March 3-10, 2012 Costa Rica MCV Group Mission with the Catholic University of America

Students from the Catholic University of America served with MCV in Costa Rica during this recent Alternative Service Break. The volunteers were given a warm welcome at the seminary of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity near San José, Costa Rica. Service projects included construction work on a chapel being built by a neighborhood committee, games and lessons with children in two communities, a visit to a senior citizens' center, and serving meals to the homeless. The volunteers enjoyed testing out their Spanish abilities while getting to know the seminarians and local people. There was also time to explore some of the city, play some soccer, and enjoy home-cooked Costa Rican meals. Throughout the week, the group shared in mass, prayer and reflection.

One volunteer shared this reflection at the conclusion of her time on mission: We have all seen God's grace in different places, but grace has surrounded all of us. There was Grace in all of our mission: from our flight, meeting Padre Edgar and the seminarians, going to the chapel, doing hard labor, playing with the kids, going to mass, creating a community. As missionaries we are fulfilling the Gospel call. We are living as Jesus did. We are giving and receiving--a reciprocal call. We are giving all of our selves and receiving much more than we could have ever imagined. God's love has brought us here. His love surrounds us. Let us remember God's grace and love. This mission is never-ending.

March 3-10, 2012 Montgomery, AL MCV Group Mission with Baldwin-Wallace College

Students from Newman Catholic Campus Ministry at Baldwin-Wallace College in Cleveland, OH served in Alabama during this MCV Alternative Service Break. The group was welcomed by several sisters (Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity) who live and work in the greater Montgomery area. Themes of the trip included immigration, human trafficking, and civil rights history. Volunteers had the opportunity to visit sites related to these social issues and meet with the people affected by them. Direct service included painting and repairing trailer homes, and religious education for children.
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Students from Assumption Catholic High School near Louisville, KY served in Tucson, AZ during this MCV Alternative Service Break. The group was hosted by Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha parish, a mission of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, and by two Native American Tribal communities: the Pascua Yaqui and Tohono O'odham.Throughout the week, volunteers had many opportunities to learn about these cultures firsthand through Wisdon circles with tribal leaders, hands-on cooking and crafting, and tours of tribal land and historic sites. Service activities included painting a clothing donation and distribution center and working at community food bank farm.

Both groups flew into San José, the capital of Costa Rica, and then took a nine-hour bus ride through the mountains and rain forest to the fronteir town of Puerto Jimenez on the Osa Peninsula. There they worked with community members to make improvements to the local church Santo Domingo de Guzman, a mission of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity. Volunteers shared in the faith life of the community, enjoyed authentic Costa Rican cuisine, and practiced their Spanish while playing games with youth at chapels in the outlying villages.

One volunteer offered this reflection on her time on mission: I went to Costa Rica as a volunteer for the first time in 2010, and had the most amazing experience. I learned so much about myself and the people of Costa Rica. In 2011, I was honored to be asked to return to Costa Rica as a leader. The first year, we worked on building the foundation of a church for two weeks in a rural town called Palo Seco. While there, we made friends with the neighborhood children, in particular two adorable little girls that lived next to the work site. I was hoping that we would get back to Palo Seco on my second trip, and sure enough we did! Upon returning we had a very warm welcome (everyone else on this second trip had never been to Costa Rica before except the other leaders). When the two little girls saw us, they ran into our arms. I was so touched by the fact that they remembered us and that the Church was nearly finished. Both trips were some of my most memorable and amazing experiences to date!

Read more about the experience of MCVs from Catholic University of America in this article on CUA's website.

In March 2011 MCV led two Alternative Service Breaks in rural Camden, Mississippi with students from Baldwin-Wallace College and the College of Wooster.

The volunteers were hosted by Sacred Heart Parish in Camden, which is a mission of the religious community the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity. All Missionary Cenacle Volunteer site placements are in communities where either the priests and brothers of the Missionary Servanst of the Most Holy Trinity or the sisters of the Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity are themselves in mission.
The Camden community gave a very warm welcome to the volunteers, who visited parishoners' homes, assisted with programming for local school children, and shared in the faith life of the parish. Click here for more pictures!

Contact us at 1-800-221-5740 or info@mcv3.org to inquire about a mission for your group!