University of Dallas News

Issue date: 4/7/09 Section: News

The team poses for a photo at the site of their volunteer activity.

While many students went on more traditional spring breaks, eight students and two campus ministers went on an Alternative Spring Break (ASB). The team traveled over 16 hours and across five states to a trailer park community in Athens, Ga., where they worked with three sisters of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to repair trailers, teach a Bible camp and heal hearts.

The entire team prepared for their mission trip by participating in bi-weekly faith formation meetings where they learned about the cornerstones of ASB, which are community, simplicity, service and prayer. They also organized and participated in fundraisers such as the poinsettia sale and the Mardi Gras Brunch, where the team prepared pancakes, eggs and bacon for members of the faith community. At the beginning of the spring semester, the students on the team went on a day retreat to the Diocese of Dallas Conference Center. The students worked on team-building problems, participated in a holy hour of adoration, and were given talks about the Athens community they would be visiting, as well as being content while on the mission trip.

The ASB mission trip had a fairly regular schedule each day. The team woke up, ate and then said Morning Prayer with the sisters before going to the local parish for daily mass. Upon returning to the trailer park, the students performed manual labor until lunch. At 3 p.m., children from around the trailer park, who were 2nd and 3rd graders, came to an hour of Bible camp followed by an hour of recess. Every evening, the team would dine together on a meal prepared by one of the local families, which was held either at the convent (a double-wide trailer) or the cook's own home. Later in the evening, the sisters and the team would have adoration in the convent for an hour where evening prayer and reflection time were available.

The team had three main construction projects it worked on throughout the week. A snowstorm the previous week had caused many trees to fall onto the trailers and the team was tasked with clearing one of the trailers so that a contractor could repair the room that was crushed. Another resident was provided with materials to reroof his house, while the team replaced the den ceiling and repainted the family's kitchen. The team also painted the two new school buildings which had been donated to the sisters' tutoring program by the local school district.

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