After Saying Our Goodbyes Our

WEST VIRGINIA

“Never before coming to Nazareth Farms had I done so much manual labor. At home when my parents would ask me to do a chore or help in the yard, they would be meet with stubborn refusal or a begrudged teenager, loafing around barely working. Each evening before going to bed every volunteer had to sign up for a chore to do the next day…The chores I did included: dishes after meals, clearing branches on the side of a hill, gardening, and cleaning. Each day crews would rotate to experience different types of jobs. On Tuesday I did construction, working on a family’s addition for their twin boys. Wednesday my crew worked on the farm, taking care of the daily chores and welcoming them back from their work sites. On Thursday I painted an elderly woman’s house, and conquered my fear of “After saying our goodbyes our heights climbing up to three stories on a ladder. The final work day, Friday, immersion group got in our rental was the most rewarding. My crew went down to work for a neighbor of the vans and headed down the same dirt farm, Butch Sandora, and on his property we chopped wood and stacked road we had arrived on in the middle lumber. Chopping wood was definitely the most memorable experience I had of the night only a week earlier. As I working at the farm. Before this trip, hearing these activities would have been looked back on the farm at the staff met with the same attitude that I meet chores at home with, but with the members waving goodbye to us and friendship and support that flowed out of the farm working became a the other volunteer groups I thought rewarding experience.” to myself, how will it ever be the – Student Participant same? How can I possibly be happy in any place without the same structure and care as Nazareth Farm? Although happy that I was returning to my family and friends, I was overcome by sadness when sleeping in my own bed in Sacramento at the thought that I would never again be with the people I had grown so close to in only a week. The people I meet and the work we did transformed me tremendously, giving insights on myself and also the human condition. Nazareth Farm will always be in my heart the shining example of what Catholics strive for in community and social justice.” –Student Participant

Trip Location: West Virginia Trip Leaders: Mr. Tom McGuire & Mr. Nick Lai

Tentative Dates: July 4-11 or June 28 – July 4 or June 13- June 20 (to be determined by lottery)

Trip Cost (covers transportation, room and board…etc.): $1,300*

Minimum Donation Amount: (students raise money to donate towards the non-profit organizations that worked with Jesuit High School on their trip, this amount is in addition to the trip cost) $500**

Trip Description: The group from Jesuit High School will partner with “Nazareth Farm,” which is a Catholic community in rural West Virginia that works to transform lives through a service-retreat experience. Nazareth Farm is devoted to living out the Gospel message through the cornerstones of community, simplicity, prayer, and service. Jesuit students will serve alongside Nazareth Farm’s neighbors to address substandard housing by providing home repair. Naz Farm celebrates the richness of Appalachia and experience of God by building relationships between our volunteers and the local community. This will be the fif th year our students will be going to West Virginia.

Website: http://www.nazarethfarm.org/index.htm

*Limited Financial Aid is available, please apply **Donations are raised to support the non-profit organization. However in the event that travel costs rise, a small portion of the donation may be used to cover those unforeseen expenses.