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

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The Sacramento Immersion trip to Loaves and Fishes realized what it means to live with others. After being homeless for three days, we discovered the importance of relying on each other for support, and developed a willingness to ask for help. For the following two weeks we worked in the dining room, at the service center, or with the homeless children at the Mustard Seed School, where we helped our friends in need. We learned that simply acknowledging a person, whether it be on the streets or in the school hallway, as a human being can change someone's day. We experienced God's presence within the love and friendship that we cultivated each day in Friendship Park, and consequently have carried this appreciation for building relationships with us home. The friends we made at Loaves and Fishes, although ostracized by our society, are human beings too. Sac Immersion will never forget: To those who have hunger, give bread. To those who have bread, give a hunger for justice. 1. Jackie Lalannc and Pai Srukhosit pass out sandwiches. 2. Mr. O'Keefe and his newly made friend. 3. Elizabeth Paulsen. Allison Dana. Sam Arabian, Ryan Fabie. Eric Quesada. Kristen Bcrtiglia. Pai Srukhosit. and Jackie Lalanne with their new friends outside Friendship Park. 4. Kristen Bcrtiglia listens to her friend play the guitar in the park. SACRAMENTO Student Life 19

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SAN FRANCISCO We walk through the streets everyday hearing cries, cries of joy. of laughter, of sadness, of pain and of longing and we feel as if we are tied, tied to stereotypes, tied to our masks - the masks that “hide our faces and shade our eyes. We spend so much time skimming the surface. That to dig deep only seems absurd. To let our feelings out and be who we truly are Seems impossible. But we must strip the pretenses to be with people. We must open our ears to the cries; we cannot feel strapped down any longer - we cannot feel separate. We must realize that their cries are our cries, that there is no them. And when we leave behind our comfort. When we serve those who we are scared to look at in the street, we realize that service is not so much work, as it is learning about the people we serve. Because work without accompaniment is simply exertion But being with others - Now that is just labor. In San Francisco we came together, and San Francisco we will remain. For our hearts never leave our home. As we strive to make a change -San Francisco Immersion 2008 I.San Francisco poses for a hot shot. 2. Casey Creman. Sarah Bedford. Karyn Foedisch. Matt Kohlede. Rehana Lerandeau. Brendan Fitzpatrick. Kim Pia. and Liz Watters stand outside St. Anthony's Foundation where they spent most of their time. 3. Liz Watters, and Kim Pia write a reflection on the day. 4. Sarah Bedford laughs before bedtime. 5. San Francisco Immersion walk on the beach to a reflection. 18 W Immersion

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Every day that we lived in Boyle Heights was spent in the classrooms of the Dolores Mission Catholic School. Each day we were greeted by the smiling faces of school children, eager to play dodge ball with us at recess and invite us to help them with homework or an art project. Later on, we would listen to the riveting stories of the homeless men in GHP as we ate dinner with them. Through these people, we learned that solidarity and accompaniment, the cornerstones of immersion, involve a mutual exchange between two people. Through our devotion of time, we impact each other. In East L.A. we learned to not fear having the community impact us more than we impacted them. During the two weeks we spent in East L.A., we were challenged to live simply, without the comforts of home. Yes, we had to experience life crammed into a small apartment with only one bathroom and to deal with a broken shower, but living simply did not just include giving up material possessions. It involved simplifying ourselves emotionally and spiritually, removing any judgments or masks, in order to find meaning in the work that we did. Not until we opened ourselves up to the experience and left behind any preconceived notions did we truly understand our role on immersion. People may also view living simply as having to make a lot of sacrifices while on immersion. But most of the gifts and experiences that we picked up along our immersion journey were wonderful gifts that help shape the whole person and create a more meaningful immersion experience. Living simply helped us see what we need in life and what is just excess. 1. Marise Thadani, Katy Daly, and Natalie Flores all stop for a quick picture. 2. Marise Thadani, Natalie Flores. Kevin Reiser, Mike Frcise. Mr. Dekker. Ms. Boswell. Katy Daly. Erin Mahoney. Brady Borderching. and Laura West on the steps of one of their work sites. 3. Kevin Reiser. Mike Freise. and Brady Borcherding all pose with a new friend. 4. Marise Thadani gets some drinks for the homeless. EAST LA 20 W Immersion