Signs of Faith - Spring 2001- Our Everyday Work

"The Brothers are cool and, well, the kids are kids. I feel really good although I feel there is a need for affection among all these kids. Most of the kids are very troubled and have terrible language. Almost every word out of their mouths is a bad word. But that is an area where I feel they have a need and that I can help. I feel like all the kids need someone to talk to." – David Barajas, sophomore, working at Casa Hogar, Saltillo, Mexico.

"Every day I fight the temptation to take some of the kids home as my own. Sometimes I think that they are going to take me home, for they stick to me like glue on the playground. You will always find them smiling and they are all very respectful. I cannot imagine what I am going to be like the day I leave. I don't think I want to, in fact." – Elizabeth Montgomery, sophomore, working at Standing Rock Reservation, Fort Yates, North Dakota.

These were some of the "first impressions" e-mailed back to Brother Michael Avila, FSC, by students from Saint Mary's College of California who had scattered from Moraga to sites throughout the United States and in Mexico, Nicaragua, and the Philippines for an intensive month of direct service of the disadvantaged. "Regular journaling of experiences and feelings, and regular attention to prayer and reflection are among the course requirements," says Brother Michael. "And when they return to Saint Mary's, they do a written evaluation of the experience they've had."

The course is Christian Service Internship, an intensive class with a seventeen-year history that is offered each year in the College's January Term. This class is taught by Brother Michael and Brother Dominic Berardelli, FSC, and this year's group of forty-seven students was the largest ever.

"There have been many life-altering experiences as a result of this class," Brother Michael says. "I think of Karin McClelland when she was a student here. Her placement was in the Bronx at the Highbridge Community Center. She went back there after graduation and stayed seven years as a Lasallian Volunteer, and later became the national director of Lasallian Volunteers. People discover firsthand what Mother Teresa means when she says that unless life is lived for others, it is not worthwhile."

To those who sent him their first impressions, Brother Michael wrote back: "It is evident by your comments that most of you are being 'cracked open' in ways that you never dreamed possible. Your hearts have been touched in such profound ways that you will find that 'You can't go home again' – at least not as the same person that left home to begin your Christian Service. Many of you now understand what it means to live in community and what Mother Teresa means when she says, 'We must give until it hurts.'"

What is it about this course that so "cracks open" the students who take it? We asked students from the 2001 Jan Term class to share their experiences.

"Lasallian means giving yourself without worrying about getting back and not knowing if you will get back. If you just do it, it can mushroom. The kids are great, but as I got to know them I saw that some of them really need help. They give so much and they make you want to give so much in return."
– Miles Richardson, a Saint Mary's College senior, at Northern Light School in Oakland

Interns in the Philippines

The Philippines was the internship site for five of the Christian Service Interns, who persevered in their plan to travel there (in the company of Brother Dominic Berardelli, FSC, and Brother John Moriarty, FSC) despite the political unrest of the moment.

Brother Dominic says, "The aim was to experience in an in-depth way the life of poverty, to explore issues brought up by the obvious differences between the haves and the have-nots. We got acquainted with and took some part in several of the outreach programs that originate through the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City, including the programs for the streetchildren and the fisherfolk, and the credit assistance program for small entrepreneurs. We listened and learned, we helped where we could, and we met and prayed and reflected together every day. You know, for every Jan Term group, I find that there is one special moment – the moment when things click. For this group it was our evening at the orphanage."

The group visited the Bacolod Boys' Home for orphaned and abandoned boys, at the Brother Gratian Murray, FSC, Center. Alissa Bansil, a Saint Mary's junior majoring in psychology, is of Filipino descent and had been to the Philippines before. "But I had never before shared the life of the poor in this way," Alissa says. "We spent prayer time with the boys before dinner and we ate their very simple dinner with them. We brought along for dessert a treat of ice cream cornetos.

"They were so thrilled with that, that some of the little boys wouldn't even touch it. They wanted to save it for their TV time after dinner. They really taught me something about thankfulness. I'm adopted, and I had always felt angry about the mother who could have given me away when I was born. But when I met these little boys, and when I cried with some of them during prayer time about their missing parents, and when I ate their meal with them, I felt my anger turn to love. I realized she had given me life and given me a start and that I'm not a victim but lucky and blessed. The boys were asking me about myself and I told them that I am adopted, and they said, 'You're so lucky.' For the first time in my life, I felt that it was true."

"I read that saying of Mother Teresa that says you have to give until in hurts. I didn't really know what it meant. But I think I know now. Because I did give myself to them and when I had to leave them it hurt. When you are really involved personally, there is always some hurt in that."

A Part of Saint Mary's Tradition

The Christian Service Internship class began as an initiative of the Campus Ministry office in 1984, with Brother Ronald Roggenback, FSC, Sister Judith Reineke, SNJM, and Brother Patrick Moore, FSC, all involved in its development. Later it was directed by Brother Stanislaus Campbell, FSC, of the College's Religious Studies department, and for the past twelve years has been directed by Brother Michael Avila, who teaches Religious Studies and is Interim Coordinator of Hispanic/Latino Student Programs.

"We prepare the interns very carefully," Brother Michael explains. "Each student has a personal interview at the beginning and end of the course, and we meet as a group three times in preparatory seminars. We do exercises that sensitize us and prepare us for the challenges of passing from our privileged lives into disadvantaged ones. There is required reading from Dorothy Day, Dr. Tom Dooley, Mother Teresa, and others. And while the students are in the field, they meet regularly with an onsite supervisor."

Over the years the course has inspired some students (such as Karin McClelland, mentioned previously) to commit to a term of service as Lasallian Volunteers. Cathy Gillaspie, national director of Lasallian Volunteers, says, "The majority of our volunteers are from Saint Mary's College of California and Saint Mary's University of Minnesota in Winona. To students interested in this service opportunity I always say: You don't need to be a Catholic, you don't need a teaching degree, and you don't need to be headed toward teaching work. There is all kinds of other work, in organization and development, in coaching and recreation, in ministry and social service. You live in community with the Christian Brothers, sharing in their apostolic and community life. There are certain perks for volunteers: room and board, medical insurance, a small stipend, help with student loans, AMERICORPS education awards, and a wonderful entry on your résumé. But the real benefits always turn out to be spiritual ones. The experience of living in a faith-based community, doing Lasallian ministry, is deep and unforgettable."

The Jan Term students of 2001 have returned to Moraga and taken up more conventional courses. But Brother Michael's words to them continue to ring true: "In spite of all you have given, I am certain that you will never be able to say that you gave more than you received. You've left your mark on those whose lives you touched, and they have marked you for life."

I'm adopted, and I had always felt angry about the mother who could have given me away when I was born. But when I met these little boys, and when I cried with some of them during prayer time about their missing parents, and when I ate their meal with them, I felt my anger turn to love.

Leaving Your Comfort Zone
Helen Sebhatu is a sophomore with a major in communications and a minor in political science who hopes to go to law school. She is from Santa Rosa, California, but is Eritrean by birth and came to California with her family when she was eight.

I went to Chicago and worked at the San Miguel school there. I was so far out of my comfort zone, believe me. And what made it harder was that I had an asthma flare-up in the first week. It was so difficult at first. I mean, this was like a real job, five days a week, very concentrated effort. Brother Michael had told us that it's normal to feel somewhat overwhelmed and that we should give ourselves time.

The work I did was tutoring. I was assigned principally to one student, to help him with math and reading and writing. He was a sixth grader but reading at a second-grade level. His father had been killed and his mother was in prison. Many other students had similar stories. There were a few black students, but most were Latino. To be there was a completely different reality for me – to see the reality in which so many people have to live. I cried many times. Looking at these kids, I thought, they could be my little brothers.

My family's religion is Greek Orthodox. Living in community there with three Christian Brothers and five volunteers I went to Mass and prayer with them. Many times especially early on when I felt the stress and my asthma was bad I asked myself, What am I doing here? There was a crucifix in every room on the wall, and it helped me to see it there. I found I had to pray for simple things, like pray just to have an okay day.

Reading Mother Teresa, she seemed right that there is physical poverty but there is poverty of the soul as well. I learned that when the heart is not whole and content, there is poverty. There could be poverty of soul right in your own family and neighborhood – someone who is neglected and not loved. It made me want to strive to be a better neighbor.

I really miss the students and community there. I was thinking of going back to Chicago for their school graduation. And I would definitely think of doing the Jan Term Christian Service class again.

Working Where You Are Needed Most
Miguel Garcia is a senior, majoring in history, who plans to be a paramedic and firefighter. He has done his Emergency Medical Technician training already at Merritt College and is applying for firefighter training at Los Medanos College.

When I was a sophomore I volunteered as a tutor at the LEO Center [Lasallian Educational Opportunities] in Oakland. And for a long time since then I had really been wanting to do some service. So this Jan Term course seemed perfect for me. I knew Brother Michael a little from M.E.Ch.A., the Hispanic/Latino student club on campus, and he seemed like a good guy.

I went with four other students to work at Casa de Los Angeles in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. While there, we also worked in an orphanage run by Dominican Sisters called El Mexiquito.

I'm from Los Angeles and graduated from Cathedral High School. My parents came to California from Mexico, and I used to go to Mexico during the summer to visit my grandfather and work on his place in the country. But this was a different Mexico than I was used to seeing. More urban, and much poorer. This orphanage was very poor. We volunteers had a choice of three sites in which to work, and we all agreed that the orphanage really needed us the most.

So we worked with the kids, caring for them, helping them, playing with them, reading with them, and worked around the place and helped with meals and so on. I speak Spanish, but I wouldn't say you have to speak Spanish to communicate with these kids. They will communicate with you. And all they really want is the little things your parents do for you. How your mother combs your hair or your dad hugs you or plays with you, that's what they need. That's what they want. Just to have somebody help you button up your clothes, you know.

I'm a Catholic but I had never prayed so much before. Living at the orphanage we had morning prayer together every day. It really gave me energy for the day. Because the days are hard work, seeing kids that are so deprived. It was a humbling experience.

I read that saying of Mother Teresa that says you have to give until it hurts. I didn't really know what it meant. But I think I know now. Because I did give myself to them and when I had to leave them it hurt. I think that's what she means: When you are really involved personally, there is always some hurt in that.

I think of the kids and I wonder, how they will do, what will happen to them? Thank God the Sisters are looking out for them.

Learning To Be Lasallian
Mae Siameng is from Chico, California, a junior with a major in Biology and a pre-med concentration. Her family is Chinese and came from Thailand to California when Mae was six months old.

I want to be a doctor someday, and I hope to do emergency room work, so the place where I worked, St. Anthony's Free Clinic in San Francisco, was right for me.

I had done medical work before, as a receptionist in an orthopedic practice and as a volunteer at Children's Hospital. So I had seen patients coming for appointments with doctors before. I did reception work at the Clinic, but this was different. People came in drunk, drugged, wasted. There were people with AIDS, cancers, hepatitis, people with chronic injuries, skin conditions that never heal. For these patients, that doctor might be the only person they see all day, or all week, who cares about them.

And the doctors were passionate about their work. I did some screening work, like taking blood pressure, temperature, pulse, and the doctors let me follow them around to see how they work. They saw these people not just as patients but as people, who need someone to take care of them. It made me feel so self-centered by comparison, thinking of what I have, and what I'm blessed with, family and friends that care about me.

I've heard people I know say, Oh, the homeless, they're that way because they choose to be that way. So many times I cried. But I realized that the people didn't need my pity. They needed help, but not pity. A lightbulb went on in my head, and I realized: They're normal people.

I speak Mandarin, and I needed to use it sometimes. And I certainly began to wish I could speak Spanish; it was frustrating not being able to communicate when people need you.

A patient came in one day and she said, "I'm having the worst day. No one loves me. I could just jump in front of a car." What could I say? All I could do was offer her one of my candies. She took it. Later she told me when she was leaving, "That candy was the best part of my day." And another woman who had come about her foot condition the day before came in, and I said, "Are your feet still bothering you?" She said, "Oh, my feet are better. I just loved talking to that doctor."

I heard about the course from a friend who took it last year and loved it. I would recommend it to other students. Brother Michael helped find the perfect site for me and made sure that I was okay while I was there. I'm not a Christian. I know that Christian Service is the title of the course. I asked Brother Michael if that might be a problem. He said no. And I'm glad he did. I feel I've learned so much, so many spiritual things.

I now see what he means when he uses the word "Lasallian." To me it means sharing not just what you have. It means sharing yourself. I came out of this experience thinking I should be a better neighbor – and knowing I'm not.

It seemed a miracle what those doctors did. If I achieve my goal and become a doctor, I think that because of this Jan Term course I'll be a better doctor. I've learned that it's not just about curing an illness and moving on. It's about responding to the whole person.

Question:
As you read this article, what other thoughts, people or stories came to mind? Please share your ideas with us (email signs@dlsi.org); we will publish responses in future issues of Signs of Faith.

Brother Visitor's Letter	\|	The Spirit Shines Through It
Learning To Give Until it Hurts	\|	Joan Haan: A Life Fulfilled
Rancho de Los Hermanos	\|	Hold Them Close, With Open Hands