I had the privilege of joining the
Clarke campus ministry mission team
on their fall 2014 trip to Minneapolis.
I accompanied former Clarke Campus
Minister Radie Roberts and 15 students
for a weekend of serving and sharing in
community. Empowered by the pioneer
spirit of BVM Foundress Mary Frances
Clarke, the Clarke students fully entered
into the mission weekend ready and willing to do whatever was needed.
Our home base was St. Jane House, an
urban retreat center ministry sponsored
by the Visitation Sisters of Minneapolis.
We served at an organization called “The
Cookie Cart,” which provides teens 15 to
18 years old with lasting and meaningful work, and life and leadership skills
through experience and training in an
urban nonprofit bakery. The Clarke students jumped right in, getting to know
the teens, learning the cookie creating
process, providing the teens with the
opportunity for mock job interviews, and
sharing their advice about life choices and
being in college.
We also learned about “From Death to
Life”—an organization dedicated to ending violence through healing and reconciliation between families of victims and
those who have caused harm. We helped
decorate and serve food at their thank
you event. We were deeply moved by the
story of Mary Johnson, the organization’s
founder. After many years, Mary was
finally able to forgive the young man who
murdered her son. Not only that, but she
continues to love and support him now,
calling him her “spiritual son.” She began
From Death to Life to help other woman
in their journey of forgiveness.
Reflecting on the weekend mission,
Clarke sophomore Theresa Koos says, “I
have learned new ways to serve those who
need me most. I also learned more about
true forgiveness. God forgives everyone
who asks for his forgiveness and through
this mission trip I saw this happening.”
Children Ignite Spark
With Volunteers
The BVM Outreach/Volunteer ministry also joined forces with Clarke campus
ministry in March. I worked with Anastasia Nicklaus, current director of campus
ministry, to plan a weeklong spring break
mission trip. I accompanied Anastasia and
nine Clarke students to Kansas City, Mo.,
to volunteer at Operation Breakthrough.
Founded by BVMs Berta Sailer and
Corita Bussanmas (Otto), Operation
Breakthrough is a single-site early education child care and social services facility
serving over 400 children daily. Its mission is to help children who are living in
poverty develop to their fullest potential
by providing them a safe, loving and educational environment. It also strives to
support and empower the children’s families through advocacy, referral services,
and emergency aid.
We helped with various projects
throughout the week: cleaning classrooms
and play areas, creating picture labels
for classrooms, and planting grass and
doing clean-up work in the developing
“Outdoor Classroom.” We had lunch one
afternoon with some of the mothers from
Amethyst Place, a housing program for
women recovering from addiction who
have children.
The most profound impact on us, however, came from assisting in the classrooms
and spending time with the children. We
were split into pairs and assigned classrooms, from babies to pre-K, to help in
throughout the week. Clarke junior Megan
Fuhrman shares,