St. Mary’s teens make a difference!

by Sr. Mary Lynn Rakowski, DSMP

On October 29, 2003 a group of 26 students from St. Mary High School in Sleepy Eye boarded a bus and began a mission trip to Chicago sponsored by the Daughters of St. Mary of Providence.

One student said "Attending the Festival showed me I wasn’t alone; there were many others not afraid to worship God." The students were challenged by the morning keynote speaker Jesse Manibusan to be really holy; not perfect, not sinless, but truly holy. There were opportunities to participate in break-out sessions. Many of the students attended Mary-Louise Kurey’s presentation on confronting tough decisions about sex which offered a clear picture of the joys and meaningfulness of sex if one waits until marriage to become sexually active. She also stressed the possibility of "second virginity" for those teens that have already been sexually active. Fr. Norman Fischer included "Christian" rap in his presentation which was dynamic and entertaining. The evening liturgy was celebrated by Cardinal George who spoke on Mother Teresa’s ability to see Christ in the poor.

On Halloween, the students received a "buddy", one of the developmentally disabled residents living at the Daughters of St. Mary of Providence motherhouse. Both residents and students prepared for a Halloween party. Later that day, some students helped serve guests in a soup kitchen. On All Saints Day, the students were given a tour of the National Shrine of St. Maximillian Kolbe, and then preceded to Mt. St. Joseph where they interacted with the developmentally disabled who live there. The day ended with each student taking a resident on a hay ride.

The entire mission experience could be described as one of "stretching." The students were asked to stretch their hearts, to open them up to strangers, the handicapped and the poor. They were asked to stretch their patience, understanding, and endurance by working with one another on this trip. Finally they were asked to stretch their souls by letting Jesus enter during the various prayer times. One of the students’ comments speaks volumes regarding the success they achieved in this stretching process: "This was an awesome experience, a real eye-opener!"

Participants of the trip include: Sam Mecklenberg, Shelly Langer, Jaci Carr, Liza Schwartz, Tiffani Kuebler, Alissa Fischer, Sonni Sellner, Liz Hacker, Brianna Mages, Laura Botz, Brittany Braun. Row 2: Sr. Mary Lynn Rakowski, Scott Ludewig, Adam Krzmarzick, Cory Kober, Jessie Pelzel, Joe Zinniel, Jillian Meyer, Carissa Pelzel, Adam Steffl, Nicole Steffensmeier, Kate Ludewig, Katie LaCourse, Jolene Billmeier, Natalie Oglesby, Sr. Linda Willette, Shaun Kober and Emily Seidl.