St. George and Our Lady of Mercy 

Youth Groups Mission

As the Gulf Coast warily and wearily enters into the peak of hurricane season, perhaps the most anxious residents are in the Lake Charles area, which suffered four natural disasters in 2020. 

But even more powerful than hurricane force winds and rising waters are the compassion and help coming to them on mission trips to help repair the damage. 

The youth from Our Lady of Mercy and St. George churches, both in Baton Rouge, brought a youthful energy and faith to these efforts during a recent mission trip to Lake Charles. Youth ministers Tori LaBelle from OLOM and Catherine Stewart from St. George partnered with Catholic Mission Trips to organize the trip. 

Sweat, tears, prayers and fellowship were the building stones the youth used to serve their neighbors. The students stayed in the gym at Lake Charles-Boston Academy High School. They assembled 400 bags of non-perishable goods at Catholic Charities, removed Sheetrock in three homes, made massive mold remediation for a non-denominational church, landscaped and installed new ceiling tiles. 

“When we were working in the Protestant church office, our contractor thought we would just be breaking through Sheetrock,” said St. George youth group member Abigail Kukura, a sophomore at St. Joseph’s Academy in Baton Rouge. “But as we were breaking through, he found out that it wasn’t Sheetrock and it would be much harder to get down. He didn’t tell us this because he wasn’t sure if we would be able to finish it that day. 

“We pulled through and got the entire room done and cleaned out everything that had fallen to the ground. We didn’t find out until later that day what the walls were made out of. It was truly a God moment that we were able to get the entire room done.”

The youth found their faith was deepened by fighting the challenges and finding joy in the hard things.

“When we first arrived at the gym where we were to live for a week, I was more than skeptical,” said Chaillie Anne Daniel, an OLOM youth group member and SJA freshman. “This gym was small, had plywood for flooring and was filled with all sorts of tools and toys. We were to share a locker room with three showers amongst 20 kids. That was a challenge.

“However, a joy definitely came out of that challenge.  I became closer with everyone that was there enduring the same things as me.”

It also gave the young missionaries an up-close view of the suffering the people of Lake Charles were going through, according to Daniel.

“When I came around to think about it, our situation, however bad it seemed, was nothing compared to what some of the families of Lake Charles were living in. For the past year, they have been stuck in houses with mold, bugs and hardly a safe environment. When I relate this to what we were living in, our situation seems more than ideal,” she said.

Daniel was filled with joy at the smiles of the people they could help. 

“As cheesy as that may sound, these people were touched by our work and help for them. They had been living in these conditions for a year and our work had touched their hearts in a special way,” said Daniel.

And it also revealed to her that no effort to help those in need is too small.

“It showed me how many people are truly in need of our help and even if you can’t go and tear down a wall or rebuild a house, they could use your love just as much as a house renovation. So many of them are alone and have no one to talk with or no one to confide in. I feel like this experience was a call to action to love everyone you encounter because you could never know how much they need it,” Daniel said.

The trip was an opportunity to serve side by side for St. George youth group members and siblings Sarah Lieux, a SJA sophomore, and Isabelle Lieux, a SJA freshman.

“Meeting the people in the community and helping rebuild their lives really touched me. I loved making a difference while developing my faith,” said Sarah.

 Isabelle said, “Working to help members of the community gave me a sense of fulfillment in doing good work for others. Making new friends while helping others allowed me to grow in faith and strengthen my bond with Christ.”   

The surprise for many of the youth were how they thrived in difficult situations. “I was taken severely off guard at the level of comfort I was experiencing,” said Lauren Carter, a St. George youth group member and SJA senior. “Despite all the difficult work and uncomfortable living conditions at times, the people that surrounded me made me feel so at home. I’ve never met such a loving group that truly made me think I was surrounded by family. I will never forget the people I encountered, and I hope to maintain those beautiful friendships.”  

The trip was a confidence booster for Jayke Fullerton, an OLOM youth group member and senior at Baton Rouge Magnet High School in Baton Rouge. 

“Before this week ever happened, I use to be terrified of heights. When we did the ropes course on the last day, I had no fear when climbing and jumping off of the tower. Never in my life would I have thought I would do that,” said Fullerton.

With not enough hours during the week to get everything done, Fullerton said he and his peers focused on being satisfied with their accomplishments. 

“I wish we didn’t have to stop working on the houses at a certain time and me knowing there is still work to be done in a way hurts. I wanted to be able to leave people a finished house,” he said. “But even though I wish we could have been able to finish the houses, I am quite proud of everyone and how hard they worked. They work so well and I know they, too, didn’t want to leave the people they were helping. At the end of the day we were all happy we were able to help and how much we were able to do. Everyone did an amazing job and I couldn’t be more proud.”

To keep the service and faith connection strong, each day included Mass at a local church, where the youth participated in the liturgy as lectors and servers. Then they spent the next six hours at a work site. One evening they visited the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Lake Charles for eucharistic adoration and confession. 

“It was astounding that every single student received the sacrament of reconciliation that day,” said LaBelle.

This allowed the youth to make important leaps in their faith.

“This mission trip has deepened my faith and commitment to my brothers and sisters greatly,” said Fullerton. “This mission trip showed me how to keep patience. It taught me how to be a better person. It helped me to stop and listen to others. Ever since the mission trip, I have been praying a decade of Hail Mary’s every night before bed.”