With the changing of the seasons, have come some changes in our community. Last August we said farewell to Sr Regine after ten years in mission here in New York. Many thanks to each of you for helping us to say such a beautiful farewell! We also said goodbye to Kamila D., who has returned home to Poland. But no sooner had they left than we welcomed not one, not two, but three new members to our little community here in Brooklyn. Welcome home Pawel, Joanna and Sr Katie!
Pawel G.
Volunteer
Pawel (Paul) joined our Brooklyn team in September and will spend a year in mission with us. He first met Heart’s Home (Domy Serca) in Warsaw, one of our newest houses which has been in mission there since 2012. If you’d like to read more about our work in Polish, please click here. Domy Serca
Born and raised in Zagórnik, Poland, Pawel is proud to be a “neighbor” of one of the most famous Poles, as his town is not far from Wadowice, where St John Paul II was born. Pawel holds a Masters degree in Sociology and Communications, and spent last year working in a nursing home. As part of our neighborhood outreach team, Pawel is always excited to meet new people. A “seeker of the signs of heaven in our ordinary days”, Pawel is grateful to have this year in mission to find God hidden in daily activities and new friendships. When not busy meeting a new friend, you can usually find Pawel with his camera, capturing the beauty of the city.
Joanna H.
Volunteer
Hailing from Pisarzowice, not far from Krakow in southern Poland, Joanna has been living in Warsaw for several years, where she first met Heart’s Home. Joanna joined our Brooklyn team in September and will spend a year in mission with us.
After completing a Masters degree in Finance at the Warsaw School of Economics, she spent several years working as an auditor at a major consulting firm. When she discovered Heart’s Home, she knew this mission was what she had been looking for, and is very excited to be here in the Big Apple. Joanna is part of our neighborhood outreach team, and in addition to polishing up her English, is learning some Spanish! When she is not getting to know new friends here in Brooklyn, you can usually find her exploring the streets of New York, passionate about discovering all the nookies and crannies of this fascinating city.
Sr Katie K.
Communications Coordinator
Sr Katie, a proud native Chicagoan, never thought she would live here in New York, but…here she is! In Brooklyn since August 2015, she is the first Servant of God’s Presence native to the United States. Excited to begin a new mission here, her natural enthusiasm and energy have been shaped by her previous missions in Thailand, El Salvador and France. Her first mission in Bangkok, Thailand as a volunteer in 2010, coming at the end of several years working in fundraising and communications, was a turning point for her, and led her to El Salvador to continue discerning with Heart’s Home in 2012.
After a year and a half discerning with the Heart’s Home sisters in France, in 2014, she entered the community of the Servants of God’s Presence. She is immensely grateful for this last “spiritual year” in mission, which was a holistic education that included not only intensive courses in theology and philosophy, but also the space and time to live out a deeper silence and prayer life.
Happy to be back on this side of the Atlantic, she is discovering that her Bachelors degree in German and professional work experience in communications might be of some use to the Heart’s Home team here. Mostly though, you can find her visiting friends in our neighborhood or welcoming them to our home, grateful to be trying to live out a radical “hospitality of the heart” here in the Big Apple.