won't you let me be your servant...

It has been a while again, and by a while, I mean too long. For that I apologize. Last night I sat in on this week's DOOR group's reflection time, a talk about homelessness, but more than that, a talk about the unwelcomed in our society. Ana & I walked in just in time to hear the end of some pretty standard praise & worship song (I can't remember what it was), but the last song they sang before launching into discussions and reflections struck me. It was one I knew called "Servant Song". The one part says,

We are pilgrims on a journey; we are travelers on the road;
we are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load.

...
I will weep when you are weeping; when you laugh, I’ll laugh with you.
I will share your joy and sorrow ‘til we’ve seen this journey through.
...

Pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant, too.

It struck me because I see my daily encounters in this song. However, I notice that my encounters with my clients, during consultations, and in the world around me that I do not intentionally weep with the women who tell me of the horrible things they have overcome or laugh with the recently married couple. For me, it is a reaction and a realization that those are truly the meaningful moments in life. To me, it's comforting that human beings are inherently social & need to share with each other. So isn't that what this entire experience is really about? Not how many applications I get filed, or translations I get done, or even how many people remember my name a week after they saw me for a consultation. It's the brief moment that I laughed with someone, or an elderly client took a few minutes to share a story about their life & wisdom with me.

When the song ended, Danielle posed a question. The group sitting in front of her consisted of middle- and high-schoolers who were visiting & volunteering in San Antonio for the week and one of DOOR's week-long groups. She asked, "Where did you see God today?" Ana & I looked at each other & laughed. She said, "I don't think I saw God today". I replied, "I was thinking the same thing". We talked for a few minutes about the fact that, in contrast to the group sitting in front of us, we don't always see God. Just like the rest of our society, we get wrapped up in the day to day tasks of our jobs, the stress, & the mundane details of life. Sometimes, this life isn't the rosy, all people are inherently good, "everything will end well" picture it's painted to be & sometimes, we just don't stop to look. I have seen a lot of pain this year, a lot of hunger, & a lot of need. Some days, as I head home, I really question where God is. And lately, I have hit a wall as my schedule gets busier & I start transitioning back to "the real world". I push myself to get as much work done as I can because my days here are numbered. I rush home & stand in my room wondering how all of that stuff is going to get back to Dallas & then on to Tulsa. So last night, I just sat, thinking about where I had seen good. And it was calming to just think...

At one point, Jim, who was speaking about homelessness & the Catholic Worker House, read the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi & I was jolted out of my meditation. When I was younger, we sang that prayer in youth choir, but somehow I really understood it in the context of the night, of my year, and of the importance of walking together & sharing the load. So as I walked home last night, the sense of calm stayed with me. I don't see God every day, whether that is my own fault as a child raised in middle-class American society or simply the fact that some days you just can't. However, taking time out from the busy, fast-paced world to look, laugh, cry and share another's load makes life a little easier. So it is my hope that we can all take a few minutes during the week to welcome the stranger, share a moment, make an effort to ease their load & maybe, just maybe, we will see God...

en paz,

jenna

"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy;
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life."

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

...changes...

"I'm writing you to catch you up on places I've been, You held this letter, probably got excited, but there's nothing else inside it, didn't have a camera by my side this time, hoping I would see the world through both my eyes, maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to lose my way with words..." -John Mayer

As I write this, I am sitting on a plane headed for La Guardia to visit CUNY School of Law & I find myself again faced with the question, “What next?” As seems to be the case during the spring, the past few weeks have been filled with new life, new decisions and change. Looking back, I can’t remember a spring in the past 7 or so years where I haven’t felt growing pains. This year is absolutely no different.

Life around La Casa has been full of change lately as both our unit & the MVS unit that we are so close to have welcomed new additions. Kate & I have enjoyed our new roommate Ana & the new perspective that she brings to our house. Ana is a recent seminary graduate from Piedras Negras, just across the Rio Bravo about 2 hours outside of San Antonio.

About a month ago, Hugo, Kate, Ana & I spent a weekend in Piedras Negras on our spring retreat. I enjoyed being back in Mexico, even if it was only for a weekend & also enjoyed witnessing life in a border town where change, growth, & movement are synonymous with every day life. So many of my clients come through Piedras Negras that it allowed me a little more insight into the world of immigration. As I stood on the Mexican banks of the Rio Bravo entertaining the “what if…” ideas of jumping & seeing what Border Patrol would think of me, I couldn’t help but notice the t-shirts, shoes, & other personal items that littered the ground, symbols of a life hurriedly left behind in the search for something better. What do you pull of as you are running towards a new life & what do you desperately try to cling to through the murky waters?

My family is also changing & growing this spring as my cousin, and probably one of my very first friends, gave birth to her first daughter in February. She’s absolutely beautiful & I can’t wait to meet her. Another happy sign of change within my family is that my brother proposed to his girlfriend, also a good friend of mine, & the whole family is excited about welcoming another new family member!

As for me, within the next week, I will make a decision about where I will spend at least the next 3 years of my life. I couldn’t be more excited about being able to choose between 4 law schools, but I have also begun to realize that before I know it, it will be August again & time for a change. I am still enjoying my work & life in San Antonio & I know it will be hard to leave, if & when I do. I am also learning more & more every day that complete success is often hard in immigration law, that good things don’t happen over night & that I must appreciate the small successes. I can’t get someone a green card, a work permit, or even a mild sense of security in one month, much less in one work day. Conversations, smiles, deadlines met, “Dios te bendiga”, “Eres mi ángel de la guarda”, & “Gracias” are all little successes that make days a little easier.

So just like little successes, I will take the changes of another spring in little steps...

en paz,
jenna

I'm going to law school!

I got my first law school acceptance letter today!!!

trust.

Sometimes I feel like the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 is my life. Right, you may not see the parallels at first, but I do. However, as most of my family will tell you, I have a tendency to be dramatic...

On Wednesday night we had another one of our free walk-in legal advice clinics. It's a pretty great program, in my opinion, because it brings together 3 groups, law students, people in need of legal advice, and attorneys. The law students learn valuable interviewing skills & get to put their book knowledge to use from both the clients & the attorneys. The public recieves free legal advice from qualified individuals. The attorneys recieve a warm fuzzy feeling inside from giving back to the community. I coordinate these clinics & while the event is taking place, I observe.

When I showed up at 5:00 people had already begun to show up & sign in...the clinic doesn't even begin until 6:00.  As I was running around trying to make sure that everyone had what they needed, I kept checking the list.  The number was rising, 15...20...28, and so was my panic level.  No attorneys had shown up yet, not even the ones from my office.  Finally, at 6:00, we had 48 clients waiting to be seen & 8 attorneys had magically shown up.  However, as I stood in front of the clients to welcome them to the clinic, I couldn't help but think, "Can we really see all of them in 2 hours, and who will be angry because they had to wait so long?"

Well, we saw everyone in under 2 hours, each person waiting patiently for their turn.  I am always amazed, but my boss never seems to be.  I'm not quite sure what this says about me because I have always considered myself an optimist.  I guess sometimes you just have to trust...

paz,

jenna

"Y mandó a la gente que se sentara sobre la hierba. Tomó los cinco panes y los dos pescados y, mirando al cielo, los bendijo. Luego partió los panes y se los dio a los discípulos, quienes los repartieron a la gente. Todos comieron hasta quedar satisfechos, y los discípulos recogieron doce canastas llenas de pedazos que sobraron. Los que comieron fueron unos cinco mil hombres, sin contar a las mujeres y a los niños."  Mateo 14:19-21

International Migrant's Day

The following is something I helped to write and is being sent out on behalf of my office for International Migrant's Day to the local media:

"On Tuesday, December 18, 2007, communities around the world will celebrate International Migrant’s Day. In a season where many people in our own city, country and around the world pause to spend time with family, we need to remember that varying circumstances prevent many migrants from doing the same. International Migrant’s Day, celebrates the adoption of the 1990 U.N. International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

One of the recognizable signs of the times today is undoubtedly migration, a phenomenon which has become an important factor of the world-wide labor market, a consequence among other things of the enormous drive for globalization. Naturally in this "sign of the times" various factors play a part. They include both national and international migration, forced and voluntary migration, legal and illegal migration, subject also to the scourge of trafficking in human beings. Nor can the category of foreign students, whose numbers increase every year in the world, be forgotten.

With regard to those who emigrate for economic reasons, it is worthwhile to mention the growing number of women involved ("feminization"). In the past it was mainly men who emigrated, although there were always women too, but these emigrated in particular to accompany their husbands or fathers or to join them wherever they were. Today, although numerous situations of this nature still exist, female emigration has become more and more autonomous. Women cross the border of their homeland alone in search of work in another country. Indeed it often happens that the migrant woman becomes the principal source of income for her family. It is a fact that the presence of women is especially prevalent in sectors that offer low salaries. If then, migrant workers are particularly vulnerable, this is even more so in the case of women. The most common employment opportunities for women, other than domestic work, consist in helping the elderly, caring for the sick and work in the hotel sector.
Famous migrants include Carlos Santana and Gloria Estefan as well as Madeleine Albright, but migrants need not be famous to offer contributions to their home and host States. In celebration of International Migrant’s Day please take a moment to celebrate the economic and cultural contributions that many migrants bring to our community, state and country and to use every opportunity to promote basic human rights."

advent

I have always loved Advent. As a kid I loved everything about it, the sanctuary decorated for Christmas, the Christmas carols, watching each candle on the wreath get lit, every Sunday getting closer to the big white one in the middle. Then on Christmas Eve, dinner and presents at my Grandparents' house, sitting in the pews with my big family. I loved the smell of candles burning, my cousins, brother & I playing with the hot wax. Then we would head home, read the Polar Express & try to fall asleep. It was all about the wonderful anticipation of Christmas Day. As a kid, like most kids, Christmas was about all the presents & the idea that it was a time of year when anything really could happen, but even then I understood that Advent was about preparation, anticipation.



That's really what Advent is about, preparing for the baby who was born in a manger, and yes, it's true that as we grow it changes from preparation for Santa to buying presents and preparing for all the things that go along with the holidays. However, it's really about the little child that will lead us. Last Sunday as we drove to church in 80 degree weather, Kate & I talked about how excited we were that Advent had begun. As the first candle on the Advent wreath was lit at the beginning of the service, I felt that same feeling of excitement and anticipation that I did when I was a kid, it is the time of year when anything can happen.

The truth is that this year, Advent, the season of preparation finds me preparing for many different things. December so far has been filled with the LSAT, a Naturalization Workshop, and appointments with clients so I am ready to go to Pennsylvania in two weeks.

However, there has also been a sense of preparation in the appointments that I have had with clients. A woman came into our office last week inquiring about the progress of her case, our office manager told her that I was working on the case & she could set up an appointment with me. The woman was anxious because, again, the holidays were coming and she would spend them, again, without her teenage daughter. I explained to her how dangerous the border was right now, and that the truth was that if she crossed, she would jeopardize our ability to help her. On the inside, my heart was breaking because I would not be able to stand the thought of Christmas without at least part of my big, loud, loving family. This woman isn't alone, though, the reality is that all over south Texas and across the border states, immigrants are preparing for an incredibly dangerous journey home for the holidays. The path is long and rough and some may not live and some may not make it back. The Christmas story itself starts much like this, immigrants on a long and dangerous road, preparing for the birth of Christ.

My Christmas list this year includes many things that you can buy in a store, but the truth is that one of the things I want the most is peace, peace for the immigrant, peace for the soldier, peace for the hurting family, peace for those whose hearts ache with lonliness, peace for everyone...

en paz,
jenna

"I have traveled
Many moonless nights
Cold and weary
With a babe inside
And I wonder
What I've done
Holy Father
You have come
And chosen me now
To carry Your Son
I am waiting
In a silent prayer
I am frightened
By the load I bear
In a world as cold as snow
Must I walk this path alone
Be with me now
Be with me now
Breath of Heaven
Hold me together
Be forever near me
Breath of Heaven
Breath of Heaven
Light in my darkness
Pour over me
Your holiness
For You are holy
Breath of Heaven
Do you wonder
As you watch my face
If a wiser one
Should have had my place
But I offer all I am
For the mercy of Your plan
Help me be strong
Help me be
Help me
Breath of Heaven
Hold me together
Be forever near me
Breath of Heaven
Breath of Heaven
Light in my darkness
Pour over me Your holiness
For You are holy"

Mary's Song

bus rides...

If you spend more than about 5 minutes talking to me about my experiences so far in San Antonio, you will realize that I love riding the bus to work. I like not being completely in control of when I arrive, it makes me slow down & remember that waiting is OK. There is nothing that I hate more than traffic, paying for gas, the reality that one car for every person is excessive &, at times, driving in general.

I have been working at the photo booth that our office has out at the Department of Homeland Security offices. Basically, the photo booth allows clients at DHS to have their required passport-sized photos taken even after they are already through security & it's a little cheaper than the nearest photo booth. I was filling in for the man who usually works out there because he was ill. It was an interesting experience and not always uplifting. Some of the clients that come in are happy because they have recently passed their naturalization test & for the first time in a while, do not have to worry about the possibility of deportation, but for the most part, clients are nervous. Although many people may believe that the possibility of deportation goes away when you get a visa or receive resident status, that's not true. Until you are a U.S. citizen, the possibility of deportation is always real. On a more selfish note, I had a lot of down time to get bored & I missed my bus rides, I had to drive to work. The fact is, it was a rough week or so for me.

Today I returned to our office on the west side & things were busy enough to make up for the time I was gone. Between getting information out about our upcoming legal clinics & naturalization workshop & the usual Wednesday consultations & the mail run, I kept busy. I also went back to riding the bus.

This afternoon, not long after I got on the bus a man got on, sat down behind me & started playing the harmonica. I closed my eyes for a few seconds before I heard, "Mija, do you have change for a dime? Nickles, pennies?". I opened my eyes to see an older man with his palm open, a dime in it. I smiled, mostly because he had addressed me as mija (kinda of a contraction of mi & hija, "my child/daughter", it's common for anyone to refer to someone younger than them as mija or mijo), but also because of what he had asked. Change for a dime may seem silly in our world where a dime buys almost nothing anymore. I started digging in my bag, happy to get rid of change because I hate it. I found a few nickles & pennies & gave them to him. The man with the harmonica had stopped playing & said, "You have a good heart. Most people would have ignored him". Now, the goodness of my heart really could be hotly debated. Those 11 cents don't mean that I have a good heart. What struck me is that most people wouldn't have ignored just that man, most people ignore people, me included. The important part of my bus rides, my job (whatever building it's in & whatever it entails), & my life is to slow down, wait, & pay attention to the people who come in & out of my life. It does not really matter whether I am organizing clinics, taking pictures, saving the world, or washing dishes for work, but the relationships in my life. And for that I'm thankful...

I hope everyone can pause & take the time to slow down & enjoy the people in your life, even if they are just passing through to ask change for a dime.

en paz,
jenna

all you need is love...

The past few weeks have been what Kate and I have started referring to as "Family-palooza" around La Casa. I have had visits from my brother, mom, sister, & uncle & lunch with a pledge sister, & Kate's sister is visiting this weekend during her fall break. At the same time, we have both started to make plans to visit our families for the holidays. I know we have both be grateful for the visits & it has caused me to start thinking a lot lately about family. I heard a saying once that went, "Be kind to your siblings. They're the best link to your past, and the ones most likely to stick with you in the future." It always made me smile because of its truth for me, siblings, and family in general provide a constant link to your past & the promise of constant presence in your future.

My job also centers around family. At our office we assist people with family visas. As far as visas go, you have two options, basically, family or employment visas. Family visas aim to keep families together. Basically, a family member that is either a resident or citizen can petition for another close relative to receive a visa. It sounds pretty easy, but the reality is that the wait can be long (Right now, under one category, the government reviewing petitions from 1992...that's 15 years if you need a little help) & the fees high (The first form to simply begin the process requires a $355 fee) until families are together again. There are clients who go years and years without seeing their families or, on the other hand, risk their lives to see their families because of a man-made line along a dried up river in South Texas.

So why is it that I am lucky or blessed enough that this is not an issue in my family? Why is it that just because the Rio Grande doesn't cut through the over 1000 miles that separate myself from the rest of my family in Pennsylvania & Florida that we can all be together for holidays, graduations, weddings and other important events? Why is it that just because the Rio Grande does cut through the 150 miles between San Antonio & Coahuila, Mexico are families forced to go years without seeing one another or risk their lives to do so? It doesn't make sense to me.

I hope that as the holidays approach & you make plans to be with your family & friends, that you think of those families separated by war, hunger, poverty and little man-made lines in the earth...

One of my favorite Beatles' songs has kept reminding me that when it comes to physical locations, there is...

"No where you can be that isn't where you're meant to be,

It's easy,

All you need is love".

Peace,

jenna

Oh the places you'll go...

"Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go."
-Dr. Seuss

I was reminded of a book that my mom often read to the Carl kids when we were little while I was at Ghost Ranch last week. She used to read Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Suess a lot & went through a phase where it was her favorite gift to give for graduations, job promotions, etc. I can remember getting a little tired of it, but now I see the important message she was trying to teach us.

It was refreshing to spend the better part of a week at Ghost Ranch in northern New Mexico, and not just because we got to escape the Texas heat. All of the YAVs from around the country got together so we could prepare for our year of service. I think the most refreshing thing was creating another community of young adults who are all focused on the same thing no matter where they stand politically or spiritually. It was great to have conversations about the work we were doing, the things we were experiencing, the places we had been & the places we were going.

One of the discussions that really hit me was about vocations & how this is not just a year off between college & grad school or jobs, but truly is our life. The things that I am learning & experiencing this year have already begun to change me & the life I live. This is part of the journey to the places I am going, to the places that we are all going.

While out on a hike on our last afternoon at Ghost Ranch, we stopped for a time of reflection & while I was looking around, I noticed stickers with parts of Oh, The Places You'll Go on the water bottle of the girl sitting next to me & it made me remember the book that had been read to me so many times before. For me it was encouraging because of the questions that have been on my mind lately about what I am doing & where I am going & how this year fits into my life & is my life. It's all a part of a journey, one that doesn't end. A journey that includes ups, downs, waiting, doing, the brains in my head & the gifts God gave me.

Last Saturday, the book was still fresh on my mind as I took the LSAT, whether I did well or not. If law school is supposed to be the next step in my life, it will be, if not, there another path my life is supposed to take. My prayer for everyone with whom I cross paths for now is...

"You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!"

Peace,
jenna

Name one of the authors of The Federalist Papers

The USCIS has released a new Naturalization Test for Legal Permanent Residents wishing to become Citizens...do you think you could pass?

Check out the test at www.uscis.gov & under "What's New" click on "See the questions and answers for the New Naturalization Test".

A hypothetical situation...

A question was brought up to me today at work by two of my co-workers that has been gnawing at me since & I'm looking for an answer. So, if you know the answer or someone who may, please let me know. This is a question, not meant to incite any debate over the drain of the welfare system or anything like that. It's also a purely hypothetical situation and for the purposes of this hypothetical situation, it will revolve around a woman who is a widowed Mexican citizen, but whose child was born in the U.S. and therefore has U.S. citizenship just like every other baby born on U.S. soil.

Say this woman has crossed the border in order to have her baby. (Right here might lie a common misconception...just because your baby was born on U.S. soil & your baby has U.S. citizenship doesn't make it any easier for you to get it until that baby becomes 21 & may petition for a visa for you). The woman has no other family that can petition for her & she is told her case is virtually hopeless as she is deported back to Juarez before her child turns 21 & can petition for her. Now, the U.S. government can obviously not legally deport a U.S. citizen on any ground, but in an effort to keep the family intact the mother takes her child with her when she returns to Mexico (However, according to ReVista, the Harvard Review of Latin America an article points out that at times these children are detained and/or deported based solely on the grounds of their parents' own illegal status http://drclas.fas.harvard.edu/revista/articles/view/308). From here my question can go in two different directions...

The first is what happens if this child is entitled to welfare benefits? Now, I am by no means an expert in really anything, much less legal issues or welfare issues, but let me also remind you that this was not originally my question, it was someone else's. Is the U.S. going to send a welfare check addressed to the child in Mexico City, Sayulita, or even Juarez?

The second is what happens to that child when the mother can't provide properly for her child? Let's say that she decides it is in the best interest of the child that she forfeit her parental rights and so she ties the child's birth certificate around his neck, pushes him into the U.S. Embassy & disappears. Then what? Does he become a ward of the State?

What happens to the children caught in the middle of our nasty red tape-filled bureaucracies?

Walk a mile in someone else's shoes...

When I was still in Dallas it felt strange to watch everyone getting ready to go back to school & then remembering that for the first time that I could actually remember in my life, I wasn't participating in the ritual. My sisters bought spirals, pencils & any other imaginable supply & all I grabbed was a pack of pre-sharpened No. 2 pencils so I wouldn't forget before taking the LSAT in a few weeks.



I went back to school on Monday whether I had planned to or not. I have found myself waking up at 6:15 am to shower, dress, pack a lunch and catch the bus at the end of the street so I could make it to work by 8 am. My office has turned into a classroom complete with reading assignments & office managers, other paralegals, & attorneys intent on teaching me immigration law. The difference is, for the first time I don't feel like what I am learning is just busy work. There is something that I will actually be doing with the stuff I am learning. Alright, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed school a lot, but I am finding some of the reading that I have been doing is a little easier because it is taking something that I am interested in & using it to help another person in some, if only very little, way.



Monday I spent learning what my job at Catholic Charities Immigration Services entailed. I am an Intern/Consultant in charge of special programs. It sounds pretty official & I have an office which makes me feel pretty grown up. Really what I do is help out with intake consultations (learn about a person's migration history, a little about their personal history, & their current immigration status & then figure out what we can do to help them out in filling out paperwork, getting visas, citizenship, etc.) & then coordinate some of the outside programs that my department does (free legal advice clinics & a citizenship/naturalization workshop) & any other odds and ends. I'm incredibly excited, but also really nervous because of the impacts that all of this has on peoples' lives. On Wednesday I sat in on the interviews during our walk-in day. The four cases I saw ranged from a very elderly woman who was waiting for her daughter to be able to get a visa, to a couple where the husband was already a permanent resident who hopefully will be able to become a citizen soon & his wife who is only a few months away from being able to get her visa, to two different cases of women who had been in abusive relationships. It was a rollercoaster of emotions, to say the least, to see the frustration of the family of the elderly woman in not being able to understand that after waiting since 1995, they would have to continue to wait several more years to even be able to get the visa they needed, the smiles on the face of the couple knowing that soon things might get a little easier, to the fear on the faces of the two women & the amazing bravery & things that humans can survive. After listening to the story of one of the women, a friend accompanying her asked me, "Would you risk your life like that?" in reference to the risk she had taken in crossing the border. I sat speechless only thinking about how I had no clue because I had never been forced to make a decision like that. The idea of myself in her position has stayed with me throughout this week.



I have been able to stop by the Yellow House (the house where Kate works with the teenagers from the neighborhood) & say hi & get to hang out with everyone there after work. It's nice to just be able to hang out there & be away from the adult world of laws, rules & restrictions that I exist in during the day. The kids are trying sometimes, but its only because we're new & that's just the way junior and senior high kids are.



Kate & I don't work on Fridays, instead we have Study Days with Hugo. These began today. I got to sleep in an extra 2 hours this morning since we weren't supposed to be leaving until 9 am. After a quick stop at HEB to pick up some salad essentials, we headed to the catholic worker house. This is a really interesting concept to me because as a soup kitchen/ministry to the homeless, it exists in a house that looks eerily similar at times to some of the houses that my friends lived/live in in Sherman. What I mean is that my idea of this type of ministry is based on my experiences at FPC with the Stewpot in a more industrial, cafeteria setting. The catholic workers (who aren't always Catholic...the name was explained to me more as catholic meaning universal, like in the Apostle's Creed) live in a house nearby (in similar, if not worse, conditions) and cook lunch everyday for the homeless community. However, their meals are based solely on donations. Whole Foods supplies them with bread every day (a very cheesey joke that my mother would enjoy just came to mind, but I will spare you) and they make lunch for about 50 people based on what they have in the house. For me, the idea echoed my Wednesday thoughts of walking in another's shoes by the volunteers here agreeing to live a life of simplicity that, while in no way completely, somewhat like their clientele. For Kate & I, it was great to get to work in a different context than that which we are in during the week. While we chopped lettuce, tomatoes and carrots for the salad, one client kept us laughing all morning with his jokes.



Another joy for me has been realizing that there is this whole volunteer/socially concious community in San Antonio. Whether it is through dinner with the Mennonite volunteers behind us, getting to meet the catholic workers while helping to cook lunch, conversations with the Jesuit volunteer in my office, or meeting a bunch of people who once were volunteers here, it is comforting to know there are many other people walking in my shoes.

I read somewhere a rabbi said something to the effect of walking a mile in someone else's shoes is good advice and that wouldn't our children have so much more respect for the people around them if they were taught this from an early age. I think that has been the most important lesson I have re-learned in my first week back to school...

Peace,
jenna

Plans to give you a hope & a future...

I've always thought I adapted (somewhat) well to change. Tuesday, however, proved me wrong. When it finally came down to it, I was a wreck leaving Dallas. A little shaken as I said goodbye to my mom, I walked through the security line at DFW (yes, I opted out of the 5 hour drive & spent Monday night shoving things into 2 suitcases) a TSA officer took my larger carry on to inspect. He asked about my excess of luggage and as the words "I'm moving" came out I started to cry. My pledge sisters can all attest to the fact that I am a crier when I get nervous or stressed. "Do you want to move?" he asked. "Oh yeah, I'm really excited" I tried to assure him, but I have a feeling that through the tears I wasn't all that convincing because suddenly the TSA officer was trying to reassure me as he was digging through my makeup bag looking for liquids. I repacked my bag & as I left he wished me good luck & tried again to reassure me that San Antonio would be great. I was scared. When I stopped to think about it, I had never moved to a place where I didn't know anyone. I was so nervous about everything.

Needless to say, my nerves have been calmed & I am so excited about this next year. Since Tuesday, my roommate & fellow volunteer, Kate, and I have spent our time getting to know each other as well as the director & assistant director of our program in San Antonio, Hugo & Katy, as well as Hugo's family, and the city, our host congregation for the year, and our specific work sites. I start work on Monday, but before that Kate & I are going to a camp outside of San Antonio with our congregation.

It has been so great to see the excitement of everyone here that we will be working with. Yesterday we had lunch and dinner with different members of the congregation and were shown around a few of San Antonio's missions & even visited "the tracks" (haunted train tracks...feel free to ask, it was quite an experience).

I feel like I should explain my program for a second because it can be confusing. The site in San Antonio is referred to in several ways, DOOR/Dwell/YAV. DOOR and Dwell are programs (short-term and long-term, respectively) that are partnerships between the Mennonite Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and a few others. The YAVs at several of the national sites are also a part of the DOOR/Dwell program. As a result of this, Kate & I live close to where the Mennonite volunteers live & are in community with them as well.

Anyways, all of this has been so reassuring to me. I should know that I should always put my faith in God to take care of me, however, as a human being, I am prone to worry. I have to go for now so I can pack for the weekend, but I ask that you keep all the volunteers in San Antonio and around the world in your prayers & all of us in San Antonio especially as the Mennonite volunteers are arriving this week & we make it back and forth to camp alright & start our work next week.

Through all the excitement this week, Jeremiah 29:11 again keeps running through my head. How silly of me to ignore the reassurances in front of me all along...

Peace,
Jenna

It's almost September...

Just a quick update to let everyone know that I will be leaving for San Antonio on September 4. I will be beginning work at Catholic Charities Immigration Services doing paralegal-type work on September 10. I couldn't be more excited about this job & can't wait to get started!

I always swore I'd never have an online journal, but here I am! As some of you already know, in September I will move to San Antonio and begin a year of volunteer work through the Presbyterian Church (USA). Right now there are a lot of unknowns, but I do know is I will have a place to live, a food allowance, and a job to go to, which, I'm sure all of you know is a relief! Through the summer please keep all of the Young Adult Volunteers, our fundraising efforts, the work we will be doing, and the communities we will be entering in your thoughts/prayers/meditations. During the year I'll be using this to keep anyone and everyone who wants to know about my work in San Antonio updated. So feel free to check up on me or send me an e-mail every so often! For now, I will leave you with something that has been in the back of my mind lately...

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

jenna