A Lasting Impact

A mission trip for students can be an eye-opening experience! Seeing firsthand how others live, their needs or the unjust realities of their lives can make a lasting impact. In February, three senior high students from St. John’s Prep in Collegeville, Minnesota, visited with School Sisters of Notre Dame who serve on the U.S./Mexico border.

Sister Bridget Waldorf, theology teacher and campus minister at St. John Prep, brought the girls to Arizona. Sisters Judith Bourg, Christine Garcia and Lucy Nigh serve the immigrants on both sides of the border.

Sarah: “The thing that amazed me is that the people trying to get into the United States are literally so close (just on one side of a fence) and yet so far away – given the difficulties they have to go through to get here.

“This was very experiential – learning by being there – walking the water into the desert, experiencing the sunrise ceremony, watching Operation Streamline happen right before my eyes.”

Stacey: “I grew up being cared for by a Mexican immigrant. I never realized the trouble she went through to get here and the years it’s taken to attain residency – she’s been working on that my entire lifetime.

“Looking back, I think I was aware of some things – it’s a new situation to experience them firsthand. When we were at the Border Patrol station someone asked to see my passport; for a moment, I felt like I was being judged.”

Olivia: “The trip was a ‘wake-up’ call for me. It is one thing to know about a problem – another to see it with your own eyes. People are desperate to come because conditions where they live are not good.

“I’m motivated to go back – to go into Agua Prieta and meet immigrants. I don’t want to forget how I felt.”

Have you ever gone on a mission trip? How did it make you feel?

Top Photo, Left to Right: Olivia Roth, Sister Bridget Waldorf , Sarah Hartz-Martin and Stacey Spadafore
Bottom Photo: Students from St. John’s Prep with (from left) Sisters Lucy Nigh, Judy Bourg, Bridget Waldorf and Christina Garcia