“Willingness to jump into all sorts of unexpected situations.” Though perhaps included as a catch-all in most job descriptions, as I look back at the description for my AV position at HELP of Ojai, it strikes me that this line captures an important theme – the unexpected – that has underscored my entire experience as...
Never in my life would I have ever imagined that one day I would be dressed in an Eeyore costume with a fluorescent orange vest and holding a hand-held stop sign at a K-8 school in California. Yet, that is exactly where I found myself on Halloween morning. Since it was a Wednesday morning it...
Four years of college, a degree later, and I somehow find myself back in the bustling halls of high school. It’s a Friday night and I am driving an eight passenger white van down the 101 with fifteen-year-olds screaming in the back. This is the kind of moment I dreaded when I thought of a...
On the night of Monday, December 4, 2017, I went out to get a coffee with my program director, Joanna, who was in Ventura for a site visit. When we arrived back to the house she noticed ash falling from the sky. I didn’t think anything of it. Joanna did some research and told my...
“People would ask why I let all these homeless people sleep in the church, not knowing if they would try to steal from me or the parish. And I would always respond: how could I turn away Jesus coming to my door and asking for a place to sleep or something to eat?” I heard...
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted”. This quote by Aesop is posted in the main building of HELP of Ojai, where I have worked for the past 7 months as an Augustinian Volunteer. This quote emulates my time at HELP of Ojai working at the Community Assistance office. Whether it’s...
“I used to think you had to be special for God to use you, but now I know you simply need to say yes” (Bob Goff, Love Does). On Thursday, we celebrated the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. During Father Kevin’s homily, he spoke about how all of Mary’s life points back toward Jesus. While...
Since joining the AVs, my spirituality has grown exponentially. From finding God in nature, priests, or just people in general my faith has been challenged and rewarded. As I am positioned in Ventura, I knew that the surrounding area would be beautiful coming in to this year. However, I could not have even predicted the...
It is nearly impossible to sum up ten-months of your life in one blog post, especially when those ten-months involved moving across the country, starting a new job, and meeting tons of new people. Well here is my attempt: Doing a volunteer year is unlike any other year of your life, and unlike any other...
How do you find God in greed, hurt and pain? When people go without and have nothing? When people mistreat the system that is built to help them? In mental illness? In a community that is either ill-informed or ignoring a housing crisis? This is the bittersweet struggle I go through at HELP of Ojai....
