LV Marathon Chicago 2007

Food for thought...just an article I came over

John Aldax
March 31, 2006

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I've been studying the Bible for 30-plus years and it still mystifies me at times. Take for instance Matthew 4:18-20. Jesus is walking beside the Sea of Galilee and sees two commercial fishermen, Peter and Andrew. He approaches them and says, "follow me" and "At once they left their nets and followed him."

Imagine that you're busy at work and Jesus walks in and says to you, "Follow me," and you just drop what you're doing and join him - not just for the afternoon but for a lifetime. This is a major career change that's decided upon on the spot.

In order to make some sense of Peter and Andrew's actions, it helps to remember the cultural setting. This was a culture in which the Hebrew Scriptures were the hub of life. At age 6 a young Jewish boy would begin his studies, which lasted until he was about 10. During those years he would be required to memorize the entire Torah - the first five books of the Bible.

After this phase, formal education would end for average students who would begin an apprenticeship or begin learning the family business. But, the brightest students would progress to the next level of their education during which they would memorize the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures - in our Bibles that would encompass the entire Old Testament.

Formal education usually ended here for most students at the age of 14 or 15, but the very brightest, the cream of the crop, the elite, could apply to become a rabbi's disciple. The rabbi would scrutinize them carefully to determine their suitability. It was much like our way of developing major league baseball players. Anyone can play Little League, fewer are invited to play on a high school team, even fewer on a college team, and still fewer are chosen to play on a minor league team. As cream rises to the top of the milk, only the "cream of the crop" make it to the majors. In Jesus' day only the best of the best were invited to "follow" a rabbi.

Rob Bell, of Mars Hill Church, makes a helpful observation. "If (Peter and Andrew) are fishermen and Jesus, a Jewish rabbi, calls them to be his disciples, then they're not following another rabbi; and if they're not following another rabbi, they're not the best of the best. They didn't make the cut." The marvel of Christianity is that it "is a movement of anybodies and he (Jesus) calls them - the junior varsity, the 'B' team, the 'not-good-enoughs.' He calls them to be his disciples, and they changed the course of human history."

Now here's my point. The goal of a disciple wasn't just to know what the rabbi knew - it was to be like the rabbi in order to spread the rabbi's "yoke," his particular theology. That's exactly what the first disciples did and what their disciples following them did. They didn't change the course of history by bigger-than-life evangelistic campaigns, or by forming powerful political action committees. Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire because Christians learned to live like Jesus lived - serving people in humility and joy.

How are we doing?

-John Aldax is a teaching pastor at Sierra Community Church.

Chuck Norris

As a teenager, Chuck had sex with and impregnated every woman in a small nunnery tucked away into the hills of Tuscany, in Italy. Nine months later, those nuns gave birth to the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only unbeaten and untied team in NFL history.

This made me laugh becuase of all the times I was asked if I was becoming a nun

Jen Nash

Here is something I found to be funny hope all is well and had a fabulous Fourth

The value of a Catholic education and a #2 pencil (this is too cute)!....You don't even have to be Catholic to appreciate this one.
Little Mary Margaret was not the best student in Catholic School . Usually she slept through the class.

One day her teacher, a Nun, called on her while she was sleeping. "Tell me Mary Margaret, who created the universe?"

When Mary Margaret didn't stir, little Johnny who was her friend sitting behind her, took his pencil and jabbed her in the rear.

"God Almighty!" shouted Mary Margaret. The Nun said, "Very good" and continued teaching her class.

A little later the Nun asked Mary Margaret, "Who is our Lord and Savior?"
But Mary didn't stir from her slumber Once again, Johnny came to her rescue and stuck Mary Margaret in the butt.

"Jesus Christ!!!" shouted Mary Margaret and the Nun once again said,"Very good," and Mary Margaret fell back asleep.

The Nun asked her a third question..."What did Eve say to Adam after she had her twenty-third child?" Again, Johnny came to the rescue.

This time Mary Margaret jumped up and shouted, "If you stick that damn thing in me one more time, I'll break it in half!"
The nun fainted...........

DEBRIEFING 07 by Joe Kilmade

I feel that the best way to recount the experiences of the Lasallian Volunteer Debriefing Retreat—which from now on I will refer to as “the LVDR”—is to give an annotated play-by-play of the weekend’s events. This format allows you, the reader, the opportunity, no no, the privilege, of reliving the LVDR’s highs and lows at the beautiful La Salle Manor in Plano, Illinois. By not including every moment of the weekend, your experience of the Abbreviated LVDR will be heightened. This format will also allow for proper recognition of all parties involved and time for my very own reflections. Enjoy.

Thursday, May 24

18:00 AmeriCorps Paperwork
Pens, paper, Alisa Macksey, good times.
19:00 Opening Prayer with Brother Brian Henderson
The LVDR’s theme was fishing. Br. Brian invited the LV’s to reflect on their year while listening to the lyrics of Otis Redding’s classic, “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay.”
21:30 Social
LV’s laughed, played, caught up, and went to bed almost 3 hours after Staff members retired for the night.

Friday, May 25

9:15 Ice Breaker in the A.M.
This activity entails a few people with too much energy, several coffee-cup-holding individuals (i.e. Marshall Sharp and Sandra Sanchez,) and some jumping around.
10:00 Morning Reflection—“Our Fishing Experiences”
LV’s were asked to share poignant moments from their year of service. These moments were anything from a funny story to a touching experience. Regardless of their seriousness, all of the experiences had common themes of faith, service, and community.
13:00 Sharing Our Adventures & Stories
As a larger group, the LV’s shared their experiences of “fishing.” We were paired into groups of five or six and asked to come up with a way to demonstrate our common experiences. My group focused on the diversity of experience we had throughout the year—from teaching, to counseling, to family and friends, we agreed that the life of a volunteer abounds with opportunities and responsibilities.
13:08 Matt Joram and Joe Kilmade of Tulsa, OK arrive to a standing ovation.
15:30 Free Time!
La Salle Manor was wonderful. The retreat center is located in a secluded area just outside of Chicago. There were hiking trails, canoe rides, tennis courts, basketball hoops, and a swimming pool. All of this, paired with friendly company, allowed us all to relax, share experiences, and reflect on the year.
19:00 What is next?
We were discussed the year to come, our expectations, and our how our volunteer experiences have shaped this vision.
21:15 Evening Prayer and Tears provided by Jolleen Wagner and Mollie Otto
This was for me and a large portion of my fellow LV’s, the most powerful part of the LVDR. We each received a package overflowing with letters from students, clients, family, and friends. These messages were of thanksgiving, appreciation, and love. Their affirming words touched the hearts of everyone.
21:45 Social
Cards, pop, a campfire, pretzels, and a Whetzel.

Saturday, May 26

9:30 Tell, Show, and Share
This session gave each LV group from Friday a chance to perform their skit about their year’s experience. From canoes to rivers, each group was insightful and reflective. Let me speak for every LV when I say that Annie Harala was gregarious and Brendan Bradley was acceptably inappropriate.
14:00 Free Time
An extended session of free time was highlighted by several events. First, Erica Sage decided to join Sara Vogelpohl in the “Crutches Club.” We were all invited by Jim Ruck to have our very own MTV The Real World confessional interview. Also, LV’s were asked to continue writing their affirmation notes to their peers as well as “Wisdom Letters” to both future LV’s and LV Staff members.
19:00 Liturgy
Fr. Peter Jankowski’s homily struck a cord (pun intended) with many in attendance. With his guitar at his side, Fr. Peter explained the intimacy of our relationship with God. We should speak to God as a brother and friend accompanying us along a fulfilling and often bumpy road. In our year of service, this idea of God as a loyal companion helped lighten our load and see God in everyone we encountered.
20:00 Social with Alumni and Brothers
Without going into any detail, I will simply title the evening’s events, in no particular order.
“Dance Party, LV style” by Justine Davies
“An LV Baptism” by Matt Joram
“Chubby Bunny” by Dave Kasievich and Ernest Fernandez
“I Promise, This Works: An LV slideshow” by Alisa Macksey

Sunday, May 27
10:15 Closing Prayer
After beginning the morning thanking Br. Brian for his hard work, we all gathered in the chapel for one last time. We renewed our commitment to the Lasallian Mission of service to the poor. We also read out Affirmation letters from fellow volunteers. To finish off the retreat, we enjoyed a slideshow of our year’s work, in part to the hard for of Jolleen Wagner. Some more tears were shed and laughs were shared. We said goodbye, but only for the time being. Chicago awaited!
18:00 Davefest ‘07
After an hour ride into the big city, the LVs, LV staff, former volunteers, current Brothers, and friends gathered at the Harvey House in Chicago. This house was transformed, for one night, into what I have termed “Davefest.” All of the people present had come together to celebrate the work of their friend, Dave Kasievich. After exchanging hugs and niceties with Dave, the gloves came off during what was most definitely the first and only “Kasie-roast.” We laughed, we cried, we cried from laughter. More importantly, Dave turned bright red as everyone he knew shared stories. Afterwards, the LV’s, alumni, and some of the staff continued to celebrate Dave into the wee hours of the morning.

I hope you have enjoyed your shortened LVDR. As you can see, Br. Brian provided the framework, the Lasalle Manor staff added the supplies, and the LV staff and alumni guided the weekend. The volunteers? We made it memorable. By thinking about our year, we were able to use our experiences of faith, service, and community to better understand our continuing lives as Christians. We also had a lot of fun.

Debriefing 07

just thought i would share these photos for those of you out there who still read this blog...
i had a great time seeing everyone and wish it could have been longer... i really realized i missed all this lasallian shiz...

Mid to Late 20's

in a recent email to alisa, i revealed my current mind ramblings:

and i have hence since joined in the new label of "mid to late twenties". it is depressing. but apparently, biologists say that the brain comes to full maturity at the age of 25. im guessing that it doesnt happen like a lightning strike. because, otherwise, i am sorely disappointed with my potential. im hoping for something more along the lines of a little flower slowly unfolding towards the rising sun that will finish around march of next year. after that, i suppose it is all just downhill. and when that time comes, i can only hope to make enough money to buy the good and expensive fertilizer to mask the wilting.

and i also may add that the money should also be used for a weed killer of sorts? i am noticing many poisonous people who can enter your life undercover and choke the life out of you.

any thoughts people??? i know you must have a few, jolleen! clare?? give it to me straight, peeps.

San Miguel Slammers

This is the group piece.

IRON CHEF HARVEY 2

Over the holidays donors gave our families a bunch of turkeys, and there were four left over, so the community decided to use them. Three months later, three of them were still in our freezer taking up space. Ernest had just the solution to the dilemma:

IRON CHEF HARVEY 2!

This time it was bigger and better with a new group of contestants (well, two of them at least). Joel made his debut, along with Dan Rohan, San Miguel Chicago's IT director. The mission: Sunday community dinner. The ingredient: poultry. Since Joel had baked a turkey we had a lot to work with.

Ernest made a turkey and a chicken dish baked in a homemade cranberry based sauce. They were served alongside a Winter Salad made with Romaine lettuce, apples, pears, dried cranberries, cashews, cheese, and a homemade poppy seed dressing.

Joel made gluten free turkey dumplings with a wonderful orange sauce. It was coupled with aromatic garlic ginger rice. Dan broiled chicken breasts stuffed with ham, provolone cheese, onions, shallots, peppers, and secret spices. He also made some deliciously glazed carrots to go with it.
This time there were plenty of people to judge, but none of them were up to the task of giving the verdict, as all the dishes were equally delectable they said.

Iron Chef: Tuna'tizer Recipe - Jolleen

Tuna'tizer

Ingredients

12 mini-pitas
4 oz. shredded cheese

1 can Bumblebee tuna (in water)

2 tablespoons Hellmann's Mayonnaise

1 chopped fresh celery stalk

6 fresh cherry tomatos (cut into 6ths)

1/4 fresh chopped white onion

1/3 teaspoon chili powder

1/3 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

8 oz. sour cream (inside sealed ziploc bag)

1/2 cup medium salsa

3 leaves of romaine lettuce

Tuna Salad

Drain can of tuna. In medium bowl, use fork to break up tuna chunks. Toss in fresh celery, tomato, and onion. Stir in mayonnaise. Add chili powder, garlic powder, and ground pepper and set to the side.

Mini-pitas

Cut pita's in half and stuff inside bottom with a double finger pinch of shredded cheese. Place on pan covered with aluminum foil. Bake for 5 minutes at 325 degrees.

Presentation Plate

Set largest leaf of romaine lettuce in center of plate. Put one scoop of tuna salad in center of lettuce, set one scoop of sour cream and one scoop of medium salsa on either side.

Tuna'tizer

Rip the romaine lettuce into pieces just large enough to cover tops of stuffed pitas. Fill each pita half with tuna salad mix, then cover with torn lettuce. Arrange onto presentation plate. Spoon a very small amount of salsa onto lettuce tops. Make small snip in one corner of sour cream ziploc. Squeeze a small amount of sour cream onto each tuna'tizer and serve.

Iron Chef: P'o'(y) Boy Recipe - Ernest

P(IN)O'Y BOY

INGREDIENTS

1 can tuna
4 teaspoons sandwich spread

hint of grape jelly (don't ask)
1 teaspoon minced celery
1 dash Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
1 dash ground black pepper

1 hard boiled egg, sliced

1 teaspoon butter

1 slice American Cheese

1 leaf iceberg lettuce

1 pickle

TUNA SPREAD

Mix tuna, sandwich spread, jelly, celery, Creole seasoning, and pepper

in a medium sized bowl

BREAD

melt butter on a frying pan

cut open a French roll

toast both halves of French roll in frying pan

melt American Cheese on top half of roll

SANDWICH

place bed of lettuce on bottom half of roll

spread generous amount of tuna spread on top of lettuce

place 3 slices of hard boiled egg on top of tuna spread

place top half of roll

garnish with a slice of pickle

Iron Chef Harvey

IRON CHEF HARVEY

President's Day arrived with members of the Harvey Community ready to embrace it in all of its glory, however, some of us had plans not to have plans which eventually proved to be a problem. As excited as we were to do nothing, it grew tiresome and lunch ambled around at which point Andre, Ernest, and Jolleen found one another in the kitchen.

Jolleen was considering tuna, Andre was considering eating, and Ernest was merely considering. That is right, just standing around -- considering. What Ernest was considering is what we all found out. IRON CHEF!

From there was born a competition involving three cans of tuna and three members of the community --- cooking talent and ability varying. This proved to be neither here nor there...

Andre created a hot pasta based tuna dish using spaghetti, alfredo sauce, spices that will remain anonymous and undrained tuna.

Jolleen created baked cheese stuffed mini pitas filled with a tuna salad made with fresh vegs and topped with lettuce, a dab of salsa, and a decorative "s" of sour cream.

Ernest created an elegant pan fried sandwich reminiscent of a traditional Po'Boy only this one had a near bolied egg, sandwich spread, tuna, cheese, Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning (in honor of Martin, Ross, and NOLA), oh and just a hint of grape jelly.

Watch for the recipes coming really soon.

FYI: We were all winners as there were no judges other then ourselves and we all ate some of what everyone created and luckily, are still living to report as such. Admittedly, Jolleen did do an awful lot of complaining that Ernest was using grape jelly. He thought to use cabbage but was strong armed. ;)

on the road

Maybe I should blame Jack Kerouac for my recent ideas. But at a LaSalle U fundraiser today, I found myself in a strange conversation with a guy that biked from Montanna to the Yukon, as well as much of Alaska. He is writing a book about his adventure, and emailing me the chapter of drinking Arrogant Bastard beer in Chicken, Alaska. It's a real town, I swear. 19 people live there.

So my question is, do you guys ever worry that you're wasting your precious youth? Shouldn't we be going on long bike rides or driving across the country? We've all watched Office Space, and life is too short. Maybe we should make plans to do something crazy.

What do ya think? Try me. I just might say yes.

My current favorite line of any song: "I was born on the backseat of a Greyhound bus".

:)

An LVA er, uh FLV weekend!

In the never ending quest to be the institute with the most Acronyms ever, I found out this weekend that there are two for past volunteers. LVA's: Lasallian Volunteer Alumni and FLV's: Former Lasallian Volunteers. Now that this is out in the open, I propose something be done about it. First of all, why do we need to be labeled, are we can's of Campbells? And if so, are we Condensed or Select? If though, if must be labeled, let's have just one okay, too many labels cannot be good for anyone...it will only lead to confusion. That said, how about a little vote: LVA or FLV? Let's take the initiative and narrow it down.

Or, we can follow suit and attempt to become the group known by the most acronyms with the institute that has the most acronyms? In which case let's propose some other potential acronyms to be used when referring to ourselves?











I apologize. I have clearly become one with lunacy...have no fear for I believe it is temporary and I also believe I know how it came about. This weekend, at the Harvey House, there was a little gathering if you will. Those gathered (not necessarily all at once) included but were not limited to:

FLV Andrew Blake
LVA Jen Blake (Solz)
LVA Andrew Brandt
FLV Lisa Sivanich
FLV Sarah Witt
LVA Ross Nodurft
LVA Emily Vogel
FLV Angela Witt
FLV Ernest Fernandez
Karin Anderer-McClelland
Jack McClelland-Anderer (B2BLV? Bound to Be Lasallian Volunteer?)
Br. Ed Siderewicz
Br. Ed Phelan
FLV Teisha Devine
LVA David Devine
Damien Devine (PLV? Potential Lasallian Volunteer?)
LVA Alberto Guerrero
Kristen Cornicello
Joel Kreitzberg
Kathy Donohue


Oh geez, this was supposed to be a report of sorts regarding what happened, or didn't...I'm tired...it'll just have to wait.

My mid-year story, if there was such thing as mid-year in the real world...

guys....just something i have been pondering in my head: there is no sense to waiting for life to "start" because life is right here, right now. and all it takes is a continuous, conscious choice to make the life that we have good for us and those around us. i am on a mission to live an easy life full of good choices for myself and others.

on a happy note, i am encouraged to share this story of my continuing adventure in education through the support of clare, who electronically appreciates me....

here is a story of my first day at my Counseling practicum at Iliahi Elementary school (est. population 400) on my island:


If ever there was a moment when I realized that elementary school is NOT for me, it was this: (i will give it to you in play form: 2 scenes)

Scene 1: Setting: Cafeteria, table of kindergarteners.

Me: Did you eat your lunch today?

Girl: *nods*

Me: What did you have?

Girl: *blank stare*

Me: Was it peanut butter and jelly?

Girl: *shakes head*

Me: Turkey??

Girl: *shakes head*

Me: Ham???

Girl: *nods head*

Me: Ham's good.

Girl: *nods head*

Scene 2: setting: Dragon Dollar Store line (they cash in fake $ earned for good behavior for prizes)

Me: Hey, it's Ham Sandwich girl!!

Girl: *blank stare*

End scene.

In conclusion, I feel that my sense of humor may have soared way above her tiny little 4 food head. Either that, or I am seriously NOT funny.
Send me back to middle school!!!! or at least to Miguel House. I think I may have been slightly more appreciated there.

Best of Philly

Hey guys,

I've promised that I would continue to post on the blog, so I decided to share some of the sillier pictures of my year here at LaSalle. The first one took place last night, after I drank beer and ballroom danced in the middle of a Lutheran seminary campus.

I miss New York terribly, but Philly is really growing on me. I have membership to the art museum, and when I'm not being cultured I go to shady underground grocery stores in Chinatown to buy wasabi peas and look at the fish in the tanks. Who needs to pay for the zoo?

Oh, and about the last picture. I went to an all you can eat Middle Eastern restaurant for an 8 course meal complete with belly dancers (male and female!) Omar the male belly dancer was quite the show, but I preferred our waiter. You can check him out in between all of us ladies.

Happy New Year guys! I still think about you all, and here's to still being silly. I'd love to hear some more updates from you guys.

happy new year all....

clare, maureen, and i enjoyed a conversation by ourselves on the conference call for alumni....

it was nice to catch up with them...i had been wondering what those two were up to all this time...

Crave Case Challenge?

Hey Jolleen~

Is there seriously a crave case challenge taking place between Ross and Ernest this week? They sounded way to excited about eating White Castle when they visited LEO yesterday. Just wondering. If there is one, you definetly have to take pictures for us!

Kelly

P.s. Did you eventually make it back to Chicago. I heard you were trapped in Arizona.

random pictures for enjoyment

dear fellow lvs (or myself, since it seems sometimes that i am writing a reflective journal to myself),

here are some pictures for your amusement, including the pictures from the lost premier on the beach! i know they are blurry but who cares! the first picture is of my cousin, chaser, performing some sort of self-invented martial arts in my backyard. 2nd-a view of waikiki, the university of hawai'i is straight ahead in that valley. 3rd-some of the blurry lost stars. 4th-the big screen and crazy ass lost fanatics.

i miss you all!

Happy Thanksgiving guys!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

I celebrated my first thanksgiving home in 6 years. Strange and nice to be home with family. it included waking up to the stupid roosters crowing outside at 5 am, playing at the park with my baby cousin, (only to have her call me a monster), throwing a football in the face of my other baby cousin by accident (he survived), making gravy, and eating pumpkin cheesecake! But I can't help but think of you all on this day because I am grateful for your presence in my life. Mo and I were talking about reflection and how important that is in our lives. And here I am, reflecting on the fact that without you all, I would not have grown so much spiritually. And that is what I am grateful for. I miss our get-togethers. I may be far away from you all, but as I recall, our old buddy Jack said something about Jesus living in his heart forever, and that, my friends, is where you all are: in my heart. forever. whether you like it or not.