2024 Trip Updates
Follow us on our trip!
A HUGE thank-you to everyone for their love and support in helping our yearly youth mission trip become a reality! As we prepare for and live out our mission during the week, please use this page to see updates and submit your prayers to our group! We will do our best to update each day.
A HUGE thank-you to everyone for their love and support in helping our yearly youth mission trip become a reality! As we prepare for and live out our mission during the week, please use this page to see updates and submit your prayers to our group! We will do our best to update each day.
Sunday, June 23
Hi, everyone!
Day #1 is done. We had safe travels & made it up to Stella Maris around 3:45 p.m. Andrew, the President of Stella, gave us a warm welcome & brief tour of the school. We had dinner outside at the pavilion. We also played four-square, volleyball and basketball for quite some time! We ended up staying at Stella all night & will hopefully make it down to Canal Park tomorrow during our busy day!
A special thank-you to Gina J. for helping with dinner, shopping and much more. We really appreciate it!
Thank you, also, to the KCs for the great breakfast this morning before we left!
We ended the night in the chapel, up on the fourth floor of the school here. We reflected on Jesus's invitation to "remain here and watch with Me..." (Matthew 26: 36-46)--taking note of the things we'd like to surrender to God for the week so that we may be fully present here. We also touched on Psalm 23, where God's "goodness & mercy follow us..."
It was a good first day. Thank you to everyone for your love & support. We are so happy to be here. More to come tomorrow! -Jake
Day #1 is done. We had safe travels & made it up to Stella Maris around 3:45 p.m. Andrew, the President of Stella, gave us a warm welcome & brief tour of the school. We had dinner outside at the pavilion. We also played four-square, volleyball and basketball for quite some time! We ended up staying at Stella all night & will hopefully make it down to Canal Park tomorrow during our busy day!
A special thank-you to Gina J. for helping with dinner, shopping and much more. We really appreciate it!
Thank you, also, to the KCs for the great breakfast this morning before we left!
We ended the night in the chapel, up on the fourth floor of the school here. We reflected on Jesus's invitation to "remain here and watch with Me..." (Matthew 26: 36-46)--taking note of the things we'd like to surrender to God for the week so that we may be fully present here. We also touched on Psalm 23, where God's "goodness & mercy follow us..."
It was a good first day. Thank you to everyone for your love & support. We are so happy to be here. More to come tomorrow! -Jake
Monday, June 24
Hi, everyone!
Our 2nd day in Duluth was eventful! We went & toured the Women’s Care Center building this morning and learned from a wonderful team of staff about all that is offered through this organization. It was very eye-opening to see just how many women, men and children benefit from their services. There is such a need in this community for resources such as this. God has placed such an incredible team of kind, caring & compassionate people there to minister to the people in this area. We are very grateful for this opportunity. They have a playground that will need to be stained once it’s finally dry up here for a while. Future service project in the future for St. Anastasia? Maybe!
After that, we ate lunch & hung out in Canal Park for a while! The lake is so beautiful up here. We then went on the Duluth Zephyr Train! Our train car was pretty hot but I think people still had fun and enjoyed the experience.
We then went to the Diocese of Duluth Center & met with Fr. Rich Kunst. He has the largest personal collection of Papal Artifacts in the world (outside of the Vatican)! He showed us a few items in his collection & shared incredible stories! It’s hard to put into words the feeling of being in the presence of a relic of the true cross. It was incredible. We are actually going to go to daily Mass at his parish tomorrow morning now—St. James in West Duluth at 8:00 a.m. He will be showing us a few more items in his collection, as well as the beautiful stained-glass windows in his church. We are very thankful to him & Betsy in the Diocesan Office for lining all of this up!
Next, we came back to Stella Maris for Mass with Fr. Matthew Miller. We appreciate him coming to celebrate Mass for us in the chapel! He is an incredible young priest, serving at St. John’s Catholic Church here (right near Stella). Chris & Gina Lemke also joined us! They are a married couple living & serving both at Stella & in the Diocesan Office. We owe so much of this trip to their help, support and organization!
Lastly, we finished the night off in the chapel. We focused on the goodness and love of God. Lucy played music as we asked the kids to reflect on the areas in their lives where they needed the most prayer—where they feel they need God the most. Trusting in God, especially when He seems to be silent, is one of the hardest things to do. Yet, He is always working for the good in our lives. It was a powerful night—filled with joys and sorrows.
I am thankful to all of you families for your beautiful children that are on this trip with us. They shared their hearts tonight & I couldn’t be more in awe of them. Our adult chaperones are so incredible, too. What beautiful people we have on this trip. Thanks be to God.
Tomorrow we begin service! I will try to have the kids type updates, too, throughout the day! Stay tuned for more from them!
Thank you, all! Please, keep the messages & prayers coming! -Jake
Our 2nd day in Duluth was eventful! We went & toured the Women’s Care Center building this morning and learned from a wonderful team of staff about all that is offered through this organization. It was very eye-opening to see just how many women, men and children benefit from their services. There is such a need in this community for resources such as this. God has placed such an incredible team of kind, caring & compassionate people there to minister to the people in this area. We are very grateful for this opportunity. They have a playground that will need to be stained once it’s finally dry up here for a while. Future service project in the future for St. Anastasia? Maybe!
After that, we ate lunch & hung out in Canal Park for a while! The lake is so beautiful up here. We then went on the Duluth Zephyr Train! Our train car was pretty hot but I think people still had fun and enjoyed the experience.
We then went to the Diocese of Duluth Center & met with Fr. Rich Kunst. He has the largest personal collection of Papal Artifacts in the world (outside of the Vatican)! He showed us a few items in his collection & shared incredible stories! It’s hard to put into words the feeling of being in the presence of a relic of the true cross. It was incredible. We are actually going to go to daily Mass at his parish tomorrow morning now—St. James in West Duluth at 8:00 a.m. He will be showing us a few more items in his collection, as well as the beautiful stained-glass windows in his church. We are very thankful to him & Betsy in the Diocesan Office for lining all of this up!
Next, we came back to Stella Maris for Mass with Fr. Matthew Miller. We appreciate him coming to celebrate Mass for us in the chapel! He is an incredible young priest, serving at St. John’s Catholic Church here (right near Stella). Chris & Gina Lemke also joined us! They are a married couple living & serving both at Stella & in the Diocesan Office. We owe so much of this trip to their help, support and organization!
Lastly, we finished the night off in the chapel. We focused on the goodness and love of God. Lucy played music as we asked the kids to reflect on the areas in their lives where they needed the most prayer—where they feel they need God the most. Trusting in God, especially when He seems to be silent, is one of the hardest things to do. Yet, He is always working for the good in our lives. It was a powerful night—filled with joys and sorrows.
I am thankful to all of you families for your beautiful children that are on this trip with us. They shared their hearts tonight & I couldn’t be more in awe of them. Our adult chaperones are so incredible, too. What beautiful people we have on this trip. Thanks be to God.
Tomorrow we begin service! I will try to have the kids type updates, too, throughout the day! Stay tuned for more from them!
Thank you, all! Please, keep the messages & prayers coming! -Jake
Tuesday, June 25
Hello friends and family! We are having an amazing time here in Duluth! Today my group went to a womens and baby care facility. We got to help clean up the yard and yard toys. Some people in our group mowed the grass and weeded while me and a few others scrubbed the lawn toys that the kids use. It was very fun and the lady in charge bought us donuts and made us zucchini bread. We headed back to Stella Maris and we will go to reconciliation and adoration tonight and finish with some church group time. So far it has been an amazing trip. Miss you and love you all.
- Rachel
Hello everyone back in Hutchinson! The trip has gone very well so far!!! Today was our first work day and we went to a trail on the south side of St. James. We were told to put new mulch on the 400 foot trail. We had 5 wheel-barrows and alternated people to wheel them down to the trail, starting at 10 am and ending at 1:20. We managed to get the whole trail done in that matter of time, which was crazy, considering this was a 3 day project for every group. We got the blessing to shower with warm water everyday, which I am very happy about! This place has lots of things to do, there's a basketball court, a sand-volleyball court and many other amazing activities to do! It's a lot of fun!!! I miss all of you guys back home!
-Carter Nelson
Hey everyone!! I had an amazing day organizing and washing at a women's care center! It was such an amazing experience getting able to help those in need, even if it was just organizing a supply cupboard, It still felt fulfilling. The nice lady was amazing enough to provide us with juice and goodies before we got our whole project done! I'm very glad that God blessed us with nice weather because up here it had been raining for 2 weeks straight, and I think God knew we needed nice weather to serve this community. Mom and Dad, I love and miss you guys and I'm looking forward to seeing y'all on Friday!! (P.S. we definitely need to come back to Duluth for a family trip!! There are so many cool things to do ;) -Sophia Withers
Hi, everyone! Sorry for the delay in getting pictures posted! It was a very long night last night for "some" of us! Please, enjoy this blast of recent photos! We went to daily Mass yesterday (Tues.) morning at St. James & saw more papal artifacts & relics with Fr. Rich. It was so incredible to see!
- Rachel
Hello everyone back in Hutchinson! The trip has gone very well so far!!! Today was our first work day and we went to a trail on the south side of St. James. We were told to put new mulch on the 400 foot trail. We had 5 wheel-barrows and alternated people to wheel them down to the trail, starting at 10 am and ending at 1:20. We managed to get the whole trail done in that matter of time, which was crazy, considering this was a 3 day project for every group. We got the blessing to shower with warm water everyday, which I am very happy about! This place has lots of things to do, there's a basketball court, a sand-volleyball court and many other amazing activities to do! It's a lot of fun!!! I miss all of you guys back home!
-Carter Nelson
Hey everyone!! I had an amazing day organizing and washing at a women's care center! It was such an amazing experience getting able to help those in need, even if it was just organizing a supply cupboard, It still felt fulfilling. The nice lady was amazing enough to provide us with juice and goodies before we got our whole project done! I'm very glad that God blessed us with nice weather because up here it had been raining for 2 weeks straight, and I think God knew we needed nice weather to serve this community. Mom and Dad, I love and miss you guys and I'm looking forward to seeing y'all on Friday!! (P.S. we definitely need to come back to Duluth for a family trip!! There are so many cool things to do ;) -Sophia Withers
Hi, everyone! Sorry for the delay in getting pictures posted! It was a very long night last night for "some" of us! Please, enjoy this blast of recent photos! We went to daily Mass yesterday (Tues.) morning at St. James & saw more papal artifacts & relics with Fr. Rich. It was so incredible to see!
Wednesday, June 26
Hello! Today we had a great day filled with service, friendships, and of course, Jesus! This has been my first mission trip as an adult leader instead of a youth and it's been absolutely amazing. We started our day with a yummy breakfast by the best chef, Laura. Right after we headed to Mass with Father Matt at St. John's which is right down the road from where we are staying. We learned how important it is to use the fruits that God has given us to live like Jesus. Even though we can't always see our Catholic roots, we can extend them by the way we live our lives and love others. In the words of Father Matt, "Be mistaken for Jesus today." After Mass we split up and headed to our work stations. Our group went to St. Scholastica to help Sister Terry lay mulch on their walking paths. It was a lot of honest-sweat and our kids put so much effort into their work! We laid about about 350-400 feet worth of mulch today! We dedicated our work today as prayers and intentions of our hearts which helped us tremendously as the work started to get harder. We headed back to home base to get cleaned up, have snack, and some free time. We spent our early evening back at Canal Park to explore the shores and gift shops which was a blast! We also headed up to Point Park to enjoy some beach. Then we headed back for a great dinner once again by the best chef! We had some more free time and soon after went to the Chapel for our Church Group Time. Tonight was foot washing. This is such an important part of our mission, as we demonstrate the love of Jesus by washing and praying over each other as adult leaders and each of our youths. This time is always special and the Holy Spirit was so present. In this space, we also engaged in praise and worship, affirmations, and prayer time.
God has been working in the hearts of each and every one of these kids and the best part of being an adult leader is seeing how abundant their faith has grown in just a week. We are all so proud of them!
Alia Muellerleile
God has been working in the hearts of each and every one of these kids and the best part of being an adult leader is seeing how abundant their faith has grown in just a week. We are all so proud of them!
Alia Muellerleile
Thursday, June 27
Today my group (Sarah, Grace, Hannah, Ella, Rachel Gretchen and I (Edith) went to help set up for the rhubarb festival. First, we set up tables in accordance with the fire code, tables for the guests, serving the food, and merchandise. After that we helped separate foods that are going to be used for the festival and counted them up checking it with a checklist to make sure they had enough of it. Finally, we helped unload a truck full of t-shirts for the volunteers, and t-shirts and sweatshirts for merch that will be sold. After unloading the truck we folded t-shirts that are going to be sold during the festival and t-shirts for the volunteers. In between that we took a small lunch break, where at first we ate and talked and then played the sign game which helped us bond closer as a group.
- Edith Moriasi
Hello again! Today was similar to yesterday. We woke up and had a delicious breakfast thanks to Laura then headed down to our worksites again. Our group went to CHUM today which is a local Christian food shelf and shelter in Duluth. We spent time unloading a huge delivery truck, stacking shelves, unpacking loads, and packing boxes of food that they will deliver. We worked hard and got done early. Later in the day we went to Mass at the Duluth Cathedral led by Father Mike Schmitz and played a new game (speedball) with all the other students! After, we were back at Stella Maris and had some free time and pizza. For our church group time we wrote letters to our future selves and spent good quality time with one another for one last night. This group is truly amazing. The Holy Spirit is so evident in the hearts and souls of each of them and I'm so excited for what's to come in their futures!
Alia Muellerleile
- Edith Moriasi
Hello again! Today was similar to yesterday. We woke up and had a delicious breakfast thanks to Laura then headed down to our worksites again. Our group went to CHUM today which is a local Christian food shelf and shelter in Duluth. We spent time unloading a huge delivery truck, stacking shelves, unpacking loads, and packing boxes of food that they will deliver. We worked hard and got done early. Later in the day we went to Mass at the Duluth Cathedral led by Father Mike Schmitz and played a new game (speedball) with all the other students! After, we were back at Stella Maris and had some free time and pizza. For our church group time we wrote letters to our future selves and spent good quality time with one another for one last night. This group is truly amazing. The Holy Spirit is so evident in the hearts and souls of each of them and I'm so excited for what's to come in their futures!
Alia Muellerleile
Friday, June 28
Hi, everyone!
We had an amazing evening, last evening, with Fr. Mike. Daily Mass was beautiful. Father's Seven Deadly Sins & Seven Lively Virtues talk was incredible. He took the time to speak with each of us, individually, as well as the group as a whole. He truly is such a humble, loving and holy man. We were so blessed to be able to see him.
We closed the evening reflecting on the "Great Commission" (Matthew 28: 16-20). Everyone sang praise & worship songs as the kids gathered together to praise the Lord. It was truly such a beautiful experience & a room full of love.
This trip has been incredible. And I want to say thank you, again, to everyone for their love and support to make this possible. Many of our service partners this year already asked when we plan to come back. All of the kids and chaperones worked so hard at all work locations. I'm very proud of them. This group has become a family. We hope to continue to gather together to support one another and help each other grow in our faith when we get back home. Although we are excited to get back to our families & homes, it's still hard to leave. We thank you again for your love and support & hope that you'll consider coming along with us again next year!
Tomorrow (Fri.) we will be headed back to the Cathedral again for daily Mass at 7:00. Great Wolf Lodge after that. Bus home. Stay tuned for a Google Photo album with all photos from this trip, as well as another video created by the talented & wonderful, Alia M.
With love,
- Jake
We had an amazing evening, last evening, with Fr. Mike. Daily Mass was beautiful. Father's Seven Deadly Sins & Seven Lively Virtues talk was incredible. He took the time to speak with each of us, individually, as well as the group as a whole. He truly is such a humble, loving and holy man. We were so blessed to be able to see him.
We closed the evening reflecting on the "Great Commission" (Matthew 28: 16-20). Everyone sang praise & worship songs as the kids gathered together to praise the Lord. It was truly such a beautiful experience & a room full of love.
This trip has been incredible. And I want to say thank you, again, to everyone for their love and support to make this possible. Many of our service partners this year already asked when we plan to come back. All of the kids and chaperones worked so hard at all work locations. I'm very proud of them. This group has become a family. We hope to continue to gather together to support one another and help each other grow in our faith when we get back home. Although we are excited to get back to our families & homes, it's still hard to leave. We thank you again for your love and support & hope that you'll consider coming along with us again next year!
Tomorrow (Fri.) we will be headed back to the Cathedral again for daily Mass at 7:00. Great Wolf Lodge after that. Bus home. Stay tuned for a Google Photo album with all photos from this trip, as well as another video created by the talented & wonderful, Alia M.
With love,
- Jake
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