Philothea
Life in the JVC

Here

August 13, 2004
So here I am in Hays, Montana. I have the internet at our school. Orientation was a lot of fun this year, mainly because I wasn't trying to make a good impression on my community this year. They'd find out what I was like soon enough anyway.

The Northwest is where JVC began back in 1955. We had the founder, Jack Morris, give us a talk. It started up in Alaska because this Jesuit priest needed people to come build a school. So he started recruiting young people to come up and volunteer a few years. They didn't have stipends in those days because he figured there wasn't anything for them to spend their money on, so why give them any?

From that small beginning was the seed of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. The Peace Corps was based on it, and the Lutheran Volunteer Corps shamelessly copied it too, and all these volunteer groups owe something to Jack Morris. He doesn't like being called a founder though, because he said he never planned it. It just was an idea whose time had come.

The Northwest is experiencing a "shrinkage" problem this year. They just didn't have enough people to fill all the positions, so they had to close down six communities. That's quite a shame, because I'm sure the volunteers were quite needed in those towns. I know we're crucial here at the Mission School.

Barb brought a car, so she and Donna drove from orientation in Portland, but she could only fit one other person, so Maureen and I got to take the train. It didn't leave until the afternoon, so we spent a few hours in Powell's, a bookstore that takes up one city block. I've finally given in and bought a Nalgene bottle, because I lost my water bottle at the airport, and they had science fiction ones at Powell's, with the ounces marked off with names of authors, from Adams to Asimov.

Our train ride was 21 hours long, but it was much more comfortable than a bus or a plane. It was the Empire Builder, which goes from Portland and Seattle to Chicago. I highly recommend taking it if you're ever in the mood to see some beautiful country. There was a Sightseer's Lounge, with big windows to see the landscape.

Then we got off in Havre and were picked up by Liz and her little boy. She's and FJV who teahces first grade at our school. It was a 90 minute drive from Havre to Hays, and Havre is also the closest place with stores. There's a pizza place 40 minutes away, but its closed on Sunday and Monday, and only open until 8 on the other days. I saw that the one Chinese place in Havre was closed until September 7th because the owner was on vacation.

So we got in at about 5:30 Monday evening. Barb and Donna weren't in yet, and I was feeling a little worried about them, and also tired. I had been travelling all day and all night. But the nuns had made us dinner, so we sat down with them. There are four Dominican nuns here. One is from Manhattan, one is from The Bronx, and two are from Brooklyn, so there's real diversity. They're also diehard Yankees fans, which makes me happy.

One of the two Jesuits was there, too. They were described to me as "an old priest and an older one." The Jesuits have been at this mission since the 1880s. First the Ursuline sisters were here teaching, and then the Franciscans, and now the Dominicans. A new batch of nuns should have been coming out, since the Dominicans arrived over 20 years ago when the Franciscans were still here. But I guess we're the new nuns. We're living in the Franciscans old convent, after all. Jack Morris said that this is the age of the laity. We're taking on more and more of the duties of the church that used to be done by religious orders. I don't know how I feel about that.

2:17 p.m.
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