In 2001, Richard Seivert, an instructor at Gehlen Catholic School in LeMars, began the Gehlen Catholic Mission Honduras by sending 10 student and four adult missioners to the impoverished country to help with the devastation wrought after Hurricane Mitch in late 1998. Since that time, 37 teams, made up of high school and college students and staff and more, totaling over 900 missioners, have made the trip to Honduras. In March, St. Lawrence will be sending a staff member and former Seivert student, Mike McCarty, on the 38th Mission Honduras. McCarty said that he will be traveling to LeMars on Sunday, March 6, for a packing day at Gehlen Catholic, then on Tuesday there will be a liturgy attended by all of the students and many family members from Gehlen and Remsen St. Mary’s to see the group off. Right after his return from Honduras, on Wednesday, March 23, Kuemper Catholic Schools will be holding their Then Feed Just One food packaging event at the High School, and McCarty says he is hoping to help students make a connection between the food that is packaged and where it is going—to one of the poorest places on the planet. He said Kuemper students were given one of the meals to eat on Ash Wednesday, and there was a bit of grumbling heard, but the reality is, McCarty said, we GET to eat this. The idea hit home during the Then Feed Just One presentation to the students.
McCarty said he doesn’t want people to feel bad about our situation in America, we are blessed. But because of that, we should be helping others. This mission is a way to spotlight that for the students and provide them a chance to give.
Gehlen has started satellite missions at other schools that have now broken off and operate on their own, and this is the goal for Kuemper. McCarty said the trip is not a cheap proposition for those going. They have to have all of the necessary shots and their travel expenses are their own. Each person also sells 15 raffle tickets, and the money raised is then used for bunk bed materials as many of the kids in Honduras are sleeping on the flour or ground. Gehlen, he said, has thought of everything.
The scope, McCarty said, is staggering as it goes beyond just what he has been able to describe so far. They will work on water and housing projects that will have the kids building three new houses in the 10 days they are in Honduras.
McCarty, much like his mentor Sievert, is humbled to be a part of this experience and says what they get to do in those 10 days impacts and improves the lives of hundreds and hundreds of people. And it continues because of Sievert’s and all of the other missioners’ belief that they should be doing more. More information about these projects can be found on the Kuemper Catholic Schools website at www.kuemper.org, or by following the link below.
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