TEENS HELP OTHERS IN THEIR OWN BACKYARDS

For most teenagers, the idea of waking up at the crack of dawn, getting poison ivy, sleeping on the floor, showering in a gym locker room and eating peanut butter and jelly for lunch every day is not an ideal way to spend a week of summer vacation.

Yet 51 area teenagers chose to spend a week in July under these conditions.

For the past two summers, area high school students have participated in the Homeland Mission Project, coordinated by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

Without ever leaving the city, these Indianapolis teenagers traveled to and worked in neighborhoods and community centers that they never knew existed.

They also met extraordinary strangers during the mission trip, whose lives were all about serving others, including 90-year-old Lucious Newsom, who operates the Lord's Pantry at various sites. During the mission, teens joined Newsom to help distribute weekly groceries.

In a note to Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein after the summer mission, one student wrote: "Thank you for giving us this opportunity to experience what it is like to help people in need. At first, I thought this trip would be boring and stupid. In fact, it was one of the greatest experiences of my life."

Rob Whitman, a freshman at Cathedral High School, said most of the youth figured that the week would be all about work.

But by the end of the six days, they looked back at all they'd accomplished and learned. They decided it was fun after all, he said.

Pat Funk agreed.

"If I hadn't been on the mission trip, I'd probably have been just lazing about or doing something part time. On the mission trip, we were out doing stuff and helping others," said Pat, a Bishop Chatard High School senior.

The trip was promoted at local Catholic parishes, but the teens also heard about it in other ways.

Joel Tucker, a junior at North Central High School, said he had heard about the program through one of his friend's parents who encouraged him to go.

For three of the four teens Y-Press interviewed, their parents or grandparent played a significant role in their involvement with the trip.

Amanda McDonald, a senior at Broad Ripple High School, said, "Mrs. Poore (the youth minister at Christ the King), asked me a couple months in advance if I would like to go to homeland mission, and I kind of said that I didn't know if I could. Then my grandma kind of forced me."

Once on the trip, teens had little time to rest.

"It was during the summer, so I wasn't really used to waking up as early as we did," Joel said. "We'd wake up and then do things the entire day and then get home and go to church and sleep."

Each day, 10 to 12 teens were assigned to a different service site. Departing about 8:30 a.m., vans took the teams to sites that were identified by the archdiocese. Teams were named for saints, including St. Vincent de Paul, St. Francis and St. Therese of Liseaux, all known for their service contributions.

There were other religious aspects. The day started with a daily prayer; Mass and devotions were held nightly.

The Rev. Jonathan P. Meyer, director of youth and young adult ministry for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, believes the religious aspect is an integral part of the experience.

"The week is rooted in the fact that it is our prayers that help us do our work," he said.

Reconciliation, also known as confession, was offered one evening.

"Everybody decided to actually confess real sins," Joel said. "It was really hard to do. That was the part I disliked at the time, but now I'm really happy I did it."

Meyer believes the weeklong experience helps teens question how they are living their lives.

"All things lead us to conversion. When these young people are confronted with those in need, and recognize that they are persons who always have enough food, safe shelter and clothing, they start to question themselves: 'Am I living as I should? Am I living a life of generosity? Am I being prideful? Vain? Am I using the gifts God gave me?' "

Asking and answering all those questions provides great opportunities for conversion, Meyer said.

At the Lord's Pantry, for example, Rob handed out food to people less fortunate, which helped him recognize how he takes the weekly groceries at home for granted.

"We actually connected to God and learned values that I don't think we would've learned if we hadn't done it," said Rob, 15.

"For me, the greatest thing is to see the young people transformed (by) working in these destinations," Meyer said. "That was everything. By them serving, they encounter Christ."

Pat said believes that you cannot help the whole world at once, but a mission trip like this is a good way to get started.

"You just help little by little in your own community and then you can spread it out more," he said.

And while each believes they helped the community, most of their friends assumed their work was abroad. In fact, Joel's friends typically asked, " 'OK, what country are you going to?' I was like, 'Oh, I'm just going to my school, two blocks away,' " he said.

Amanda suggests that people don't often realize what the local needs are because in their daily routines they are just too busy to notice.

"People should help out in the city of Indianapolis because it needs help, too," she said.

According to Meyer, this fits with Buechlein's goal.

"The archbishop truly believes in home missions, and for people to know that we have a missionary field in our own midst," the youth ministry director said. "As youth leaders, there's always this desire to bring aid to Appalachia, Haiti, Honduras, and they do indeed have great poverty and need, but the archbishop wants to open eyes to needs in their own communities as well."

The teens not only transformed community centers with paint and smiles, but also transformed themselves into more giving people.

"I'd have to say I help out a lot more without asking," Amanda said. "It was more than just going and doing service work. It was going and meeting new people and doing service work and seeing how when you do service work, it's helping God in a way. And I never thought about that."

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Becky Buchanan-Schwanke, 15

REPORTERS: Ariana Gainer, 12; Elaine Lynch, 14.

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Program set for July

In 2007, the Homeland Mission Project will take place July 8-13. The cost to participate will be about $100.

The program is for students in Grades 9-12.

To find out more information or to register, contact Kay Scoville, the archdiocese program coordinator for Youth and Young Adult Ministries, at (317) 236-1477.

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Here is a snapshot of a Homeland Mission Project day.

7 a.m. Wake-up.

8 a.m. Breakfast.

8:30 a.m. Morning prayer, depart for service sites.

9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Work at service site.

3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Shower and free time.

5:30 p.m. Dinner.

6:30 p.m. Speaker.

8 p.m. Mass.

9 p.m. Activity, such as a talent show.

10 p.m. Devotion.

11 p.m. Lights out.

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Local groups benefit from Homeland Mission Project

These are among the organizations helped by youth who participated in the Homeland Mission Project:

St. Gabriel the Archangel School, 6000 W. 34th St. Volunteers painted the cafeteria and helped students in preschool.

St. Elizabeth/Coleman Adoption and Pregnancy Services, 2500 Churchman Ave. Worked in the yard, washed windows for residents and built a storage cabinet.

Seeds of Hope: Transitional housing for women (recovering from drug and alcohol addiction), 1425 S. Mickley Ave. Worked in the house and yard. Sorted clothes for Hope Chest Thrift Store.

Miracle Place: A neighborhood community center, 940 N. Temple Ave. Helped with renovation work and helped organize tutoring supplies for the upcoming school year.

Morning Dove Therapeutic Riding Center: Provides therapy through horseback riding for people with disabilities, P.O. Box 721, Zionsville, 46077. Cleaned out the barn, helped clear some of the pastures and rocks from the riding area. On another day, helped teach kids from an Easter Seals Crossroads camp how to ride horses.

Joy's House: A day center for aging adults and those with physical and mental challenges, 2028 E. Broad Ripple Ave. Played games and socialized with the adults there.

Copyright 2006 Y-Press