From East to West

To my friends and family in Pittsburgh, my classmates at Central Catholic, and my colleagues at Our Lady of Loreto Church:

Upon our arrival in Browning, Montana yesterday, I couldn't help recalling the lines of Eucharistic Prayer III prior to the revision of the Roman Missal. The text read "From east to west, a perfect offering can be made." While I am clearly taking a literal approach to this spiritual text, I believe that it accurately describes our work and the mission of the Brothers of the Christian Schools.

We arrived in Browning yesterday after a long day of traveling. Brother Ray picked us up from the train station and drove us to De La Salle Blackfeet School, our workplace for the next week. Immediately upon entering the school, I noticed that the spirit of our patron saint, Saint John Baptist De La Salle, was present through pictures, symbols, and quotes along the walls. Each room contained a crucifix, the school's logo, and the prayer of the Brothers, "Live Jesus in our hearts, Forever!", the same words we recite daily at Central Catholic High School and every Thursday in my CCD class.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a strong Catholic identity in the schools atmosphere, making it a welcoming environment to for me to enter and work. My positive first impression was reinforced this morning at the morning assembly, when a young girl ecstatically announced to her friends that an immersion group is here, making us feel even more welcome. I personally felt at home when each student recited the morning prayer, and concluded with the words I am so used to. I realized that from East to West, we are all called to do the same work, to live positive and fruitful lives on Earth, and to always remember that we are in the holy presence of God, regardless of our ancestry, state, or timezone.

While my week at De La Salle Blackfeet School has only begun, I believe that our immersion group will have a positive experience working with children who need role models in their lives. My worries about this trip were quickly quelled, and I am very confident about my work this week, knowing that from East to West a perfect offering can be made to God through our work and experiences. Live Jesus in our hearts, forever!

Joseph Rogers '14

 

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Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

By Mike Gibbons '14

Mike Gibbons (left) tutoring a student
in reading

Although the means of reaching our destination seem dreadful (2 planes, a train and a bus), they all came with some awesome experiences. After we made our way into our tight little seats in our congested United Airlines express jet for our flight from Pittsburgh to Denver,  an older woman reached up into the overhead stow away space and grabbed what seemed like a welcoming pillow and began cuddling it before we even took to the air. We all began to laugh under our breath as we realized that the lady didn't reach for a complimentary comfort device, she was actually cuddling poor James Stupar's pillow. While James writhed in emotional pain of not having his precious headrest, we cracked jokes and made friends with our two flight attendants, Shannon and Belinda. We landed in Denver and hopped onto our second flight to Spokane. After a three and a half hour plane ride to Denver, an two and a half hour long flight to Spokane, and a ten hour train ride to East Glacier, Montana, I've had enough of traveling. The flight to Spokane was less interesting as it was night now and everyone was planning on sleeping. Once we landed in the tiny airport in Washington, we learned we had a couple of hours before our taxis were to come and take us to the train station. To pass the time we explored the lifeless airport and found nothing of interest. In an attempt to keep us entertained, I made up a makeshift hacky-sack out of a pair of socks and some duct tape. It worked at first but not many of us were pros so we set up goals from the empty rocking chairs that lined the halls and played the most intense game of pick up soccer I've played in my life. Time came to catch our cabs and roll on over to the station at which I can now say I've slept on the floor. We caught our train really late at night and headed to Montana. I woke up and headed to breakfast in the dining car with Mr. Sudnik, Bill, and James. We had a good chat, and enjoyed our food and then headed back to the coach.

As we rolled along toward East Glacier, my eyes stayed glued to the beautiful views of Montana's wilderness.

The Two Medicine River as we approached
East Glacier, MT.

The closer we came to our stop the more infatuated I became with the geographical layout of the area, and the more ready I became to participate in this trip. We came to our stop in East Glacier and met Brother Ray, who was waiting for us with a smile on his face.

The East Glacier Train Station

We loaded up the bus and Bro. Ray acquainted us with the reservation. This weekend has been amusingly eventful and was a great way to warm me up to the work I'll be doing with the students of the De La Salle Blackfeet School.   After a three and a half hour plane ride to Denver, a two and a half hour long flight to Spokane, and a ten hour train ride to East Glacier, Montana, I had enough traveling.  However, now that we've arrived, I cannot wait to see what this Immersion Trip has in store for all of us.

Members of the tribal buffalo herd

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