Sip Slowly at Stone Creek Coffee

What's better than great tasting coffee? Great tasting fair trade coffee! On Saturday, six of us piled into a van and drove down to Milwaukee to learn more about fair trade and how we can support such an amazing movement. In Stone Creek Coffee Roaster's annual report, they wrote: "We look for two things when deciding to purchase a coffee: the quality of the coffee and the quality of life of the people producing it."

At the factory/soon-to-be-hangout, we met Steve and Kendra Hawthorne, who graciously came in on the weekend to give us a tour and some coffee. While we were there, Steve told us of his trips to South America and Africa, where he meets farmers and conducts his evaluations before agreeing to purchase coffee from them. We were touched by the stories he shared. One of my favorites was when he told us about a farmer in a third world country who works so hard to provide a good livelihood for his workers that he provides schooling for the children during the day and adult education programs for the workers at night, among other wonderful gifts.

We returned home feeling inspired by these incredible people who are truly passionate about making a difference in the lives of others. We can't wait to go back!

Stone Creek Coffee is located right across the street from Downtown Milwaukee's Amkrak/Greyhound Station! The coffee house and bakery will be open for business in September 2012.

Coffee-sack race, anyone?

Steve showed us what coffee beans (cherry pits!) look like prior to roasting.

The Four Steps of Stone Creek Coffee:

1. Grow responsibly
2. Roast to perfection
3. Brew expertly
4. Sip Slowly (we did this one)

Left to Right: Sr. Carolee, Sr. Monica (me), Sr. Leslie, Sr. Regina Rose, Sr. Natalie, and Sr. Kathleen

Kendra made delicious and beautiful lattes for us.

Busy but Joyful

Camp Franciscan is back at the Motherhouse! I always look forward to it. It is a busy time, but it is also a fun time, as junior high girls run from activity to activity with their fearless high school leaders. Most, if not all of the campers have arrived, and the novices and I led them in some ice breakers in the gym. We definitely got our exercise in! The campers were laughing and seemed to be having a great time. Pictures will be posted throughout the week, so make sure to check it out by clicking here: http://www.fscc-calledtobe.org/living/index.php/2012/06/10/camp-franciscan-2012-campers-breathe-in-the-spirit-of-st-clare/.

I have a break right now, so I decided to take the opportunity to fill you all in on what has been happening the past few weeks. As I wrote in my last entry, I participated in a 5 day silent retreat. It was a wonderful week, and I am so grateful for the wisdom of the Church to have novices do a retreat right before they make First Vows. I grew closer to the Lord, and it was so peaceful. 

Then that Saturday, June 2nd, we had a special Midday Prayer in the Novitiate Chapel during which Sr. Louise (our community director) gave me my first mission assignment. I have been assigned to teach 3rd/4th grade at St. Theresa School in Kekaha, Kauai, Hawaii! I am excited for this new adventure. It will be my first year of teaching in my own classroom. Before this, I did student teaching and substitute teaching. I also have done volunteer work (teaching religious education classes and teaching at a summer program). I will leave for Hawaii on July 25th.

The next day, June 3rd, I had my first profession. Bishop David Ricken was the celebrant. Fr. Charlie Smiech, Fr.  Tom Speier, and Fr. Sam Jadin were his co-celebrants. My godmother, my parents, and my brothers were there for the occasion. Sr. Leslie and Sr. Regina Rose were my unofficial "bridesmaids," as I called them. They made excellent "bridesmaids!" Many of our Sisters were also present for the Mass, which was nice. It was such a special ceremony....I don't even know how to describe it...Afterwards, we had a reception in the cafeteria, and my whole family was amazed to watch Bishop Ricken out-pun my dad! My dad is always saying "punny" things, and he met his match! 

I was happy to share the day and the Mass with Sr. Thi and Sr. Tuyen. They were renewing their vows, and it was their first time saying their vow formula in English (rather than Vietnamese). I thought they did an excellent job! 

I then spent the following week with my family. I was with my dad and stepmom for the first half, and my mom for the second half. I thought that worked well. It was nice to visit with my family.

This is me with my Grandma Beechnau!

One of my stops was to see my maternal grandma. It is always nice to see her! We watched a little bit of Disney's The Parent Trap together. I remember watching it with her when I was younger. She loves watching Hayley Mills. 

Now I am back at the Motherhouse. Sr. Pamela Catherine and I are in the temporary professed summer program together, and it has been nice to have her around here again. We plan on going rollerblading together again soon!

It's time to for me to join the others at camp! Please keep us in your prayers!

Living Out Our Spiritual Motherhood

Project Linus was a success! We returned home with four quilts that will be given to children at UW Health: American Family Children's Hospital in Madison. We quilted blankets for boys. Jean and Dottie, who  patiently and warmly taught us everything we needed to know about sewing and quilting, said that many blankets are donated for girls, but there is a shortage of boys' blankets, so that is what they focus on. They are so cute! Sr. Natalie did a dinosaur one, Sr. Regina Rose did a shark one, Sr. Leslie did a Winnie the Pooh one, and I did one with various animals, such as giraffes, tigers, monkeys, and hippos. We just know the boys who get them will be so happy!

Not only was I able to sew without jamming the machine once, but I enjoyed the whole process. It was fun to sew and quilt everything together, and it felt great to do something nurturing and motherly for these children. Helping children who need to go to the hospital is something that I have been passionate about for a long time, so it was an honor to do this for them. Jean also shared with us some touching stories about her experiences handing out the quilts.

In addition, we each took a turn preparing a meal under the guidance of Sr. Jerianne. She gave us plenty of tips and help. Every meal was excellent. Nothing flopped. It was fun to work with Sr. Jerianne, because she was patient and had a great sense of humor.

On the way home, we put our heads together and wrote an article for Franciscanized World that Sr. Leslie typed up and sent to Sr. Julie Ann. To read it as well as see pictures from the week, click here: Quilting Quandaries and Culinary Capers.

I am excited to begin retreat tonight! It is a silent retreat and the theme is The Francis You Don't Know - His Greatness Was In His Weaknesses. Our retreat master is Fr. Thomas Speier, OFM. I am also planning on reading Hinds' Feet on High Places. Those of us in formation started to read it to each other, but we only got through the first part. I enjoyed the story, and I think it will go well with the theme of the retreat.

The retreat will end Saturday morning....my family will arrive Saturday afternoon....and my first profession is the next day on June 3rd! I am so excited, and it seems our Sisters are as excited as I am, because so many of them have come up to me and said, "Just think, only one more week!" It is so cool to go through this together. Also Sr. Thi and Sr. Tuyen will be renewing their vows, and I couldn't be happier to share the day with them!

Preparing for Project Linus

Life has been pretty busy around here. We just finished a young women's discernment retreat....6 lovely young women came to the Motherhouse. We novices were able to join them for a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help and then to a picnic. They seemed to have a good time, and we certainly enjoyed them. For pictures and to see what Sr. Julie Ann had to say about it, click on this link: http://www.fscc-calledtobe.org/living/index.php/2012/05/20/what-was-uplifting-at-ascension-vocation-discernment-retreat/.

Now we are finishing up packing for a week at a lakeside home that is owned by the family of one of our Sisters, where we will sew blankets for Project Linus. "As Charles Schulz’s Linus character from the PEANUTS® comic strip was comforted by his blanket, Project Linus strives to do the same and more for children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need" (http://www.projectlinus.org/).  Project Linus accepts handmade blankets.

I don't consider myself all that skilled at sewing things, so it will certainly be a labor of love. We will have expert seamstresses to guide us along. I am hoping they can teach me how to sew a straight line without jamming the machine. That's my first goal. Thinking of the children who will be comforted by these blankets will help me along as well.

I'm looking forward to the cooking part of the week. We each took a day to prepare dinner. Sr. Jerianne, the head of the Motherhouse kitchen, has been helping us with menu planning, and she will be working with us one-on-one to prepare the meals. She encouraged us to be adventurous and to cook/bake things we haven't made before.

I think it will be a nice week!

We'll be back at the Motherhouse late Friday afternoon. Be sure to check out Franciscanized World soon after that for our reflections from the week!

A Game and Movie Night

 Since school is out, we decided to celebrate! The Novitiate Community invited our International Sisters over. We knew we wanted to have dinner together, do some kind of physical activity, and then watch the movie Akeelah and the Bee. We were planning on going outside for frisbee or soccer, but it rained that day, so we switched to the gym and pulled out anything we could for activities. We ended up having a great time. We tied together two long ropes and played jump rope, we did hula hoops, and a few large-group activity games. To finish, we played lightning.

Here's how to play lightning:


There was definitely some natural talent in the group! Even though for some of them it was their first time shooting hoops, they did very well and had excellent "follow through." We were amazed! I remember how long it took me to shoot my first basket when I was a kid....

Way to go, Sr. Emiliana!

Wow, Sr. Theresa...really? Four hula-hoops?!

Back Row: Sr. Regina Rose, Sr. Rose Maura, Sr. Monica, Sr. Theresa,  Sr. Tuyen
3rd Row: Sr. Thi, Sr. Bernadette
2nd Row: Sr. Constansia, Sr. Juliet, Sr. Leslie
Front Row: Sr. Emiliana
Sr. Maria Echezonachukwu (Sr. Maria Eche) is also one of our
International Sisters, but she's away right now.

We were having so much fun that the time that we had planned to start the movie came fast. Sr. Elaine, our postulant directress, also joined us for snacks and Akeelah and the Bee. Everyone loved it. It is about an 11-year-old girl from South Los Angeles who aspires to compete in the National Spelling Bee.

Overall, it was a wonderful night, and one that we would like to do again! I love our International Sisters (our "cousins"). Each one of them is a blessing to our Community, and I am going to miss them when I am out on mission this fall!

A Weekend of Praise and Worship

 For our Friday Night Recreation, Regina, Sr. Regina Rose, Sr. Leslie, and I headed down to one of our favorite hang-outs at the Motherhouse: The Green Hut. We did praise and worship together, and we also made s'mores.

What is a s'more? Allow me to show you a clip from a movie that I watched throughout my childhood. Ham Porter gives very clear directions on how to make a s'more:

Note: I personally think that s'mores taste better when the marshmallows are roasted to the point of being golden brown. When they get set on fire, there is an added "carbon" flavor.

Roasted Peeps! Don't try this at home. :)

Sr. Leslie had a scathingly brilliant idea for a science experiment. We tried roasting peeps! While it was fun to try, we soon found out that it can cause burns. The sugar on the outside caramelizes.

We found that if they are slightly cooked, they can be ok to eat, but we had to be very careful. We had a good time with it anyway.

Left to Right: Regina, Sr. Regina Rose, Sr. Leslie

Then we did praise and worship, which was awesome. Sr. Regina Rose and Regina took turns playing the guitar and leading it. I have been learning some new songs from them, too. It is so great to praise God together, and it was a nice send-off for Regina, who is spending the next two weeks on a mission experience with our Sisters in Tuscon, Arizona.

Then last night, our Vocation Directresses took Sr. Regina Rose, Sr. Leslie, and I to ARISE Milwaukee: An Evening of Eucharistic Praise. It was a wonderful evening! There was an excellent turnout for the Spirit-filled event.

It was Eucharistic Adoration with music (a lot like how Saturday nights are set up at Steubenville Conferences). There were priests available for confession, as well as volunteers who were available to pray over people. The talks were great, too. One thing that stood out to me was when we were told that Adoration involves not just us gazing on the Lord; it's the Lord gazing on us! The Lord invites us to pray, and our prayer is a response to this invitation of love. It was a beautiful night.

If you live in the Milwaukee area, or are going to be around, here are the 2012-2013 dates for ARISE Milwaukee:

• September 22nd
• December 1st
• February 9th
• April 13th

People of all ages go to this, as we experienced last night. There were families there, too.
http://arisemilwaukee.org/

Great Expectations

I cannot believe that this is the last week of the Spring semester. It seems like it really flew by this time. All the Sister-students are busy writing papers, and preparing for finals and presentations. The other novices are studying everything they can about the New Testament, and I am practicing lots of logic formulas, while reviewing for digital photography and church history.

The big surprise of the semester was that I enjoyed Logic (philosophy). It was a class that I would never have taken unless it was required. So I am glad that I had to take it. Even though I might not have to know the "rules of implication" and the "rules of replacement" after this Thursday, I can tell that the class has helped me evaluate mass media more carefully.

In addition to finishing up the semester, Sr. Natalie (my novice directress) and I have been preparing for my First Profession of Vows, which will be Sunday, June 3rd! It is Trinity Sunday, which I think is perfect for a Franciscan profession. I got to choose a few of the songs for the mass, which was fun to do. We also have traditional songs that our Community sings for First Professions.

Other than preparations and school, we have simply been having a good ole' time. Sister Regina Rose, Sister Leslie, and Regina taught me how to play poker. We used chips and pretended that they were money. Before this, I thought poker was simply poker, but apparently there are a variety of poker games. For those of you who are nodding your heads right now, we played "Texas Hold'em." It was really fun, especially since I had beginner's luck. I ended up with a lot of blue chips (the highest level), which we decided were worth $20 (imaginary) each. I could have bet more than I did. One time I had 2 Aces in my hand and there was an Ace on the board and I put just a couple chips in the middle. We all had a good laugh about that when I revealed my cards.

During the game, Sr. Elaine (the postulant directress) walked through the room on the way to her office, leading to an enjoyable dialogue:

Sr. Regina Rose (to me): How much are you betting?
Sr. Elaine: (teasing) Are you gambling?!
Sr. Regina Rose: No, I said, "I need to change my bedding."
Regina (our postulant): Can I go to your wedding?
Sr. Regina Rose: They won't be letting.
Me: No more rhymes now, I mean it!
Simultaneously:
Sr. Regina Rose: Anybody want a peanut?
Regina: Anybody want a chocolate?

In case you missed the Princess Bride reference in the dialogue, here's a 40 second clip that deals with rhyming: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP5-qJSzDUg. If you haven't seen the Princess Bride, I recommend it. It is a very silly movie. You'll either love it or you'll hate it.