Diocesan College Student Participates in Real Break Trip to Jerusalem
BINGHAMTON, NY --- Nicole DelVillano, a freshman at SUNY Platsburgh, and a member of St. Michael's Church will be participating in the Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) Real Break Trip to the Holy Land.
Nicole is serving as part of a team of Orthodox college students who is spending the days of their annual Spring Break (March 12-22, 2010) working with the poor and visiting the Holy sites in and near Jerusalem .
The group is being led by, Fr. Nicholas L. Andruchow, pastor of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church in Flagstaff, Arizona and His Grace Bishop Savas of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
The project will take place in the Holy Land, primarily near the city of Jerusalem. The students will be mainly working with Four Homes of Mercy, a charitable organization founded over 60 years ago. Their work will consist of maintenance, cleaning, cooking as well as interaction with the handicapped children and others at Four Homes of Mercy. The group will also visit the holy sites in northern Israel and around the Sea of Galilee as well as in Jerusalem and the West Bank. In addition, they will will be visiting Palestinian Christians in order to learn their stories and share with them worship.
This
Spring Break, Nicole will be joining over one hundred college students who will make a
real change for those less fortunate through Orthodox Christian Fellowship’s
Real Break program. Real Break is an alternative spring break service-learning
program designed to provide college students with life-transforming experiences
that strengthen their faith and broaden their Christian world-view. OCF offers
several trips to locations all around the globe where students have the
opportunity to serve and minister to the poor with compassion and humility. This year the OCF planned a total of 12 trips from February 20th through March 27th. Trip locations include: Alaska,
Constantinople, El Salvador, Greece, Guatemala, Jerusalem, Mexico, Romania and
San Francisco. College students will have the incredible opportunity to
renovate parishes and monasteries, work with innocent orphans and serve those
less fortunate them.
Orthodox
Christian Fellowship (OCF) is the official collegiate campus ministry program
under SCOBA. Its mission is to support fellowships on college campuses, whose
members experience and witness to the Orthodox Christian Church through community
life, prayer, service to others and study of the Faith. The National OCF headquarters is
located in Indianapolis, IN and supports over 270 local university chapters
across North America. In addition, it provides a variety of thoughtful and
innovative programming, including regional training, annual conferences, and
domestic and international service learning programs.
For more information please consult the OCF website at www.ocf.net.
