The Margins Makes Us Different
Hello folks!
This is Makayla Medrano an uprising Biochemistry junior at St. Mary's University and Adam Perez an uprising Biochemistry super-senior at the Chaminade University. This beautiful morning we travelled to the Dolores Mission Parish for Sunday mass that was said in Spanish at 9:45 AM. We received a tour after mass which explained the art pieces and mission of the church. Afterwards, we had the opportunity to eat at a 5th grade fundraiser for the local children attending the school nearby. They served items such as taquitos, quesdillas, and aqua frescas made by the family member's. IT WAS GOOD!!! ;) Upon eating the meal, we saw, visited, and supported an auntie selling clothes and jewelry across the church. We then made our way to Venice beach to check out the ocean, shops, and activities that people were partaking in. Once the sun set, we ventured to a park close to Griffins Observatory with our Popeye's dinner. (Mak had shrimp cause she lame. Chicken is better. -Adam) Finally, we viewed the LA skyline and learned more about the planets which surround us.
At the Sunday mass, it was interesting that it fell on Pentecost for two reasons. One, even though there was a language barrier for some (@Mak), it was still the same mass that we grew up celebrating with our family on Sundays. This corresponds to the birth of the church when Jesus' apostles, who spoke in various tongues, were given the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They were then sent forth to proclaim the God News to every nation. (Unfortunately, some of us were not given these gifts today. AKA the original Rosetta Stone) Secondly, on this immersion trip young adults with various cultures and backgrounds come together with a common goal: to better ourselves as stewards.
Makayla's Side Note: During the Our Father, I had the honor to hold a young girl's hand. Although she stayed silent during the prayer, she knew the same concept I've grown to know. We joined hands and prayed to our God.
The tour given afterwards discussed their mission which is to serve their community in whatever way they can. With this said, they house and feed around 70 people who are homeless. The parish also fundraises for the local school, feeds the community, and voices the injustice against Salvadorians. The actually have received multiple gifts for their work such as the cross behind the alter. The cross was gifted by the people of El Salvador. This art piece was colorful and depicted a man crucified on a tree. This man could be Jesus dying for our sins or a Salvadorian dying from the war against their religion. The man's blood poured to a field of crops below his feet which symbolized how the blood of Christ nourishes the Church. Peace was symbolized to the right of the man through animals and a man planting heart-shaped seeds into the ground. War was shown to the left of the man with symbols of destruction and chaos. All together, the piece was trying to portray that Salvadorians desire peace and an end to injustice. Another art piece which was shown was a woman, who looked and could be symbolized as the Virgin Mary. She was dressed in a simple dress with a blue veil. She was carrying a baby around her shoulder as she fled from her home and culture to the CITY OF ANGELS. This piece was significant for the fact that many could relate to the woman portrayed and could find refuge with her open arms.
Venice beach was an interesting take on this LA Immersion trip because for the past couple of days we have been volunteering at soup kitchens, working with domestic abuse victims, learning stories about previous gang members, and even visiting churches. It kind of begs the question as to why the leaders in charge of this experience would want to take us to a place like Venice beach. Maybe it was because they wanted us to experience some fun in the sun and to witness the culture of LA. Which is what we did. In the first couple of days of this LA Immersion trip, we got to experience a culture of the City of Angels that is not usually shown in TV shows and mainstream media. In fact, places like skid row and Homeboy industries are the last places that brings the average tourist to LA. This next aspect of the trip where we are exposed to the more blessed side of the city really makes us open our eyes to what we have. We have endless shops of materialistic goods that are not necessary. Shops of sunglasses, tourist T-shirts, and weed lines the streets of Venice beach while tents and shopping carts line the streets of skid row. It is hard not to think about all those people that do not even have enough to eat while walking past countless stores that probably throw away their excess foods and goods.
With this in mind, people who are homeless cover the street of LA. Talking to the Cathy, supervisor of the Hippie Kitchen, believes that the city is not doing enough to help these people. Instead, I personally (Mak) feel that the city maybe focussing more on its Capitalistic wants instead of caring for the people in need. For example, people travel down Venice beach buying a second t-shirt that will sit in their closets until they donate them. An alternative would be to buy local goods and foods which having meaning for the fact that the money goes back to the community. This directly correlates to our visit to the Church. We supported the Church, local school children, and homeless by eating lunch at the parish and buying goods from the auntie. We also gain a better understanding of the mission of this Church so we can spread the message and bring awareness to this issue. Does this sound nicer than a $25 tourist t-shirt? Instead you can get a meal made with love and some cute shirts for cheap while making a small difference.
The day ended with a final field trip to the Griffin Observatory. One of the things that I really enjoyed was the view of the city of Los Angeles that just seemed to go on forever in the dark horizon. I (Adam) spent a good portion of the time allotted for us to visit just staring off and thinking about how far I have come in my life and come to the realization about how much further we have to go.
This is Makayla Medrano an uprising Biochemistry junior at St. Mary's University and Adam Perez an uprising Biochemistry super-senior at the Chaminade University. This beautiful morning we travelled to the Dolores Mission Parish for Sunday mass that was said in Spanish at 9:45 AM. We received a tour after mass which explained the art pieces and mission of the church. Afterwards, we had the opportunity to eat at a 5th grade fundraiser for the local children attending the school nearby. They served items such as taquitos, quesdillas, and aqua frescas made by the family member's. IT WAS GOOD!!! ;) Upon eating the meal, we saw, visited, and supported an auntie selling clothes and jewelry across the church. We then made our way to Venice beach to check out the ocean, shops, and activities that people were partaking in. Once the sun set, we ventured to a park close to Griffins Observatory with our Popeye's dinner. (Mak had shrimp cause she lame. Chicken is better. -Adam) Finally, we viewed the LA skyline and learned more about the planets which surround us.
At the Sunday mass, it was interesting that it fell on Pentecost for two reasons. One, even though there was a language barrier for some (@Mak), it was still the same mass that we grew up celebrating with our family on Sundays. This corresponds to the birth of the church when Jesus' apostles, who spoke in various tongues, were given the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They were then sent forth to proclaim the God News to every nation. (Unfortunately, some of us were not given these gifts today. AKA the original Rosetta Stone) Secondly, on this immersion trip young adults with various cultures and backgrounds come together with a common goal: to better ourselves as stewards.
Makayla's Side Note: During the Our Father, I had the honor to hold a young girl's hand. Although she stayed silent during the prayer, she knew the same concept I've grown to know. We joined hands and prayed to our God.
The tour given afterwards discussed their mission which is to serve their community in whatever way they can. With this said, they house and feed around 70 people who are homeless. The parish also fundraises for the local school, feeds the community, and voices the injustice against Salvadorians. The actually have received multiple gifts for their work such as the cross behind the alter. The cross was gifted by the people of El Salvador. This art piece was colorful and depicted a man crucified on a tree. This man could be Jesus dying for our sins or a Salvadorian dying from the war against their religion. The man's blood poured to a field of crops below his feet which symbolized how the blood of Christ nourishes the Church. Peace was symbolized to the right of the man through animals and a man planting heart-shaped seeds into the ground. War was shown to the left of the man with symbols of destruction and chaos. All together, the piece was trying to portray that Salvadorians desire peace and an end to injustice. Another art piece which was shown was a woman, who looked and could be symbolized as the Virgin Mary. She was dressed in a simple dress with a blue veil. She was carrying a baby around her shoulder as she fled from her home and culture to the CITY OF ANGELS. This piece was significant for the fact that many could relate to the woman portrayed and could find refuge with her open arms.
With this in mind, people who are homeless cover the street of LA. Talking to the Cathy, supervisor of the Hippie Kitchen, believes that the city is not doing enough to help these people. Instead, I personally (Mak) feel that the city maybe focussing more on its Capitalistic wants instead of caring for the people in need. For example, people travel down Venice beach buying a second t-shirt that will sit in their closets until they donate them. An alternative would be to buy local goods and foods which having meaning for the fact that the money goes back to the community. This directly correlates to our visit to the Church. We supported the Church, local school children, and homeless by eating lunch at the parish and buying goods from the auntie. We also gain a better understanding of the mission of this Church so we can spread the message and bring awareness to this issue. Does this sound nicer than a $25 tourist t-shirt? Instead you can get a meal made with love and some cute shirts for cheap while making a small difference.
The day ended with a final field trip to the Griffin Observatory. One of the things that I really enjoyed was the view of the city of Los Angeles that just seemed to go on forever in the dark horizon. I (Adam) spent a good portion of the time allotted for us to visit just staring off and thinking about how far I have come in my life and come to the realization about how much further we have to go.
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