The Sacred Heart youth group serves a meal after Mass.
By Laura Melius
Their calls to become missionaries all had the same source for three friends: experiencing Jesus in adoration.
“During my first D-Camp in sixth grade, I had the opportunity to attend adoration for the first time,” Olivia Mikkelsen recalls. “This was the first time I truly felt what God’s love was like.”
Her sister, Neva Mikkelsen, agrees. At the camp, she experienced adoration and was prayed over for the first time. “I remember not really knowing what was happening, but feeling so loved at the same time,” she said.
Their friend, Tanner Eide, had a particularly powerful experience in adoration. “I went to adoration and D-Camp just struggling with trying to be loved by anyone,” he said. “I asked God, ‘What do I have to do to be loved?’ All of a sudden, God called me to open my eyes. Right before me, in visible white lettering, were the words, ‘always be yourself.’ I broke down crying because I understood for the first time that I was loved and wanted by God.”
Bringing it home
After returning home, the three all felt a call to fan this flame in their own parish, Sacred Heart in Gettysburg. Neva began assisting with religious education classes, which she continued for three years. After this time, Olivia and Neva recognized that Sacred Heart needed leaders for Vacation Bible School (VBS). They began preparing for their first VBS in January 2021 with their friend, Reagan Brown of St. Michael Parish, Sioux Falls.
“Over the next months, we planned all the classes, activities, snacks, music and schedule for the program and found teachers and helpers that would assist us during the week,” Olivia said. “This was challenging, especially since Reagan lived four hours away in Sioux Falls. We had a very successful four-day VBS program in May and had a great experience teaching the kids in our community about Christ.”
They led VBS again the next summer, this time creating the entire curriculum.
“We really enjoyed being creative and reflecting on the ways that caused us to actually grow in our relationship with God and what we could do that would truly benefit the young people,” Neva said.
“We started implementing a fun and engaging prayer and Catholicism class into the program, so they could start to learn what it meant to be Catholic at a simple level that they could understand,” Olivia added. “We had prayer journals that they used every day. The kids loved this class, and it was amazing to see what they could learn about the faith, even at a young age.”
Youth desire God
It was in that second summer that Reagan shared she felt God was calling them to start a youth group for middle and high school students. To start, they would invite the older students to attend in the evenings after VBS.
“This terrified me. I did not think that anyone would come, so I said ‘No,’ but she persisted,” Neva shared. “We had three youth nights that week and I was blown away by the response. We had around 15 come every night. The youth that attended loved it and asked if it could continue.”
“Neva and I had been praying for a young Catholic community in our parish for a long time,” Olivia recalled, “and so had Reagan, and prayers were answered that week. God proved to me that he would provide for all of my needs.”
Tanner had also been attempting to start a youth group at the parish for several years, with limited positive feedback, so he was encouraged by this response. Olivia, Neva and Tanner continued to lead the youth group. The group of 8-12 students started to meet weekly for activities such as singing praise and worship music in the sanctuary before the Lord, watching Catholic videos, discussing Bible readings, sharing meals and playing games.
The next summer, the three wanted to provide a similar experience to what they had encountered at D-Camp and the retreats they had attended. They planned a four-day retreat in the Black Hills where they gave talks, had adoration and confession, and went to a Christian music concert.
“We ended up having eight participants come. We organized the whole thing, brought chaperones along, planned meals, and did some fundraising to make it free for everyone. This was such an incredible experience, and I am so glad that we did it,”
Neva said.
“When we started the youth group, the three of us were about the only youth that were practicing the faith in our high school and seemed genuinely interested in continuing the faith after graduation,” Tanner said. “However, as time went on, the youth group grew in number and belief. Teens started talking about prayer and about wanting to grow in prayer, kids that never went to Mass started going to Mass and inviting other kids, and kids were excited to be talking about and learning about the faith. The youth group became an opportunity for kids to show up and learn and have fun at the same time.”
“Lots of people would pull us aside and say how great it was to have a youth group, and that they could see that it was affecting our parish as a whole,” Neva added.
Growing missionaries
Olivia, Neva and Tanner have now all served as Lumen Christi missionaries in the summer, building on their first experiences as missionaries in their home parish. They encourage other youth to begin in their parishes as well.
“Leading youth group, as well as Vacation Bible School, definitely prepared me to be a Lumen Christi missionary,” Olivia said. “These experiences helped me to be a better small group leader and teammate.”
“When I started being a missionary for our diocese, I felt like I could trust that God was going to do great things through me, since he already had in the past,” Tanner added. “I also recognized that I couldn’t do anything to bring conversion of the hearts of the kids, but rather only God can because only God did in the past in my ministry.”
“Loving them right where they were and pointing them towards Jesus was the best thing that I could do for them,” Neva said. “Remember that it’s not all on you. Let God lead you where he wants you to go and trust in him.”
Laura Melius is a freelance writer and DRE at All Saints Parish in Mellette. She has a degree in English and a certificate in Catholic catechesis.
