St. Francis student service work takes a detour |
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Written by CHRISTINE A. HOLLIDAY, St. Francis de Sales High School
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Friday, 14 August 2009 01:00 |
TOLEDO—Recent political unrest in Honduras had an immediate impact on 38 St. Francis de Sales High School students, who had planned a summer service trip there.
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| A group of students from St. Francis de Sales High School spent part of their summer doing service work in Pennsylvania, a detour from their original trip planned to Honduras. (Photo courtesy of St. Francis de Sales High School) |
When the U.S. government advised them that it wasn’t safe for them to go, most boys expressed great disappointment. Sam Evola’s comments were typical, “I had really looked forward to the bonding that I knew would take place there. I had heard from other guys who had gone to Honduras before that the group really unites on a trip like that, and I had really wanted to experience that.”
Campus minister Don Conry didn’t wait long to find another place for the students to do service work. He made arrangements with a group called Catholic Heart Workcamp that was working in Pittsburgh. Six adults (teachers Mr. Conry, Oblate of St. Francis de Sales Father Alan Zobler, Bill Toney, Scott Secrest, Oblate of St. Francis de Sales Father Marty Lukas, school secretary Maureen Kookoothe and parent Joe Metzger) drove the students to Pittsburgh, and worked side-by-side with them.
The group was helping the Catholic Heart Workcamp volunteers meet their mission, “to revitalize communities and beautify homes for the elderly, disabled, and those who cannot afford needed repairs …” and “… to foster the spiritual growth of each participant….”
The students from St. Francis were part of a group of 400 students from all over the United States. The participants were divided into 58 groups and each was given a specific assignment. Some painted houses, some cleaned out garages or attics, others painted fences, did yard work or general construction work. Each St. Francis student worked away from his friends and classmates during the day, but all came together at night for prayer and sharing.
Maureen Kookoothe was one of the adults to accompany the group. This trip gave her a chance to see the boys serving others, and she wasn’t surprised at how they met the needs of the people they were helping, and how they grew in spirituality.
“We talked about our strengths and weaknesses, our fears and hopes, our faith and belief in God and one another,” she said. “It is very hard to summarize all that the week was. There was an incredible amount of profound physical work, as well as emotional and spiritual work done in a very short period of time. One student shared that he was really worried to leave his recently widowed woman as she truly was still grieving the recent loss of her husband of 50 some years. Mike said he truly saw what it meant to be married to your soul mate through this woman.
“He felt she shouldn’t be living alone in the current condition of her health, house and neighborhood, but it was ‘their’ home as husband and wife. She told him that the group members working in her house were her ‘angels.’ She had not slept without crying herself to sleep in the past five months, but fell asleep peacefully the third night they were there because she felt so blessed they had come into her life. All of the guys had similar stories about their resident and how they felt endeared to them and would keep in touch with them because they wanted to make sure they were safe.”
Ms. Kookoothe added, “I feel so very enriched and blessed to have been part of this event. I came home happily exhausted! There is an incredible brotherhood among these enlightened young men that they will take back to SFS with them for the upcoming year. It will be the ‘best ever’ for our school, and I cannot wait to be a part of it!”
Senior Sam Evola wasn’t disappointed at the bonding that developed on this trip. He explained, “We made the trip our own. We worked in individual groups during the day, but we had plenty of relationship-building activities at night. The whole week made me feel that our school is the best. We found great ways to do this thing together, and we did grow together during the week.”
Parent Joe Metzger went along on the trip because one more chaperone was needed. He expected to be a driver and photographer, but found that his time was meaningful and profound.
“One of our students told the group about a 90-year-old man who lived in a house that wasn’t safe enough for him to get insurance,” he said. “This young man worked with a contractor to fix the parts of the house that were unsafe, and he was able to get the necessary insurance. The student was amazed by the impact he had had on that man’s life with such simple actions!”
He continues, “Another student helped in the home of an 86-year-old widow. She had lived alone since her husband and children and died, and said she wished she could die, too, whenever she took her heart medicine. She didn’t feel she didn’t have any reason to. She told the student that being around the young people had changed her mind. She said she felt hope about her life and didn’t really want to die. That was a very powerful lesson for that student, and all of us, to learn, and it was just one of the few wonderful lessons they learned.”
Father Alan Zobler echoes the sentiments of the other adults. “I think the boys had an especially meaningful experience. If we had gone in two groups, as we had planned for Honduras, there would have been two sets of memories and two sets of stories. I liked that all the boys got to have the same wonderful experience. They really did come together, and I know they will remember this trip for a very long time.”
St. Francis students are required to do service work during their free time — on vacations, weekends or after school. The Honduras trip would have been the school’s sixth trip, and the political unrest in that country may prohibit future groups from doing their service work there.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 19:33 |
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