This trip opened our hearts in a whole new way...

Below is a reflection from Tomasina Lucchese who visited the NPH home in the Dominican Republic this past summer with St. Julia's Parish from Weston, Massachusetts. 

It’s hard to believe we’ve been home from the Dominican Republic for over a month now. As we continue with our summer activities, thoughts of our trip continue to pop into our minds. Often one of my kids will burst into laughter, recalling a funny story. A few times someone has made an astute observation or comparison, sparking a sometimes difficult, but always worthwhile conversation. And regularly, one of us will mention a child from the orphanage - somehow affirming our connectedness to him or her. These connections are now deep within our hearts. The friendships we made with these children are what will keep our experiences alive.

So many of our friends and family have asked us ‘how was the trip?’ It is just so hard for me to put it all into words, because there were so many experiences all rolled into that one week. But for me, the word that I go back to is “grateful”. I am first and foremost grateful that I had the opportunity to experience this as a family. Grateful that NPH exists – we were so impressed with this organization and the care they give to each and every one of their “pequeños”. Grateful that we were welcomed with wide-open arms, allowing us to become part of their family with such ease, if even for a short time. Grateful for the warm and exuberant Dominican culture and people. Grateful for the kind, optimistic and fun group of teens and adults we traveled, worked and played with – we now have an entirely new group of friends. And as a mother, I am grateful for my children’s curiosity and willingness. They were open to every experience put in front of them without hesitation (and for the most part without complaints!). They were all in. Jude, Anna and Violet each loved this trip for their own reasons … and are all asking when we can go back.

Much to our surprise, by the time we arrived in June the pequeños were already on summer break and we happened upon their graduation week. Therefor our chores were more sporadic than expected, so we could participate in the end-of-the-year festivities. I came to see this as a gift. Not because we’d forgo some of our very hot, outdoor chores, but because we really got to be a part of the family. Celebrating with them, allowed us to get to know the children better. We celebrated their achievements and milestones, the way we would at home with our own children. The older children (some of them young women and men now) informally mentor the younger ones in their casas and school – the NPH program is designed this way to build responsibility and unity. And this came alive during the graduation activities, where all ages were celebrated, teaching, building trust, and outlining the expectations and goals for achievement. The baccalaureate mass brought me to tears, as I was so touched by the depth of their relationships. It was easy to witness the love between the priest, teachers, sponsors, “aunties” (the women who live in the casas with the kids), and each of the children. Although a good majority of these children are growing from trauma-ridden pasts and are without families in the traditional sense, they are now fully embraced in a loving, encouraging and safe environment. It didn’t take long for Jude to comment that “these kids were the lucky ones, to be living at NPH.” They had what they needed and were well cared for. Each child had tasty, nutritious food, his or her own bed, clean clothing, means to solid healthcare and education. But just as important, each child now has a strong family, filled with love and security, predictable schedules, expected chores and behaviors … exactly the way Jim and I have tried to cultivate our own little unit here.

Now I’d be lying if I said it was all a breeze. The tarantulas and bugs definitely pushed us out of our comfort zone. The nights of unforgiving heat were like nothing we had ever experienced. But through it all, we were always able to find gratefulness; like how my and Jim’s bunk bed didn’t collapse, even though it was held together by a coat hanger. Recently while making a tomato salad, I thought about how in the garden for hours I peeled and prepped onions to be sold at the next market, and how my fingers smelled ripe for what seemed like days. I smile thinking of how a few bright-eyed boys showed Anna and Violet how to climb so far up, to score the cherries that were too high for anyone else to reach. And how Jim and Jude got the toughest job of moving rocks around the papaya and mango tree trunks for improved irrigation. None of these baby trees were tall enough to provide even an inch of shade and as a result, I have never seen a crew so sweaty! Every evening I went to bed content with a sense of amazement as I replayed the day’s activities in my head – in awe of our little group’s ability to blend so effortlessly with the Casa Santa Ana family. This was God’s hand at work. Exactly how our blended world should be. I loved how all the children, ours and theirs, connected over old-fashioned hand games. Some enjoyed soccer and sports to pass the steamy afternoons, while singing and drawing suited others. There was a lot of hair braiding and some card playing, lots of jokes and even some pranks. Nobody was ever bored. And it was this familiar play that broke down any language hiccups and cultural differences. Our play time spent with the children allowed the very busy “aunties” time to tend to the endless to-do list of any busy home - clean the casas, wash and hang clothes, tend to scraped knees and sibling squabbles. And the pequeños relished the attention. It was all beautifully genuine. We were one, there together, with the gift of time. Our shared joy came from simply spending time together. It reminded me of how simple life can be and my summers as a child spent in Italy. My heart will always swell with the images of Anna and Violet in the midst of post-lunch girl dance parties, Jude being followed by his two little buddies in hopes of a pick-up game of whatever their found ball-type would offer, and Jim’s shared drum session at the graduation dance. There are just too many great memories of the pequeños to list, all leaving imprints on my heart. I promise to always lift these kids up in prayer, as I do my own, and now including all the orphaned, abandoned and disadvantaged children both near and far.

I can’t end this without stating the obvious; I am feeling grateful too that I happened to be born on this little patch of earth and all the opportunities that come with it. I am grateful for the blessings I’ve had all my life, and for the opportunities I have to try to give back, even though my efforts are a mere drop in the sea of need. But it is experiences like this, that change our lives, open our minds and hopefully our attitudes as we go through our daily routines. In reality, the cost of our trip helped advance NPH’s efforts with the children’s homes, hospitals and programs. But now I see that a large part of their effort is bringing people and cultures together, making the world just a wee-bit smaller, shifting our lens from tolerating differences to experiencing our sameness – creating connectedness. To use the words my friend Mara offered me when I returned home, this trip “opened our hearts in a whole new way”. And for that, I am most grateful.

Returning to Guatemala

Below is a testimonial from Elizabeth Lanham, one of the leaders of a recent Mid-Atlantic/Northeast regional trip to NPH Guatemala. 

As a former volunteer at NPH Guatemala, I find myself inextricably linked to the kids I once lived beside. Since they are in my thoughts and prayers daily, I feel they are never far from my heart. However, this past week I was privileged to return for a visit and this time with a group from Virginia. We spent the majority of our time talking, playing, eating, smiling and praying alongside the children.

I think in our busy western culture we often forget that the most important part of relationships is not what we do but who we are. Most mission trips are about building or fixing. This trip was about spending time with the kids, being authentically present. Did we work while we there? Yes, of course. But it is not what made this trip meaningful. We find that in God. For God is love. And love is what makes us a part of the family we call Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos.

 

 

 

The people I met and the things I saw will forever be ingrained in my mind…

Below is a reflection by Franki Mullen of Saint Anselm College who went on a Mission Trip to NPH Dominican Republic.

When someone says an experience changed their life, it is easy to be skeptical how true that statement is. However, after spending only one week at NPH I cannot imagine saying anything other than, ‘That experience changed my life.” The people I met and the things I saw will forever be ingrained in my mind. I will never forget dancing on the roof under the Dominican night sky, holding a little girl in my arms while her light lit up her whole face, looking through pictures one of the pequenos had of her Quincenera, or eating sugar cane in the back of a truck while speeding through the towns. However, the trip was not just about getting some sun and eating sugar cane. The poverty seen was so eye opening and heartbreaking, but it was the Dominican people’s attitudes in the face of adversity that moved me the most. They were always smiling, laughing, and making the most of any situation. They welcomed us in with open hearts and made us feel at home. Even though we were there to help them, instead we felt equal, making it so that we were always motivated to do our absolute best job at whatever task was at hand. I am so thankful to those who reached out and held my hand while on the trip, and I can hope that I had one tenth of the impact that they all had on me. 

 

 

 

The most valuable thing I learned throughout my week there was the universality of love and compassion…

Below is a reflection by Allie Finlay of Saint Anselm College who went on a Mission Trip to NPH Dominican Republic.

My experience at Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos was one that I will never forget. I was really anxious about going at first because I had never traveled outside the United States, and I did not speak much Spanish. Once we were in the Dominican Republic all of that anxiety went away. The most valuable thing I learned throughout my week there was the universality of love and compassion. Although I struggled with the language, I was able to connect with the children through play and through non communication. I connected with a group of boys throughout the week at their lunchtime and each day we ate with them I would be called or dragged over to sit with them. The boys noticed after the second day that I was not able to speak much Spanish but we connected over thumb wars and arm wrestling and they even taught me the word for champion in Spanish!

As the week progressed I was able to connect with girls over snapchat and hair and makeup and with the younger kids through play and just hugging them and caring for them. Although I was able to connect without using communication I was able to also connect by communicating to the older boys and girls because they were able to speak English. They were very understanding and helped me as much as possible with my Spanish with the younger kids who would become frustrated easily at my inability to communicate. One of the boys was actually able to hold a full conversation in English and when I would become frustrated he would communicate with me in English to ease my anxiety. I would really like to return in the future to the NPH home once I have improved my Spanish to be a volunteer for at least six months and be able to work in the clinic as a nurse. These kids really impacted my life and the people I met and served will always have a special place in my heart. I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity to serve at this wonderful organization and I really hope I can return in the future!

 

 

I am so blessed to have met such incredible children, and be part of such a positive and giving community…

Below is a reflection by Amy Vachon of Saint Anselm College who went on a Mission Trip to NPH Dominican Republic.

My trip to the Dominican Republic through Saint Anselm College to Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos was a life-changing experience that I am so grateful for. The organization impressed me so much as it clearly has a tremendous impact on the surrounding San Pedro/San Maricos area. Having traveled outside of the site – it is evident that NPH offers a fantastic home for kids that might otherwise not have one. It also is a site that offers schooling to outside students that might otherwise not get to go to school. I am amazed at the selflessness of the tías (caretakers) who run the various casas there. These women have their own families outside of the site and yet they are able to take the time to serve a population that needs them so much. I am also so impressed by the volunteers at the site who help us as visitors to have the best experience. 

Most importantly however, I am amazed by the children at NPH. The young and the old alike are so caring and patient, especially with our group who did not speak Spanish very well. I connected with so many children specifically one girl. Even though she would joke sometimes that I did not speak great Spanish, she would help me frequently to learn more. By the end of the trip I definitely had a very hard time saying goodbye.

As I sit and write this, I frankly find it extremely difficult to put into words how I feel about this trip. It is an experience that will be burned into my memory for the rest of my life. I even now feel compelled to change my post-grad plans as a second semester senior after taking this trip. It opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibility as far as years of service are concerned. Many in my group hope to partake in that, or at least go back to the site over the summer if possible. I am so blessed to have met such incredible children, and be part of such a positive and giving community for a week. Thank you for allowing me to do this – you’ve truly changed so much for me in such a positive way.

 

 

Throughout my time at NPH, I learned more about myself, my faith, and the world around me…

Below is a reflection by Heather Sullivan of Saint Anselm College who went on a Mission Trip to NPH Dominican Republic.

 

Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos is an incredible organization. This program provides children from various unfortunate situations with abundant love, education, and opportunities that would not otherwise be possible. The most significant aspect of NPH is how profoundly enriched the lives of these children are in faith. Upon visiting, I was overwhelmed by the feeling of God's presence everywhere I turned. I experienced indescribable kindness and love in every single child, staff, and volunteer that I interacted with. I have never felt happier or so close to God in my life as I did at Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos. Throughout my time at NPH, I learned more about myself, my faith, and the world around me than I ever imagined I would. This unforgettable experience has inspired me to do a year of service after I graduate and to become a missionary nurse in the future. I look forward to continue learning through the service of others and enjoy a new outlook on life.

 

 

The trip to NPH Dominican Republic was a beautiful, eye-opening experience...

Below is a reflection by Emma Towne of Northeast Catholic College who went on a Mission Trip to NPH Dominican Republic. 

 

For me, the NPH Dominican Republic mission trip was a lesson, first and foremost, in giving. Giving on a mission trip sounds complicated and hard, but as I discovered, giving does not consist of many difficult tasks, but in seemingly little things that must be done with your total self.  When first touring NPH, I was swiftly captured by a little boy who proceeded to teach me how to dance the salsa. At first, taken aback by his boldness and not being much of a dancer, I thought hurriedly of ways to politely get out of dancing. But then I realized that the purpose of this mission trip wasn’t maintaining my own personal comfort, but giving myself, even when it was annoying and uncomfortable, or simply a nuisance.

 

Throughout the course of the week, I reflected on what is meant by the words: give yourself. Giving yourself on a mission trip does not mean you show yourself off, or have a set plan in mind that absolutely must work. “Giving yourself” is when you set aside your own desires and focus completely on the person next to you, listening to him, playing with him, enjoying him. You must cast aside your own ideas and visions of glory and be content with playing on seesaws and kicking deflated soccer balls. The paradox of giving yourself is that you also must be receptive to love, in the varying forms it takes. At NPH, love was expressed through the children’s constant hand-holding and playing with our hair, their unceasing hugging and dancing, which made me mildly uncomfortable as an introvert. And yet here was the call to love! Love is simple and uncomplicated, but it demands surrendering yourself, even when it is awkward or painful, or simply not in your comfort zone. It was this that I found the most arduous—because it demanded me to surrender myself for the sake of someone else. Yet when I surrendered myself, I was rewarded with the greatest of gifts: the friendship of a child.

 

Of all the wonderful things that I saw and experienced while in the Dominican, it was playing with the children that struck me the most. At NPH, the children are so joyful and happy, despite the circumstances many have faced. There was a love of life that was delightful to witness, and an energy and enthusiasm that was certainly hard to keep up with! Their openness was a blessing to us on the trip, as we struggled with Spanish, the heat and basketball. The children gave us so much, more than we could possibly ever give them.

 

The trip to NPH Dominican Republic was a beautiful, eye-opening experience, a trip I am very happy to have undertaken. The exposure to an entirely different culture, poorer than America, yet rich in faith, love and joy, has influenced me incredibly; it taught me about love and self-gift, and what happens when you truly open yourself up to others.

 

The Langugage That Everyone Can Speak

Below is a reflection from Sydney Mailloux of Northeast Catholic College on a recent mission trip she took to NPH DR.

Normally we do not think much about language. Most of the time, we are surrounded by those who speak our native tongue—we take for granted the extraordinary ability to understand and be understood. But despite our native tongue’s extreme importance in our lives, there is a language that all people of every race can speak, a language native to all people of all time. The instinctive understanding of this universal language appeared more and more evident to us in different forms throughout the week, in three major areas: in our work, in our interactions with each other, and in our interactions with the people at NPH.

We drove down a highway lined with palm trees to arrive at the Dominican NPH house on Monday evening. Our work began the next day. Throughout the week, we painted a house, worked in the kitchen, and worked on a farm. Despite the sometimes oppressive heat and exhaustion that we earned during our work, we were also the glad recipients of much joy—joy that springs from helping others with love.

We shared that joy with each other. The songs we sang while we worked, the jokes made, the conversations shared, and the friendships forged are all things that we will remember for the rest of our lives. Not only did we have the opportunity to help others through our mission work, we also had the blessing of lifting one another up, comforting each other in our difficulties and sharing one another’s joys.

We learned much from our work and from each other, but we also learned much from the children and others we came in contact with at and through NPH. So many of them come from difficult backgrounds and harsh pasts. Many of the children we met at the home come from weak or broken families—sometimes no families at all. Many of the people we met live in difficult circumstances for one reason or another. The people we met have very little in the way of material riches, but they possess interior treasures one can only marvel at. Their openness and kindness to total strangers was nothing less than inspiring; we went to give and received so much in return.

In the end, we did not come away fluent in Spanish. But we became more and more proficient in the language that everyone can speak. We learned charity for God’s children, friendship with one another, and love and esteem for every individual person—we learned to speak with greater fluency the language of universality, the language of love.

 

Domingo and I

2012 Southwest Pequeño Tour 
"Domingo and I" by T.J. Decker 

Hello. Good morning Bishop Nevares, clergy, family, friends, and guests. I am T.J. Decker, a senior at Brophy College Prep, and I am honored to speak in front of such wonderful people this morning. I have been a part of Friends of the Orphans and Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos since Kindergarten here at OLPH. Every year, our class sponsored a pequeña named Karen from Mexico, and we donated monthly to help support her. This was a great experience at such a young age, and we even got to exchange letters back and forth, which helped us to learn our Spanish. When I started as a Freshman at Brophy, I signed up for NPH club at the club fair because it was familiar to me. That year, I talked to fellow Brophy brothers who had gone on the mission trip previously, and they highly recommended the trek to NPH Guatemala in Central America. The next year I wanted to go on an immersion trip so I planned it out with a few friends that we would go to Guatemala and visit the awesome kids at Casa San Andres. The experiences on this trip opened my eyes and heart to what NPH is all about – love. 

Last year, I got selected again to attend the trip and this time was truly special because I spent an entire week with the pequeño I sponsor, Domingo. My experiences in Guatemala have been a blessing to me. My first trip was a wonderful surprise. I showed up at Casa San Andres and quickly whipped up my soccer skills and tried to keep up with what seemed to be the Guatemalan National soccer team. As a group, we visited the old capital of Guatemala, Antigua, and explored this ancient city with the pequeños. We also had an opportunity to take a boat on Lake Atitlan, which is a huge lake with three volcanoes jetting out of it. I had never seen anything like that in my life. The week-long trip went by so fast, and at the end I was wondering about the service component of the trip. We did spend time painting murals on the walls in the Casa de los Especiales (the special needs dorm), working on the farm and in the kitchen. However, I began to realize that the pequeños gave more to us through their smiles and cheerfulness than we gave to them. You could make errors while speaking in Spanish and they would just grin at you, help you and proceed giving you a hug. You could give them a piece of candy and they would be grateful and would do back flips. They just loved us. 

On my second trip, friends kept asking me why I had 10 pound weights in my luggage. Once we got to the orphanage, they figured it out. In one of Domingo's letters to me, he wrote that the doctor told him he needed to stop doing pull-ups because his shoulders were too big so I brought him dumbbells. Domingo had never used weights before, so I taught him how to do a simple curl. I believe that I learned more about Spanish and myself in small conversations like this. Whenever I tried to buy Domingo shoes or a new soccer jersey, Domingo always said no and told me to save my money. Smart kid! He always insisted on buying food or candy for us to share. It was hard to leave Guatemala because Domingo and all of the other pequeños became my family. I still email Domingo frequently, and he always apologizes if he cannot reply back to me in less than a day! I keep telling him no problem, but I guess he misses me that much. I know I miss him. 

I encourage each and every one of you to get involved with Friends of the Orphans and Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos. My experience of sponsoring Domingo has been life-changing nonetheless. These children have never had the opportunities that we receive daily, but they continue to have a great outlook on life. They all have a dream – to become a doctor, teacher, soccer player or musician. So please consider sponsoring the dreams of these children and watch them thrive. It is incredible how much of a difference any one of us can make for a child by sponsoring a pequeño at $30.00 per month and sending them loving and supportive emails. I hope that very soon, you too can all have a picture of your own pequeño on your refrigerator as a constant reminder that you are changing their life.

It's amazing how universal a smile or laugh can be...

Below is a blog post from Upper Midwest volunteer, Katie! She shares about her trip to visit NPH Guatemala and how it inspired her to do some of her own fundraising back home! 


Last June, I was privileged enough to travel down to Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos in Guatemala with my church sponsored youth group. The nine days that I spent at the orphanage were ones that I will never forget. When we first arrived onto the orphanage grounds, we were greeted by the hundreds of kids cheering and clapping complete with a full marching band. I had never in my life been more overwhelmed than I was at that moment. The kids were patting the bus as it rode in, and as soon as my feet hit the ground I was bombarded with hugs. 


The next few days I met young boys and girls with such vibrant personalities and good-natured humor that I was never without a smile on my face. I met María, who was a strong young girl that could hold her own in a fútbol match with the boys. I also met Pablo, who had a fascination with photography and loved to take silly pictures of himself. Then there was Alejandro, or Ale Flo as he called himself, who dreamed of becoming a DJ when he was older. I also was able to spend time with some of the special needs kids of the orphanage. We went horse back riding with them on a trail in the local village of Parramos. I was surprised at how easy it was communicating with all of the kids, with my little Spanish and their little English--it's amazing how universal a smile or laugh can be. 


When I was given the option to participate in another mission trip to various other locations in Central America, there was no hesitation in my choice to return to NPH Guatemala. I will be returning this summer, and every day I look forward to it. This year when I go down I will be able to meet Wilson, a child that my family began to sponsor after I returned from my first trip. 


I also was motivated to do some fundraising for NPH, and this winter I raised over $650 for the orphanage and also helped my youth group in furthering our coffee sales to fund the upcoming trip. Traveling to Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos truly changed my outlook on life, and it is a mission I see myself supporting for many years to come!

"The children's pain is washed away because of others' love for them."

Below is a letter great Friend, Madison, wrote to Friends of the Orphans on the last night of her mission trip.


Thank you for this opportunity to witness and take part in this amazing experience. At first I didn't know what to expect; speaking a different language and traveling alone (without my parents or family) to another country was a very large leap to take in my life. Now, I've never been to such an amazing place. Some call it home, others, it is the last place left in the world for them to go; it is like a passage into a new life; and some like to think of it as the answer to their prayers. NPH has changed me as a person, throughout my heart, soul and mind.


I am now fully understanding of how thankful and gracious I should be for what I receive, my family, my belongings, my home, my life. When some people say they are thankful for these things, they don't understand what it really means. Once you go through and witness the life of the pequenos, you may not look at life the same way as before. This happened to me. I don't feel bad for them, only what they have gone through because the place they are at now is almost magical. The sun shines on the trees' leaves and creates a mystical glow, the bright flowers float to the ground, the smiles and laughter of the children must make God smile as well, birds singing their bountiful tunes and the triumphant wings of butterflies. The children's pain is washed away because of others' love for them. I thank you so much for this.


Love,
Madison

You are not only making a tremendous impact in their lives, but also one in yours...

Below are reflections by three great Friends about their trip to NPH Guatemala!


John Hutt – Sophomore
For six days I had the pleasure to live in the Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos Orphanage, in Guatemala with the children there. I go to Brophy College Preparatory, and every year an immersion trip is offered to the student body. I applied and was accepted to venture to Guatemala with 40 of the Brophy brothers. While down there we worked in the field, saw the country from an insider’s point of view, but most importantly we created relationships with the children down in NPH. I grew more emotionally in those six days than I have in my sixteen years. I was able to sponsor a child, Pablo Alfonso, and he has changed my life. We became friends instantly and went everywhere together. He is my best friend, and I write to him every chance I get. I cannot talk highly enough for the people down there and especially Pablo. They truly are the most sincere people I’ve ever met and had the pleasure to live with. In the days and months before we went down, everyone was curious about what we would be building or doing for them. In reality, they do more for me than I do for them. They have impacted my life in a monumental way, and I will never forget those six days for the rest of my time on Earth. My life has been changed for the better, and I can thank NPH, Brophy, and all of the staff and children in Guatemala for that.




Peter Haenel - Junior
Upon reflecting on the NPH trip to Guatemala and the sponsorship program, I had a realization. Initially, I thought the person to benefit would be my pequeño, Diego, but these pequeños give you something far greater than your dollar a day. Diego taught me how to be genuine, generous, and hospitable; traits that are hard to come by living in the United States. It is not a one way street, in the sense that both Diego and I benefit from the relationship. Diego gets financial aid and a buddy, while I get a genuine friend and learn priceless lessons. Everyone should sponsor a kid in need and visit an NPH campus, because you are not only making a tremendous impact in their lives, but also one in yours.


Conner Lawston - Sophomore
This year was my first time on the Guatemala Trip, so I went into it not knowing what to expect. Being there opened my eyes to the rest of the world. The things I took for granted, like clean water and grocery stores, were not part of everyday life. The thing that impacted me most was the pequeños, and their never-ending happiness. They were overwhelmed with excitement when we first saw them, running around and yelling "dulces." (candy) The first day I met Fransisco, the pequeño I am currently sponsoring. Going to Lake Atilan was Fransisco's first time on a boat, and he had never been into a big city. Overall, the trip was an amazing experience for me.

NDP Students from the Southwest Region Spend their Spring Break Helping our Kids!

Submitted by Joseph Fagan, Theology/ Friends of the Orphans Club Moderator


If there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13), then in the life of a high school student, “laying down one’s Spring Break for one’s friends” must be a close second, and fourteen members of NDP’s Friends of the Orphans Club did just that.


While many of their friends spent their Spring vacation on the ski slopes or the beach, DJ Seamans, Maura Kelly, Rhett Johnston, Maddie Frazier, Douglas Wong, Patrick Reilly, Allie York, Heather Huennekens, Natalie Wojtanowski, Edmund Wong, Annie Kaiser, Will Seamans, Francesca Decastell, and Daniela Cuellar, spent their Spring vacation at the Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (Our Little Brothers and Sisters) orphanage in central Mexico. Part service trip, part cultural immersion experience, each of our students takes something different from the experience, but they all describe the trip as life changing. 


Throughout the week, we help the NPH children with their chores; do arts-and-crafts projects and other fun activities with the special education students; play sports with the older kids, especially soccer; we take some of the pequeños (little ones) out for pizza and a trip to a local water park; but most of all, the participants in this mission trip provide a level of one-on-one love and attention that just isn’t possible for the staff in a home of over 800 children.


The Friends of the Orphans Club prepares for the trip each year with a supply drive here on campus and this year we delivered fifteen large boxes of clothing and school supplies when we arrived at NPH Mexico in Miacatlan, Mexico. Some of our students who go on the trip (and their families) support a pequeño at NPH with letters of support and financial help through Friends of the Orphans as a Sponsor, and this trip allows them to meet and really get to know that child. While this financial and material support is essential to breaking the cycle of poverty in which the pequeños would otherwise be trapped, it is impossible to express the emotional impact it has on the pequeños knowing that they have padrinos (Godparents/patrons) who care about them, love them, pray for them, who will write to them, and who may visit them.


Midway through our day at the water park, after Rhett Johnston (NDP ’12) had spent three or four hours taking care of his seven-year-old pequeño, I asked Fernando who Rhett was to him. He beamed as he said, “My friend, my padrino, my Daddy!” I don’t think that Rhett or Fernando will ever see themselves – or the world – in the same way again.


Both of Will Seamans (NDP ’15) brothers (Graham, NDP ’09 and D.J., NDP ’12) have been on the trip multiple times, but even so, Will says that it was a different experience than he expected. “I knew what we were going to do; that I would make new friends and that the trip would be fun,” he said, “but no one can really describe the relationships. You just have to experience that for yourself.”


Our students are right. This trip is life changing. For them AND for the pequeños.

"They were simply becoming a part of this family for the week."

Here is a blog post from Tara Suchland, an adult leader on the Mission Trip to NPH Mexico hosted by Friends' Midwest Region this past July.


Blogging about an NPH experience is a daunting task. It seems as though I’ve done nothing but talk about the trip since I learned I was going, and I certainly haven’t stopped since my return (I’m sure my friends, family, local grocery cashiers…would agree.) However, when sitting down and trying to condense my visit into something that will express exactly what I learned, who I met, why I want Friends of the Orphans to be a part of my life from here on out and still have you reading at the end…well, my words seem to fail me.


I am the Campus Minister at Trinity High School in River Forest, IL. When we were approached by Friends of the Orphans to help organize a Dominican Mission Trip, I about jumped out of my chair with excitement. I was finally going to be able to bring my students on an international mission trip, it was going to be permeated by Dominican spirituality and it would be about building relationships, not houses. It was all I could do not to quote Jerry Maguire when I met Chuck Allworth and Melissa Hoyt (Friends' Midwest Regional Director and Child Sponsorship Manager)… “You had me at hello.”


A couple months later I was Mexico bound with 17 young women (13 from Trinity and 4 from Regina Dominican), our school president, Sr. Michelle Germanson, Megan Alterson, a generous and energetic Spanish teacher, and our Friends of the Orphans guides, Chuck and Melissa. I think we were all nervous and excited and had no idea what to really expect despite the copious amounts of preparatory materials and orientation meetings.


Over the next week I would find myself impressed by my students time and again. They were enchanted by NPH's Casa San Salvador and its inhabitants. No cockroaches, bats, lizards, bug bites or lack of favorite foods could extinguish their smiles. They did chores alongside the pequeños…and looked forward to dish duty. They spent their free time making friendship bracelets with the children, going to the pool, and hanging around in the courtyard with whoever happened to be there at the time. As we stumbled over our Spanish skills (or lack thereof) we fell in love with our godchildren and their friends, and my pride for my students grew.


At one of our evening reflections I asked the trip participants if they recognized what they were doing as “service”. They tossed around the idea for some time. They weren’t really “doing” anything. There was no tutoring, painting, building, filing, no chores that didn’t correspond to some type of mess they helped to create. They were simply becoming a part of this family for the week. The students were struck by how each person at Casa San Salvador who crossed their paths said hello. They took time to talk to each other and take care of each other because they were family. In the end, the students agreed, yes, they were providing this community with something important: friendship, affection, love. It was service. But they also agreed that this service wasn’t going above and beyond. It was something they should be doing at home. Being more present to those around them, being more helpful in their communities, taking time to be with each other. It was just so much easier to do with these people, their godchildren, who lived this way each day because they are a part of NPH.


So, as far as service trips with my students go, this one was a great success. Each person on the trip became a minister. I wasn’t merely a chaperone on this trip, though. Yes, I held onto the key to our room. Yes, I plunged the toilet when it got clogged. But I also had a godchild. As I stood outside the bus when we arrived I remember thinking that my poor pequeño was bound to be disappointed as all of his friends ran up to the young, very cool, teenage girls and he got me, the teacher. However, when our turn came, he didn’t hesitate. I raised my hand and he bolted towards me, wrapped his arms around me and stood there hugging me before I could even say hello. Jonathan, my godchild, is a precocious, silly, mischievous, kindhearted little boy and we quickly became friends. Our bond solidified one morning over a game of Barrel of Monkeys. Yes, what is perhaps the most boring childhood game ended up in fits of giggling and grappling for small plastic monkeys punctuated by screams of, “¡Mis monitos, mis monitos!” (“My monkeys, my monkeys!”) for Jonathan and me. As each of my students pledged to continue their sponsorships and figure out ways to come back to NPH Casa San Salvador, I knew I wanted to do the same thing. As much for myself as for other Trinity students.


There’s so much more I want to include in this blog! Our trip to the water park, the masses with Fr. Phil and the pequeños, our evening trip into Miacatlán for pizza…but I’m afraid I’m becoming that family member with the vacation slideshow. Instead, one final memory. One afternoon we held a forum with a pequeño in his year of service, an ex-pequeño and a young man from Virginia who was part of the international volunteer program. We asked them questions and listened to them talk about their experiences, how they ended up at Casa San Salvador, their experiences, hopes, etc. In the end, we asked them each what their favorite and least favorite part was of being a pequeño. The year of service pequeño first responded in English. He told us that NPH was his home, his family, and he wouldn’t be who he is now without it. Then he paused and said, “nothing”. He didn’t have a least favorite part. The second response came in Spanish. It was very much the same. NPH had taught him to care for people. It didn’t matter if they had been a part of NPH…if you see someone who needs help, you help them. That’s what NPH had taught him. It was a gift – just like his education had been. Then, he too paused, and said “nothing”.


Each one of us on that mission trip felt the same way. Our experience at NPH had given us a glimpse of this huge family and what it must be like to be a part of it. As we return to school, and see each other in the hallways, we smile and still feel a great connection with our friends at NPH. We talk about the NPH report cards that hang on our refrigerators at home. We’ve been welcomed into Casa San Salvador and, in turn, we will share its story with anyone who will listen.

Dominican Mission Trip participants learned that sometimes serving others is as simple as forming relationships.

“Something about this place grabs your heart and does not let go.”

Below is a post contributed by Friend and past mission trip participant, Richard Jordan. Enjoy!


August 2011 and another trip to Casa San Salvador in Miacatlan, Mexico, the location of what most of us Holy Namers simply call NPH. When my daughter, Claire was planning to go on her second of her three trips to NPH after her senior year in high school, I was lucky enough to go along as a chaperone. Having never done any sort of “mission” trip before, I was not sure what I was getting into. What I did know was the Claire had fallen in love with the home on her first trip in 2007 and so had friends of ours whose high school kids had been on the trip.


Within days of arriving at NPH, I too fell in love with the home. As a priest told me at the end of that week there, “Something about this place grabs your heart and does not let go”. How right he was. I had the privilege in August to make my fourth trip to NPH as a Holy Name chaperone and I feel more strongly about supporting NPH than ever before. I would go back tomorrow if I could.


I have been able to meet and hang out with our Godson, Alex, who Claire met on her first trip to NPH. He had just arrived at NPH and was a skinny, malnourished nine-year old. Over these last several years, I have had the opportunity to see Alex grow into a healthy, polite 13 year old who is an excellent student in school. I have gotten to know Raul, Gill, Ivan, Daniel, Carmen, Geraldo, Rodrigo and many others year after year. My son Andrew traveled to NPH for the first time on this year’s trip and I saw him make an immediate bond with Jordi, who we now sponsor. My wife Kathy is heavily involved with fundraising for NPH and has worked to spread the word about NPH. I know our 9 year old, Matt can’t wait to make the trip, and I have a feeling that we will be doing that as a family one day because I don’t think he can wait until he is 16, the earliest that he would be eligible to go through Holy Name. NPH has truly become a family cause that has touched all of us, and I know many others where the whole family has been touched as well.


The NPH organization still follows the vision laid out by Father Wasson 57 years ago in his tiny church in Cuernavaca. God’s will is truly being done for thousands and thousands of children who have grown up in an NPH home and gone on to lead successful lives after being given the opportunity to escape a life of little or no hope.


I hope you will take the opportunity to come to the Fiesta at Holy Name on Sunday, October 9 in Wayzata, Minnesota to meet some of the children from NPH Mexico and open your heart to be grabbed by these children.

The pequeños showed a generosity and openness of spirit which encouraged our young people to do the same.

Below is a post from Shawn Phillips, long-time Friend and dedicated supporter. In 1991 Shawn was able to get approval from Fr. Wasson for the first ever youth group to visit NPH Mexico at Casa San Salvador. He has continued to sponsor a child since that first year, and he currently sponsors a youth that is in school at NPH Mexico in Cuernavaca.


I joined the Staff of Holy Name as the Youth Minister in 1993. That spring, before I came on the team, Holy Name had hosted a Fiesta for Minnesota Friends of the Orphans. In the first months we began to set up a plan for the Youth Ministry, which included an integrated social justice component. Part of our hope and dream was to have service that was in our local community, in the broader community and in the global community. Instead of having projects in which we would come in and leave, we wanted to develop significant relationships with the communities that we were developing service with.


One of the goals was to take a group of young people to NPH Casa San Salvador to deepen the relationship that Holy Name had already begun with NPH by hosting a mini-fiesta and a full fiesta. We approached Fr. Phil when the Ballet Folklorico returned to Holy Name in the spring. Fr. Phil said that we needed to get approval for such a venture from Fr. Wasson who happened to be visiting the people of Holy Name with the young people from Casa San Salvador.


The intimidation of Fr. Wasson’s reputation as a great man soon evaporated, as we began to talk about the possibility of bringing high school youth to live with and share with his family. My initial reaction was the greatness of Fr. Wasson’s vision for the children of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, and he seemed to be delighted about the possibility of introducing his family to the young people.


Much preparation brought us to Casa San Salvador in Miacatlan, Mexico over spring break. We had a mix of work and relationship-building projects with the children. Our group, as much as possible, tried to fit into the schedule of the house from the morning work projects in the field to the evening reading stories in the children’s rooms.


The transformation quickly became apparent as the Pequeños captured the hearts of the young people. The Pequeños showed a generosity and openness of spirit which encouraged our young people to do the same. The children showed each of our young people the face of Christ and created in them a desire to serve through service.


Today, Holy Name is still providing this experience for the young people to be transformed, and there are multiple groups of high school youth that visit the homes of NPH in Latin America because of this partnership that started over a decade ago. It has been my experience that the young people continue their relationship through sponsorship, and some even later volunteer for a year or more in one of the homes. The love that transforms the Pequeños' lives through NPH also transforms the lives of the young people that visit.

...how much we are blessed for what we have, and how much we can affect the lives of kids there...

Sam Pelner shares his experience of a Mission Trip to NPH Mexico.


When we arrived at NPH, I was not sure what to expect. We were unpacking the buses when a boy named Raul greeted some of the other people that he had remembered from previous years. Minutes later all the kids came rushing out wanting to play with us, and at the end of the night we were all making friends with the kids and having a fun time playing volleyball and basketball. At the beginning of the week we started the vacation bible school with some songs, and a skit. We acted out the beginning of the movie "The Chronicles of Narnia". Throughout the week we made different crafts. After school we would eat lunch and play soccer or swim with the kids. Playing soccer was a lot of fun even though we only won two or three games. This trip was very fun, and it helped me learn about the kids at NPH, how much we are blessed for what we have, and how much we can affect the lives of kids there.

Pray for Haiti.

The following is a blog post contributed by Chuck Allworth (Midwest Regional Director at Friends) where he shares about his recent trip to Nos Petits Frères et Soeurs (NPFS) Haiti. 


Today is Saturday and I've been here since Wednesday. I guess my biggest impression so far is that Haiti is a place with many stark contrasts.


Yesterday, for example, I went to 7:00 a.m. Mass in the little chapel on the grounds of our pediatric hospital (St. Damien). Lying on the floor in the middle of the chapel was a toddler child who had died in the hospital overnight. Jean Paul was wrapped in a pillow case that people in the Chicago area turn into funeral palls with beautiful decorations and send them here by the thousands. No caskets -- too costly. No family or parents in attendance at the funeral Mass, just Fr. Rick presiding and a couple of dozen foreigners who volunteer at the hospital and one or two Haitians. On the one hand, it was very sad to think of this dead child wrapped in linen lying inches away from us on the floor. On the other hand, it was a truly beautiful funeral. We did our best to send little Jean Paul off to heaven as best we could.


Another contrast happened two days ago when I went with Fr. Rick to the city morgue to observe him and other members of our organization picking 70 or so unclaimed corpses, zipping them into body bags, loading them on a flatbed truck and taking them out to the countryside for a decent burial. Fr. Rick and the Haitians were the ones doing the dirty work. We visitors would simply place crosses or rosaries and funeral palls on top of the bodies prior to them being zipped up. The conditions in the morgue were beyond gruesome. Bodies stacked like logs in disgusting positions. Lots of children. Way too many children. Babies in their diapers lying on top of elderly people. Hundreds of corpses in varying states of decomposition. Half-clothed (or unclothed) adults lying grotesquely on top of children dressed in their Sunday best. Bodies stained by the blood and fluids of those piled all around them. A permeating stench that defies description. Unbelievably, though, the Haitians with us were singing and clapping and dancing the entire time we were in the morgue -- about 90 minutes. Non-stop joyful, not sorrowful, singing at the top of their lungs. They were happy because they were taking bodies out of such deplorable conditions and giving them a proper Christian burial. Such joy in the face of such horror.


Last contrast: When we went out to the country to bury the bodies, the cemetery doubled as a cow pasture (although with very little grass). Row after row of simple graves dug about 4 feet into the earth. Most of the graves were marked with crucifixes...with cowpies all over many of them.


I spent the better part of the past two days unloading medical supplies from containers and organizing a warehouse full of those supplies. It was sweaty and hard and real dirty work, but nobody complained because of the poverty we have seen that the people here endure on a daily basis.


It's amazing what they do with shipping containers here. I've seen them used as hospital wards, offices, classrooms, storage units, and orphanage dorms. A cheap and easy re-use of something the rest of the world would have but one use for.


I'm back in Port-au-Prince after spending two wonderful days at the NPFS St. Helene home in Kenscoff. This home is about 5,500 feet up in the mountains to the southeast of Port-au-Prince. My room overlooked the most beautiful vista of green mountains dotted with small villages and terraced farmland. In much of Haiti, the countryside has been denuded of trees because people use the wood for building materials and to make charcoal. This is not the case in the area around our home. The setting is breathtakingly beautiful. Imagine a boarding school campus with gorgeous trees all around. Huge pine trees over a hundred feet tall. The air is clear and the high temps are in the low 60s. Hardly what you expect of a Caribbean climate. Evenings and early mornings are downright chilly. The entire campus is just very serene, green, peaceful and pleasant.


It was yet another stark contrast to Port-au-Prince with its oppressive heat, noise, filth and poverty. There are about 450 kids who call St. Helene their permanent home. And, again, in another contrast to what I had seen up to that point, the kids in our home are well dressed, well fed, well educated and very well cared for in general -- as I knew they would be.


These orphaned and abandoned children are the lucky ones. There are millions of other children here in Haiti who have it far, far worse. 20% of children in Haiti die before they reach the age of five.


Back to the orphanage. Every other Sunday, Fr. Rick, the Passionist priest who runs the entire NPFS organization here in Haiti, comes up to our home from our pediatric hospital to lead Mass for the children, but yesterday was not one of those Sundays. So, all 400+ kids got dressed up in their school uniforms and walked to the closest church. As the crow flies, it was probably no more than half a mile. Too bad we didn't have wings. Since we were in the mountains, it was probably closer to a mile and a half of steep, treacherous paths and winding, rutted roads that would put the worst of Chicago's pot-holed roads to shame. My guess is that the church is located about 1,500 feet of elevation BELOW the home. It took us about 30 minutes to walk down and a little over an hour to walk back, but it was well worth every minute to be with them and to witness and listen to them pray and sing during Mass. It was loud and joyful. I made a few new friends during that journey.

St. Helene is actually about 20 separate small dorms, plus a dozen or so other buildings (school, chapel, clinic, etc.) scattered over about 60 acres on the side of a mountain. On our way up to the orphanage on Saturday, we stopped and bought enough candy to give each of the kids a few pieces. After we got back from Mass yesterday, we took the candy around to all of the dorms and gave it away to the kids who were happy and grateful to receive the sweet treats.

During our time in Haiti, we were fortunate to have the part-time guide services of Antoine, a former pequeño from the St. Helene home. Antoine works in the Father Wasson Angels of Light program and also in our new orphanage home in Port-au-Prince that is made entirely out of refurbished shipping containers. On our last full day in Haiti, Antoine took us to an after school program for about 50 children that he began in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood where he lived before the earthquake. While we were there, we handed out bags of rice and beans to the children to bring home to their families. We also distributed protein bars and cooking oil. Here, we have a former pequeño who not only works for NPH, but also has begun his own small charitable organization to serve the children from his old neighborhood.

I will leave you with a story about James, a Haitian I met while we were doing some road repair work on a gravel road that runs within our hospital campus near the triage clinic. I took a break and sat down in the shade near where James was standing. He came over to me and began to make small talk in halting English. It turns out that he and his wife brought their nine month old son, Moses, to the hospital because it was obvious to them that Moses was experiencing abdominal pain. James was telling me about his life post-earthquake of trying to find a job but having no luck. He said his boss was killed in the quake. He told me to pray for Haiti at least a dozen times. James’ wife called him over to look after Moses while she went for a break of her own. We said our goodbyes and James left to be with his son, while I went back to my road repair. About an hour later, as we were loading up from our vehicle for the trip up to St. Helene, I noticed that James and his family were walking out toward the exit of the hospital campus. I stopped them and enquired about Moses. It was the first time I saw Moses. He was an albino child with obviously African facial features and hair, though blonde. James said that Moses didn’t need to be admitted and that they were given some medicine that should hopefully do the trick. Again, he told me to pray for Haiti. He didn’t ask me for prayers for him or even for Moses. Pray for Haiti, he said. After tracing the sign of the cross on Moses’ forehead, I said that I would.


Please pray for Haiti.