During the summer recess, youth from St. Daniel Catholic Church proved life lessons sometimes are best learned outside the classroom.
From July 10-16, adult and youth members of St. Daniel worked on a Tennessee mission trip to help the less fortunate with their homes while sharing a rewarding spiritual experience.
‘It’s something our youth group has been doing in Tennessee for around 10 years. We work with Confrontation Point which has headquarters in Tennessee? They set up the job sites and categorize the jobs like painting, roofing and siding, from simple to hard,? said chaperone Mike Timm.
Funding for the trip came almost exclusively from the youth and their parents, who paid nonprofit Confrontation Point for food and building supplies, said Timm.
The group spent four days working on projects at four separate residences. Two roofing jobs (one finished), one interior dry wall project and one deck project (also finished) were tackled by the volunteers. The average work day, weather permitting, lasted seven to eight hours.
Rain and poor weather created new challenges for this year’s trip, slowing down the roofing projects.
‘We had horrible weather. The kids could have quit or complained, but they never did,? said volunteer coordinator Maggie Maxwell.
On their own, the youth chose to seek out God’s message from the rain that plagued the trip rather than lament, said Maxwell.
Benefits from the trip extended beyond helping those in need. Timm said the mission placed responsibility on the kids to work together to prepare the meals and set up tents in a rustic setting.
‘I really saw different types of people come together and unite. We worked well together,? said youth Anne Maxwell. ‘I learned a lot from the lady whose house I worked on. She was a widow, but she was generous and humble and really a great lady.?
The effort put forth by the parish’s young adults was not lost on Timm.
‘I really enjoyed the positive high energy youth. Working with them in a situation like this gives me a lot of hope. Seeing kids come together and facing things they fear, like heights on a roofing job was an experience? We worked through that together and it’s neat to see them come through the challenges,? said Timm.
Maggie, making the trip for her fourth time, saw good will flourhish among the group. An affirmation ceremony at the end of the week ? where the kids sat in a circle and said two things they liked about others on the trip ? exemplified the atmosphere.
‘They recognized the good things in other people. It didn’t stop, it just keep going. I had never seen that before,? said Maggie.
As with all memorable experiences, the end caused everyone to reflect.
‘I got an overwhelming feeling. It was bittersweet because we were leaving, but the whole experience had a real positive effect on us,? said Anne.
‘One of the neatest things for me is the community the experience builds among the kids? People who don’t know each other became friends,? said Timm.