Our Lady Of The Chesapeake Youth Visit West Virginia

Approximately 60 high school and college students joined 30 adults in West Virginia from June 23-June 29 for an Appalachia West Virginia mission trip. Among them were six students and four adults from Our Lady of the Chesapeake in Pasadena.

Over a five-day span, the volunteers removed a deck and replaced it with a 35-foot-long wheelchair ramp for a double amputee. They also repaired a sagging porch roof, built a 12-by-14-foot addition and breezeway onto a trailer for a single mother of three children, and installed new shingles on a roof.

“The most rewarding parts of the trip for students and adults were the connections we made with the homeowners, the Preston County community, and with the students and adults from other Archdiocese of Baltimore parishes,” said Tim Janiszewski, pastoral associate for youth ministry at Our Lady of the Chesapeake.

“It was an incredible experience being able to disconnect from day-to-day life in Pasadena and focus on serving strangers who became friends very quickly,” he added. “The students love contributing, whether it's hand-digging holes for deck supports or mixing 80-pound bags of concrete or learning how to use power tools or talking/listening/laughing with a homeowner. This year's jobs were bigger and more complex than previous years and the students gave 100% effort on every job.”