Youth Ministry @ Our Lady of Victory

On June 22-29, members of the youth group took a trip to Pahokee, FL for a week long Alive in You Catholic Service Camp and Youth Conference and all of us had a blast while we learned more about our Catholic Faith and put into practice the Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching.

 The trip started out early on Monday morning packing the vans at 6 am and heading off to our first destination in Adel, GA, a small mission parish in southern Georgia where the priest greeted us, gave us a place to stay and provided us with breakfast in the morning (featuring fresh Georgia peaches!). The teens learned there that the South is still a Catholic mission territory and Catholics must really know and understand their faith because at any time, your faith will be tested by those who don’t hold our same beliefs. What an awesome witness!

 The next morning, Tuesday, we got in the car and finished our 16 hour drive, arriving at our destination (the only private school in the area) just minutes before a storm with 60 mph winds and heavy rains put the start of our week on hold for a few extra minutes. Thankfully no one was hurt and the fun began! Each night we had an exciting evening session which always began with crazy competitions (like lathering your face with peanut butter and seeing how many goldfish crackers you can catch in the peanut butter in 30 seconds), live music which set the tone for the night and something different each night. Generally there was a speaker that gave some insight into each of the themes of CST but we also broke into our parish group and built a bike to give to a local boy as his first bike, we broke into larger groups to attend workshops, we spent time in prayer and adoration and we had a chance to go confession. In addition to that, throughout the week, we prayed together a decade of the rosary each night, saying a full rosary by the end of the week. After the evening sessions, we spent time as a parish group, praying, and talking about the day and what we learned and how we could apply it to our everyday lives.

 Our weekdays during the Service camp were filled with hard work. We were assigned a house take care of, and, once we found the right house – we spent the first part of Wednesday morning scraping paint off an abandoned house with a huge hole in the wall – we fixed the porch, landscaped, scraped and painted the house and fixed his two screen doors. It was a ton of work and it was great to see how the group came together by Friday afternoon (in the second downpour of the day) and really looked at this house as if it was ours and made sure to stay until it was all as good as it could possibly get.

 Each afternoon before the evening sessions we had the opportunity to celebrate daily Mass and the group took advantage of that opportunity (without any urging from me)!

Saturday brought a chance to head to West Palm Beach and enjoy the ocean for a few hours. It was a much needed break from the hard work, When we got back, they had a special treat for us. A BMX group was there to put on a show inside the gymnasium and what a show it was. Afterward, the leader of the group gave a short witness talk about using all our talents for the glory of God. That was an especially shocking moment for me and I think for some of the teens as well. You’ll have to ask them yourselves.

Sunday brought an end to our Alive in You experience with a very nice Mass and a long drive to Jackson, GA where we enjoyed the hospitality of another small parish, who had just “moved up” from its mission status last year. The monsignor there shared as well about the need to know and practice with joy our Catholic faith.

 Finally, it was Monday and we were heading home except for one short stop in Nashville to visit the St. Cecelia Dominican Motherhouse for a brief tour and introduction into what being a Dominican Sister is all about by Sr. Lucia Marie. The campus there is gorgeous (especially their chapel) and it was very nice to see that Sr. Lucia is just like any number of the girls in our little group and in our parish. It was a nice break from driving, but it was time to get home. So we hopped in the car one last time and arrived safe and sound on Monday evening and greeted our families with smiles, hugs and lots of stories. To hear some of them look around for Michelle Boehm, Natalie Palmer, Alexander Lewis, Jennie Boehm, Nick Lehan or Mackenzie Satler. Here is what one of them had to say about their experience:

 Alive in You was most definitely a unique experience. It was a week of fun, service, and discovery. I learned a lot about myself and how I can make a difference in a person’s life through service. My favorite part of the trip was working at our work site. I accomplished things I never thought I would be able to do, like tearing down a porch and pressure washing a house. I learned that I was a lot more capable then i ever thought i would be.  I would recommend this trip to any teen that’s willing to do the work and come to the trip with an open mind. I guarantee it’s like nothing you would expect and its most definitely worth it.

 Thank you all for the generous donations that made this trip possible.

Click here to see our Alive in You Photos!