Tending to the needs of those less fortunate was the aim of teenagers from the youth missionary group at Incarnation Catholic Parish in Palos Heights earlier this summer.
A dozen students from the group, which goes by the acronym TRAIN — Teens Reaching out Addressing Incarnation Needs — spent a week in July in Harlan County, Ky., building and rehabbing homes for residents.
“This trip was, for me, transformative,” said the group’s leader, Mike Jacobson, who also is associate principal at Richards High School in Oak Lawn. “The entire time we were there, we lived like missionaries — from where we stayed and ate to where we worked.
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“There were no comforts of home, and what made it unique was how selfless I saw the kids become. On this trip, the kids only wanted to work harder to help people. This meant digging trenches in the mud, ripping out a floor in a musty room, carrying 100 pound bags of cement up a hill and working harder than they ever had before.”
The teens worked rigorously in the hot weather and in rough living conditions without complaint, Jacobson said.
“It was hotter than I even feared,” he said. “The first night, it was difficult to sleep because I was sweating so bad. Then, during the workday, it was sweltering heat. At night it would rain. This cooled the nights down, but then we had to work in the mud. One day, we were in mud to our ankles as we dug the foundation for the house.”
Working on three different homes, two of which had ripped-out flooring, the teens put on new siding, stabilized floorboards, put walls up and more.
The group also held seminars, reflecting on their lives and the purpose of the trip. Through sharing how their perspectives changed due to the real-life experience and devotion to helping others, strong bonds were formed between the students, Jacobson said.
The Knights of Columbus donated $150 toward the trip to show gratitude.
This was the first year the youth ministry took the trip, and plans are underway for a second visit.
“I have already begun planning this trip for next year because I came back a changed person,” said Jacobson, who took over as youth pastor eight months ago. “Seeing these kids put themselves out there for people they don’t even know was impressive, but seeing them grow in their understanding of the need to serve others was sublime. I came home from this trip feeling better about the world than I have in a long time.”
Kelly White is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.