Trinita 2003


Embracing Everyone
by Debbie Grunbaum

My favorite and the most challenging part of Trinita was getting so close to the families.  It was my favorite because they were all such amazing people with big hearts and great stories.  I truly love them.  This closeness was also the most challenging part because yes, the families (and even the volunteers) do leave.  It is not just the leaving; it is the fact that you are going separate ways, maybe to never cross paths again.  It is not even the separation really; it is more a feeling of not enough time.  I learned even more the importance of accepting people for who and where they are in life and embracing them for it.  I grew closer to God and saw how to do something with religion/faith/spirituality at the very core of it, without forcing it on people.
 

Seeing the Trinity
by Mike Sodusta

My favorite part of Trinita was all of it.  I wanted to spend as much time with the families as possible, so my days were spent with the youth in the morning and the adults in the evening.  I learned how to love others by seeing the Trinity reside in them.  My best times were with the families in Family Blanket time.  I liked being welcomed into the lives of the new families and welcoming them into mine.  At Trinita, my heart was an open book.  Life was my work.  I was actually LIVING and it was challenging and fun.
 

Community Living
by Chris Decker

My favorite and my most challenging parts were one and the same – living in community. Being around people of the same religious background and the same basic morals and values was awesome.  At the same time it was very challenging getting used to peoples personalities and changing your own to conform.  I definitely want to be a missionary again.
 

Heaven on Earth
by Allison Parry

I now realize why Sr. Ann tried so hard, every week, to tailor the week to each family and, sometimes each person.  Each week, each new family had one week to experience unconditional love, praise, and approval from each other and all those around them.  One week leaves no time to talk about what cannot be changed but about loving people which leads them to love in return. 

Trinita is a utopia that fills everyone who comes with a dose of heaven on earth.  I realize Trinita is a heaven on earth, not because of the location but because of the people.  Each person who comes to Trinita helps paint heaven on earth.  It was not the green grass and starry nights that caused me to realize the world keeps turning without me, it was the people I met who had past experiences, views, and problems similar and different than my own.  I was part of an experience, I was a part of life, and that life came from being emotionally invested in something outside of myself.  After my experience at Trinita I realize that, after God, PEOPLE are the most important part of heaven, and our ability to honestly care about people will create that heaven on earth, no matter where we are.
 

Amazing Gifts
by Mary Gabriel

My favorite part about Trinita was bonding with the families, in an atmosphere like Trinita God speaks to each of us through other people to teach us, to form our character, and help us grow closer to Her.  The families I met were amazing gifts from God.  My other favorite thing about Trinita was Fiesta and most of all watching the kids develop their God-given talents and abilities.  I don’t know how many times a parent said something along the lines of, “Is that my daughter?’ or “My son doesn’t rap… I’ve seen a part of my son I’ve never seen before.”  Praise Jesus!

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