Today, our final day in Houston, was the group’s free day. With nothing planned and a day to ourselves, we split into two groups. The first group slept in, finished up work at the ranch, and rested up. The second group headed off to Galveston, Texas for a beach day. While the water in Galveston may be a bit oily and littered with jellyfish, the sun still shined the same! The five students who went to Galveston set up camp on a nearly empty beach, and spent the late morning and early afternoon sunbathing, tossing a football, and enjoying some beach tunes, a day more reminiscent of what most spring beak getaways entail. The beach bums got some Rita’s afterward and headed back to the ranch. Back at the ranch, we caught up with the other group and got to hear about their fun riding the pony. A little later, we headed out to say our goodbyes to all the wonderful members of the community we met this week. First was Ms. Joan, who let the girls stay at her house for the first couple days in Houston. We talked with Ms. Joan, who had got candy for us, for a while before taking pictures, giving her flowers, and saying goodbye. We drove a short distance to the Church where we first said our goodbyes to Fr. Brandon, who was preparing for the evening Spanish mass. We waited at the Church for Ruben and Obby, the generous parishioners whose ranch house we were staying at and who had made us an incredible barbecue earlier in the week. After saying goodbye to everyone, we headed back to the ranch to eat a dinner of whatever leftovers people could find. We spent the evening sitting at the dining table, writing notes for one another to read back in Pittsburgh, and recounting the awesome experiences we had in H-Town.

Written by: Alex H

After a wonderful night of fellowship, we got up early today to head to the Mamie George Community Center for more food distribution work! While we all were tired, it didn’t take long for the good vibes to set in and wake us up! Our group really brought the energy all morning—the spirit was really with us all! We started by gathering all the food to be distributed at 8am, and by 9am we were ready to distribute everything! Our team was divided into a few groups – Maria Paula and Gio directed traffic; Alex, Tony, Grant, Dan, and Fr. John handed out dry goods and meats; and Luke, Elisha, Natalie, Carmela, Lydia, and Jimmy distributed fruits and veggies! The Catholic Charities workers leading us were so welcoming and kind to us as we gave out food to oncoming cars. We all loved getting to greet families and pets as they drove by our distribution stations. While our time with each family/individual picking up food was short, we really made the most of it! The best part of the morning was when Mr. Pete, a retired volunteer working with us, played disco music on his bluetooth speaker for all to hear. This is when our team started to groove to the beat and share the positive energy with everyone in the distribution line. Smiles, laughs, and good fellowship were shared by all! Some folks even got out of their cars to dance with us! It was really special to see everyone working hard and having fun. This spirit of love in action was certainly felt by all present at the Mamie George center!

Our work with food distribution wrapped up around 12pm, and once we put back all left-over food we left the site at 1pm. After a quick stop for gas and snacks at But-ee’s, we went home to the ranch for some rest, lunch, and showers. This gave us all enough time to prep for our big excursion: The Houston Livestock show and RODEO!!! After cooking and eating dinner, we drove to the Houston Metro and arrived at the NRG stadium downtown at about 7:30. The rodeo was unlike anything we’ve seen before, as there was fair rides, games, and all sorts of animals present! We were even able to pet sheep, cows, and pigs! After walking around the livestock area, we got to explore the fair grounds and take group photos. By 9pm we were all ready for the Lauren Daigle concert in the stadium! Vocals, lighting, and overall vibes were excellent!!! By the end of the night the team was certainly tired, but in great spirits!! It was so special to share this unique experience. Looking forward to our last day in town!

Written by: Tony

After a hard day’s worth of work, we woke up bright and early today to return volunteering at Anawim Thirft Store of Magnificat Ministries to the Homeless. The majority of the group started out the day at Anawim, but Jimmy, Lydia, and Grant began their day at Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen, another Magnificat House. At Anawim, it was great to see the familiar and kind faces of Suzanne and Santos. We organized bags of clothes, assembled furniture, and helped out with other odds and ends throughout the store. From 8-12, we were able to organize and clear out most of the clothes from the donation storage to make available space for lots more of incoming donations. It was heartwarming to see how the clean area and seeing young people working in the community made Suzanne, the other volunteers, and even passerbys smile. They were so grateful, but we were even more grateful to have the opportunity to help and meet them and their community.

After that, we visited the SOMA office. We shared a What-A-Burger meal together and learned about the ministries that SOMA does around the world. We then toured the University of St. Thomas. Walking around a smaller, beautiful, Catholic university reminded us of home sweet home, Duquesne. We met a couple students along the way, prayed in the beautiful, simplistic, and modern-looking Chapel of St. Basil, walked the labyrinth in the garden area, shared what drives our purpose, and reflected in the interpretive and peaceful Rothko Chapel.

In the evening around 7, we helped lead the highs and middle school youth group at St. Benedict the Moore. About half of us went with the middle schoolers, and the other half helped with the high schoolers. The middle schoolers learned about what gossiping is and how it can really hurt someone. The high schoolers talked about participation in the mass. It was refreshing and enlightening to spend time with youth and learn from their experiences as they took some lessons from our experiences, hopefully.

After a long day of traveling and meeting lots of people, we ended the day with a Filipino Asian-fusion dinner and karaoke at and Be More Pacific, Gio’s cousin’s very own restaurant! The food was AMAZING, and of course we sang all of the karaoke classics like Don’t Stop Believing, Sweet Caroline, Dancing Queen, Mr. Brightside, and more. The energy was high and full of laughter, singing, and bonding. The packed-full day was exhausting but worth the friendships we created, the service we volunteered, and the memories we will cherish.

Written By: Elisha S.

Hi y’all Jimmy here back at it with another blog! Tuesday was our “work from home” day, which means we worked on our hosts ranch for the day. The team worked to clean the ranch house and pick up trash around the property. We also worked to clean up around the horse’s stables! Around 3:30 the group separated–myself and Grant stayed on the ranch to mow and take care of the 6 acre land while the others went to the Mamie George Catholic community center to distribute food. The group that went to the community center distributed grocery items to 350 families in a drive through style of stations. After the community center, we met up with Fr. Honesty and he was gracious enough to but us two rounds of bowling. After bowling, we thanked Fr. H and went on our way back to the ranch to rest up for the day to come. On our way home, we were able to stop for a delicious Boba tea treat!

-Jimmy H