Los Angeles 2019: New Faces, Same Attitude
Hello everyone! My name is Nicolas Romero and I am thrilled to be writing about our first day experience here in Los Angeles for the Summer 2019. I am a rising senior Mechanical Engineering student at St. Mary's University and a member of the Marianist Leadership Program. Despite having been with each other for less than 12 hours, our community is beginning to take its form and the Marianist charism of Inclusivity and Family Spirit can already be felt. We are looking forward to the opportunities the week has in store for us to grow closer and bond both emotionally and spiritually.
While we all began our day in different regions of the country, some getting a start as early as 4:00 am, everyone arrived safely in the City of Angles by 3:00 pm local time. We gathered at the Lalanne Marianist Community in downtown Los Angeles on the outskirts of the University of Southern California campus. There we celebrated evening mass followed by a delicious spaghetti dinner prepared by Fr. Ken Templin. This was the first opportunity we had to meet each other formally and partake in a few icebreaker activities and a communal heart to heart discussion. In our heart to heart following dinner, we opened up with the larger community and shared our reasons for coming on the trip, where we are in our faith lives, our hopes and fears for the week ahead, etc. The brothers at Lalanne were very welcoming and provided a warm, familial atmosphere which I am sure we all appreciated in a city which is foreign to the majority of our group. Moments like today are what remind us of what it means to be Marianist: welcoming new people and opportunities into our lives to teach and learn through osmosis. They also reminded us of a little piece of our Marianist home communities and the true joy and pleasure there is to be found in knowing how universal and unique the Marianist community can be simultaneously.
After our evening at Lalanne, we proceeded back to our Airbnb to wind down the night. In comparison to years past, the location of where we are staying is MUCH closer to the areas we will be serving. We truly are immersing ourselves in the local community, culture, and lifestyle by staying in such a close proximity to the more impoverished parts of town. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue throughout the week to open our hearts, minds, and hands and allow the presence of God to work through us and make meaningful connections with those we will be ministering alongside. May the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit be glorified in all places through the Immaculate Virgin Mary.
Peace and Blessings,
Nico
While we all began our day in different regions of the country, some getting a start as early as 4:00 am, everyone arrived safely in the City of Angles by 3:00 pm local time. We gathered at the Lalanne Marianist Community in downtown Los Angeles on the outskirts of the University of Southern California campus. There we celebrated evening mass followed by a delicious spaghetti dinner prepared by Fr. Ken Templin. This was the first opportunity we had to meet each other formally and partake in a few icebreaker activities and a communal heart to heart discussion. In our heart to heart following dinner, we opened up with the larger community and shared our reasons for coming on the trip, where we are in our faith lives, our hopes and fears for the week ahead, etc. The brothers at Lalanne were very welcoming and provided a warm, familial atmosphere which I am sure we all appreciated in a city which is foreign to the majority of our group. Moments like today are what remind us of what it means to be Marianist: welcoming new people and opportunities into our lives to teach and learn through osmosis. They also reminded us of a little piece of our Marianist home communities and the true joy and pleasure there is to be found in knowing how universal and unique the Marianist community can be simultaneously.
After our evening at Lalanne, we proceeded back to our Airbnb to wind down the night. In comparison to years past, the location of where we are staying is MUCH closer to the areas we will be serving. We truly are immersing ourselves in the local community, culture, and lifestyle by staying in such a close proximity to the more impoverished parts of town. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue throughout the week to open our hearts, minds, and hands and allow the presence of God to work through us and make meaningful connections with those we will be ministering alongside. May the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit be glorified in all places through the Immaculate Virgin Mary.
Peace and Blessings,
Nico
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