Kairos Retreat Analysis

In this reflective narrative piece, Brooke Logan recounts her mission trip to Cuba. Some use of vivid language was evident in the piece for example, when Brooke was talking about how the roads were made of huge rocks instead of just saying rocks. This could have been improved upon by saying that the rocks were ginormous boulders or something along those lines. She did include at least one form of figurative language by saying that the “teams grew like weeds”. The use of the simile really shows how fast the teams were growing. The main theme of this paper is that even in the hard times, you can make it through with God. Brooke does an amazing job of getting that point across by mentioning several times that she was on a mission trip and the

This powerful moment makes the reader think about the abundance of care many people have for their family because they are in a tough situations. However, numberless people experience difficult times with their family such as poverty and hunger and this causes them to lose their righteousness because they want to live for themselves

The Focus on Faith theme of option for the poor and vulnerable proves to be very helpful in guiding my actions. This theme supports my ethical and moral stance that we must be kind and compassionate regardless of the situation. This theme reminds me that I have been blessed with many privileges but should not be blinded by them, as unfortunately there are many people who society has abandoned. I should use the privileges I have to help those in need. I should continue to do volunteer work and take any opportunities I can to assist the less fortunate. As the theme states, I should work towards the common good and act with a loving and compassionate heart.

The school activity that was the most meaningful to me was and will be my senior year Kairos experience. Kairos is a four-day retreat that led by seniors at my high school. It is meant to be a time of rest and spiritual awakening for all those that participate. It gives students time to discover themselves, form a bond with classmates, and ponder their relationship with God. There are two ways to experience Kairos. The first way to experience Kairos is by attending it as a student. The second way to experience Kairos is by being a leader of a future Kairos.

Our goal is to help out in the freedom school in Mount Zion Methodist Church in Longdale. With a lot of courage and inspiration, I couldn’t wait. However, when I reached the church, I entered a comprehensive state of shock; I couldn’t believe my eyes. The freedom school was burned down. As a devoted Christian, I couldn’t believe that someone would burn down a church, the place of God! I stood there

Praise in the Park hosted by Trinity CME Youth Department – Spiritual Facilitator (Nov. 2016)

t a really tough time in my life, I set out to search for a connection with God. I visited many churches and denominations. I wasn’t sure what I was searching for and if I’d recognize it when I found it. While looking for a Bible, I called and subsequently visited the bookstore of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Maryland. While in the bookstore I felt welcomed and cared for. That visit prompted me to attend the upcoming worship service. Upon arrival, I felt a connection to the environment and people. Behind the pulpit there is a large multi-colored mural with scenes from various functions of life. The artist depicted the people with multi-ethnic physical features. This certainly was not a Michael Angelo rendition. I felt a sense of belonging. The pastor used Psalm 51 for his text. Although the topic of sin was a part of his sermon, the message that I heard was one of mercy, love, acceptance, deliverance and restoration. My experience at Bethel felt like a great burden was lifted; I felt free. I was no longer alone; I found a community of people who were also on a spiritual journey. Although I had been in therapy for a number of years prior to my profession of faith, it was my new found relationship with God that empowered me to make some personal changes. I describe my conversion experience with three terms: liberation, empowerment and community.

On May 29th, 2015 at about eight a.m., a group of eleven youth and three youth leaders from Fair Haven Baptist Church loaded into two vans and prepared for a twelve hour drive. Our destination was a new church located in the middle of a crime-packed, non-believing neighborhood in Sulfur Springs, Florida. For the week, we would partner with a missionary group called Hope Street. Our mission was to take flyers that advertised the local church and go door-to-door, inviting people to the grand opening, which would also be their Easter Sunday service. Little did I know of the huge impact Hope Street would make on the Sulfur Springs community.

The Catholic Worker is truly "a house of hospitality" that excludes no one. As a volunteer, I have grown as a person by having a "direct personal response to the needs of the wounded members ... through direct practice of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy" (Cornell 1). I have discovered how meaningful a face-to-face encounter with another human being can be. When I talk to people at the Catholic Worker I see a light shine in their eyes because their desire to be treated as a human has been fulfilled. God heals the wounded through me and it is evident when I am done talking to a person at the Catholic Worker because they are filled with the glory of God. The Catholic Worker is unique because it does not only provide people with the food and the clothes needed to survive, but it renews the spirit of those who have lost hope. I have felt called "to alleviate the sufferings of the poor by adopting lives of voluntary poverty in order to be free for direct, personal involvement, not as much in charity, but in sharing in the lives of others" (Cornell 2). To see the liberation of a soul is such a

The following week, we spent most of our time in the poorest parts of the city. There we went door-to-door sharing the love of God and had Vacation Bible Schools for the kids. This is when I realized how blessed I truly was. For the first time, I got to see the privations and penury environment that the citizens of Third World countries had to endure. The unpaved streets were covered in trash. Many houses, made of tin sheets, had collapsed on themselves. The people had to share wells, where they drew their parasitic water. Men, women, and children sat on the sides of the roads begging for money, because they were sick, hungry, and needed money for food and proper medication. The site of these atrocious states of living broke my heart, and showed me how blessed I really was for not having to face these problems.

I am nearing my 15-year mark of involvement and 2-year mark of service in a group called the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement (VEYM) at Our Lady of La Vang Parish. Growing up in this youth group, I was taught to touch as many people’s hearts as possible in hopes of bettering society. Being brought up in such a gratifying environment, it was a no brainer that I would, one day, become the counselor that I am today to reciprocate the same love and leadership to the kids that need the right guidance as I did. Every Sunday, we would gather to teach the lesson plans we planned for the kids ranging from ages 7-18 in hopes of guiding the children in the right direction in life. Providing a place of sanctity – a safe haven for the children is a wonderful way to keep the kids from leading astray into the many different temptations of this world. In trying to maintain and instill good values and morals for the children, we provide them with opportunities to help them grow, learn, and give a helping hand to others who are less fortunate than them.

As a young boy coming from a small poor town in Oaxaca, I was raised to be grateful and appreciative for the little things in life. I was raised to show love and respect to those around me no matter the circumstances. Although our town was poor in resources it never lacked culture appreciation, love and respect for each other. We were never sad nor unappreciative about the things we couldn’t afford, we made use of every single thing that surrounded us. Everyone in the town knew each other, every time that someone had a party the whole town was there enjoying themselves with their families, neighbors and friends, all united as one sharing a bit of laughter and joy.

We traveled down into the slums of Puerto Peñasco and walked around talking to the people of the area. Many of them lived in houses that were constructed out of spare sheets and pieces of wood. They didn’t appear to be ungrateful with what they had, and a majority of the people we talked to were very loving to us, and to others. This left an impression on me because I realized how fortunate it was that I lived in a nice home, and how they could be happy with even a portion of what I

At church, in addition to my participation in the worship services, I volunteered at our church’s soup kitchen, medical camps and elementary school for underprivileged children. These experiences opened my eyes to the deprivation of love and care in the world and a dire need of God’s grace for people at large so they could receive forgiveness, healing and restoration in their lives.

“God wants us to know that life is a series of beginnings, not endings. Just as graduations are not terminations, but commencements. Creation is an ongoing process, and when we create a perfect world where love and compassion are shared by all, suffering will cease” (Bernie Siegal). Coming to Southeastern, I never once thought about engaging my culture with the world around me. To teach others my Christian culture and how God is so powerful. I had this feeling inside that finally it was time for me to begin my journey in making a difference in someone else’s life. They might not have the same opportunity like I have had to experience and learn about Gods words. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the experience I had helping to change