Compilation of memories from my experience as a volunteer in Oregon.

1. JVC /AmeriCorps
Oregon
The story of being accepted by a Church
& a Monastic community.
Thank you St. Luke’s, SVDP, & Queen of
Angels for your loving support!!!

2. An anonymous note from a housemate

3. JVs love to take road trips to visit other JV
communities.
My JV group: The Davis House.
We played Frisbee at the park.

4. Our walking trip through Seattle

5. Northwestern progressive atmosphere The house was kept freezing to keep us in solidarity with the
poor. Many things in the house were broken or 2nd hand. I
fixed my lamp with a coat hanger.

6. Stacy made me this delicious birthday flan.
Funny how I never got a picture with my JV community.
My office where I helped clients.
I made my banner collage from cloth scraps -
the texture feels nice!

7. The Davis House visited this local farm.
It’s interesting what you can do with hay.
The Pacific Northwest region JV Fall Retreat.
I grouped with another JV house to watch the sunrise.

8. Angela: a friend at another JV house. Sally with cute frog socks. We tried getting a picture of the socks
& Sally’s face at the same time, but Rob can be bad with a
camera sometimes.

9. Beth from the Davis House. She worked for Marion-Polk Food
Share, which stocked the Food Bank I was in charge of.
The normal truck driver let Beth have a go behind the
wheel, and this is what happened.

10. Fr. Dave helped me transition to Queen of Angels Monastery,
in Mt. Angel.
A note from Sally, a JV in Hillsboro, OR.
On the day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I departed from the Davis House.

11. A Christmas Food Basket giveaway for the underserved.
The program is made possible by various community organizations working together.

12. SVDP Volunteers
helping put together
the Love Santa
program.

13. Fr. Angel visited St. Luke’s every now & then. Chris & Monica were always busy, but
also very supportive.

14. Life at the Monastery is quiet, peaceful & beautiful. Never before had I lived among so many trees.
I loved this environment.

15. S. Marietta takes the volunteers to the coast for whale watching, taffy, & clam chowder.
I never got to spot the whales, but I am now addicted to clam chowder.

16. Some monks at the Abbey are Vietnamese. They host this
cultural event filled with plays, music & liturgy in Vietnamese.
It’s nice to be loved.

17. Seeing the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood are a must on a visit to Oregon.
I had seen neither & convinced two other monastery volunteers to go on a trip.

18. Nature is breathtakingly beautiful in Oregon.
I often wished I could capture the scent in a bottle.

19. This was my first introduction to snow. Karen & Phillip let
me out of the car long enough to throw this snowball.
The trip up the mountain was slow and winding. I was the
navigator on the trip back to Mt. Angel. I missed one turn,
but we got home alright.

20. The Model A Ford is Kenny’s car. He takes very good care of his baby, but lends it to the Sisters for the parade.
I got to ride in the rumble seat!!! That was a dream come true.
In a small town, anyone can take part in the Fourth of July parade.

21. St. Luke’s had two volunteers - Becca & me. To thank the
volunteers, it is customary for the St. Luke’s staff to give the
volunteers a proper send off.
The Sisters go to outings on their special holiday, which luckily
falls in the summer. Here I have a go at the carrousel.

22. Ice cream can be so much fun.
It is a touch of childhood pleasure.
Alicia
S. Josephine, Alicia, S. Regina
Grown women having a fun time at the carrousel.
Who would have thought?

23. We took this trip to see the famed Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland & to do some whitewater rafting.
It was way cool!!! I loved the rapids!!!
Chris was a food bank colleague. He worked with
Beth at Marion-Polk Food Share (MPFS), which is the
agency that stocked the SVDP Food Bank I
managed.

24. I rented a car & took myself on a pleasure trip to Crater Lake - another Oregon must-see. The long trip made my tummy sick,
but luckily it passed quickly. I stopped often along the way to experience the wild beauty of the rivers. The waters are majestic!
After I learned to drive, I pursued my heart’s pleasure. I love hiking & camping, but I can never find anyone to go with.

25. I really fell in love with Nature.
While camping, an RV neighbor lent me a hammer for the tent stakes. Folks sure can be nice!!!

26. To get to this beautiful spot, I had to walk down Devil’s
Trail. Downhill, the trail is easy. Going uphill can be
exhausting.
The amazing shade of blue simply cannot be captured on film.

27. Here, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVDP) says
goodbye with lots of folks, lots of food, lots of love, & lots of
good wishes.
Two of my greatest fears were learning how to drive &
bike. I learned both in Mt. Angel.

28. The giant sequoia & the monastery brought tranquility to my heart. Living amongst orchards was also a dream of mine. It
seems that my stay at Mt. Angel made a lot of dreams
come true.

29. Most of the Sisters at Queen of Angels Monastery
(QAM)
The Seminary / Abbey grounds are expansive, making it an ideal
park-like hang-out in this sleepy town. Friends & I had fun here.
I’m glad I was able to move from the JV community to
this monastic one at QAM. It was good experiencing
both. I made some really good friends.