Kristine Espinoza, far left, hangs out during last year’s mission at St. Mary Euphrasia Training Center in the Philippines.
“So, what are you doing this summer?”
It’s the big question on the minds of many young adults as they escape classes and exams for a few months. Four Catholic University of Hawaii students already have their answer. They are gearing up for a special mission trip across the Pacific Ocean.
Andrew Rogitz paints a chair with one of the girls at St. Mary.
The young adults, who attend the Newman Center at the UH-Manoa, will be heading to the Philippines June 1-8 to help out at a home for disadvantaged girls in the Cebu province. The students, who are traveling with their Newman Center adviser and other community members, will be in for a life-changing week of service and ministry.
“Our goal is to help in whatever way we can,” said Jim Gillespie, the adviser leading the trip.
This will be the first time on the mission for Gillespie and two of the students, Molly Mamaril and Edward Hunt. The other two in the group, Kristine Espinoza and Andrew Rogitz, went to the Philippines last year for the first phase of the project.
The students were introduced to the mission by Newman Center parishioner Hal Darcey. As a member of the Rotary Club of Honolulu, he has been involved in several service initiatives in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.
The group has called this particular project “St. Mary’s Makeover.” Last year, they helped the sisters of the Religious of the Good Shepherd order with the renovation of their St. Mary Euphrasia Training Center in Cebu. For the roughly 45 girls who are living at the center — who range in age from 6 to their college years — it was a blessing to work alongside the Hawaii contingent on much-needed upgrades to their kitchen and study center.
The St. Mary girls also became part of a new Hawaii-Philippine ohana. Newman Center students told stories when they returned home of the faith-inspired fellowship they experienced in the Philippines.
“They built relationships with the girls there,” said Newman Center campus minister Andrew Soh. “The students were really moved.”
Now it’s time for “St. Mary’s Makeover II.” In preparation for the June trip, the Newman Center students have been gathering donations of backpacks, toiletries, bedding and other goods for the girls’ home. The Newman parish community, as well as St. John the Baptist Church in Kalihi — former parish of Newman’s pastor Father Jack Ryan — have also been providing financial gifts for the St. Mary’s training center.
Proceeds from the silent auction at the annual Newman Center benefit brunch helped defray the cost of airfare and lodging for the mission.
The student group is overwhelmed by the support of those around them, and in turn they humbly hope to share that kindness with those in Cebu. In addition to the physical work at St. Mary’s, they aim to start and end each day with prayer and reflection. They are also looking forward to teaching the St. Mary girls some hula and sharing with them the Hawaiian culture.
“They’re very honored to go,” said Gillespie. “They felt that they get a lot, not only from their families but from the community, and they wanted to give back.”
“Not only are they giving love, they’re getting unconditional love from these girls (in the Philippines) that they could have never asked for,” he added.
