Today was a great community day! Today’s school schedule was different than the past days because they had mass. The fourth graders were the ones that lead the mass, and that is the grade I have been working with, so it was cool to see them doing readings and all the different parts of mass. They all were smiling at different times which made me smile. As Robert (one of our speakers) said, a smile can go a long way. It was really cool, also, because the students’ family would come to the mass and then they were able to go sit with them. Just like mass on Sunday, the sign of peace goes on for a while because people leave their pews to give the sign of peace to most of the people in the church. I find it so cool that the community is close like that. After mass we ate lunch and then prepared to go to East Glacier Park.

All of us were excited to be going snowshoeing at East Glacier Park. We had two awesome park rangers, one who is a graduate of Saint Mary’s and attended this SOUL trip when she was in college. The time in the park was amazing! We were all having so much fun and learning more about the Blackfeet and Glacier Park. The trek was filled with laughter of people falling and awe of the beautiful sights! I would have liked to stay out there exploring with the park rangers for so many more hours, but it was time to head back to the school for Bingo.

Bingo was another example of the community coming together. It was a fundraiser for the 8th grade who are going on a trip at the end of the year. First was spaghetti, salad, garlic bread and cake for dessert. Then it was game on for Bingo. All in all, it was a fantastic day filled with bonding and community time.