Just Begin - One, One, One

Apparently Mother Teresa of Calcutta was the theme for the week. She has helped me a lot with her infinite wisdom.

It's very interesting to stare into the blank faces of high school seniors that are participating in a service day helping clean apartments of seniors and the disabled in low income housing.  How do you capture their attention and explain to them being present to the people they are serving is far more important than their cleaning ability?  How do you explain what subsidized housing is and the feeling of not being able to afford paying rent?  I do my best to explain in the most simple terms of subsidized housing, but try to convey the message of service through the words of Mother Teresa of Calcutta:

As far as I am concerned, the greatest suffering is to feel alone, unwanted, unloved. The greatest suffering is also having no one, forgetting what an intimate, truly human relationship is, not knowing what it means to be loved, not having a family or friends. -Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Later that week I realized that candy was the real answer, as I tabled at the same high school explaining Help of Ojai's volunteer activities and what we did as an organization.  The candy was there for anyone, meaning I was frequently chosen as the organization to fill our their assignment on.

Mother Teresa came into play again as I started a new project this week helping connect low income seniors in the Ojai Valley with the Rotary Club to home improvement projects around the house.  I did my first home visits, scheduled my own appointments and was on the phone with mobile home park managers constantly.  How am I going to get this all done by Monday afternoon?  Well of course I looked to Mother Teresa again and I just begin - one, one, one.

“I never look at the masses as my responsibility; I look at the individual. I can only love one person at a time - just one, one, one. So you begin. I began - I picked up one person. Maybe if I didn't pick up that one person, I wouldn't have picked up forty-two thousand....The same thing goes for you, the same thing in your family, the same thing in your church, your community. Just begin - one, one, one.”

-Mother Teresa of Calcutta

I should clarify, I am not saying I'm Mother Teresa by any stretch of the imagination.  We can start by simply saying patience is NOT my strong suit.  But we do begin one, one, one.  I completely humbled myself this week when realizing I was not being a present person, like I had asked the high schoolers to be.  I was having the opportunity to go on these home visits and made the mistake of scheduling them back to back.  My goal was to do an intake and take pictures of the projects needed to be done.  What was more important?  Making those visits much longer so I had the opportunity to sit and talk with each person in the way they wanted and deserved.

Sink or Swim, I'm Diving In

Sunset before Community Prayer

The first week at the CAP (Community Assistance Program) Office at Help of Ojai is over and I have already learned a lot about the organization, the clients and Ojai.  When they said they would throw me in, they were not lying.  On my third day I did my first intake of a new client "on my own" and have been sifting through clients files to piece together information for the people I will be helping in the future.  It has been eyeopening to see the difference in what people need.

Help of Ojai works off of case managing.  This means if you would like help from the CAP office, you have to be willing to come in and work with a case manager.  No matter how often you come in, you only get one food box per a month.  Some people come in once a month for food support and to check in with their case manager.  Others come in weekly to sort through bills, talk through any concerns and problem solve for what lies ahead. Still others come in multiple times a week for help contacting doctors, filling out paperwork, sorting through bills and having the case manager advocate for them. Although each case is very different, the basic goal is to work with a client and have them be able to come more independent as time goes on.

The view of Ventura from our hike

I can see why case workers get burnt out quickly.  I'm already learning to make a line on what I can and can't do. I'm thankful for my coworkers and being able to ask them a million questions about why we do or why we don't do certain things.  They have been patient in showing me their job.  I also appreciate being able to count on them when I don't know what the next step is or how to refer the client.

Our first In-N-Out trip

As a community we enjoyed In-N-Out Burger and went on our first full community hike.  It has been an experience in cooking and we can all be grateful nobody has starved yet.  I'm also incredibly excited to be able to watch part of the East Carolina game today!  Even though I'm on the west coast, I still bleed purple and gold!  Go Pirates!

Welcome to Ventura (and Ojai!)

Sunset at the beach our first night in Ventura

Everyone knows that I love the beach and am the flipflop girl in the family.  Ventura is a little slice of beach heaven I have dreamed about living in.  Our house is a little over one mile from the beach, perfect for running in the morning or walking to enjoy the beach for the day!  There are sidewalks everywhere in this town, making it easy to get around without a car and not have to worry about parking.  St. Bonaventure's High School, the volunteer site my community member is at, has been very welcoming to us and we went to see their football team play Friday night.

Ojai is the town my volunteer site is in.  25 minutes away and we are driving through the mountains.  It's beautiful and there is so much exploring to be done.  We have already logged one hike in Ojai and I can't wait to go again!  The people at Villanova Prep, my other community member's volunteer site, were very welcoming and friendly.  We will meet with Br. Mike and Fr. Alvin once a week at Villanova Prep to stay connected with the Augustinians while we are here.

View on our hike in Ojai

On Friday I started at Help of Ojai, my volunteer site.  My favorite first day moment was the pirate themed note left by the former volunteer.  The note was accompanied by some mighty large shoes to fill.  Everyone in the office took time to explain to me what was going on and what projects I would be working on.  I met my first clients, including one who will be on my caseload.  I am really lucky that once again I work in a place that has welcomed me and have said they will do their best to help me grow in anyway I can.  I can't wait to dive in next week and get started!

What I Learned in Philadelphia

Monday, August 24th 17 new Augustinian Volunteers (AVs) met for 8 long days of training before we were sent to our sites.  On the first day, we awkwardly sat in the church fellowship hall talking and introducing ourselves every time a new person came in.  Throughout the week the office staff, Joanna, Hannah and Taylor, drove us around, taught us about the Augustinians, and tried to explain what our 10 months would look like.  Eight short days later we said goodbye to our new family and headed to our sites.  We never thought the goodbye would be hard, but that shows how important this week was for our training.  To recap our time in Philadelphia I have put together a list of things we learned throughout the week.  Although Tori said she didn't learn anything, I think the Tangerine Dreams (explanation in the next blog post) can agree on most of this!

1. Roll down the windows when backing in large vehicles.

2. Saint Augustine's Rule and the charism of the Augustinians.

3. Check the church basement for prayer groups.

4. The pillars of the Augustinian's are community, spirituality and service.

5. Your phone will deactivate your room key.

6. The meaning of community living and how special this time is together.

7. Midwestern drives get lost in Philadelphia.

8. Philadelphia was the first place the Augustinian's became established in the United States.  We know this because every Augustinian we met told us.

9. Always go to dinner thirsty when visiting an Augustinian community.

10. The many ways to pray and the many people who are praying for us.

11. Anyone can rock a polo.

12. What the Social Justice teachings of the Catholic church are and why they are important.

13. Sunday night is a good night to enjoy Afro Beats at Bleu Martini

14. Don't run on the trolley tracks.

15. "Our hearts are restless until they rest in God"  -St. Augustine