Day 3, Denver, March 13, 2024
Hello readers! Today we started off with the same routine of waking to blinding lights at 6am and walking down to the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish to pray morning prayer. We stayed there afterwards to say mass, which featured a beautiful homily by Fr. Drew Hoffman about how the Lord will not forget us. After this we came back to do some personal prayer, while the cooking crew whipped up a delicious meal that included pancakes!, oatmeal, fruit, and ham and cheese sliders. We ended the morning with an amazing talk on poverty given by one of the CIC missionaries, Lidia. She talked about surrendering the material things we grasped as well as the spiritual things we grasped(like our sins, self-consciousness, anxieties, etc) in order to receive the gift of poverty.
After this talk came the preparation for the famous 
lunch in the park
We loaded up about 150 chairs,10 tables, boxes of donations, and the food. We arrived at the park and went to work handing out donations and serving food. I grabbed a plate of shepherd’s pie and talked with a man named Vince for the whole time. Although most of our conversation was pretty surface level stuff, he was very grateful for our conversation, and I was honored to spend some time existing with him. After lunch we divided into “Marian groups” where we broke down some of the deeper thoughts of our hearts. These talks were vulnerable and beautiful and could have lasted way longer than they did.
In the evening, we got some free time while the kitchen crew made us a splendid little burrito bar. This was shortly followed by night ministry, where half of the colleges were sent back out to the city to hang out with the poor, while the other half got free time. I went to a DoubleTree hotel that became a shelter, where I talked to a guy named Rick for the whole time. This man had crazy stories like opening for the band, Whitesnake, or hitting a bullseye from 150 yards away with a handgun. We drove back in a rain storm that was slowly becoming snow. There’s expected to be a few inches tomorrow, so praise God for the things we can’t control (even though it was 60 degrees yesterday). Overall, today was a little bit deeper and I can easily say this trip has changed my life. Thanks for reading!
Asher out
Day 3, March 12, 2024, Browning
From Katie:
Our second day in the classroom had much more ease than our first day. It was a day that practiced patience and consistency. Throughout the day, the 4th and 5th graders started opening up to me and befriending me as a role model. Although there were parts of the day that were difficult, there was so much fulfillment in being present with the children and community. From playing sharks and minnows to helping children practice their reading skills and learning bits and pieces of the Blackfeet language to visiting with members of the faculty, I have fallen in love with this community and the way in which each individual cares for one another like family. The roots are deep within this community and even through historical trauma, hardship and violence within their lives, there is a deep sense of love that the community shares for one another. This experience has helped me acknowledge my blessings and embrace gratitude for the life I have. There is so much goodness and learning opportunities within the Blackfeet community, the gifts of humility and everlasting love have persevered within me.
During sunset I embarked on a beautiful evening walk with Emma, I enjoyed singing happy tunes, listening to the river clap among the rocks and watching the amber sunset fall to sleep behind the rocky blue mountains. When arriving back to the cabin, I loved having dinner with our guest teachers tonight and asking questions, listening to their wisdom, and playing with their children. The night ended with a beautiful closing prayer and day reflection, a perfect way to end the day.
I have greatly enjoyed “doing life” with these passionate students and faculty members accompanying me on this trip. I realize the beauty and power this opportunity offers, the memories, laughter and cultural insight will accompany me throughout my entire life journey. I will deeply miss this community and I am forever thankful to be able to spend a week with the Blackfeet community.
From Sarah:
Hi friends!
Today was the second day with the kids, and it was a lot easier than yesterday. Yesterday, I felt like I had failed the kids and that I was going to be dreading going back every day. However, I really just needed to think about it in a different way. So, I prayed more and really considered the Saint Mother Theresa of Calcutta’s words on service through Mary; “Lend me your heart” was her prayer to Mary. This morning I offered up my day to her, asked her to use me as a she fit and asked for her heart to see these kids as they are. As I came into the day today, I came in with hope that I would offer myself up, not my work and that something about me would be worthwhile for the kids.
I felt that the kids needed to see that they could be vulnerable with me, so I offered up my vulnerability first during our morning circle up. I think it did work because I had more students come and ask for help and just want to talk with me. One student even gave me a book recommendation! I am so determined to finish this book, just so I can talk about it with her. I also got closer to another student when we were working on an assignment together, she had asked me what I knew about the Blackfoot tribe and I was honest in the fact that I didn’t know much. She really wanted to hear what I had to say so I answered honestly, “I’m here to learn just as much as you are.” It was really cool to see her so content and maybe even grateful for my answer. She just sort of unwound. Of source the day had its lows as well, but I was grateful for today and I’m excited for how tomorrow will play out; hopefully just as well
Peace and Prayers,
Sarah
Day 2, March 12, 2024,Denver
Hi all, Tess reporting for duty here! Today started off bright and early with morning prayer at 6:30 in Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. After breakfast and a few house chores, we were off to the streets to meet the homeless of Denver, the many friends of Christ in the City. My team walked 20th street and met Marcus, a man with a passion and talent for sketching, and especially portraits. Our team missionary, Olivia, brought him some chalk, which he was happy to accept- we learned that chalk is his favorite medium! (Seen in the picture sketching a chalk portrait of Mason, one of the Kansas seminarians).
Following street ministry was mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. Praying at mass, this verse kept coming to my heart- “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me… For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). Over the two days we have been here, my favorite part of the day has been walking the streets and talking with the homeless. It has been much easier than I expected- I am increasingly in awe and admiration of their humility, vulnerability, and gentleness of heart. I feel that not many people instinctively want to work with the homeless, (including me before this trip) and yet the fruits I have received from getting to know and love them are much greater than anything I could have imagined! Truly, the Lord’s yoke is easy. The world’s yoke of self-service, the path of least resistance, is indeed not easy at all!
The afternoon’s highlights included a talk on mercy given by missionary Fintan, debriefs on the day, and spike ball games in the park! As the result of an unfortunate series of events, the ball ended up in the storm drain. Shortly after we rescued it from there, it somehow got lodged 17 feet up in a tree:/ Following multiple rescue attempts and methods, we were finally able to get it down and the game continued.
The evening included a nice dinner of turkey soup, and a community movie (ft. Hercules) and karaoke night! Then came night prayer and afterwards a stop at the famous Little Man ice cream, the perfect end to our second full day in Denver!
Day 1, Denver, March 11, 2024
I’m not exactly sure how exactly to write a blog but I will do my best.
Today was our first full day with Christ in the City and it was a wonderful experience. We started the day off with breakfast and a little training, and then we were off to meet our friends in the streets. Before doing street ministry I was a little nervous but I have to say, I ended up thoroughly enjoying it.
During our street walk I got to meet a lot of really great people. One thing that I thought was cool was how nearly every homeless person I talked to was familiar with the Christ in the City missionaries and seemed to think very highly of them. I also liked how the missionaries referred to the people on the streets not as “homeless” but as “our friends.” It opened mind up to the fact that those who are homeless are actually people who we can build friendships with not just problems to be fixed.
One of my favorite people I got to meet today is this older gentleman named Ron. Ron has a great sense of humor and through out our conversation he could not stop making me laugh. He was an absolute joy to be around. In our conversation I learned that he used to live in Dallas Texas where he had worked at Texas Instruments and raised two successful children with his wife. After hearing about his back story I couldn’t help but wonder how he had gone from being a working man with a family to an old man alone on the streets.
It’s so hard to encounter people like Ron who have experienced such brokenness and loss and be unable to offer them any concrete way out of it. Because all we are doing for these people is treating them like a human being and being open to sharing the goodness of the gospel with them. Encountering these bleak situations that many of these people find themselves has definitely made me grateful for the reality of the world to come. That while these people may never get off the streets, whether that’s due to their own past actions or others, there still hope for them in heaven. That Jesus can wipe their every tear and bring them home for eternity.
Andrew Devine
Day 2, Browning, March 11, 2024
Today was our first day in class, and I didn’t know at all what to expect, especially after volunteering to help out in the sixth-grade class. Having once been a sixth-grade girl myself, I know how dangerous they are, and I was almost certain that they would eat me alive today.
However, I’ve come to understand that what the Lord might be trying to teach me is an attitude of surrender, a readiness to accept the day as it comes. Yesterday and today were full of opportunities to do exactly that. Like Natalie might have mentioned yesterday, we didn’t make to Mass as a semi-truck had been blown over across the road going into town. Instead, we celebrated a Communion service in the old mission chapel with a few of the De La Salle brothers, and they let me ring the big bell!! Afterwards, a couple of the guys decided to walk back to the bunkhouse, and I acted all macho about it and wanted to walk too, not realizing that reservation darkness is NOWHERE close to streetlamp-lit Helena darkness. We found out the hard way where the barbed wire fences were, and that duct tape makes for a really good bandage. Today entailed a lot of sitting and observing in the classrooms, with a little bit of one-on-one student help. I realize now how blessed I have been all my life to have access to good education. The De La Salle brothers are doing a beautiful thing here in Browning, and I would advise that if you ever get the chance, you should check out the De La Salle Blackfeet School for yourself, even if only through Google. As for the kids, I had a blast hanging out with them today. They didn’t necessarily eat me alive, like I thought, but they did absolutely school me in four-square and chess. Hanging out with them reminds me that there is no group of people, no nation, and no culture out of reach of the love of Christ. I am excited to get right back into it tomorrow and see what other opportunities this week brings!
Hailey
Day 1, March 10, 2024 Browning, MT
Hello from Browning!
Our trip is already starting off with one roadblock and one detour but we made it and had an informative and great day! We were five minutes out from making Mass at 10:30 in Browning, and could see town – but the road was blocked off because 60MPH+ wind gusts blew over a truck & trailer across the road. So no Sunday Mass for us with the Browning community.
We backtracked to the Mission property that we are staying at. I can’t wait to explore it more, hopefully when the wind dies down. We unpacked our stuff, had a yummy lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup (thanks Emma, Sarah, and Hailey!), and then were able to drive into town. We had an informative orientation session at the school and then we toured it. It’s pretty small!
Then we walked across the street to the grocery store to stock up on lunch and dinner items. It’s crazy how small town grocery stores are so expensive. One bag of apples was $9. The brothers said that people will drive to big grocery stores in Kalispell or Great Falls, but man, what an out-of-the-way experience just to stock up on basic and affordable necessities – all while having to pay for gas for a 4-hour road trip.
We got back to the mission, rested a bit, and were treated to a yummy dinner cooked by Brother Dale, who’s the president of the De La Salle Blackfeet School and the director at the mission property here. We had dinner with Brother Dale, Brother Jim (who’s retired, and is the caretaker of the bunkhouse we’re staying at here), Brother Dylan (the president of the school), and Brother Brian (he’s visiting here for a month from the East Coast). Brother Dale made a turkey casserole, green beans, cornbread, salad, and a peach-mango crisp!
As we couldn’t have Mass in a church, we were lucky enough to have a communion service held in the church here on the property after dinner.
A bit about the mission property: it is fairly large and includes three homes (one for the brothers, one for working faculty at the school, and another for volunteers). There’s access to the river here. It’s by a buffalo jump (which is basically a tall cliff which the Native Americans would use to hunt and kill the buffalo by driving them over the cliff so they’d fall). There was a boarding school here from 1890-1940 but that building isn’t here any more. The church was built in 1938 and is equal parts simple yet beautiful: lots of old, dark wood, stained glass windows, a bell we each got to ring, and a feeling of simplicity and serenity. We had a very nice communion service, and then headed back to the bunkhouse to pack our lunches, reflect, and go to bed!
Signing off from Browning, Glacier County, Montana! The wind says hello.
-Natalie
Day 4 – Browning, MT 2023
Iris Hartwig
Today was out last day in the classroom with our students. It was bitter-sweet to say goodbye because I grew to love the kids. I was in a class all week with 8 4th grade students, 2 girls and 6 boys. Immediately the little girls were welcoming and wanting to spend time with me, while the boys were more hesitant because of my “cooties”. By the end of the week, however, the boys were chasing me with snow balls and making fun of me, so I felt accepted ha ha. The majority of the students were behind in their education, but with time, I was able to help the students to slowly work through their work. Throughout the day, I focused on helping individual children practice their spelling, language arts, mathematics and social studies. The 4th graders were reading the book Through My Eyes, the story by Ruby Bridges. We engaged in a lot of conversation with the kids about civil rights and the tragic history of the inequality of race. Hearing the kids excitedly share their stories about insight about these historical events and hardships our country faced was great to see their little minds amazed by the different times. My favorite activity to do with the kids was recess. We always played basketball, and these kids played went hard. By the end of the 30 minutes, everyone was sweating and out of breath.
Mike Kirby
I noticed a parallel between the words of one of our guest speakers and the teaching staff. During morning assembly, the children were taught an important life lesson through a simple sheet of paper. The students were instructed to crumble their paper in a ball. After adequately crumbling their papers, they were told to open the paper back up. They observed that the paper was no longer in its former condition. It had creases and folds that it was previously free of. The staff challenged the students to rid the paper of these creases and restore it to its former glory. An adult would immediately realize that this is an impossible task, but the young children confidently and excitedly attempted to cure the paper. Some bent the paper over their knee and rubbed its surface, while others applied other methods. Of course, not one student succeeded. The staff revealed to the students that they were all pieces of paper. That can be crumbled and creased by the words and actions of class mates. They can do their best to apologize, but that alone will not restore them to their former condition.
Today, we listened to a speaker who shared a similar message. He took a less metaphorical approach and explained to us the realities of the trauma that the Blackfeet people bear. He noted that these traumas stem from the actions of colonizers generations ago. That suffering has been passed down through generations of Blackfeet people. He said that we “shouldn’t be surprised that that wound is still bleeding.” Although time and generations have passed, those creases and folds have not come out.
His description of this suffering being a generational curse reminded me of how we understand the fallen nature of humanity through original sin. He said that the Blackfeet people are still limping from attacks against earlier generations. “The wounds are still bleeding.” I was shocked by how deeply sin can destroy. Cruelty against the Blackfeet people has cascaded down family trees and poisoned the roots. The story of Adam and Eve describes not only the fall of the first man and the first woman, but the fall of the entire human race. The sin they committed has been transmitted generationally.
Day 3 – Browning, MT 2023
3/15 – Veronika Fomishyna
Throughout this week we have discovered much about community and culture here as well as ourselves. Community can be found within the classroom through interactions between the classmates and their teachers. Students are attuned to what each other needs. They understand that not all problems can be solved using the same type of “band aid” and they know everyone experiences their own struggles.
The teachers are interested in and show much love for their students. At the beginning of each class I noticed the relationship, which they built during previous semesters and how teacher knows which student needs which kind of interaction. And seeing how they treat their students with respect and love is inspiring.
Going home after this day I realized that I am looking forward to share my thoughts with other immersion students. That’s what we all want – to be heard. Every day I see how everyone in the class is trying to share somehow what they have in their minds. Sometimes there is no time or place for that but for this they need immersion students. We are here to be present, to give them our time and attention, to give them opportunity to share. As all human beings we just want to feel worth of attention, to feel that our story is important, to know that we have a right to feel what we do. These kids have their story to tell too.
3/15 – Maddie Vandehey
These students are incredibly resilient and hardworking. During my first interaction with these young people, it was easy to see how dedicated they were to their education. Just as in every classroom, students become excited and frustrated. Yet, when they want to learn, they want to learn. Today I worked with a student who was clearly frequently absent. As this is the last week of the quarter, they had much work to catch up on. I was given the opportunity to work with them in their catchup work. In moments where I found myself struggling to keep working and noticed their tiredness, I would ask if they wanted to take a quick break. Yet, they shook their head. They wanted to keep going, to keep learning.
Coming into this weekend, I believed I wasn’t coming in with any expectations. But I was clearly proved wrong within the first day. I believed that my role as an immersion student was to take on being a tutor. While this is some of the work that we take on, our presence to this community means so much more. Our goal should be to build relationship with these students so that we can learn from each other. Having a relationship with God makes building these relationships so much easier. We are able to see these young people as God’s creation, not just some kid in a community that struggles with poverty. We see each child for who they are: unique individuals created by and in the image of God. As much as we talk about what this means, it was difficult for me to fully understand what this means until my experience here at the De La Salle School. I have learned that my role is not to “help” others but to serve them.
Day 2 – Browning, MT 2023
3/14 – Brooke
This week has definitely been full of a handful of emotions, and we are only on day 2. But if I am learning anything, it is the beauty that these people have. At first, the 5th grade class seemed rambunctious, and compared to my own education, it didn’t really feel like much got done. However, after being with this group of lovely students for a second day, I began to see something different. Although the classroom might be chaotic, with lots of different things happening at one time (some educational, and some not so), there is a high love for each other. The students all treat each other as family, pushing each other to work harder, and collaborating. Perseverance is also quite evident. We are visiting during the last week of the semester, and all students are madly working to get their missing work in. They have no fear yelling out in front of the class asking for their grade, and then doing extra work to make it up.
I spent quite some time with a particular student this week who has really moved me. They are further behind the rest of their peers, and require some assistance to get even remotely motivated to do work. However, throughout multiple conversations with this student I have learned that their heart is so genuinely filled with pride about who they are and where they come from. Their family and community are a vital part of who they are, constantly mentioning that they are a member of their clan. The Lord has made himself evident to me through these children. Their resilience, perseverance, and love for each other has truly opened my eyes to how the Lord works through others.
3/14 – Peter
It’s so easy for me to see the bad in others. So often I shed light on the 10% of bad things that people have done and never reflect on the other 90%. I guess you could say that I’m a “the glass is half empty” kind of person. It takes effort and special attention for me to recognize the good in things. After these last couple of days, however, this attitude has vanished. Spending time with the 5th graders has really allowed me to only focus on the good in people – especially with a bunch of rambunctious ten-year old kids.
I think one of the reasons why I came on this Immersion trip is because the Lord was calling me to step outside of all of my negative thoughts. I think the more time we spend in our heads the less we are pouring out our hearts. This is what I have noticed about my time at the De LaSalle Blackfoot School. Not once have I had a negative thought about the kids I was working with. My time and energy have been completely devoted to pouring out my heart to the kids I am serving. The more we pour out our hearts, the more like Christ we become.
Day 1 – Browning, MT 2023
3/13 – Michael
The start to our week was certainly an interesting one. After introducing ourselves to the students via a “magic show” that took advantage of the fact that we have twins in our group, we participated in the school assembly, which involved prayers unique to both the La Sallean brothers and the Blackfeet community and a pledge of allegiance to both the United States and the Blackfeet Nation. Moving over to the classrooms, I was almost immediately overpowered by the sheer chaotic energy exhibited by the seventh-grade class (it has been a long while since I was in middle-school). Rather than attempt to suppress this chaos, however, the teachers seemed to flow with it and leverage it, something I had never quite seen before.
While I didn’t feel able to directly help the kids today, I noticed that the presence of the immersion students seemed to motivate the kids to work harder. They strove to impress us almost more than they did their own teachers. In a sense, just by being there I am able to play my part. This is comforting and allows me to focus more on developing my relationships with the students here, learning from them about their world and allowing hem to learn about mine. I look forward to the rest of the week and am thankful that God has given me the opportunity to make a positive impact, however small it may be, on the lives of His children here in Browning.
3/13 – Isaac
Day one has been a learning curve. After deciding to participate in this immersion experience, I told myself not to have any expectations coming into the week. Despite my greatest efforts, is was difficult not to compare the learning experience of these students to my own from 7th grade. The classroom is run in a completely different way than I have ever experienced, which made me appreciate the immersion title of this program. I met a ton of new people today and am looking forward to fostering deeper and more meaningful relationships with the students here.
Just being here for one day, I have already witnessed the care that the students have for each other. Today was the day for their social studies presentation, and my class was working frantically to finish their posters before it was their individual times to present. There was a particular student who had barely started his poster, and 3 of his peers rallied to help him cut and glue the information on his board. In a buzzer beater effort, their collaboration enabled him to present on time and get full credit for his work. It was such a great witness to the community here and I was really happy to see them help each other. I’m excited to see what the rest of the week brings.
Carroll College Campus Ministry 