Helias Catholic High School students joined South Bend, Indiana, nonprofits and parishes in their missions to serve people in hardship last weekend.
Eleven students, freshmen through seniors, spent four days in South Bend, Indiana, home of the University of Notre Dame and the most nonprofit organizations per capita in the nation, said Zach Rockers, director of campus ministry at Helias.
Students visited Dismas House, an organization that offers transitional housing for those recently released from prison. They served food, ate with the people they were serving and had conversations with them.
They also served at the Catholic Worker House, also known as Our Lady of the Road, which offers help to those who are homeless.
"My favorite part was just probably talking to the people and hearing about their experiences," freshman Ruby Rockers said.
Sophomore Addyson Dollar said her conversation with a woman there brought her to tears as she realized how poorly people who are homeless are sometimes treated.
"I wanted to help as much as I could, but I knew that I could only do so much for them, so I just comforted her," Dollar said.
Students also served at St. Adalbert's Catholic Parish, painting two large bathrooms white from floor to ceiling, negotiating hard to reach places behind pipes. They began painting at 8:30 or 9 p.m. Saturday, and continued until around midnight.
Students visited Unity Gardens, a community garden project that helps people grow and gather their own food, and helped do some clean up and composting to get the garden ready for spring.
They served at Cultivate Food Rescue, which uses food that would otherwise be wasted at restaurants and other organizations to feed those who need it. Around 40 percent of food goes to waste, according to the organization, but it doesn't have to.
It was an eye-opening experience for some.
Senior Allie Mathews said she's grown up around food because her mom works in a restaurant, but the Cultivate Food Rescue opened her eyes to how much food goes to waste and how it can be used to feed those who might not have a meal over the weekend, "and allow them to not have to run into schools in the mornings on Monday, hoping and waiting for food ... because I've always taken it for granted that I have food anytime that I want it at home, and it's hard for me to fathom that there are people out there that don't have that access," she said.
They also visited Notre Dame's campus, praying in the grotto and visiting the basilica.
Sophomore Gavin Hoelscher said that was his favorite part of the trip.
"I lit a candle, and I prayed for some people, and it was just really moving for me," he said.
"With all the service work, we also had a lot of prayer ... and we had adoration and mass everyday, so it gave us time to reflect on all the mission work that we were doing and why God was guiding us and what our purpose was on the trip," senior Arica Ketcherside said.
Senior Makena Belt said her favorite part was reflection at the end of the day with classmates, talking about a "rose" from the day – something good – a "thorn"-- something not so good -- and a "bud"-- something to look forward to.
Reflection was intentionally built into the trip.
"In general as human beings, we experience a lot of things, and if we don't take the time to kind of reflect on what is true that's being revealed in what we're experiencing, well, then we just run the risk of just flying past it and not being changed because of it," Father Paul Clark said.
He said students reflected on their perceptions of other people and the importance of seeing their dignity.
There were also some fun moments where the students could wind down after a long day.
"Even though we were super exhausted all day ... we just want to go back to bed, we still managed to have just a little bit of fun before bed," sophomore Addyson Dollar said.
They grabbed a few scooters and gym mats and stacked them on top for a "magic carpet ride" pulling each other around and listening to the Disney song "A Whole New World."
"We all had fun. There were ups and downs obviously, but you could also put your faith into practice and have a lot of fun at the same time, which was really cool," senior Brady Rush said of the trip.
"Entering into that process of being grateful for what we have and then being moved to give of ourselves, of course that's going to be fun, because it's a fulfillment in a sense of who we are," Father Clark added.
Though they were warned they'd work hard and come back tired, the students all said they'd recommend the trip to others.
"My favorite part of the trip would probably be being able to help other people rather than just learn about the acts of the apostles in religion class or something like that, being able to go out and truly practice my faith," sophomore Elliot Vollet said.
"I'm proud of our students, and it's students who say yes to opportunities like these, I think it's twofold -- one, they get to have a beautiful encounter with Jesus Christ. They're his hands and feet. But they also inspire their peers to go out and love and serve and do the same," Zach Rockers said.
Courtesy/Helias Catholic High School
Students who went on the mission trip to South Bend, Indiana, pose at Helias Catholic High School. From left to right: Arica Ketcherside, Makenna Belt, Brady Rush, Addyson Dollar, Frances Grellner, Elliot Vollet, Shannen Dollar, Gavin Hoelscher, Ruby Rockers and Allie Mathews.