In Their Own Words

Bishop McNamara students minister in Mississippi

High School students today have many choices to make. While we often hear about the mistakes they make, we do not get to hear the good news about today's high school students. Now you can. This is a story in their own words.

A group of 17 students from Bishop McNamara High School, Forestville, Maryland, accompanied by three teachers and one additional chaperone journeyed down to Mound Bayou in the Delta Region of the Mississippi River. The community, population 2000, is economically poor and has no hospital. Former slaves founded Mound Bayou shortly after the Civil War. It was a free city for blacks in Mississippi where they could live relatively secure and free from harm. While community spirit is high and there is a richness to the cultural history, the area remains impoverished. In the late 1990's the Sisters of Mercy opened up an outreach center to minister to the needs of the local residents of Mound Bayou. Four of the Bishop McNamara students share their experience:

Blaine Ford (class of 2006)
My experience on the mission to Mississippi did not only consist of physical labor, but also emotional reform. I went on the trip expecting my service to simply be hard work with my hands. A lot of it was! However, the more gratifying experience for me was to work with the people of Mound Bayou. The Saint Gabriel Outreach Center seemed to be the focus of many people's lives there. It is a beacon of hope. I understood the work I did on the center was important, but to me, the more moving experience was escorting the older ladies to bingo and fixing the playground for the kids. I learned that there is a real value in getting to know the people you are helping. It is easy to give a homeless man a dollar; it is a lot harder to hear about his family and how he became homeless. Service must be both physical and emotional, that is what I learned in Mississippi.

Kati Hartman (class of 2005)
The first day we arrived at the Saint Gabriel Center I was nervous. I did not know what to expect and was not sure what we would be doing or what the people would be like. After four days I had befriended elderly and teens living there and the nuns who were serving them. We cleaned up the center, did odd jobs, and moved supplies, furnishings and equipment. Our labor was greatly appreciated by Sister Donald Mary, the Center's director. I also had a chance to spend time with some of the elderly women who visit the center. They sure were spunky! The final day of our mission we were finishing up some labor projects and I saw one of the ladies I had played Uno with earlier in the week. She walked by me and said "Hi Kati." I was astonished that this woman remembered me and called me by name. That is one memory that I will carry with me forever. Those two simple works showed me how much of a difference we made in Mound Bayou. I just hope the people there realize what a positive effect they had on me as well.

Angela Darnell (class of 2006)
The trip to Mississippi was a great learning experience. I never realized how many small tasks we take for granted, like cleaning the wooden pews in the Church there was something that had not been done for a long time. It was a great feeling to do things that helped this community and to see how others appreciated our work. One day as we were moving things from a center that had to be closed, people from the neighborhood came by to talked with us, waived their hands in our direction, honked their horns as we labored, and even joined in our efforts. I feel very fortunate to have had this experience and would hope to do something like this again.

Maggie Sigur (class of 2005)
I went on this Mission Trip to surrender myself to the wants and needs of others instead of the desires of myself. I also wanted to experience the great outdoors and confront my weaknesses in camping and physical labor in a positive way. This trip allowed me to accomplish these goals as I bonded with my classmates and teachers without being distracted by the "necessities" of today. On this mission trip I had the heart and willingness to improve myself, my relationship with God and most importantly to improve the lives of those we were helping in Mississippi. This trip inspired and motivated me to share what I have with others. Jesus said, "Whenever you helped the least of my brothers you were helping me." I relate this quote to the trip because we were helping others improve their surroundings while honoring God.

Our students and their chaperones truly experienced what the Apostle James said in his epistle, "faith without works is dead." For these 17 students faith is alive; service is embedded in their hearts. We at Bishop McNamara High School are proud of the impact they have made on the community in Mound Bayou, Mississippi and the ministry they have had back here in the school as a result of their mission trip.