Browning, Day 5, De La Salle, March 14, 2025
Today was our final day with the De La Sale Blackfeet school. Throughout this week I had the pleasure of being with the Little Flower Academy, the 4th and 5th grade classes combined and the youngest age group in the school. This experience has been amazing. These kids are amazing. One of the most remarkable things to me was the ease and freedom with which they are able to be children. Earlier this week we learned from one of our speakers how one part of the Blackfeet culture is this ease with which they are able to acknowledge the unpretty and mournful realities. They have a natural and cultural inclination to share with one another in their mourning and suffering as opposed to hiding it from another, and just within one week I have been able to see the ways in which this makes many of them a people who are easy in openness to relationship and easy in giving their love. And so I think despite all of the compounded trauma and adverse childhood experiences these kids have inherited, they are so resilient and kind and childlike at least in part due to this part of their culture. I was blown away by their love, their joy, and their strength in the classroom to struggle to learn new things.
One particular joy from today was just in saying our goodbyes to the kids. One of them gave me a goodbye note today in the morning, saying I wasn’t allowed to open it until later. She had given it to me while in the middle of a giant game of Sharks and Minnows with the 8th graders so I couldn’t understand when “later” was, but it worked out alright. When we did leave that afternoon and began taking pictures and giving our hugs and saying goodbyes, she gave me a hug and then said ever so quietly that I could open the note now. She had thanked me for helping with math, “the other things,” and wished us save travels back to college. All of my goodbyes were every bit as precious and surprising in how much the kids already cared for us. It is a remarkable touch of the hand of God in this community to have so many wonderful kids who truly get to be kids, and who get to embody the love the Creator has for His children.
Macie Frans
Senior, Carroll College
Denver, Day 3, Christ in the City, March 12, 2025
When thinking about this trip the word simplicity is the word I would use to describe it. I tend to over complicate and think most things in my life, and serving the poor is absolutely one of those things. But the way Christ in the City reaches out the poor completely wrecked my thought processes about serving and has re made my foundations for fulfilling the command to love the least of my brothers. All it takes to serve and love my neighbors, no matter their material wealth, is merely an introduction on my part and an inquiry into how their day is going. It might be incredibly awkward and I might not have any idea about what to say, but the authentic reaching out is all that is asked of me. I don’t need to over think, I don’t need to have a script. Christ asks that I simply show up and offer myself to my neighbor, and He will take care of the rest.
Davis Greenwood, Sophomore
Browning, day 4, De La Salle Blackfeet School, March 13, 2025
Josie Gale Caritas Reflection Thursday, March 13, 2025 (Day 4)
Throughout the immersion experience, I have been working primarily with the 8th grade class. So far, we have had three full days with the students in the De La Salle Blackfeet School, and today was our last full school day with them. Today’s schedule looked a little bit different because Mass was incorporated into the school schedule, and the 8th graders were leading Mass. It was so wonderful to watch the students in the class I have been working with proclaim the word of God and lead the school through this beautiful sacrament. This was very nostalgic for me since my middle school would do the same thing in terms of having different classes lead Mass each week.
Within the 8th grade class, I have loved being able to work in small groups and one-on-one with students to complete missing work or provide more hands-on help for students struggling in a specific area of study. Through this, I have been able to learn a lot about the students. Earlier this week, I was working with a very shy student on math and all of a sudden she turns to me and this fountain of information started coming out of her mouth about the types of music she likes. I was both intrigued and excited at the same time that she felt compelled to share her interests with me, and it turns out that we have a lot in common when it comes to genres, songs, and bands that we like. In working with another student very little, I joined her for the chess enrichment activity and she began opening up to me about her family life and how close she is with her dad. I felt so blessed that this student, after knowing me for only a couple of days, was comfortable opening up to me in that way. Another student, very very shy and soft-spoken, when he speaks at all, has started coming out of his shell during my individual work with him. It is beautiful watching him be confident in the work that he is doing and the growth I have seen in just two days. Yesterday, when I first started working with him, it was difficult to get just a one word answer out of him, but now today, still with a little resistance and hesitation (but not nearly as much as yesterday), he makes eye contact, answers with confidence, and smiles.
I have also thoroughly enjoyed connecting with the teachers in the school. Specifically, with Mrs. Armstrong. She has been at De La Salle for a few years and teaches 8th grade homeroom, 8th grade ELA and Social Studies, and 7th grade ELA and Social Studies. I remember earlier in the week the two of us having a casual conversation during a break between classes and she opened up to me about two extreme losses she has experienced within the past month. She told me that sometimes she doesn’t want to come to school and wants to just stay at home and sleep, but she knows that’s not good for her and it wouldn’t be good for her students. In this conversation, she emphasized how important it is that her students receive a good education, but also how much she cares for each and every one of her students. I was so inspired by her devotion and commitment to her students and how she is able to put aside the difficulties in her life to provide them with an environment in which they can learn and grow. This immersion experience has been a beautiful encounter to the universality of the Church and a prime example of Jesus loving each and every one of His children. I feel blessed to have been able to witness selflessness, growth, excitement, child-like faith, determination, love, and so much more throughout my time in Browning. Thank you to the community of Browning, the De La Salle Blackfeet School, University of Providence, and Carroll College for this wonderful opportunity.
Browning, Day 3, March 12, 2025 De La Salle Blackfeet School
March 12, 2025 – Day Three in Browning
The third day at De La Salle started wonderfully. I woke up to Roy singing and I knew immediately that it would be a blessed day. This whole week has been an incredible blessing and I am so very excited to be able to partake in it with friends and strangers who have now become my friends. I have experienced many graces over the short three days and today was no different.
The 6th graders, which is the class that I am assigned to, have started getting more comfortable with us in the class and I have felt more of a laid back and open presence in the classroom now. An example of this was at lunch today, multiple students asked if I could sit with them and we ended up conversing about life. They told me about their families and siblings and what they liked to do in the free time off of school. It made me feel more of a friend to these kids rather than just another immersion student. I think that my experience here has been very different than I thought. When I came here, I imagined these kids to be so incredibly different from me when I was their age. But that could not be further from the truth. The people at this school are just normal kids, who laugh and cry have fun exactly as I did in school. Some have a different family life aspect and are living in a very impoverished place, but they are still kids nonetheless. It is very powerful to see that these kids are not much different from others and that they still are very much worthy of love and attention as anyone else.
Last night we were asked about moments in the trip where we have loved as God loves, seen as God sees, and/or done as God does and so that question was on my mind and my heart all throughout the day today. I think that just being with these kids and being a part of their lives has really allowed me to almost enter in to their struggles. Obviously, I have not seen or experienced many of the things that these kids have, but being able to see them and get to know them has really opened my eyes. My first couple days here, I found myself getting frustrated some of the kids not wanting to work and wanting to just converse with their friends and goof off. But after reflecting on that and the context of their lives, I came to the realization that this time at school can almost be a get away for these kids. This may be the only time where they actually get to spend time with their friends and just be able to be themselves. If I was in their position, I would want to just spend time with my friends and just be a kid as well.
The last thing I want to say is that a lot of these kids are not where they should be school wise. When talking about the question above in reflection on Tuesday night, one of the fellow Carroll students spoke about how God doesn’t love us for the things that we do or accomplish, He loves us for being us. I think this is a perfect reflection in being here this week. A lot of these kids are not good at math or good at science, but that isn’t why we should love them. We love them for being creations of God and being part of the family of Christ. So it has been an incredible grace to be able to try and love as God loves in that way.
I can’t wait to finish the final two days and I will be sad when my time here comes to an end. This trip has exceeded all expectations and I recommend doing something similar to all people who truly want to experience the love and grace of Christ.
Chuck Markham, senior, Carroll College
Carroll College Campus Ministry 