Sunday, January 8, 2012

Iona in Mission (IIM): Miami Trip - Day 1


Today, we began our mission-focused journey to Miami, FL...

Fr. Frank dropped us off at the airport at 7:00 am and the flight was quick and uneventful trip (lots of sleeping). We arrived safely to the Miami airport and were welcomed by Br. Jason Ford '01 and Robert Droel '12.

After we got our luggage, Br. Ford and Robert brought us to Corpus Christi Chali’s Casa, in the “Little Haiti” district to get settled into our bunkbed-style rooms. Slightly famished from the morning flight, we headed to Al Sabor Peru for lunch. Everyone loved the authentic Peruvian food: Chaufa vegetales (vegetable fried rice); mango juice and deep fried chicken-yummy!  After lunch, we went to Archbishop Curley Notre Dame High School. Mr. Douglas Romanick, vice principal for Advancement, walked us through the steps of “Protecting God’s Children” in Virtus training

With the directions of Br. Ford and Br. Tim, we then made our way to Lincoln Road. This is a section of Miami Beach that is lively and has a very colorful and diverse culture of people. We walked along the beach and jumped in the water as if for the first time!  

The evening concluded with a reflection using the Starfish poem on how we can all make a difference this week, no matter how small. Collectively, the students shared that “Today was amazing!  We were all very nervous about this experience, but once we arrived in Florida we knew we are going to have a great trip and we would work together as a team! We are all looking forward to the rest of our journey through Miami with our brand new family.”

-Tiffany DiNome
Coordinator, Iona in Mission