I went on my second mission trip this week with the Pitt-Johnstown Catholic Campus Ministry. We went to Camden, New Jersey, one of the highest crime rate cities in the entire country. The mission trip we went on last year changed my life, and this trip did too. I came back stronger in faith, stronger in relationship with God and my friends, and with so much more desire to serve the Lord and His people.

Here is an overview of our trip.

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We left in our painted van Sunday afternoon for Camden. By painted I mean windows covered with phrases like "CCM", "Pray for us", and of course "Can I get a YEE YEE?" (you know, all things that help us blend in even better in the city we will be spending a week serving in).

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I have to admit that I was a little frightened when we pulled onto the streets of the city. We got lost, there were kids playing in middle of the street that refused to move from our path, the city itself was close to terrifying. I'm normally fearless on mission trip, but my nerves were out of line initially. We found our house, the DeSales Service Works, and went inside the beautiful place.

We met with Father Mike, the priest that runs the service center. He was so calm, peaceful, and soft spoken. He gave us an introduction about the way that the city works. He addressed our fears with comforting statements on the way that, while remaining vigilant, we should be safe because we have the umbrella of the church over us, (the church is mostly respected there because of they work that they do) and because criminals do not want to draw attention to themselves by adding random people into their disputes. There was even a dog, Sky, that stayed at the center with us and went to many of our service sites with us.

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We went on walking tour of the city, just to become familiar with the blocks around our house. We passed Holy Name, the Catholic school we would be serving at frequently that week. We passed the school yard that we would pour ourselves out in fixing up.

We saw the places we should be extra wary of for syringes. We stood in a field where two teen boy's bodies lay dead just a few years ago over about 80 dollars worth of drugs. We saw houses, small, connected houses in near ruin. We saw the houses next to those houses, abandoned and dilapidated, but being illegally lived in. From what I could see through the holes and lack of windows, I would not have entered those houses, even in a hazmat suit.

What would it take for me to live there? How bad would things have to be?

We saw bodegas, family owned corner stores that may have a decent food selection, or may have next to nothing, but are many peoples only grocery store.

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We went back to the house and half of us jumped right into our first act service, serving dinner at Joseph's House, a homeless shelter, while the other half watched a 20/20 documentary on Camden. Those of us at the shelter helped prepare the food that is donated every single night by local churches. They just about never run out. The dishes looked phenomenal being casseroles and bakes that remind you of the old lady cooking at your small parish. We served every resident, handing them the plates with kind words.

I asked a homeless woman I was serving how she was. She responded:

"No matter where I'm at, I'm blessed."

Their faith absolutely amazes me.

After dinner we got to talk to to the people staying there. I talked to a woman whose dream and calling was photography. She especially enjoys taking pictures of the clouds because they remind her of Heaven. She showed me some of her work. It was really good. She left her husband, an abusive relationship, and their home in Las Vegas a few months ago. She is homeless in Camden now.

I talked with a man who works at the shelter. I learned so much and gained a lot of new perspective. There are 0 days off there. You work all night. Fights break out. Seizures happen. People are still homeless on Christmas. The shelter has a limited number of beds. They make accommodations during "code blue", when the temperatures are so low that they make extra exceptions to fit more people in, opening more beds, transporting people to other shelters with more room. There are computers, clothes, showers, and medical services open to all of the residents. Residents must be out by 7:30 AM. The man said something very profound to me.

"It's impossible to starve in Camden, you might be uncomfortable, but you won't starve."

There are so many options for food. You might be uncomfortable, but no one will starve.

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We began the rest of our days the same way, eating breakfast together, gathering in morning prayer, singing praise and worship, then working at the Sandwich Ministry. The sandwich ministry is a food distribution service out of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Camden. We made hundreds of sandwiches, an extra few hundred peanut butter and jelly's, packed hundreds of bags of donuts and pastries, bagged everything together, and handed it out to between 200 and 400 homeless men, women, and children every day. We also gave them as much water as they wanted, any hygiene products we had, and the occasional extra sub and cup of rice. The people who faithfully work and volunteer there do that 5 days a week all year. I admire them so much.

We also spent a great deal of time cleaning up the cathedral property. We picked up garbage every day.

We mowed the grass and weeded all of the flower beds.

We cleaned the church itself, the beautiful, immaculate Cathedral.

I'm not very familiar with drugs, but I became a little too close for comfort in the extreme amount of empty dime bags I threw away during the week. We found so many of them in the new flower beds of the Cathedral. That was hard.

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We spent most of our afternoons at Holy Name, the Catholic grade school just around the corner from our house. We got to play recess with the children. That was so fun. We walked through the gates to the playground and they pretty much attacked us in the best way. They grabbed us by the hands and took off running to play their favorite game, or to simply sit along the wall and talk.

Sometimes, just they just needed an ear, to hear about us, or to be told that they have the most beautiful glasses, that match their jumper perfectly.

They were so excited to see us and they didn't even know us. We got to go back and deepen our relationships with many of the kids at the after school program. First we had to help them with their homework. They could not go outside until it was done.

Then we got to spend more time on the court with them, strengthening the friendships they so lovingly accepted. I quickly became close with many of the kids. One boy, Richard, was one of the smartest 4th graders I have ever met. He was so kind, so well versed, so faithful, and so funny. I let him "braid" my hair. He kept one of my ponytails to remember me.

When we were leaving on the last day he turned around, waved to me one last time, and yelled:

"You're as smart as a dolphin . It's a metaphor!"

I am still laughing about that. He was so smart, and such a light to me. God bless him.

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One day we even had the privilege of helping Father Mike teach the Confirmation class. We each had a student to sit with, to teach the lesson to, to share our faith with, and get to know. That was so special. I pray we impacted them.

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The school yard was in poor condition. We dug much of it up, laid new bricks under the fence line, and planted beautiful flowers. We worked hard, but so well as a team for God. That small act of service brought joy to so many people. It was neat to see the fruits of our labor.

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We spent an afternoon picking garbage away from the church, and also painting over graffiti. We found several syringes, bottles of beer, a tissue with blood on it, and of course more dime bags. That was a rude awakening for me. That made everything very real for me.

A man who did not know us, who did not even speak English, brought us a case of cold water while we were working. What a gift and random act of kindness. May God bless him.

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One afternoon we had a little free time, so we drove to Germantown to the Saint Vincent De Paul Young Adults Center where we went on our mission trip last year. We are very close with the Sister who runs the center and the woman, Darcy, who works with her. We got Philly cheese steaks and went to a park to eat and play a few games.

Have you ever seen a Sister play kickball? I have and its pretty awesome. Sister Sharon showed us how it's done.

She also specializes in kite-flying and sword-fighting.

A really different part of our trip was our attendance at a few AA (alcoholics anonymous) meetings. We went as guests and the participants were so welcoming and accepting of us. To hear their personal testimonies, hear how they struggle, hear how some overcome, hear people being clean for a few days or a few decades, was incredible. We could relate to them, even though we have such different struggles. God was present. It changed many of my friends lives as well as the lives of the participants. I learned so much.

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We ended our trip with a few different, very deep reflections, diving into scripture, examining ourselves, and discussing where we saw new life and life in each other.

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We played with Sky and we played with Rick's kittens.

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We shared many meals and many laughs. We grew in relationship with God and with each other.

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We gathered in prayer, cleaned, and left after a fruitful week that went way too fast.

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I was in no way ready to leave Camden. I am so peaceful and content when I am in the full service of others. I am my true self and focused entirely on God, with the distractions of this world gone from my sight and mind. There is nothing better than spending an entire week with my best friends serving the Lord whom we love so dearly. I am ready to apply what I have learned and experienced to helping my hometown, and I am already excited for our next mission trip next spring.

Serving God by serving His people fills me. I am so joyful helping others. I pray that I can continue to serve fearlessly and joyfully, making the world better through even the smallest of acts, always putting God first in my life.

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To see more pictures of our trip or to learn about our ministry visit:

Our Facebook page-

https://www.facebook.com/Pitt-Johnstown-Catholic-C...

Our website-

https://www.catholicupj.com/