A group of 12 students and three faculty from Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School in Potomac Shores traveled to the St. Anne Mission in Klagetoh, Ariz., for a missionary week in Navajo Nation last month.
In the school’s second mission trip to the Navajo Nation, the students led a four-day Bible camp and came together daily to pray the Liturgy of the Hours in the chapel for morning, evening and night prayers. They also visited Canyon de Chelly and the Grand Canyon, and attended a pow wow, a Native American ceremony that includes traditional dancing.
During the Bible camp for the Navajo children, the students taught Bible stories and led activities including games and art projects.
“During the short four days of Bible Camp, we had the opportunity to see exciting changes in many of the children,” said Kelly McCoppin, a rising junior. “A 6-year-old boy I connected with taught me the value of loving selflessly, despite his limited life experience. A teenage boy who had experienced many hardships in the past isolated himself when he first came to camp and was very hesitant to talk to anyone. By the end of the week, he joined in with the other kids, playing basketball with peers and laughing.
“Since each missionary connected so deeply with the children, saying goodbye on the last day was challenging,” she said. “The experience reinforced the idea that all of us are called to be missionaries wherever we may go, but also in the place we call home, bringing the light of Christ to the lives of those closest to us.”
