St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Phoenixville, PA

2009-07-30T22:23:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone!!! This is Sarah H. giving our report for the day. Well, we have been having a great time here at Spruce Lake so far. Today we did a lot, and it was actually one of the busiest days of the week! This morning after breakfast we had our routinely morning prayer and discussions. Today, we discussed land, water, and plants. After this, we did our first activity, which was geo-caching. None of us knew what this was beforehand, except Katie, but now we know that its when you use a GPS system as a navigator to guide you around the camp, or anywhere in order to find clues and points of latitude and longitude in order to find more clues, and the cache. Apparently its a world-wide game.We broke up into three groups- boys, girls, and adults. Guess who won... the adults. (They cheated) :) It was a lot of fun though. We learned a lot about geo-caching and our spirituality. After that, we ate lunch, which was actually very good.

As you know, we were going to go on a nature hike yesterday, but we got 2 inches of rain, and it was rescheduled for today. We hiked 250 feet up the mountain. Our guide, Doug, taught us that you can eat the pine needles of hemlock trees, how to make mud out of rocks, and many MANY other things about nature. We also got to see beautiful waterfalls at the top!

Lastly, we played the clue endangered species game. We were in teams and we all had to run around the camp at night looking for clues to narrow it down to one suspect, weapon, and habitat. The boys and Katie saw a skunk crossing the road!! they're fine though. Hopre everyone's doing well! Seeya soon!

Sarah, Dan, Adam and Jake Tell a Story...

2009-07-29T21:24:00.003-04:00

Waking up to a foggy and cool morning, we looked forward to another exciting day. We ate a quick breakfast and continued writing in our journals. While waiting for our Native American friend, Barry, we made additions to our art projects.

Decked out in full regalia, Barry shared with us the creation stories of the Eastern Woodland tribes. We learned about the creation of turtle island, good and evil, Skywoman and her family, and the story of the crow.

Our favorite story was about the courage of the crow. In the beginning, the crow was beautifully colored and had a lovely voice. The animal community became concerned when snow started to fall and their food began to disappear. The leader of the animals, the bear, told the crow to fly up to the Skywoman and ask for help. He made it up to her and she gave him a solution; she gave him a stick with fire on both ends. He carried it down to the animals, but his friends did not recognize him. The crow had turned black with soot and his voice had turned hoarse from the smoke. However, the snow started to melt, the trees started to bloom and the weather got warmer. He had saved the day, but did not understand why he had been changed. He flew back up to the Skywoman to ask her why she had done this to him. She told him I gave you the greatest gift of all. He immediately interrupted her and asked for his old life back. She continued to explain that he would not be put into cages for his beauty or his song and he would not be hunted because he now tasted like smoke. The crow flew back down and lived in eternal freedom.

Today, if you find a crow feather and have a pure heart, you can still see the beautiful colors when you hold it in the sunlight.

During lunch, the heavens opened in thunderstorms and heavy rains. We were scheduled for a hike, but we had to postpone it for tomorrow. Instead, we got to try the power swing. All of us participated in this activity which hoisted us to the ceiling of the gymnasium and let us swing through the air. Many of us tested our limits with this activity, which was so much fun. Sarah S. had the most trepidation with this activity, but she challenged herself and went outside of her comfort zone and trusted her companions.

After this, Barry shared songs and the waneeshi ceremony, which sent our thanks up to the creator through smoke from tobacco and sage. Then we learned a number of social dances. We learned the stomp dance, the woman's dance, the warrior dance and the duck dance.

The rain continued throughout the night, which enabled the boys of the group to create an experience of their own. They created a slip and slide out of mud in the backyard. Luckily, there were no injuries, but a lot of fun was had by all. The clean-up was a bit intense, but it was worth it!!!

We finished up our day with sharing, discussion and a nature-themed Eucharist.

Thanks for reading! Sarah S., Dan H., Adam S. and Jake V.

2009-07-28T23:17:00.002-04:00

July 28, late in the evening.
We had some initial trouble in getting the internet connection, but now we are all set though we are still somewhat technically challenged.
Yesterday, we came to our Lodge by about 3:40 PM. After hauling our stuff into the house, we took the trail to the center, may be a half mile long. Had a great supper. Back to the house for Orientation at 7:00 followed by discussion on the theme of our pilgrimage, "Experiencing the extraordinary in the ordinary." The setting of the pilgrimage is ideal for our theme. Our time here will follow the days of the creation story from Genesis. So last nite we talked about 'Chaos.' This was followed by some group singing led by Mrs. D. We concluded the evening with Eucharist. It was good day. As it is getting late, I must go to bed. More about the other activities and about the second day, stay tuned.

2009-07-28T21:43:00.002-04:00

July 28, 2009

Good evening, friends at St. Peter's! Finally, we are on line here at our beautiful retreat house! We are so remote here that cell phone service is intermittent and it took awhile to figure out the pass word, etc.

We arrived yesterday afternoon after passing through some storms and making one or two wrong turns. But all went well! The house is huge and well appointed, and the surroundings are rustic and beautiful. We were busy immediately. Yesterday's events included:

Wholesome family dinner in the Lodge which is a good 10-15 minute walk through the forest from our Hearthstone Lodge.

Orientation meeting, journaling and launching our interpretive art project kept us busy after returning from dinner.

Holy Eucharist with readings on our theme of creation.

Brief free time and, finally, bedtime.

This morning we awoke bright and early. Well, some of us awoke bright and early. Others just awoke. :) After breakfast in our lodge we had Morning Prayer, journaling, singing, and sharing. Our theme today is "light".

Our schedule today included:

A yoga session with a specialist named Mary Cardinal. She was excellent, setting the tone for the entire day and preparing us for the events to come.

Lunch

Our Challenge Course - oh, my! - was it ever a challenge. It was a fabulous set of activities which required extreme teamwork and cooperation. It was great fun. We got all of us onto a very shaky "boat", we made a square blindfolded, we saved the world from catastophe by distroying a secret weapon using skills that the girls had learned in cheerleading, and we all we able to swing to safety onto a 16 square foot "island". If this all sounds very strange and you wish to really know more about it just ask one of us on our return.

Dinner followed by playtime on the playground.

Movietime watching the movie "Facing the Giants"

Sharing time and

Compline.

It was a full and great day. So now we are preparing to lay us down to sleep!

2009-07-14T19:01:00.002-04:00

July 14 5:PM
We had our first day of real hard work. After our morning reflection and breakfast at St. Johns
, we got into our van and travelled to Qusaltepeque. We visited the children at the school run by St Michael church with pastor David. Some of the children remembered us from last year. Now the school has grown to 30 from 10 last year. Next year, they will be strating the 2nd grade, however, they have no furniture for the class yet. This is a need.
Pastor David joined us in the van on our way to worksite in Nehapas. It was great to see the people of this village again. The church looked much better. They are building a compund waññ and gate at the present. And we had our work cut out right away. With pickax and showels we dug holes and collected stones to put in the bottom of the hole before concrete is
poured over. It was hot and humid. We worked till 3PM and everybody felt really exhausted. We got back into van and came back to our camp in San Salvador. Another great day. Everybody is safe but tired. People thank the Saint Peter´s church for our love for them. See you all tomorrow.

2009-07-13T19:23:00.002-04:00

July 13 530 PM.
The missioners are at the Diocesean office. Jusat had a meeting with Dr. Danielle regarding the healthcare situation in El Salvador. Many challenges they are facing. The group is amazed at what she is doing. This morning we started with reflection at the conference room. Then we went to the Arch Bishop Oscar Romero's church, Jesuite Seminary, and the Artisans workshop. Quite a day. Tomorrow is work. We are ready. Everybody is healthy. We are a ready for goodnite sleep now after of course Mercedes dinner that awaits us at our place of stay. See you all tomorrow.

2009-07-11T23:48:00.003-04:00

11:49 PM. On the eve of our mission trip to El Salvador. Missioners came last evening for potluck supper and to watch the movie, Innocent Voices. It was a good occasion for us to be together and to go over the last minute details of the trip. We will be attending the worship service at 8:00 AM and will be sent off with a prayer.