RJC Calgary ALSO: A Long Expected Journey

Thomas, our MCC contact, leading us in an
introductory workshop on homelessness.

The result of an activity in which we identified the
traits and characteristics that we associate
with homelessness.

(Photo Caption #3) Our Calgary ALSO group enjoying an evening meal together. I don't remember it being that sideways... although David maybe noticed something was amiss.

Today our group finally hit the road! That is, after a spot of trailer trouble. Regardless, we made it to Calgary and have set up camp in the Abbeydale Christian Fellowship church.

After a short period of relaxation we met our MCC contact, Thomas. In an evening presentation he walked us through the basics of why homelessness is such a complex issue, and why it's important to know a person's story before making assumptions about them. Most of our time in Calgary will be spent unpacking themes of homelessness and poverty.

Our evening ended with a home cooked meal over which our chaperones toiled long and hard (Kraft Dinner). Now we are all set for an early start to our day of service and learning tomorrow.

On our itinerary is a visit to the Calgary Drop-In Centre, where we will be serving breakfast, and spring cleaning at the Salvation Army warehouse. When we return to the Abbeydale church we will also participate in their Community Cupboard.

We are looking forward to building on what we learned tonight and putting our faith into action by serving in three different places.

written by Dante Regier

ALSO Alabama - We made it to Memphis ! April 22

The first two days of our trip has involved restlessly sitting on a bus filled with smelly teenagers. So far we have spent 36 hours on this bus. During these 36 hours we have had, crying, laughing, puking, eating, joke making, singing, sleeping (but not really though), finding ticks, sore joints, but it was all swell as nobody got killed and we all enjoy each other (kinda). 

Our home on wheels!

On the third day (today) we rolled up to Memphis, Tennessee where we took a stroll around Graceland and signed the wall surrounding Elvis Presley's house. This was a hit for our group and got us in the rock 'n' roll southern mood. 

Tori leaves a mark for RJC on the famous Graceland wall.

Daniel falls in love.

Elvis adoration!

The Chaperones' get in on the excitement too!

After experiencing Graceland, we hopped on the bus and drove to our next destination for lunch, the Trolley Stop Market.  At this restaurant we got served pizza after pizza, it was delicious.  In total we have 7 full boxes of pizza leftover.  Next stop was the Civil Rights Museum, where we got an educational tour lead by the very talented William Young (he's got an awesome accent).  This was a great experience for us students as we learned a lot and found it very interesting.  A highlight for us from this Museum tour was seeing the artifacts involving the assassination of Dr. King.  We were all very moved by the legacy of Dr. King and his dedication to equality between all races.

Freedom is never free.

Wall Graffiti in Memphis Tennessee

Our group in front of the new art display in the Civil Rights Museum.  It is a 7000 lb. bronze sculpture .  It was entitled Movement to Overcome.  

On the bus with Rosa Parks

Our tour guide William teaches us about the struggle of the black people and non violent movement that was beginning to take root in the south lead by Dr. Martin Luther King.  It was a bit eerie having a Klan member watching us as we moved through the displays!

Once our brains were full of information, we climbed on the bus once again, and slithered on over to the comfort of The Comfort Inn Hotel, in Mississippi. We are glad to say that our hotel was rated 9.2 out of 10 stars on booking.com. Once we settled in our rooms and freshened up, we hopped on over to Abbay's Southern Fast Food Diner for some southern fast food. I do have to say, this food was very fast and very southern. But enough about the fast and southern food we had for dinner at Abbay's Southern Fast Food Diner. We then southernly sauntered back over to our hotel after a quick dip into our favourite hardware store, Lowe's. After we returned yours' truly led the first devotion of our trip, it was the best one yet, no question about it (we killed it)(but we are still pacifists). This brings us up to speed, laughing, determining if we should once again start writing about the delicious southern fast food we had for dinner. Until next time Abbay's Southern Fast Food Diner. I know we probably killed that joke by now, but no worries, we are still pacifists here. 

Hailey and Josh signing out. 

Chilling at Wanuskewin

 

This morning, us grade elevens who've yet to begin our ALSO experiences found ourselves at Wanuskewin Heritage Park. We learned more about Native history and traditions, in the interest of opening our minds to different perspectives, keeping with the spirit of ALSO. 

Following a short introductory film, our tour guide Bonnie taught us about a fascinating method of hunting once used by Native Americans, known as a "bison pound", in which a highly trained bison runner would disguise themselves as a baby bison and, through their cries, lure entire herds into a trap.

Then we headed into the admittedly cold outdoors, where we were lead on a "medicine walk", learning about the various traditional medicines that grow in the valley, of which there are countless varieties. For instance, green lichen, commonly found on rocks, acts as a multivitamin when boiled. Other plants numb pain, serve as birth control, and even act to thin one's blood. 

We wrapped up our experience by cooking bannock over a fire, which warmed us up after our chilly stroll through the park. Overall, our trip was a meaningful processor to our upcoming ALSO week, because how can we hope to be of service to others if we're not willing to open our minds, and hearts, to their lives? 

It's hot in Guat!

Hola!

Bien! Uno! Los Siento! Gracias!

Those are about all the Spanish words we know by now. 

Just kidding, we know like four more words, or in the case of Jade, like 7. And the nice security guard at the restaurant taught us "damas" (dames) so we knew which bathroom to use.

Today was our first full day, and by full day I mean bursting at the seems! 

We started the day by eating our first breakfast of beans and tortillas, and it was delicious! We got all sun screened up and went on our way to MCC Guatemala and El Salvador (Comite Central Menonita Guatemala y El Salvador). There we learned about the history of Guatemala and the role MCC plays in the countries it represents. We also talked logistics and how to not get diarrhea which is gonna be pretty beneficial.   

After MCC we took a wild ride to the restaurant we ate lunch at. We marveled at how gated this city is. There are gates lining every street, not giving any hints to what is behind them. We are starting to see that behind every gate could be any type of oasis. Here, at Semilla (our home base of sorts), behind the gate is a little compound full of trees and flowers. The our lunch spot was also a wonderful surprise as we walked into this patio with tree branches as a ceiling. 

Following lunch and after we established a buddy system to make sure we don't get horribly lost, we walked into the square with the National Palace and the cathedral. We walked through the cathedral and were taken aback by the architecture and beauty of the building. Outside the cathedral there is a memorial to the Indigenous lives lost during the civil war that is very moving. We continued walking to the market and told Alexa that it is time to reapply the sunscreen! Don't worry Anita, we are working around the clock to make sure your daughter does not burn to a crisp! 

After 10 minutes in the market turned to 20 and then to more we got back into the sweltering van to go to our next stop, a museum entitled, "Why We Are The Way We Are". This museum takes you through the reasons behind why Guatemalan culture is the way it is. This was a very moving exhibit that outlines the oppression that the Indigenous people of Guatemala have and are experiencing. We have all taken pieces that we learned here to heart and are working to understand the sheer multitude of the history of this country. 

It was a full day, but we learned a lot and saw a whole lot of new things. According to Jim "you're only writing about one day", so I'm gonna chill out on the detailed descriptions now. But like to the parents- we're doing great, or you could say we're doing Guat! (classic jokes yo)

All in all it was an incredibly enriching first day for all of us!

(Written by Katie Rempel; hi mom and dad! [Everyone else says hi to their moms and dads as well!])

Treaty 6 - Rosthern ALSO

For those of us who have not yet left on our Calgary and Saskatoon ALSO trips, today we had the opportunity to learn about the land that we live on: Treaty 6. We had three guests come visit from Mennonite Central Committee, Leonard Doell, Don Peters, and Rick Guenther, and they were all able to share some of the experiences they have had with the Aboriginal community in this area. Leonard talked to us first about the Young Chippewayan band, and the history between them and the first settlers that arrived in this area. He explained how the government drew out a “Mennonite Reserve” between Warman and Rosthern, but when the Mennonites came, they ended up taking the Laird area as well, which amounts to 28,000 acres.

Taking this land is what started the tensions between Aboriginal and settler communities, and because of this, each community has been wary of the other for generations. That is why, with the help of some of the Chiefs from the Young Chippewayan band, the community organized a gathering in 2006 which would include talking to one another, singing, and bonding without having to worry about labeling people as “the other”. These gatherings sparked relationships between the Young Chippewayan, Mennonite, and Lutheran communities, and they are now working together to try and settle land claims with the government, but more importantly, form relationships so that people can just talk.

After learning a little about the background of the situation, we all drove out to “Stony Hill”, or in Cree, “Opweshemoe Chakatinaw”. We drove past the road sign that was put up after a petition was sent into the Laird RM Office, which RJC students signed last year. When we got to Opweshemoe Chakatinaw, we stood around the fire pit and sang “The Gift”, which is an Aboriginal song that symbolizes communities coming together to celebrate the gift of tradition. This site, we were told, used to be the St. John’s Lutheran Church, but was also a very sacred place for the local Aboriginal population as it was on a path leading between Fort Carlton and North Battleford.

After soaking in the bright sunshine and thinking about all the diverse history that has occurred in that place, we returned to school to enjoy a meal of Prairie Stew and Bannock, which reminds us that these stories aren’t just in the past, but affect us every day, and it’s up to us to build bridges where boundary lines have been drawn.

~

In the afternoon, the grade 12s further explored local history by going to the Station Arts Centre and Gabriel Dumont’s Bridge.

And we're off!!

Hi all. Our Guatemala group has all assembled at the airport in Saskatoon. We've cleared our first security checkpoint and hope to see our bags in Guatemala City!! We are excited for our learning adventure to begin.

Faith and Life - Deeper Life Days

Deeper Life Days Report

December 3, 2015

The theme for this year’s Deeper Life Day was Living the Dream 2015: Following God in the 21^st Century.  Students spent the day worshiping with contemporary music, listening to speakers, and engaging in hip-hop and spoken-word workshops all with the purpose of helping students contemplate what it means to be a person of faith in the world today. 

The Faith and Life committee invited a variety of guests to share with the students including panels of current and former students who were asked questions about how they understand their faith in the world today.  Questions ranged from church attendance to the importance of their faith in daily life.  

Current student panel - Christie, Hailey, Dante and Danny

Former students - Matt Wiens, Gwen Laughlin, Cara Epp and Scott Feick 

Song leaders- Nicolas and Claire

Later in the morning the Faith and Life Committee with Cheryl Woelk led the students through the Kairos Blanket Exercise, an interactive activity that helps participants understand the legacy of colonialism in Canada, an issue that the church is grappling with today.  

Cheryl Woelk 

Before lunch, MCC Refugee coordinator Dana Krushel talked about the current Syrian refugee crisis.  Students were informed about the crisis and shown the complicated, but needed, steps to sponsor a refugee family. 

In the afternoon students participated in hip-hop and spoken word workshops led by Christian hip-hop group Legacy One.  Legacy One also treated the students to a live show in the gymnasium, which included dance; multi-media, and spoken word performances.  

To finish the day students performed poetry and dance for one another.  Thank you to all of our guests and to all the students who brought the energy to make this a successful event.    

Dance workshop

Spoken word workshop

Dante

Emily