Cheers To Trena and Kevin

A year ago today my journey as a CC began when the students arrived in El Salvador. I woke up this morning and saw a facebook post from one of them and felt the sting of nostalgia deep in my heart. Nostalgia is a weird thing to feel- and I feel it all the time for that place, my year there and everything I learned.

Two weeks ago I was in Hastings, MI for a CC reunion at Trena (one of my bosses) family's farm. One night when all 9 past CC's who could make it were together we toasted to Trena and Kevin. In that moment it was for their amazing parenting and all that they have taught us about parenting, family and love. I've been meaning to write something in their honor since I got back, today seems like a fitting day.

Trena and Kevin met at Miami of Ohio getting their masters in Human Development and after that went to Boston College for a 2nd masters in Pastoral Ministry. Then spent two years in Belize as Jesuit Volunteers and came back in search of their next step. After reaching out to a bunch of jesuits they were put into contact with Fr. Dean Brackely- an American Jesuit who moved to El Salvador after the six Jesuits were brutally murdered by the Salvadoran army during the civil war. Dean Brackley had accompanied numerous delegations to El Salvador and dreamt of something more long term and Tre and Kev were looking to start something similar to JVI for college students- so the Casa program was born.

They moved to El Salvador 15 years ago, came home to have two of their daughters and had the last two in El Salvador but have raised all four of them there. They have built the most amazing program I've ever known and this past year became family. It was SUCH an amazing gift to have them be my first bosses out of college- and probably set the standard way too high. Their ability to accompany us as CC's is incredible and I learned so much from them. They have a staff of 15 Salvadorans plus all the community partners they work with and have created a work environment that is so special and unprecedented in a country like El Salvador. Every other Monday we had a staff check in- a space to talk about how each member of the staff is doing completely separate from work- we cried, laughed and spilled our guts in these check ins. For people's birthday's we took turns affirming them to celebrate their presence in our life and once a semester we had a staff outing where all the staff members and their family are invited for a day of relaxing, spending time together and celebrating all the work they do. So many up and coming companies like Google are all about creating work life balance and attracting people to come work at their business by treating people like humans instead of just workers. Tre and Kev were way ahead of the game and by allowing their staff to become family, to bring their personal life to work and to really feel at home will have many of their same staff members the entire time the Casa exists- its a beautiful thing and an environment I too hope to create for people someday.

The learning curve as a CC is steep- it is so hard to know how you are doing and personally first semester I was CONSTANTLY questioning myself and my ability to accompany the students the best I possibly could. But after 15 years of doing it they give the best advice while also trusting us and giving us the space to figure some of it out on our own. During a particularly hard week we would often go over for a glass of wine and a mindless tv show or just sit around and chat for hours at the kitchen table. We played games and laughed so hard we cried, planned their daughter's birthday parties, spent days at the beach and had weekly one on ones to talk through the emotional roller coaster that is being a CC and living in El Salvador.

Watching them as parents is one of the most meanigful experiences of family and parenting I have ever had. The way they include their girls in the Casa, love and respond to each of them so differently just how they each need, talk honestly, work through conflict, expose them to the world and share them with so many people blew my mind. Their four girls are the sweetest, silliest little women and became little sisters during our time there that were so hard to say goodbye to. Tre would share with us the challenges and joys of being a mom- reminding us how important the job of parenting is, giving us advice we joked we would put in our list of things to remember and teaching us how to be good mom's just by witnessing. Such an incredible gift.

And two weeks ago they had the 2nd annual CC reunion- because you really become family and having a chance to be back together with them and the girls is so so special and important. I am endlessly grateful for their presence in my life. SO inspired by who each of them are- their commitment to justice, faith, equality, their families, the Salvadoran's, the Casa and continously learning, dreaming and building the Casa into a better experience for students and staff alike.

So here's to Trena and Kevin- to a year of learning from them, and to their new group of students and CC's that have the chance to learn from them now. Thank you for all that you do!