A Day of Hard Work

Hello all,

Today, we spent most of our day at the Mary and Martha House in Ruskin.  This organization helps ladies and their families that have been in some kind of crisis (such as domestic abuse or homelessness) by giving them a place to stay, giving them classes for things like budgeting and career development, helping them find permanent housing, and anything and everything else that will help them get acclimated to a new life.  We learned that this organization is very different from other shelters because they emphasize the need for each family to have their own private space and certain accommodations.  They work with each women individually every day to make sure each is getting the specific things that they need.

To help the Mary and Martha House with their mission, we spent the morning gardening and beautifying the main walkway.  This allows the women coming to the Mary and Martha House to be welcomed by something beautiful and feel more comfortable and safe.  With all of us working hard, we were able to do the work very quickly and still had time to spare.  So, after our lunch, which consisted of tasty Cuban sandwiches (a nice Floridian meal!),  we moved on to painting a gazebo.  We gave the gazebo a fresh new coat of paint, and also added a splash of paint to a neighboring lizard (we washed him off and he's okay, though!).

After we cleaned up, we headed over to the Rose Boutique which is owned and run by the Mary and Martha House.  This boutique has so much amazing clothes and shoes, ranging from beautiful wedding dresses to cozy sweaters.  Each member of the group went home with a treasure from the store, knowing that all the money spent will go back to the women at the house.

Then, we came back to the Ruskin campus.  We finished the night up by painting what we call "Magic Mirrors."  The point of these mirrors is to show and portray what our true self is through the colors and decorations we use.  We also plan to share this activity with some girls at one of the organizations we are helping out at later this week.

Stay tuned for more adventures tomorrow!

With love,
Lydia and Katie

Feeling edumacated, motivated and moved

Hi family and friends,

Today we started our day off with nearly four and a half hours of educational presentations. These presentations focused on human trafficking in the state of Florida. Representatives from the agencies we are working with this week came in to give an overview of their mission and how they are active regarding the topic. Every speaker was eye-opening, and for the first time, many of us were exposed to the reality of human trafficking on our own soil.

My favorite speaker, Natasha, works for an agency called Redefining Refuge. She works to take in victims of sexual human trafficking up to 18 years. She was FIERCE. She has a safe-house that no common person has the address to and houses up to 4 girls at a time. The girls she takes in have gone through experiences none of us will encounter in a lifetime. She spoke of a call she had received to take in a young girl that had been sexually trafficked and addicted to crack cocaine since the age of 9... she was now 16. She has had girls try to run away, be extremely uncooperative and not even understand that they were victims in a traumatic experience. They don't have many memories of their childhood besides the trafficking lifestyle they had become accustomed to. Furthermore, she is active in law enforcement advocating for the safety of these young girls and all victims. The link to this agency is below.

http://www.redefiningrefuge.org/

We heard a few stories from survivors of human sex trafficking today as well. I could sit and try to recreate the emotions that ran through all of us as they were speaking, but I know it wouldn't compare. I was moved to tears (a task not easily accomplished) by witnessing the new and transformed women speaking in front of me, and imaging the troubled, broken women they once were.

Deputy Jeffery, the County Sheriff, shed light on the labor human trafficking, an side that is not as well known. He spoke about how Mexicans are transported over to the states to work, such as pick tomatoes in a Florida garden. There would be 9-10 of them living in a small trailer, working 4am-4pm 6 days a week and making $1.00 a day. The owners would force them into staying for long periods of time by corrosion, saying they owed him a few thousand dollars and they had to stay until it was worked off. Deputy Jeffery said this labor trafficking is currently happening a few miles down the road from the Gannon Ruskin Campus we are staying at. I remember hearing him say that and thinking, "This is an entirely new form of slavery."

After the heavy topics of the morning, we took a nice sunny lunch break and reflected as a group. All of us were very moved, but also motivated to learn and make a difference in the agencies this week.

THEN we took an afternoon expedition to the white and wonderful beaches of Siesta Keys (s/o Rachel's fam). They have the best sand ever.

Well, time to rest up and prepare for some service work! I'll talk to you tomorrow :)

Much love,
Kat

Our Second Day!

Hi everyone!

Our relaxing Sunday here was such a great start to our week. We began the day by attending mass at a beautiful church, The Prince of Peace. They were very welcoming and even gave a free book to read over Lent! We then went to Hydro Harvest Farms, which was great! We picked fresh strawberries and lettuce (they are delicious!). After picking our fresh produce, we spent some time together grocery shopping. Afterwards, we visited the Manatee Viewing Center, which was a really cool and fun thing to do. We all cooked dinner and enjoyed our meal together! The day concluded with our first reflection, and we all set personal goals for the week. This week is going to be a very different experience, but we all plan to listen and make a difference in the lives of others.

With Love,
Karissa

We made it!

Hello family and friends!

We have arrived safely to the Gannon campus in Ruskin. We are currently getting all settled in and snuggled up on our therapy beds. For dinner we had DELICIOUS tacos-- the perfect meal after a long day of traveling. Tomorrow morning we are going to mass, grocery shopping (yay for food) and possibly the beach! Time to rest our bodies and minds for the week to come. Thanks for being involved in this journey with us!

Much love,
Kat