For years now, Saint Gregory the Great parish of Williamsville, New York has taken youth on mission trip. From New Orleans to New York, the parish leaders have sought to expose their youth to a larger world, and to those in the world who are in need. This year, they took their youth to Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the Americas.
Koty Mann will never drink a Coke without thinking of the homeless. During a mission trip to Nicaragua, the 16-year-old saw a man living in a shelter built from Coca-Cola and Dasani vending machines. “It never leaves your heart; remembering all the people down there is like a slideshow that keeps going through your head,” he said.
“It helped me put things in perspective, to see how fortunate we really are,” [describes Tom] Warner. “It kind of made me want to live more simply. We really don’t need half the stuff that we have. They could use it so much more than we could.”
I’ve heard of and known many young people who attend pilgrimages and mission trips such as these and are so impacted by their experiences that they discover their life vocations. They go on these trips expecting an adventure with friends, and leave forever changed by the power of the Spirit moving in their hearts. One teen describes this transforming power.
“When we went to the dump, I couldn’t believe it was real, like it was their real life,” said Angela Miranda, 16. “It was hard for me to accept that this is what they had to go home to every day and they couldn’t fly off on a plane to what we have here.”
Another articulates a similar experience…
“Everything at home seems almost insignificant,” said Pamela Meyerhofer, 18. “Things that were stressful and tough about daily life here, just seem pointless and dumb. There’s not the motivation to do those things that were stressful before. That was one of the hardest parts for me coming home, adjusting back into some sort of normalcy.”
Meyerhofer had the unique experience of celebrating her18th birthday on the way home from Nicaragua. “I loved doing that for my 18th birthday. I just think it’s the best way to show that I’ve grown up, as an adult, become more aware of the world and the way other people live,” she said.
And hopefully empowered to continue to serve those in need. May many parishes and schools provide such opportunities for teens to put their faith in action, experience the transformation of Christ in service, and commit to living a life of witness to others transformations in Christ.