It all happened during a journey to Mexico by teenagers of the youth group from St. Anthony Parish in Mount Shasta.

On June 17, 19 teens and seven adults packed up for a two-day car caravan trip from Northern California to Tecate, Mexico, a city on the border between San Diego and Baja, Mexico.

Upon their arrival in Tecate, the youth group moved into Campo Christiano Betani, a Christian retreat center where they went to work shoveling dirt, planting trees, and painting dorms.

The youth also traveled to the neighboring town of El Hong, where they not only attended daily Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church (Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe) but also put their newly-found landscaping skills to work to improve church grounds and presented toys to neighborhood children.

Yet another day was spent at a retirement home visiting the elderly.

“One of the things we wanted to do was to look at service that would be caring for our neighbors as ourselves,” said youth group leader Janie Reed. “The trip to Mexico was a really moving time for the kids because they got to serve others and each other.”

Youth group member Kevin Valenzuela, 18, said he worked harder in Mexico than he ever has in his life and quickly discovered the benefits of using a team approach to get things done.

“I really think Mexico changed me,” Valenzuela said. “I knew I was making a difference in some people’s lives and that I was doing something right in my life.”

Another lesson learned in Tecate, said Valenzuela, who will enroll this fall as a music major at California State University, Chico, was a deeper appreciation for how much he had “back at home.”

“A few of us would sing songs at the end of the day and one day someone started singing ‘America,’” he said. “I understood how lucky I am.”

Mandy Reed, 18, another member of the youth group, said a highlight of the trip to Mexico was the two-day project at Our Lady of Guadalupe, where some serious earth moving by the youth resulted in making a road to the church much easier to travel.

Then after attending Mass, the group passed out toys they had brought from California.

“It was nice to show (parishioners) we do care as youth,” she said.

Allison Stuart, director of religious education at St. Anthony, has watched the parish’s youth group, which includes nearly 30 members, move their focus from simply having fun to serving others.

“At home they shovel snow for the homebound, and do fall cleanup for the elderly,” she said. “When they went to Mexico, it was another faith-building experience.”

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