Preparing: Claire

As I delve deeper into my faith during this time of elongated prayer, there will be several things I will wish to leave behind. I plan on leaving the items, both physically and through thought, that would hold back my learning of faith on this week long trip to Mexico and Arizona. Physically, I plan on leaving behind my cell phone, which would take away from the experiences of beauty, and distract me from living in the moment. However, I still want memories to be made, so I will be bringing a camera. Leaving this behind, I am hoping that the negative views I have been given by the media will stay in the back of my mind. Leaving this behind, I hope to understand what these people are going through, because they must also have hardships. This connects to the media because news and online social lives are what feed us the information about the border. We also truly have no idea how people on the border live. We again only hear horror stories about life on the border, but this could be incorrect. There could be beauty and happiness there, but we cannot see it because of everything we hear, and do not see. Lastly, I want to be able to live in the moment. This is something I have trouble with. My mind always wanders ahead, and I want to be able to keep a clear head and understand what is happening in the moment. I hope God can help me with those things, and guide me and my friends along our journey.

- Claire, Grace Church, New Bedford