People have asked me why I, a mom of two active boys, spend one beautiful Minnesota July week per year away on a mission trip. Our group stays with girls and Carmelite Sisters in the poorest region of the Dominican Republic, a very poor country. The girls and Sisters only speak Spanish (I studied French). We do not visit the world famous resorts or pristine beaches. We live with the girls, eat with the girls, attend Mass, swim at the local beach, take a cultural excursion, visit families, and share a lot of good times at a summer camp. I’d like to invite women and girls ages 15 and up to join us July 9-17, 2022.

Why Travel?

“This is important: to get to know people, listen, expand the circle of ideas. The world is crisscrossed by roads that come closer together and move apart, but the important thing is that they lead towards the Good.” Pope Francis

We love the beach! All 50+ of us!

When you travel, you enjoy unique experiences. Breaking from your daily routine helps you gain a new perspective, maybe even a more hopeful one. You make surprising new connections with locals and fellow travelers. Plus, travel is fun!

Why a Mission Trip?

“Find new ways to spread the word of God to every corner of the world.” Pope Francis

When you join a mission trip, you will connect with people in a deep and fulfilling way – at a spiritual level. You will find commonality with people who are poor for no other reason than where they were born. You will admire people who work for justice in their countries. You will bond with fellow travelers who are experiencing new sights, sounds, smells, and emotions. You will return energized and with a new perspective on your own life.

As Catholics, you experience the global Church in an intimate and profound way. On our trip, you get to attend Mass in Spanish, where you will find familiar and new traditions. The parish we attend is over 500 years old!

Why Teresa Toda Camp?

“Wherever there are dreams, there is joy, Jesus is always present.” Pope Francis

Joenni “Then and Now” – She graduated from High School!

The Teresa Toda Home is a joyful place of dreams. Carmelite Sisters started the home to help girls learn values and skills so they can realize their dreams. At camp, you help this successful program by providing the girls with values and companionship that can’t come from financial donations alone.

As a Sister Parish, when you come to camp, you’ll be welcomed like family. We’ve been having wonderful times at camp for over 15 years. The Sisters have told us that the girls talk about camp all year long. The driver told us that among all the groups who come visit the girls, they only cry when we leave. It is truly a touching experience for the girls, the Sisters, and the travelers.

Why me?

“Once we come to realize how much God has given us, a life of self-sacrifice, of working for him and for others, becomes a privileged way of responding to his great love.” Pope Francis

If you are ready to respond to God’s gifts to you with love, you can make camp happen. Camp is 100% volunteer run, supported by the Church of Saint Edward in financial and other ways. No matter your talents and skills, you will make a difference. Most travelers report that they get more out of this trip than they give.

Yes, international travel is a hassle. Yes, you’re leaving beautiful summer weather for the hotter Caribbean sun. Yes, it’s a unique, unforgettable experience. Find out why almost 100 travelers have made this sacrifice to join camp and are glad they did.

Why Now?

Join this mission trip while you can for your own reasons. Do you want to follow the lead set by Pope Frances? Do you want to help the world? Do you want to have a mind-expanding experience – one you’d never find on a tour or at a 5 star resort? Do you want an opportunity to use your gifts to help others? Do you want to meet people who live with a low carbon footprint? What ever your reasons – what better way than to join our long and rich relationship?

To learn more, join our kickoff meeting or visit more of his blog site ( http://campamento.blog )contact me though this blog.

Join our mission trip this year. Support a social justice organization – the Teresa Toda Home, a home for very poor girls in Azua, Dominican Republic with a summer camp in July 2017. This trip, a Church of Saint Edward sister community relationship annual event, is for women over 18 and mother-daughter pairs for daughters over 15. We have openings from July 1 through July 9, and July 8 through July 16 for travelers interested in sharing a spiritual experience with young women and girls from another country. In a Vacation Bible School format, learn bible stories, play and dance to music, make crafts, perform skits, and other activities. We pray, exchange stories, share love, and spend time with the girls. Through the activities they learn English, enjoy crafts, and build self-esteem. Each trip is deeply touching and spiritual. Special gifts you may share are Spanish skills, crafting and beading talents, or your professional experience (esp. healthcare, tourism, retail, scientists, government, education, and other areas). If you want to follow the Pope’s lead on social justice, charity, adventure, spiritual experiences, fellowship, growth, and fun answer the call to travel with us this summer or help out from Minnesota. Look around this blog, starting on the About page and please contact me with questions or to RSVP.  Here are the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page from this year so far. Please share!!

New (to me) post that we can use! 15 Encouraging Phrases in Spanish from Upworthy

1. Great job. / Buen trabajo. Pronounced: boo-en tra-bah-hoe.
2. You have a beautiful smile. / Que bella sonrisa. Pronounced: ke beh-ya sone-ree-sa.
3. Would you like to be friends? / Quisieras ser mi amiga? Pronounced: key-see-air-aws sare me amiga (female)?
4. I appreciate your work. / Aprecio tu trabajo. Pronounced: aw-pre-see-oh too trah-bah-hoe.
5. You make the world a better place. / Tu mejoras el mundo. Pronounced: too meh-ho-raws el moon-doe.
6. Your kindness is appreciated. / Aprecio tu amabilidad. Pronounced: ah-pre-see-oh too aw-ma-bee-lee-dod.
7. How is your day going? / Como va tu dia? Pronounced: como va too dee-ah?
8. Are you enjoying the weather? / Estás disfrutando del clima? Pronounced: es-tas dees-froo-tan-doh del clee-maw?
9. You have a lot to offer. / Tienes mucho que ofrecer. Pronounced: tee-en-es moo-choe ke oh-freh-ser
10. I’m proud of you. / Estoy orgullosa(o) de ti. Pronounced: es-toy or-goo-yo-sa (from a female) de tee.
11. I believe in you. / Creo en ti. Pronounced: kre-oh en tee.
12. Never give up. / Nunca te des por vencida. Pronounced: noon-ka te des pore ven-see-da (to a female)
13. I know you can do it. / Yo sé que tú puedes. Pronounced: yo se ke too poo-eh-des.
14. You are very pleasant to be around. / Tu presencia es agradable. Pronounced: too preh-sen-see-aw es aw-grah-dob-le.
15. How do you say _ in Spanish?/Como se dice _ en Español? Pronounced: ko-mo se dee-se [enter any word here] en ess-pan-yol?
16. “I love it!” in Spanish? It’s “Me encanta!” Pronounced: may en-cahn-tah-da! (bonus)

Here are the words and phrases in our Traveler’s Preparation Guide. If you have any suggestions for this list, please let me know.

Campamento Vocabulary and Phrases

Must know phrases

• Please/por favor
• Thank you/gracias
• Greetings – Buenos dias, Buenos tardes, Buenos noches, Hola
• My name is/me llamo <name>
• What is your name?/Como se llama usted?
• Nice to meet you/ mucho gusto

Classroom & craft vocab

• Salón de clase/ Taller de clase – classroom
• Tijeras –Scissors
• Lapicero- writing utensil
• Lápiz- pencil
• Saca puntas- pencil sharpener
• Barro- clay
• Hilo- string
• Pucas- beads
• Diario- journal
• Papel- paper
• Crayones- crayons
• Drama- skit/ play
• Pretty/Lindo or linda, bonito or bonita
• How many? / Cuántos?

Colors

• Red/ roja
• orange/ naranja
• yellow/ amarilla
• green/ verde
• blue/azul
• purple/ murado
• Pink/ rosa
• white/blanco

Household Chores

• hacer los quehaceres – do the chores
  lavar los platos – wash the dishes
  barrer el piso – sweep the floor
  fregar el piso – mop the floor
  lavar la ropa – do the laundry
  planchar la ropa – iron the clothes
  aspirar el piso – vacuum the floor
  sacudir los muebles – dust the furniture
  sacar la basura – take out the trash
  arreglar – neaten, straighten up
  hacer la cama – make the bed
  poner la mesa – set the table
  quitar la mesa – clear the table
  tender la ropa – hang out the clothes to dry

Helpful verbs

• Escucha- listen (singular)
• Escuchen- listen (plural)
• (No) tengo- I (don’t) have
• Tienes?- Do you have?
• Vamános- let’s go
• Llegar- arrive
• Llegamos/ Llegaron- we arrive/ they arrived
• Espérate- Wait
• Dame- give me
• Damelo- give it to me
• Préstame- give it to me
• Quiero- I want
• Quiere- she wants
• Peinar- to brush
• Péiname- brush my hair
• Listo/ a- ready
• Estan listos/ as? Are you ready?
• Jugar- to play
• Pintar- to paint
• Hace calor- it’s hot
• Lo siento- I’m sorry
• Siéntate- sit down (one person)
• Siéntense- sit down (many people)
• Silencio por favor- quiet please
• I understand/Entiendo (no entiendo)
• I have/Tengo (no tengo)
• We make/ hacemos,
• We will make/haremos
• Ready/Listo
• I found/ Encontré
• I lost/ Perdí

Other vocab

• Fondo- background
• (Un) chin- a little bit
• Guagua- bus
• Cosa- thing
• Basura- trash
• Hogar- home
• Casa- house
• Trenzas- braids
• Pelo- hair
• Biblia- Bible
• Maleta- suitcase
• Small (shoes)/ pequeños  (zapatos) Medium/ medios,  large/grandes
• Children’s small/ niños pequeños,  Ladies small/ señoros pequeños
• I have one/three son/sons daughter/daughters. Tengo un/tres hijo/hijos hija/hijas.

Meals

• Desayuno- breakfast
• Merienda- snack
• Jugo- juice
• Galletas- cookies
• Almuerzo- lunch
• Cena- dinner
• Comemos- let’s eat

Day/week

• hoy -today
• mañana – tomorrow
• ayer – yesterday
• el contorno para la semana – the outline of the week
• esta semana – This week
• la semana pasada – Last week

Beach vocab

• Playa- beach
• Olas- waves
• Honda- deep
• Flotar- to float
• Arena- sand
• Suéltame- let me go (when floating)
• Vidrio del mar- sea glass    vidrio = glass
• Concha(s)- shells

Each year we have an uplifting pop theme song for camp.

Each year we have an uplifting pop theme song for camp.

Past Theme Songs

2015 “I’m Good” by The Mowgli’s

2014 “Happy” by Pharrell Williams

2013 “Gold” by Britt Nicole
2012 “I believe I can Fly” R. Kelly (chorus only) and “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars (all)
2011 “Firework” Katie Perry
2010 “When I look at You” Myley Cyrus
2009 “The Climb” Myley Cyrus
2008 “Dream Big”
2007 “Beautiful” Christina Aguilara
2006 “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield
2005 “Breakaway” Kelly Clarkson
2004 (we were just getting started… We didn’t have anything )
2002 Theme from the Titanic (this was an accidental success as was the whole first trip

Finalists for this Year:

Update 7/3: Wow, what generosity.  This had definitely been a “loaves and fishes” ezperience. So many have shared what they can that we have 42 pairs of gym shoes, more than 40 bath towels, and 30 back packs! So, if you are still interested in donating, please consider either a practical donation of “chewable” (not gummy) adult or children vitamins OR for fun beads for older girls (not pony beads). Contact me if you’re interested in donating cash.

Peace,

Ann

People have been asking me about donations. Bring any donations to room 129 by 8 PM, Wednesday, July 6, which is our packing night. Here is the list from the Sisters. Thank you for your support!

White, leather gym shoes sizes are here. They are much sirviese and are at Payless (Champion brand) for $24.99 : Shoe Drive Link – Signup Genius

Underwear – Sleeveless Undershirts (small kids’ size 6 or 8, 10, 12, S or M), Panties, White girls’ socks for girls from 6 to 18 years old.

Waterproof Mattress Pads

First Aid Medications and Vitamins No soft gel, liquid, or “gummy” form. It all melts in the Caribbean heat! Children’s and adults’ Advil, Tylenol, Aspirin Children’s Multivitamins, Adult Multivitamins, Advil Sinus (adults’), Children’s and adults’ Claritin, Anti-diarrhea medication, Over-the-counter oral antihistamine (Benadryl, others), Calamine lotion, Over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream, Burn Relief Gel, Omega-3 supplements

First Aid Supplies Bandages, including roll of elastic wrap 2”, 3”, and 4” (Ace, Coban, others) and bandage strips (Band-Aid, Curad, others) in assorted sizes, spray (Bactine) or lotion (Calamine, Campho-Phenique) Antiseptic solution

Meeting Notes 2/22/16

Attendees: Anne and Lauren, Jeane, Ann

Opening Prayer

A PRAYER FOR CHILDREN

Gracious God, in the vulnerability of a child, we recognize our own fragility. In their tender innocence, we are reminded that life is meant to be lived with curious and joyful abandon. Help us, who are no longer children, to retain the freshness of childhood and to be the protectors and mentors of those whose lives are just beginning. May we see in their eyes the clear window of heaven. Guide us in the ways to keep all children safe and in your great love, O Lord, hold them in your peaceful embrace so they are not overcome by loneliness, fear, or danger. We ask this for the sake of your love. Amen.

Introductions

We welcomed Lauren to her first meeting. She knows Alexa and other past travelers. She was a junior counselor at Camp Kota last year.

Jeane met Lauren and Anne for the first time at this meeting.

Travelers

Jackie, Jeane, Anne, Lauren, Meghan, Samantha, Michelle, Amanda, and Ann

Potential traveler: Jenny and Deb

It’s looking like one week of camp again this year.

Schedule Now Through July

These are the milestones between now and July 9. We might change some dates as we go, but these are ballpark dates. Let me know is you see a problem with any of these dates and we can adjust.

3/28 – 3^rd planning meeting – decide on flights, work on curriculum, talk about the women, plan extra activities –self-esteem, physical games, get donation list finalized

4/18 – finalize craft plans, order/get supplies

5/2 or 3 Cutting and Kitting night – we cut raw materials for crafts, then kit them into baggies, so at camp we hand out ziplock bags of craft “kits”. We also need a sample and directions (English is OK).

5/16 final planning meeting (unless we can pull off a June meeting) finalize all plans, work on traveler’s notebooks, order the rest of the supplies

6/18&25 publicize donation list – we’ll post in the bulletin, but this works even better with word of mouth. Be sure to share this list in case they want to help.

6/20 last meeting, if needed and possible. This might be good if Meghan is home at this time. I don’t think she’ll be back from college until now. We could also push the 5/16 meeting back a little, if that makes a difference.

7/5,6,or 7 – packing night – bring your one big suitcase for camp supplies, donations, and other items like gift bag stuff

7/9 – leave for the DR – probably the first flight to ATL 6 AM or so. It’s an early day, but worth it because we arrive around 2 PM.

Holy Women*

Hermana Fifi recommended studying Teresa Toda and Teresa Gausch*, because their difficult life mirrors the girls’ difficult lives in many ways, but they did not lose faith and accomplished significantly to the world. (maltreatment at the hands of abusive alcoholic husband, victimize, kept the faith in a difficult situation)

*we changed from Women of the Bible to Holy Women to encompass the two Teresas, and maybe even Saints in the future.

Miriam – celebrated with song and dance after crossing the Red Sea – tambourine craft, sing and dance with tambourine at night.

Mary Magdalene – from outsider to follower – butterfly craft representing her transformation. Note: Lauren did a research project on her in 5^th grade. We’re interested to know what she found out, because it’ll be age appropriate for our girls. I was curious about her turning point – what initiated it and when.

Tabitha/Dorcas – Peter raised her from the dead, helped the poor – craft real baby blankets, hand sewn, from cotton (Michelle?)

Theme Song

Forgot to mention this, but we’re starting to accumulate ideas for a theme song. Take a look at https://campamento2012.wordpress.com/2014/03/21/potential-theme-songs-for-2014/ to see past songs and the ideas we have so far. You can comment on the post with your suggestions or e-mail them to me and I’ll update the post.

Thank you all for coming and/or reading this e-mail. Remember, to find more information on campamento2012.wordpress.com