Farewell from Christina

After a year internship with Atlantic Bridge Christina D'Onofrio wrote this about her final week with the Grey Cat, a Flemish youth organisation in Antwerp.

A couple weeks ago, my work with the Grijze Kat Catholic charity in Antwerp, Belgium, came to a close.  As an ambassador of Atlantic Bridge, I set out to build a bridge between our organization in the predominantly protestant Netherlands, and De Grijze Kat in predominantly Catholic Belgium.  This task was not free of challenges. The biggest of which being a language barrier.  I learned a very small amount of Dutch while I was here, but Flemish, the dialect spoken in Antwerp, can be difficult for even native Dutch speakers to understand.  All of the games, activities, and teaching strategies I had learned in undergrad had to be completely revamped to accommodate mostly non-verbal communication.  But we made it happen. With hand gestures and the longest game of charades in history, plus plenty of good humor, we got to know each other.

I went once or twice every month to do a program with these kids. We played games, made crafts, talked about things that were important (with the help of some wonderful teenage translators, of course), and cultivated friendships. My kids even cheered me on the rare occasions that I made contact with a football, what I’ve gotten in the habit of calling a soccer ball.  It has been wonderful.
The culminating event of the year was a weeklong camp. Our theme was Joseph, King of Dreams. We talked about siblinghood and jealousy, the gifts we were given, and our hopes and dreams of what to do with those gifts. We made dream catchers and our own tie-dye technicolored dream t-shirts. We slept in tents and went on hikes.  We sang songs and walked like Egyptians. We even had the opportunity to go sing for a local nursing home.  We had a bonfire and displayed those gifts in a camp talent show. We hugged and laughed and ran and communicated in so many ways. Many children at the camp came from immigrant families and spoke a good amount of English. But even those that did not speak English tried hard to include me in their games. We could always stand to learn from the generosity of children.

That is one thing that I really learned this year. The universality of love and belonging, the language of laughter, and the communal experiences that bind us all together. Thank you for that, my little grey cats.

Looking at Each other from the Inside Out: Our 4 ^th Meetpoint

Christina D'Onofrio

                On April 24 ^th , 2016, we had our fourth measuring point. The statement and theme of this measurement point was "Inside or outside, where do you look." We Began the measuring point with a youth service. Reverend Jan Verlinden gift a sermon on both Zacchaeus and the legendary Susan Boyole, who was made ​​famous after her performance on Brittan's Got Talent. Most people know the story of Zacchaeus. Little guy, up in a tree, rejected by society for both his appearance and actions. Rejected by everyone, that is, except Jesus. Susan Boyole was similarly rejected for her less-then-conventional appearance and her quirky mannerisms. She then Proceeded to win the love and adoration of the judges and audience with an outstanding vocal performance. The motif was clear: do not judge a book by it's cover.

                But as I spoke to the teenagers Throughout the event, it Became so much more.    We spoke about the dangers of judging people, not Because They May have some secret talent or May one day be favored by God, but Because They are human. And Such ashes, They deserve to be complexly imagined. My favorite author, John Green, talks about imagining or at eachother complexly. This Means understanding thatthere are so many aspects that'll make up who we are and what we do. We can not be Categorized or defined so simply. All of us containerization multitudes.

                Axis part of the measuring point, I had the privilege of writing and performing my first collaborative poem with 17 year old Monica Dieleman. We started each stanza with "You know who I am." We then Talked about each character from the outside perspective, followed by the or at juxtaposing inside perspective. We ended the poem with the line "So who is it That you know? Do you see me?" My goal as a youth worker is to be printable to say yes. I see you. I understand there's so much to you that i can not know. But I am here to learn all that I can. I am willing to catch whatever glimpse of the inside you are willing to show me. I see you. 

As experienced by Christina D'Onofrio

After months of preparation, we came together with over 70 teens and youth leaders to participate in the 2016 Atlantic Bridge Heritage Hunt in Antwerp.  Antwerp is a city rich with spiritual history.  Saints and statues line the streets between cathedrals and sanctuaries.  Our goal was to bring this history to life.

We created three different routes. I took charge of route one. After some unexpected road blocks we found our way to our first stop, the De Brabantse Olijfberg. This is the oldest Protestant church in Belgium. Protestants are in the minority in this country, juxtaposing the great majority in the neighboring Netherlands.  There we met Hans Neels who shared some of the struggle between these two groups in the past.  From there we made our way to the oldest Catholic Church in the city, De Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal. We told stories of the painter, Peter Paul Rubens. Although he is known as a great Flemish painter, he was actually German.  We talked about coming to this city as a stranger, and the effects of immigration today. 

We had more stops along the way, but my favorite was the statue of Lode Zeilins. This statue outside of the Sint Andries Kerk is of 44 year old Lode who was killed by a bomb during World War II. Inscribed on the bottom is the phrase “Mother, why do we live?” I talked about De Grijze Kat taking in children effected by the war in the 1940’s, children who may have lost mothers like Lode. The shadows cast by war are still visible here, over half a century later.  How lucky I feel to have never witnessed war on American soil. It is easy to make policies about refugees when you have never seen war. It’s easy to walk away when you do not know their stories. It is important to know their stories. It is important to know that people are still living in the violence that we only see the residue of decades later, and how history repeats itself. And how we are called to love. We are always called to love.

Hugs make me happy!

Hello Everyone,

I am Timea, a gypsy girl from Hungary and I will be an intern for Atlantic Bridge for almost a year. 

I arrived to the Eindhoven Airport on 30^th of September at 14:40. John and Nel were waiting for me and gave me a big hug, and I forgot about my family back home for a moment. The Vierslag will be my home for the next year. I was here two years ago for short time, so I know where I was coming. 

Now I am already here for a week and I feel much peace and love and happiness. I wish I could have come sooner. People are friendly and the atmosphere makes me calm. The town of Kruiningen is so peaceful. I love it! It is familiar. People are always smiling when they look at me.I went to the Frites shop here and the lady knew that I am not Dutch because she spoke in English to me even if I had not said anything!

I am a very small gypsy girl, only 1 meter and 50 cm tall. I wear shoes of the size of a ten year old child. In my country there is much discrimination about the gypsies but I don’t feel this here, because everyone is kind to me and I already feel that I am a member of this village.

A few years ago I visited Sweden for two weeks, and people called me sunshine because I was always smiling. I hope I can bring some sunshine to Kruiningen, my new home.

A nice dentist
On Sunday I had a horrible toothache so I told to Nel what’s up and she advised me to go to the dentist. I didn’t want to go, because my experiences were really bad in Hungary. But John made me calm by saying that this man is the kindest person he knows. So we went, but during the way there, my heart wanted to jump out of my body, I was a little bit feared and very excited at the same time. We were waiting a few minutes in a small room and a lady came and called me to come where the dentist was. His voice and smile was really calming. John was right! He was kind and I’m looking forward to go back for my second visit on Monday! 

Timea from Hungary 

EVS volunteer with Atlantic Bridge

A great summer

YouthWorkFactory participants in front of The Vierslag

This summer has been exciting, exhausting, and everything in between. 

I made connections with so many wonderful people. I have begun the formation of a leadership team for the Antwerp Bridgebuilders Club. I met with local educators about coming into a school to facilitate a culture club.

I spent a fabulous week helping Antwerp International Protestant Church with their Vacation Bible School. What a wonderful and diverse group of people they are and it was such a blessing to work with them and to think they could become my home church for my year with Atlantic Bridge.

My last week here I was part of the Youth Work Factory. It was an eye-opening experience and I am still taking it all in. We had a fantastic week filled with new friendships, old connections, and cultural sharing. Together we laughed, cried, prayed, ate, and barely slept. I could not have asked for a better introduction to my year of service.

We had leaders from 10 different countries come together for a training on how to create cross-cultural exchange for young people.  I was able to connect  with some wonderful people who have been involved with Atlantic Bridge for years, and gain insight into what my year is going to look like. I learned more about other cultures this week than I did in 17 years of formal education. And I made friendships that I am excited to continue in the coming months. We will all be coming together again next summer for the International Youth Festival.  I can't wait! 

To finish out my time here I spent some time at the Grey Cat (Grijze Kat in Flemish) discussing plans for the coming year and their involvement with the Antwerp Bridgebuilders club.  Pictured you can see me sharing a final drink with Jo  Dries, a leader and facilitator at the Grey Cat. 

For now, it's time for me to return home until October.  There is fundraising to be done and loved ones to hug. But I am so looking forward to the year ahead of me.  

 

Christina 

Introducing Christina d'Onofrio

Hello everyone, and thank you for taking the time to read my blog!  I just graduated from the St. Bonaventure University in New York  State and a few weeks later I find myself in a small Dutch village entertaining the notion of helping to build a youth community both here and in the nearby city of Antwerp. The first days here I experienced information overload, as well as a six hour time zone difference. While I've had a great first couple of days, it's been very tiring. 

But I am here and it feels right. 

St. Bonaventure University was my home away from home for four years. St. Bonaventure University is rooted in the Franciscan tradition, modeled by St. Francis of Assisi.  We had a mantra: love God, love each other, and love the world around us.  That was our main focus.  Learning how to love God and to love the world He created.  There is so much hurt in the world that needs a touch of love, real love from a God who has enough of it for all of creation.

In my work with Atlantic Bridge this coming year, I hope to continue with  bringing God’s love into every situation He leads me to, whether it is a school classroom, a refugee center, a Bridgebuilders club, or just being with friends and families who are hosting me or driving me from place to place. 

As I have learned, Bonaventure means "good journey".  I would like to take you with me on this journey. I do so by writing about my adventures with God in a strange land as I build bridges of friendship, faith and understanding and as I share with young and old about the abundant love the Lord God has in store for us all.

 Next time I hope to share with you about becoming more acclamated with the culture and language as I meet new people! 

Christina D'Onofrio  St. Bonaventure University