The following is a reflection from St. Ignatius students participating in a two week immersion at St. Anthony’s.

Hello!  A lot has happened since we last wrote.  We’ve continued learning in the JEVA (Justice Education, Volunteer and Advocacy) classroom at St. Anthony Foundation.  We looked at the distribution of wealth nationally and realized the large gap between the classes.  We also used the game of JENGA as an analogy to the real world and its structure of laws and rules.  It became frustrating when rules changed and we didn’t have control over the powers that be.  Friday we discussed the different types of service in our society.  Today, Tuesday, we began talking about advocacy and how to get involved either on a legislative level or by the power of assembly.  Today we had the opportunity to meet Sean Elsburnd, an SI graduate and now the District 6 supervisor.  It was interesting to hear him speak about the city’s government and see city hall.  This past weekend we traveled to Santa Cruz for a mid-trip retreat.  We reflected and spent time at the beach.  We spent Saturday night at a hotel, and our group continued to bond and have more fun!  It was really nice to do some laundry at the local Laundromat.  Sunday we went on a nature hike and swam in the river there as well. On 4^th of July we walked to the Ferry Building and watched the city fireworks.  Yesterday we also went to Grace Cathedral and took some time to reflect and pray.  We walked down a labyrinth there.

We have kept up our nightly reflections and focused on a variety of topics including charity, justice, service, solidarity, community, and faith.  Our reflection discussions have been vital to this trip.   We are continuing to challenge others and be challenged.  The tenets of living simply, acting justly, community and spirituality continue to be very prominent in our everyday encounters.

The following is a reflection from St. Ignatius students participating in a two week immersion at St. Anthony’s.

Hey There! This is Caroline and Camille writing for San Francisco Immersion on day 4. The past three days we have worked at St. Anthony’s Dining Room, two different senior centers, two clothing distributors, and a homeless shelter. In addition to these, we have attended learning workshops at St. Anthony’s to understand issues surrounding and causing poverty and homelessness.

We have been here for technically three days and four nights. One of the most interesting things we have observed is time. We spend a lot of our days waiting like many people in this neighborhood do every day. Whether waiting for a shower, dinner on a hotplate, or in line at St. Anthony’s for lunch have been on our feet for most of the day. However, through this period of focus we have met many amazing people. As a group we have listened to two recovering addicts speak and realized how easy it is to take our family and friends at home for granted. Personally we have been surprised with how easy it is to make connections to people we are serving. We met an elderly woman who fled Ukraine because of violence and told us many times how much she appreciated us being there. At St Anthony’s we met many people more than eager to give us life advice and who were some of the kindest and smartest people who couldn’t have been more gracious, including a man who traveled all through Europe and a woman who was from Cuba and had been painting art since she was a young girl.

Overall, the past four days have helped us grow closer as a community both within our immersion group and within the Tenderloin. We’re excited to see what happens next.

For almost 20 years now St. Ignatius College Prep has sent a group of rising seniors to spend two weeks living and working in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco. This year’s group arrived yesterday morning. They are living in a small room at a local non-profit. They all sleep in one small room on mats on the floor and have small kitchen to cook and eat their meals. They have a small budget to cover their food and other necessities. For many of the students this is their first taste of living on their own; doing their own shopping, cooking and laundry. They spend their days with St. Anthony’s Justice Education Program; doing service in the Tenderloin and participating in educational workshops about poverty and homelessness.

They will be writing about their experience right here on our blog.

Follow-them on their journey of service and solidarity over the next two weeks.