Summer 2010 - SSpS Mission Magazine

Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters SSpS Mission Summer 2010

Called by the Spirit ~ Embracing the World IN THIS ISSUE: Vacation Bible Schools: Antigua Fort Wayne, IN Indianola, MS Greenville, MS News Notes

Finding the good seeds and planting them in many young hearts during Vacation Bible Schools!

SSpS Mission Magazine

Dear Children and Volunteers, It was nice to be with you through the week. I hope to see all of you at the next Vacation Bible School!

Sr. Alexis Tjahjani

Page 2 From July 5 to 9, 2010, the Moravian Church in Antigua, West Indies, organized Vacation Bible School of which I was a part. There were about 135 children who came each day of the week to be a part of this new for them adventure. The theme for the week was: God’s Family. During the week all of us came together as one family of God where there is plenty more room for everyone to come and join in. Throughout the week we truly experienced the one united family of God with plenty of love and plenty of food to share with others.

I taught arts and crafts that related to their theme of the day. For example, the first day we made a circle puzzle with pictures of children throughout the world and the second day we made flowers with a heart inside to symbolize our growing love.

Each day I worked with 18 children ages 7 and 8. The children were very enthusiastic and were hoping that such a program will be organized next year. It was nice to be a part of this one great family of God in which we are all sisters and brothers.

SSpS Mission Magazine Vacation Bible School Greenville, Indianola, MS June 4-14, 2010, and Fort Wayne, IN July 25-30

Page 3 Sr. Aprilia Untarto with a group of children during music class

Thank you to all who supported our Vacation Bible School endeavors with prayers. We hope that those days spent with so many young and open hearts will bear fruit in their lives. In many cases those days were also for us moments of learning‌‌.

At the end, of our Vacation Bible School the results were beyond our own expectations. We are very grateful for this experience. It was a great opportunity to share our faith with people of that region and to learn Sr. Stela Maris Martins and about their culture and history.

This mission was a wonderful moEva Weisser wrote: ment to experience once more how all of us, with our diversity in age (from 6 years Sr. Elwira Dziuk with old to 60), ethnic and a group of first national backgrounds, graders are called to form community. The children showed us the way to simplicity but deep understanding of Christian faith. We were their official teachers; however, those kids, with their ideas and creativity, their honesty and spontaneity, were the real teachers during the week.

SSpS Mission Magazine

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Reflecting on the Parable of The Good Samaritan in Greenville for a number of years joined the group that went to Mississippi with a desire to visit the home-bound and many friends she had known there.

During

In

March of 2010, Rev. Tom Mullally, SVD, contacted our Provincial Leader, Sr. Carol Welp inviting some of our sisters to conduct a summer vacation bible school in Greenville and Indianola, MS. Indianola is a about a 40 minute drive east of Greenville in a more rural area. It was also that time when Rev. Tom Ascheman, SVD who ministers in St. Patrick parish in Fort Wayne, IN invited our sisters to conduct some activities for children during summer.

The following persons responded to design and teach the program: Eva Weisser (volunteer lay missionary from Germany, living with our sisters in Waukegan, IL), Sisters Dinah Marie Aguirre, Kristina Lajar, Stela Maris Martins, Aprilia Untarto, Elwira Dziuk, Betty Tranel and Salud Osornio, our novice and two lay ladies who wanted to experience working and living with our sisters for a short period of time. Sister Marie Angela who had taught

the weeks of planning and preparing, we were in frequent contact with Mrs. Ann Littleton in Greenville, Mrs. Rosemary Miller in Indianola and Ms. Anna Ponce in Fort Wayne who were excellent resource persons as we tried to focus on the people’s needs.

Knowing the people there they were able to get volunteers, both adult and teen-agers, to assist wherever needed and to do pre-

Jesus taught His followers in parables which he presented in an easy way to touch and open their hearts.

Sr. Kristina Lajar working with children during one of their classes

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With the information given us by our contact persons, we decided to use the parables as our theme for the week. Specifically, we chose the following parables:

The

Parable of

the Sower (Mt 13:1-9; 1823), through which we wanted to emphasize the importance of good actions in Christian life,

The

Parable of the Lost Son (Lk 15:1132), through which we focused on making choices in our life, based on love and forgiveness,

Sr. Betty Tranel and some lay volunteers pray

The

Parable of the Hidden

Treasure

(Mt 13:14), through which we wanted to show that God as revealed to us in the person of Jesus is our most important treasure in life,

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

(Lk 10:30-37), through which

Arts and crafts with Sr. Stela Maris Martins

we attempted to show that a little kindness and helping others in their needs is very important in developing good relationships and strengthening our love,

And:‘You are the Light of the World’ (Mt 5:14-16).

Yes, indeed we all are called to be witnesses to others, we all are to be light for those who are still in darkness. This is our vocation as baptized Christians!

SSpS Mission Magazine

Each day we focused on one parable that was presented through five different methods such as: storytelling, prayer, music, arts & crafts and role playing/drama.

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Sr. Dinah Marie Aguirre practicing songs with children

The students, kindergarten through 8th grade in Mississippi and kindergarten through 6th grade in Indiana, were divided into four groups with each adult leader having a homeroom group. During the day each group of students moved from one aspect of the program to the other taking active role in their faith learning. We had a great number of wonderful parishioners, who assisted each day as the numbers of students attending rose each day. The children who attended each day

were an example of interracial harmony: African- that concluded with fellowship around a American, Mexican and Anglos. dinner table. We also took time to share our ach day classes were held from 8:00 a.m. to 12 experience of the day noon with some snacks in between and time to relax and our growing in in the good company of friends. The group of adult faith during this time catechists spent their afternoons preparing for the of meeting young peonext day. Every day we also participated in Holy ple and prayer.

Eucharist

E

Prayer chain prepared under the direction of Sr. Salud Osornio

The

programs ended on Sundays with Eucharist and distribution of certificates. Everyone expressed much joy and fulfillment of a week of shared faith and community building. We are grateful for this experience and for the gifts each person brought to the students and to each member of the team.

Summer Bible School Team

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SSpS Mission Magazine P.O. Box 6026 Techny, IL 60082-6026 ……………………………………………………………………………………

News Notes In July, the SVD priests and brothers and SSpS sisters celebrated jubilee anniversaries with a liturgy and dinner at the Convent in Techny. The Provincials from each community presented the Jubilarians with colorful crosses from El Salvador in honor of the occasion.

“Precious is the life given for mission” was printed on the back of the crosses.

This spring, during the annual Province Days assembly, Fr. Michael Crosby, a Capuchin Franciscan priest from Milwaukee, gave a keynote presentation addressing the topic of relationships. This year’s theme was: The Way of Compassion in Community and Mission.

SSpS Mission Magazine is published quarterly by the

Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters Our web site: www.ssps-usa.org

Our phone: (847) 441-0126

Editor: Sr. Elwira Dziuk, SSpS

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