Helias Grad Volunteering In Liverpool

     Adam Frazier graduated from Helias in 2007.  From there, he attended Xavier University earning a bachelor's degree.  Here is where his narrative begins.

Adam playing soccer for Helias during his senior year.

     In September of 2011, I flew to Liverpool to begin my Vincentian Volunteer year.  I have spent the last 8 months living in community with two other volunteers, Patrick from North Carolina and Lisa from Indonesia. My two placements are at St. Vincent’s School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs where I spend 3 days a week and the other placement has me spending 2 days a week in the Visual Rehabilitation Center at Christopher Grange.
      I choose to spend a year with the Vincentian Volunteers after a long, hard look at my claim to be a Roman Catholic. I am a product of Catholic schools, and without them I would not be here right now. Helias and Xavier taught me what it meant to be a Roman Catholic and how to practice my faith – not just say I am a Catholic or occupy a pew on Sundays. In May of 2011, I was accepted into the Vincentian Volunteers program. I was excited to embark upon this journey to live in a different country and serve the poor. Serve the poor. What does that mean?
     St. Vincent de Paul says, “You will find out that Charity is a heavy burden to carry, heavier than the kettle of soup and the full basket. But you will keep your gentleness and your smile. It is not enough to give soup and bread. This the rich can do. You are the servant of the poor, always smiling and good-humored. They are your masters, terribly sensitive and exacting master you will see. And the uglier and the dirtier they will be, the more unjust and insulting, the more love you must give them. It is only for your love alone that the poor will forgive you the bread you give to them.” Boy was he right.
      

     At St. Vincents, I work with the ‘post 16’ form. These 7 students each have a visual impairment of some degree and most have an additional impairment (physical, behavioral, or both). I work as a learning support assistant during the lessons. The school is residential and so two nights a week I accompany some of the students and residential care staff to off campus activities. The two activities I go to are Daisy Club which is a youth club put on by Daisy UK which offers youth clubs for disabled children. The other activity is horse riding at a local stable.
The other activities offered to the children include dance class, football training, and rock climbing. It is important to not provide the children with an accessible education but also to provide age appropriate recreational activities.
       At Christopher Grange I am an extra set of hands to help out the rehabilitation officers. At Christopher Grange, service users are taught living, cooking, mobility, and computer skills for their new lifestyle. Recently, the rehab center has secured a contract with the largest taxi firm in Merseyside to provide Visual Impairment Awareness Training to the drivers of the entire fleet. This came after receiving complaints from our service users about the problems they face
using taxis. I play a major role in this training and it has received positive remarks from all those who have taken the course.
      The love I have for the children and service users grows with each day. They can be difficult at times, and it is in times I remember this quote. The best I can do is simply be there for the children and service users – to offer my hand of friendship to those society would wish to ignore or discard. There is a lot of bitterness and anger when it comes to those who have had sight and lost it. I simply can be there for them – the gift of myself and my time is all I have to offer, but it is a treasured gift.

Final Letter from Heart's Home Mission

Jonathan’s Letter # 4 - May 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

As month nine is coming to an end, we are starting to prepare for my return to the United States. Things have been going hard here and I don’t see it letting up any time soon. As I said in my last letter, Mayra and Yesse finished their missions and went home. There are now four of us here. I currently live with three Argentinians named Guilhermina, Nicolas, and Nany. It has been a big transition period since their departures but things are slowly getting back to normal.

A Different Kind of Mission

On March 18^th, I went with Fr. Arnaud and the new head of Heart’s Home, Fr. Guilherme, to Rio de Janeiro for ten days to work. It was an incredible experience. We worked like crazy with our talks on the radio, lectures, and testimonies in front of large groups, etc. The purpose of our time in Rio was to spread the word about Heart’s Home and that we did. It was an honor to get chosen to represent Heart’s Home in such a way.

Jonathan, Gabby & Kaka

Some More Friends

Ninha - I know I already told you all about Ninha but I just wanted to let you all know that João Guilherme is due June 10. Also, Gabby now can say my name.

W. - When I arrived last July, W. was at our house almost every day. His relationship with our house was as strong, if not stronger than any. He was also a great friend of mine. W. was a great person with only one defect. He was the head drug trafficker of the area. W. didn’t let his work life and his personal life get mixed up too much until one day he killed a co-worker of his. After that day, W.’s life turned upside down. Things just went from bad to worse. We did everything we could to try and get him to leave the drugs and get out the city. A lot of time passed without hearing from W. until one day I received a phone call. It was W.. He told me that he had left the drug industry completely and was living in a city a few hours outside of Simões Filho. It was a miracle. W. was able to do the impossible. I was very happy about what he had done until a few weeks ago I had an encounter with W. again but it was different than our normal encounters. He was runni ng away from the police after robbing a school and was trying to break into our house. It was a very difficult thing that happened, not because he was trying to rob us, but because the life he has reentered will only end in death.

L. - L. is our 17-year-old next door neighbor. She is someone to be looked at as an inspiration to all of us. Lau has 4 sisters who all got pregnant when they were sixteen or younger. She lives in a two room house with her mother. She is surrounded by a world of sex, drugs, and alcohol. But, thankfully, L. has spent every afternoon at our house since the day it opened. She knows our daily prayers better than we do. She goes to church at least 4 times a week. And on top of all this, L. has dreams. This may sound silly to many of us Americans who live in a country filled with dreams but remember, this neighborhood doesn’t exactly produce dreams. L. wants to be a doctor. She says she doesn’t want a boyfriend because that only will distract her. This girl came from nothing but she wants everything. We have already made a promise within our house that we will do anything it takes to make her dreams come true. We have already taken her to the Medical University in Sa lvador and that is just the start of it. L. is truly an example of why we continue when things get tough.

Donha N. - Donha N. is another inspiring woman in our lives. She calls us her white children and she treats us like it, too. Donha N. is a proud mother of nine, is seventy-eight, and lives with her daughter and three sisters. At the age of seventy-eight, Donha N. has still not taken a single day in her life for just her. She passes most of her time taking care of her sisters and daughter. M. , her daughter, has the mental capacity of a toddler due to drugs. B., her sister, has breast cancer. M., her other sister, suffers from a rare skin disease that slowly eats away at her skin. D. N. is never down in the dumps, sad, or without hope. Every time she tells us about something wrong in her life she ends the story with a big smile and the words, “It’s okay because I am in God’s hands and if I stay there, I’ll be good.”

Donha M. - Eighteen years ago, D. M. took in the daughter of a friend who didn’t have the means to take care of her. A few years ago, the daughter became very involved in drugs and prostitution. She ended up getting pregnant. Her son, D., is one of the cutest babies I have ever seen. D. stayed with D. M. every day, all day. The daughter managed to get out of the drugs and prostitution but went straight to the police to clear her name. When her “ex co-workers” found out, they kidnapped, raped, and killed her. Since D. M. is not D.’s real grandmother, she lost custody. She has now lost her daughter and grandson.

Work On Top of Work

A few months ago, four young boys playing soccer at the bottom of the favela were killed by stray bullets. We immediately decided we needed to do something. We now have a project in progress to build a small soccer field in our back yard. This area will also be used for Mass, Permanences, Gatherings, etc. It is a project that will also ensure the safety of our house. It has been a great experience for me to have started this project and carried it to the point I have for the next head of the household and community to continue. It has also worn me out. Our days don’t leave much time for ourselves but the project is all in order. We have also asked for local help on this project. Just this morning I met with the mayor and a city council member to see about receiving help from the city. This is work I never imagined I would be doing throughout my mission but it is more rewarding than I ever could have imagined.

Adrian, Nany, myself, Guillermina

The Last Bit

I received my ticket for my flight back home already. I closed my eyes and just like that, almost ten months have gone by like nothing. My “despedida” (farewell) process has already started. It is my preparation to go back home. It normally takes about a month to say goodbye to everyone and invite them to my farewell mass. It is also a big preparation for the people of the neighborhood as well. It is never easy for any of us to say good bye... especially when we don’t know when the next time will be that we see that person. I am sure many tears will be shed but also many memories made. I will let you all know how it turns out when I have my feet back on American soil. It looks like I will be arriving at the Columbia Airport at 3:00 pm on June 15. Until then!

In Him,
Jonathan Aur

Easter From Friends

This is a letter my son, Jonathan, wrote while on mission with Heart's Home in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.  Jonathan spent a year doing mission work.

Dear Jefferson City Friends,

       This is a picture of the kids in Brazil with their Easter presents. On this day, every child in our neighborhood was at our house playing games and was surprised with a present. The presents might have been the best presents that the children had ever received in their entire lives. The presents consisted of coloring books, crayons, and plastic Easter eggs filled with candy. It was all made possible by Helias Catholic High School, St. Peter's Catholic School, and the Balcer Family. The support that Heart's Home received from my friends and family back home was more than ever repayable. Even now, while writing this thank you letter, I get teary eyed. The loving Jefferson City community made an impact on those children's lives that they will never forget. Those children now have the option to stay inside or at the Heart's Home and color their books or draw with their crayons instead of running around on the streets. Keeping those children off of the streets will keep them away from drugs, sex, alcohol, prostitution, and even death. In this picture, you will be able to see smiles unlike any smiles you will encounter in our day-to-day lives. They are smiles caused by such an incomprehensible simplicity that we can't help but take a moment to thank God. Those are the smiles that got me out of bed every day at all hours and all situations. I want to thank everyone for their support. Heart's Home mission cannot be made possible without the love and support from back home. Thanks again and God bless.

Love,
Jonathan Aur

P.S. Not all of the children that were there that day are in the picture.

P.P.S. The boy on my left (Enrique) asked if we could take this picture "to thank the people who love us and don't even know us."