St Ignatius College Prepatory - Ignatian Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

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One tenant of the St. Ignatius Immersion program is Living Sim- ply, and no other trip expressed this value better than Sacra- mento. For two weeks, eight of us worked with the homeless of Sacramento. One of the most memorable ex- periences from the trip undoubtedly stems from our first few days after our arrival. Although we had known before- hand that an impor- tant part of our trip would be an imitation of homelessness, we were still very surprised when we arrived in Sacramento, and were stripped of all our pos- sessions, save the clothes on our backs, and informed that we were now Homeless, and would need to find both food to eat and a place to sleep. For several days, we lived in solidarity with those we came to serve. We waited through fiery ser- mons at a local church to receive a meager meal, experienced verbal humiliation due to our unpleasant sight and smell, and spent hour after hour around, speculating about our next meal. Experiencing homeless- ness in Sacramento, albeit for a short while, was a time that none of us will soon forget. Sacra 1. Cojsondfo Gallcgher 2. Zo« Molke. Hcnnoh lynch. Max Sanden 3. Max Sand' ers Cosiandra Ga'laghcr The Socramcnlo Group 5 Milo Kolhodo 6 Molt Cor- berry 7. Gore londefeld 22

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to understand injustice, how we can start making things right. It calls us to recognize how some only stayed behind When no other refuge was there for them to find; and the injustice of leav- ing miles upon miles of coastline destroyed, and millions of rotted homes abandoned, void. We reflect, we pray, we breothe. We gather up memories, friendships, and faith before we leave. And together, our spiritual- ity mounts to one thing: An intense longing, for things to be better than they seem: For a hope that withstands flood, injustice, and despair- One that remains always to relieve, renew, and repair. -Jessica Harders '08 I turn, too, to my group's nightly reflections and proyers That help me make sense of the things I see and ex- perience, the hope and despair; That help me find mean- ing through insight and understanding- So that I can see where before my sight was lacking. With openness and a little faith, my group realizes how smiles can conceal tears; how living paycheck-to- paycheck causes fear; how being in an ER room all day may result in helplessness; and how being outside of our comfort zones, at times, is progress. We learn what, to each other, we mean • And how, on each other, we can lean. Our shared spirituality helps us unite- 1. Rea Acdo, John Joseph Casey III 2. Allison Filzpotrick 3. The New Orleans group 4. Marlene Lundy 5. Rea Acdo and Ms. Fawol 6. Gcbe Abi- non!e 3. Chris Warner, Jack Casey, Claire Christian 21

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1. Simon loos 2. Rcbecco Rocinoi 3. The Solinoi Group Michele Melendez work- ing in rhe field» 5. Scon Colter Roche! Hotch 7. A define garden on Soledod Street, giving piggy back rides, doing arts and crafts with the neigh- borhood kids, playing Egyptian Ratscrew, giving piggy back rides, hiking through Pinocles with the kids of the migrant work- ers, visiting the migrant worker camps, giving piggy back rides, painting a mural, meeting unfo- gettable people, giving piggy back rides, hearing unforgettable stories and giving piggy back rides! Certainly, Sali- nas Immersion cannot be summed up in just words— it was the experience of o lifetime! We found true community, and learned the most valuable lesson: “LOVE LOUDLY! - Adeline Newmann ClLlfUU Wilh a Franciscan residence as our HQ, we branched out across the Salinas Valley, seeing and experiencing things and people we could have hardly imagined. We were camp leaders for the children of migrant work- ers and immigrants, and found out what it really is to love. Who is special? I AM SPECIAL! Who does God love? ME! Who do I love? ME! Who else do you love? YOU! We came back from the campsite feeling exhausted, but more alive than we'd ever felt, and ready to take it all on. It just happened to be pick- ing lettuce in the fields for food banks, cooking and serving meals in the dining hall at Dorothy's Place, tending the community 23