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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

May 23 , 2017 | The Valley Catholic

Archbishop Mitty High School embraces the Catholic educational mission of developing community while teaching students to promote service , justice , and peace . Senior Maddie Zenk participated in an immersion trip that occurred during Easter Break , during which she had a chance to create community with a group of children she met at a home for youth living with disabilities or HIV / AIDs . This is her reflection :

Community is all around us . We have our schools , our homes , our friends , and our families . But what can be hard to imagine in this environment is how it may feel to live day to day without this support . Over this past spring break , I was offered the chance to explore a different country altogether : Jamaica . Three teachers , thirteen other Archbishop Mitty students , and I travelled to Montego Bay over spring break to serve others and immerse ourselves in another culture for ten days .

The immersion trip experience — along with the people I met and the memories I made — was unforgettable . But what stood out to me the most was

the importance of creating a community , especially during my time at Blessed Assurance Mustard Seed Community . Blessed Assurance is a home for children and young adults with disabilities and / or HIV / AIDS . They are also wards of the state , meaning they have been given up , as early as when they were first born , and live as orphans . Most of them don ’ t know what it ’ s like to have a parent , to be given that love and that sense of belonging . The closest thing they have to that is each other .

After a long bus ride , we finally arrived , and I could feel the nervous anticipation of the group . The questions

were in all of our minds , “ How would this day go ? Would we be able to connect and get along with the kids ?” As we walked toward the gazebo where all the children of the community were seated , most in wheelchairs , I felt myself tense up . I was anxious and afraid of not being able to keep a conversation going , of not being fun , of not being able to have a meaningful impact . Overall , I was afraid of not being enough . These kids had so little , and I wanted to give to them all that I had .

Despite my fears , I was the first to enter . The moment I stepped into the

area , a little girl in a wheelchair reached her hand out to me and let out a soft squeal . Grabbing her hand , I allowed her to lead me to a seat beside her . She smiled at me , I smiled back , and that ’ s how we sat , hand in hand , smiling at each other . Eventually , I took her out for a walk and , upon her request , we stopped on the side of one of the roads where we could observe the other children laughing and playing together . I found out she loved to sing and discovered her favorite song was a classic , “ Twinkle , Twinkle Little Star .” Again we sat , hand in hand , this time singing our own rendition of the song and that was when I realized that this girl that I had just met extended all she had to me : her community .

By just being herself , this girl had given me the gift of her time . Being present to those around us is one of the most powerful and selfless gifts we can give each other . An obstacle many face when trying to contribute to a community is the feeling of insignificance , but this extraordinary experience showed me that just being present to each other can be incredibly meaningful and creates community .