find him. They saw us leaving the parking lot and followed us to his house where he climbed aboard. Everything is fine! We never considered leaving anyone behind. I guess that's one of the negatives of leaving cell phones behind: you just can't call them and find out where they are.

Speaking of electronic devices - they are only missing them a little. Within a day or two they won't even think about them. Remember, though, you can communicate with us through your comments. Those will be shared at the nightly 'juntas' so send your comments!

Take care, ya'll. Pray for a great mission. Like they said tonight, we are the #1 Gehlen Catholic Mission Honduras team serving in Mississippi. We plan to set the bar high for any others who might follow us one day.