Weekly Reflection - 6/6/24
St. Mary's Reflection: Mike Stafford, Youth Director
“This trip… has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. My faith has grown so much from living and learning amongst [the children of the Nambale Magnet School] and from playing and praying with them. I have two really big takeaways that I've learned from these beautiful kids that I want to share. The first is that while life is incredibly difficult, one must remember that it is also sacred and beautiful, and that appreciating the joys of the small things in life are what get us through the darkest periods of our lives. The second is to remember to always find the goodness and Jesus in everyone that we meet, even when people give us a very hard time…. While we miss the kids so much, I am so grateful for our life-changing outing and the opportunity to bond more as an entire youth group.”
-Meryt Roantree, on the 2023 Mission Trip to Kenya
In just 10 days, seven high schoolers and two adults will head up to Eureka for the 2024 Youth Mission Trip. Once there, we will work with Food for People, a local food bank serving the hungry of the Eureka area, and we will work with St. Francis Episcopal Church in Fortuna, helping out at the church and in the broader community. We will also have tons of fun; you can’t gather a group of lively teens together for a week without lots of laughter and plenty of hijinks. And there will be gummy bears. So. Many. Gummy bears.
There is a greater point of going on these Mission Trips beyond the service that we will be doing. For some Christian congregations, the “Mission” is to hit the streets and convert folks to Christianity. And while that is fine for them, our mission is different: our mission is to convert ourselves. Our mission is to see Jesus in the people we are serving and working with. Our mission is to be a witness to the brokenness of our world and discover our own individual call to serve. Our mission is to bond as a group in traveling, living, and working together, and discover the joy of being God’s Beloved Community.
And we hope our mission is a reflection of the greater mission of St. Mary’s. We hope that in your own way you will be able to join us on the trip, to allow yourselves to be transformed by the presence and love of Jesus as we are being transformed, and to be inspired by our youth to encounter Jesus in a spirit of service and community.
We earnestly appreciate all the ways that you have thus far supported the trip, and your support is still needed. For one, please follow the trip on our blog: https://stmaryonamission.blogspot.com/. It will be updated daily with lots of pictures and reflections from our youth. If you are so inspired, we are still soliciting donations towards the trip, which can be made via the church website. Finally - and most importantly - please hold us and the folks we are serving in prayer, that our time in Eureka might be joyful, safe, and fruitful.
Mike Stafford,
Youth Director
