DominicanHeart Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 I am about to start my last year of college (for now anyway) I am still discerning Religious Life but after I graduate, I'm thinking about taking a year to dedicate my life to service. I've been thinking about joining a volunteer corps or going on a Mission trip. Can anyone make any recommendations for organizations with great mission trips? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuturePriest Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Where are you more partial towards? Africa, South America, Asia, etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DominicanHeart Posted August 18, 2015 Author Share Posted August 18, 2015 Where are you more partial towards? Africa, South America, Asia, etc? I'm open to going anywhere God wants me to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisa Marie Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Don't forget to look at your local community, too. First you have to figure out what you want to do and what you want to get out of it. That will help direct which organizations to seek out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corban711 Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 (edited) Maybe some of the religious orders you are interested in have oversees missions that you could volunteer with? That way you could still be in a religious setting, which would be more conducive to making that discernment, help you keep you grounded in prayer and service to others who are in need, and you will have the added benefit of being able to see their everyday life up close and personal. Think of it as an extended come and see That was my first thought. I don't know what kind of orders you are looking into or where you might like to go, but my second thought was The Community of St. John has a program called "School of Life" that you could do either in the US, or in a country like the Philippines. There you would get to live with other young adults (ages between 18-30 or so), pray with the Brothers and Sisters of St. John every day, and have a structured semi-religious life experience. You would have formation classes of philosophy and theology taught by the brothers and sisters, eat meals with them, and join them in all of their apostolates. In the Philippines for instance, you would get to do a lot of work with the very poor who live there. Formation, prayer, service to the poor, as well as being around both men and women religious! It's an amesome experience. Not sure of its cost. Also, I'm not sure which apostolates the "School of Life" here in the US is involved in, but I believe that takes place in Illinois. Usually begin in the Fall too so you might have to act quickly if that interests you. I think it runs September-March. edited to add that they were founded by a French Dominican and are heavily influenced by Dominicans in many ways because of that. They are not Dominicans, but your DominicanHeart wouldn't feel too out of place there either Edited August 18, 2015 by corban711 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DominicanHeart Posted August 19, 2015 Author Share Posted August 19, 2015 That sounds cool! I might look into that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheresaThoma Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 I had a friend that did HeartsHome. http://usa.heartshome.org/ and from what she has written she loved it. They are all over the world though she specifically was in Thailand. Catholic Volunteer Network https://catholicvolunteernetwork.org/ is a great resource for finding opportunities. Some sites are affiliated with AmeriCorps so it is possible to get an education award which can either be used to pay off loans or towards further schooling. The year I did it the full year award was $5500. I was living in a community setting and the education award really helped me pay off my loans. The group I worked with was called Maggie's Place. I'm not sure if the Community of St John is doing the School of LIfe here in the US currently. Last I heard they were changing it/modifying the program a bit, I do know the brothers are looking to start a men's discernment house/program. It does appear that they have a couple of programs (both volunteer and the School of Life) over in France. http://stjean.com/ecole-de-vie-saint-jean-baptiste-0 and http://stjean.com/jeunes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DominicanHeart Posted August 19, 2015 Author Share Posted August 19, 2015 HeartsHome sounds amazing. I really want to do something where I can be with kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corban711 Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 I had a friend that did HeartsHome. http://usa.heartshome.org/ and from what she has written she loved it. They are all over the world though she specifically was in Thailand. Catholic Volunteer Network https://catholicvolunteernetwork.org/ is a great resource for finding opportunities. Some sites are affiliated with AmeriCorps so it is possible to get an education award which can either be used to pay off loans or towards further schooling. The year I did it the full year award was $5500. I was living in a community setting and the education award really helped me pay off my loans. The group I worked with was called Maggie's Place. I'm not sure if the Community of St John is doing the School of LIfe here in the US currently. Last I heard they were changing it/modifying the program a bit, I do know the brothers are looking to start a men's discernment house/program. It does appear that they have a couple of programs (both volunteer and the School of Life) over in France. http://stjean.com/ecole-de-vie-saint-jean-baptiste-0 and http://stjean.com/jeunes. Thank you for that! I think you had a bit better/more updated info on the Community of St. John too. That is helpful to know so I don't go around continuing to tell other people about that. Haha. I do have a good family friend who has lived in Brazil with her husband doing mission work with them and that has been an amazing experience for them. That isn't the "School of Life" either, but has been a very good volunteer mission experience. And I would just like to add that HeartsHome would get a strong, positive vote from me. I visited their home in New York and was absolutely blown away by their hospitality towards me. They welcomed both myself and a friend of mine even though they were not expecting us...we just went and knocked on their door...and they brought us in, fed us lunch, and spent time telling us about their life and mission, wanted to hear about our work, and invited us to come back for adoration any time! The women in that house were a beautiful witness to the love of Jesus for us that day. Based on my experience of them, I would recommend them to anyone looking for a mission experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AveMariaPurissima Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 There's a girl from my parish who's volunteering in Peru with Heart's Home. From time to time she sends updates and what she's written about her experiences is beautiful. I don't have any personal experience with them, but FOCUS does mission trips: http://focusmissions.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DominicanHeart Posted September 1, 2015 Author Share Posted September 1, 2015 There's a girl from my parish who's volunteering in Peru with Heart's Home. From time to time she sends updates and what she's written about her experiences is beautiful. I don't have any personal experience with them, but FOCUS does mission trips: http://focusmissions.org/ I was thinking about applying to FOCUS as well. We'll see what God has in store for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now