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The unexpected missionary - Winners of the Center for Mission's 2010 Writing Contest |
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Tuesday, 20 April 2010 |
Winners of the Center for Mission’s 2010 Writing Contest have been named. The contest was held as a part of several activities to celebrate 75 years of missionary activity in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Contest guidelines asked children and teenagers to respond to the phrase: “I am a Catholic Missionary.” Children in third through sixth grade were asked to respond in the form of a poem or prayer. Students in seventh through 12th grade answered in the form of a 500-word essay. The entries were to explore what it means to be a Catholic missionary today at home and abroad. The response from students across the archdiocese was tremendous, with 356 entries submitted. The top winners in each category are printed here. They demonstrate in creative and moving fashion how we all are called to be witnesses of Christ at all times, even to the ends of the earth.
Alexandria Benham — Essay winner, eighth grade
Home-schooled
St. Odilia parish, Shoreview
When you think of
the word “missionary,” what comes to mind?
For many, the image is
of a priest or sister leaving home and going to a foreign land to teach
about God.
Benham
Of course, this is a good example of missionary work,
but one need not leave the country nor be in a religious order to do
missionary work. Missionary work can occur near or far, by young and
old, lay or religious. Mission work shows God’s love to those who do not
know him. The good news is we can all be missionaries when we spread
the message of God’s love by our actions and our prayers.
My
understanding comes from stories my mother tells about when she was a
young girl growing up in the 1950s. Her family prayed each day for
vocations and for the missionaries. One particular missionary was
Archbishop James Walsh, who was imprisoned in China for 12 years. Today,
the newspapers overflow with stories about China, and travelers visit
China freely, but in the ‘50s no one knew much about China.
My
mother read books by Pearl Buck and envisioned a missionary life in
China. When she married my dad and began their family, life took a
different path; the hope of being a Chinese missionary seemed distant.
God, however, did know her desire to show God’s love to the Chinese
people. Little did she know that after she and my dad had four
“homemade” children, they would hear a call from God to go to China and
bring home their daughter.
This is where I come in! I am adopted
from China, and I am part of how my mom fulfilled her missionary dream.
My younger sister is also adopted from China, and Mom and Dad bring God
into our lives every day.
Bishop Walsh wrote several books on
mission life, and his motto was “Suffer the little children to come unto
me.” That motto and mission fervor run deeply in my family.
My
two older sisters have each spread God’s love to children by their work.
My sister Rachael volunteered for two years in an orphanage in
Nicaragua with Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, and my sister Chiara
volunteered with the Maryknoll Missionaries, teaching English to
children in China.
My mom’s missionary desire and my sisters’
actions have influenced and inspired me as well. I, too, am a Catholic
missionary. This summer, I will travel back to my homeland and work at
an orphanage for children with disabilities. I will show God’s love to
the children by my actions, as I fold diapers, prepare meals, hold and
comfort babies, and teach simple songs and prayers to toddlers.
Missionary
work is a wonderful thing; it can be done at home or a foreign country,
by adults and teenagers. Like in my mom’s case, it can be done in ways
one would never expect.
Nicole
Larson — Essay winner, first runner-up, 12th grade
Totino-Grace
High School, Fridley
St. Odilia parish, Shoreview
I
am a Catholic missionary
When I first saw the title of this essay, I saw the same five words, but I kept reading them as a question. “Am I a Catholic missionary?”
In my mind, I pictured a Catholic missionary being a nun, priest or teacher, serving the poor, the hungry, the homeless or the lonely. Someone like Mr. Shimek, my religion teacher, who takes a van load of high school students to “Sharing and Caring Hands” every Tuesday to serve a warm meal to hundreds of homeless people.
Or Mrs. Neuman, my English teacher, who drives a group of students to Lyndale Elementary School in Minneapolis every Thursday to tutor at-risk students. And Mr. Blake, the campus minister at Totino-Grace who manages the LaSallian Youth Program, encouraging others to live their Catholic faith by putting their faith into action.
But am I a Catholic missionary? I’m not sure.
My experiences and education at Totino-Grace have had a huge impact on helping me live my faith on a daily basis. Because of the teachers mentioned above and many others, I have had the opportunity to pursue many volunteer opportunities. These opportunities have opened my eyes to real people with real problems. Whether it be tutoring ESL students, serving a meal to homeless people, visiting residents affected with Alzheimer’s, or packaging meals for Third World countries, I see and feel God in everyone I meet. Am I a Catholic missionary? Maybe I am. Sometimes I can only offer a hand to hold, a shoulder to lean on, or a smile to brighten someone’s day. But isn’t that all that God asks of us?
This summer I will have a unique opportunity to live and learn among God’s people in San Lucas, Guatemala. I am excited to meet the people of Guatemala, and perhaps help them in some small way.
My sister went on this same mission trip last year, and told me about the many needs the people have. In addition to clothing, medical and educational needs, she told me that something as simple as a hammer could improve the lives of many workers. There are men who work all day, breaking large rocks into small pieces, by hitting the rocks repeatedly with a hammer.
Among the group of men, there was a 10-year-old boy who had quit school to work and make money for his family. He could not afford to buy a hammer, so he had to pound one rock against the other to try and break it into pieces. The work was difficult, and he made little money, in part because he didn’t have a hammer.
If I am chosen as a winner of this essay, I want to use the money I receive to buy hammers for the men of Guatemala and school supplies for the children. Simple acts of kindness, but acts that will make a difference. And to me, that is what a Catholic missionary is — someone who wants to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate.
Then am I a Catholic missionary? Yes, I believe I am a Catholic missionary.
Tim Koenning — Poetry winner,
sixth grade
St. Croix Catholic School, Stillwater
St. Francis of Assisi parish,
Lake St. Croix Beach
I am a missionary Haiku
Jesus is my all
God is everything
A missionary
Going everywhere
Helping the sick and the poor
We’ll stop poverty
Loving and caring
We help the homeless children
Even across Earth
Near or far we help
We aid disaster victims
We bring them kindness
We help the children
Everyone included
Teaching the good news
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Sarah Reinhardt — Poetry winner,
first runner-up, Fifth grade
Holy Family Academy, St. Louis Park
Holy Family parish, St. Louis Park
I am a missionary poem
I am small I know it
but, I wish to be a missionary.
I asked my mom how I could:
Can just a kid make a difference?
She said, “Oh yes you can, you’ll see.”
She sent me outside for fresh air.
So with that thought I went out into the snow.
As I played I saw a woman crying.
I asked the lady what was wrong
and she said she was cold.
I ran inside and grabbed some blankets
and gave them to the woman.
Then I knew what my mom meant.
I was a little missionary.
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