Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Week 1)
Hello all! For the first two weeks of mission, my team and I were in Baton Rouge, which is about an hour and a half Northwest of New Orleans. Nate, Toby, Allie, David and I received our first mission group on June 1 and got straight to it.
Baton Rouge is a diverse town in terms of ethnicity and socioeconomic status. One area of town may have custom-built homes but driving 2 blocks down the road you will suddenly see nothing but run-down, unoccupied buildings with a homelessness rate of over 80-90%. During our time here, the girls stayed in the Missionaries of Charity convent that is a part of St. Agnes Church. Being so close with the sisters and helping them was nothing short of amazing. The wisdom, joy, and laughter were incredible, not to mention getting to hear stories about St. Mother Theresa while she was at the convent. We served them for a little bit, helping them tidy up the bedrooms and repaint drawers.
Our team worked with several organizations for the two weeks that we were there, such as Catholic Charities and Rebuild Baton Rouge. Our main work projects consisted of repainting some low-cost apartments that are offered by Catholic Charities to help people and families get back on their feet. The one that we painted was in the worst condition, but the before and after was like night and day. Although we did not interact with many people in the area since it was unoccupied, being able to converse with the supervisors of Catholic Charities was a blessing.
On the other hand, those that worked with Rebuild helped install insulation and drywall in a home that had been previously destroyed by a fire. The locals in the neighborhood were so kind and easy to talk to, and the owner of the house we were helping repair was beyond grateful that we were there to serve.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Week 2)
The second week of mission was also in Baton Rouge. Our good friend Darren joined us as a leader this week, and we were all so grateful for his leadership and calming presence. Here’s a glimpse of one of our CMT Olympic Games that we play throughout the week: these were floor art and electricity!
During this week, Noelle, our contact with Catholic Charities, graciously let us and our mission group stay at the dormitories on the diocese campus for free. What an incredible blessing! We were all so grateful to have A/C and good showers amongst the humidity. There were several work groups this week, one continued on the house with Rebuild and successfully finished all the drywall by the end of our stay. Hooray!!
Our other groups finished painting the Catholic Charities apartment, and the other one helped alongside St. Vincent de Paul, an organization dedicated to giving shelter to the homeless and providing emergency buildings in times of natural disaster. We helped declutter and clean one of these shelters to get it up and operational, and the sheer gratitude and joy on Mr. Chris’s face was worth every second.
We also helped at another one of their locations, where they had current occupants living there. We drew with the kids and played all kinds of games, from hopscotch to long jump competitions! The time we had with these people was priceless, and being able to experience the overwhelming joy that they had while having so little touched my heart so deeply. It gave me a reminder of what really matters: God and the people around you.
While some of our team was on a swamp boat tour on our free day, this beautiful family from Washington State wanted to use their free day to continue serving the community. So, we did just that. We helped scrape and repaint the ceiling of an outdoor clothesline/patio area in the sister’s convent, and the before and after was amazing. The joy, jokes, and laughter amongst us and the sisters is something I wouldn’t trade for the world. Look at that pristine ceiling!
After our mission group left, my team and I continued to serve the sisters by helping with their soup kitchen by serving meals to the homeless of the area. They were so sweet and welcoming, and we all traded wristbands so that they could leave with some decked-out Jesus merch.
Burnet, Texas (Week 3)
Change of scenery, but still the same leaders! Our third week of mission was in the great state of Texas (I may be biased because I live here). Our mission group was our biggest yet, with the total head count being over 40 people!
Burnet, TX is down in the hill country, about an hour Northwest of Austin. This area is prone to natural disasters such as flooding; the Kerrville flood of 2025 occurred not far from here. As usual, we split into several work groups. All of our worksites were overseen by Ark of Highland Lakes, an organization dedicated to providing to the poor through donation centers, clinics, food pantries, and more. One of our work groups helped sort through donations at their thrift store on
one of the days, and we were all surprised at the amount of donations they receive every day. For the remainder of the week, we started painting this apartment to prepare for whoever will occupy it next.
Allie and Nate’s work group worked in a house that only had the framing done. They spent a few days putting up walls and teaching our mission group how to install drywall, which was a task and a learning experience for all!
Toby’s work group focused on helping a family move out of their home. One of their sons had just passed away and so their home was being torn down and rebuilt because floods in the area had turned it into an unlivable condition. After they helped them move out, we played games with their kids and connected with them for the rest of the day. The remainder of the week for this group was spent on clearing out the backyard of a woman’s house that had also been damaged by floods. All of the torn-up carpet and water-logged furniture was left in the back, so our team brought in a dumpster and cleared everything out!
Overall Thoughts/Takeaways
This was my first time on a mission trip, and the experience was so eye-opening. One little act of kindness can change the course of someone’s entire life. God doesn’t require the grand things, but the small “yes” that builds up over time. He can take a small surrender and do unimaginable things with it.
I’m a convert as of this 2026 Easter, and so this trip also deepened my faith and love for the Church in so many ways. From daily Mass to simple evening and night prayers, this trip and the people on the leadership team with me have deepened my love for service and Christ all the more. Until next time!
– The team
You are an important part of the mission!
Please pray for our team, the work that God has called us to do, and the people He has brought to us to show His great love and mercy. Support the work of CMT as a Mission Partner by making a donation. To learn more, email Belinda at belinda@catholicmissiontrips.net.
TRAINING DAYS
On May 17th, I arrived in Muenster, Texas for a two week training session that would prepare me for the rest of the summer. This is a group photo of the other missionaries I will be working with. Alongside training, we also painted a speak room for a group of Carmelite nuns that live in Muenster.
At the end of training, we split into two teams who will serve in different locations around the U.S. this summer.
My new friends, David and Josey, are on my team. We will serve several weeks in each of the following locations:
- Jenkins, Kentucky
- Black Mountains, North Carolina
- Harlan, Kentucky
- Arecibo, Puerto Rico
Each week we will host a new group of high school youth groups to lead. Each day, we will begin with a daily Mass at a local church, and then we will work on repairing the houses. In the evenings, we will play games with the high schoolers, lead them in faith-building discussions and activities, and share our testimonies with them in order to build them up in their faiths.
Jenkins, Kentucky (Week 1)
My first week of mission work was in Jenkins, Kentucky. Jenkins is a small town close to the border of Virginia. A long time ago, it was a coal mining town. Now, however, it is very impoverished. Because of Jenkin’s location in the mountains, it is also very susceptible to flooding. There was a recent flood in 2022 that destroyed many homes and there are many low income families who cannot afford to fix their homes.
A youth group from Indiana arrived at St. George’s church. During my time here, I have been working with and preparing the youth group to work on different houses that need repairs.
These are photos of one of the houses that we worked on this past week. Their shower needed to be replaced, and there were many missing or damaged wall panels. Over the past week, we were able to build a new shower for them, frame the walls for bedrooms, and fix many of the exterior siding on their house.
The family was very thankful for our work. We were even able to dig out a trench around their house to keep water coming from the mountains from reaching their house and to plant a garden.
In addition, we also worked on a house in the area owned by an older man, Roy. Due to his declining health and poverty, he has not been able to repair his house and it has been rotting away for many years. We were able to install new floorboards into Roy’s house and remove many of the rotted beams so that his house was more structurally sound and smelled nicer.
These houses were two out of the five houses that my team worked on during our first week.
Jenkins- Week 2
For my second week in Jenkins, I continued to work on Edgar and Janine’s house with a new group of high schoolers. We finished installing drywall in their bathroom and installed plumbing for a new toilet. We also fixed a hole in their ceiling and installed a new garden hose spicket outside.
I have been teaching the high schoolers how to use power drills and saws. They all enjoyed working on the house and the family is very thankful that we came.
We also did yard work outside. We installed an underground pipe to help drain water from their backyard and we used machetes to clear out a patch of overgrown grass.
Edgar and Janine were very thankful for all the work we had done for them the past two weeks. They said that we were their angels. One thing that stood out to me about their family is that while they did not have much, they had a very strong family and that made their house a nice place to be.
The team also replaced the drywall, insulation, and trim along another family’s house that was over 100 years old.
North Carolina – Week 1
Next, we traveled to Asheville, North Carolina. Our worksites were in Black Mountain, North Carolina, which is near Asheville.
Two years ago, Black Mountain was hit by hurricane Helene and many houses were ruined by excessive flooding and mudslides from the Appalachian mountains. My group came here to help low income families rebuild their homes after the flooding.
We partnered with a local organization this week that has been in the community rebuilding since the flooding.
My group and I installed a moisture barrier in the crawl space under a house and built a patio.
You see us wearing protective suits and preparing the plastic before we went under.
We also installed drywall and painted a nursing home.
This week, a Religious Brother from Rwanda joined us in mission. His name is Brother Ligobert, and he is part of the Missionaries of Peace of Christ the King. He has been teaching me more French and he has been sharing about his mission to teach kids in Rwanda and about the importance of forgiveness and mercy.
North Carolina – Week 2
We moved to Spruce Pine, North Carolina to continue our service to rebuild homes for low income families that were damaged by Hurricane Helene.
We went to work on Kreston and Brian’s house. A few years ago, hurricane Helena caused a lot of water damage to their house and roof. Since then, Kreston was also injured and so she has not been able to fix anything. She had told me that the state of her house had left her in depression, and that she had not left her bed for weeks. When we arrived, she was overjoyed not just because we were fixing her house but because she had some people to talk to. She said that once missionaries started arriving, she no longer recognized herself because she was happy again for the first time in a long time.
We went to Harlan, Kentucky halfway through the week, where we will continue our mission work under father Terrace.
Harlan, Kentucky is about an hour away from Jenkins, Kentucky. Like Jenkins, Harlan was a coal mining community that is likewise very impoverished.
We spent the next two days working around holy Trinity Catholic Church, which is where we are staying. We dug out a moat around the church’s soccer field, and used the material to build a dam to stop water from coming in. We also cleaned up inside the church and carved out incense holders for the priest to use.
These past four weeks of service have been very influential both for the families we are helping and for the high schoolers who join us on our mission trip. My goal as a CMT missionary is both to help impoverished families in their homes and also to reinforce high schoolers in their Catholic faith. Over the past three weeks my team and I have been working hard to accomplish this and we could not have done so without your support.
Harlan – Week 2
During my second week in Harlan, we did not not have a high school group with us and so my team got to rest after a long month of mission work. In my time off, I worked on a house that had electrical issues with Caleb, one of our contractors.
This House is owned by the North family. Kendra and her boyfriend own this trailer home and live next door to the rest of their family. One thing that stood out to me about the North family is how close they all are to each other and how generous they are to each other despite their poverty. Even though they do not have much to live off of and even most of their house is without electricity, their strong family bonds keep this family alive and well.
You are an important part of the mission!
Please pray for our team, the work that God has called us to do, and the people He has brought to us to show His great love and mercy. Support the work of CMT as a Mission Partner by making a donation. To learn more, email Belinda at belinda@catholicmissiontrips.net.
Have you ever considered or dreamed of a career that directly impacts the faith life of young people, builds the church, and ministers to the vulnerable?
We have immediate openings for the positions of Director of Missions, Director of Marketing and Recruitment, and Site Coordinators. If you desire to serve in a Catholic environment and don’t see your exact fit in these positions, reach out to Michelle.
The Director of Missions is responsible for coordinating the logistics of the mission trips. The Director of Marketing and Recruitment is responsible for developing and implementing a marketing strategy for promoting CMT, recruiting team members, and recruiting groups. Site Coordinators are responsible for the logistics for one of the following locations: South Texas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Florida, Puerto Rico, Kentucky, Dominican Republic, or Louisiana. Do you want to continue the mission from one of these locations? Maybe God is calling you.
Read the full job descriptions for Admin Team positions or apply here.
For questions, contact Michelle Perez, Executive Director at michelle@catholicmissiontrips.net.
Pray!
Even when we are engrossed in our daily lives at home, we can still be united in mission because CMT is
Sign up to pray for the missions, and support a son or daughter, niece or friend who is on the mission serving.
You can go to Mass, pray the Liturgy of the Hours, pray the Rosary, or spend a holy hour with our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. All of these are beautiful ways to lift up the work and intentions of CMT.
On mission, we start the day with Mass and are sent to do our work.
Though separated by distance and time, your prayers help sustain us in the work we do by putting us before God.
You can sign up here to spend an hour in prayer. Consider making a weekly or monthly commitment.
Give!
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If you have ever done a home improvement project, you have probably found that it took twice as long and cost three times as much as you first anticipated. It can be that way with work projects too. Sometimes, when you start a project, you discover that there is a lot more going on that you have to take care of. And, if you have looked at the price of construction materials recently, we might have to say that it ended up costing five times as much as you were expecting.
We are grateful for our monthly supporters who donate to CMT’s work projects so we do not have to pass this cost entirely on to the high school and college groups that want to come serve.
Go!
Do you have a desire in your heart to serve on a mission trip? Check out our Join the Team page for job openings for our Program Team, Support Team, and Admin Team. If God is calling you on mission, He will be able to use your talents, background, and skills in a special way to build the kingdom.
Do you have a group that you want to bring with you? Check out our Upcoming Trips and reach out to Stephany Head for more information at stephany@catholicmissiontrips.net or (469) 554-8667.
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Blessings in Christ and Happy Solemity of the Body and Blood of Christ!
I’m currently in the Dominican Republic, but I spent the last two weeks in Jenkins, Kentucky. During the first week, my team and I practiced leading missions and every night, we were graced with faith talks by our CMT founder, Steve Nasche – a man who is truly after God’s own heart. We had the opportunity to fellowship with the four Missionaries of Charity stationed in Jenkins (Sister Celine Rose, Sister Donald, Sister Savita, and Sister Jesula), all of whom met Mother Teresa herself. Lastly, my missionary sisters and I were able to increase our construction skills while visiting the three different work sites we would be focusing on rebuilding.
Last week, we had youth from Iowa and Illinois come join us in Jenkins, Kentucky and it was both a blessed and fruitful mission. Attached below is a picture of my small group, Team Gemma Galgani (From left to right: Mason, Luke, Stewart, Nick, Armando, Matthew, Brett, Kamryn, me, Tom who is going back to seminary next month <3, and Sharon). They worked hard at the construction site and were very open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Last year, Jenkins was hit by very severe flooding. The worst fatality from the flooding was when a mom and a dad were trying to hold on to their three young children. The flood waters were so strong, however, that the three young children were swept away from their arms. A couple days later, when the waters receded, the mom and the dad found their children’s bodies. After the children’s funerals, the parents took their own lives – being overcome with grief. Please pray for the repose of their souls and the souls who are still suffering from the natural disaster!
Even though the flood occurred last year, there are still families who are without electricity and running water. Team Gemma was able to rebuild the front and back porch of a house owned by a woman named Brenda. She has five adult children, but lost her second to youngest son a couple years ago. Two of her older sons still live with her: Matthew and Leonard. I was able to spend a significant amount of time talking to Leonard’s wife, Hannah.
Hannah lost her dad a couple years before losing her first husband, Darren. Darren was a 23-year-old nurse who passed away after contracting COVID. After her husband’s passing, Hannah lost her house, her truck, and then her job. For a long time, Leonard and Hannah were homeless until coming to find a refuge with Brenda.
Even though Hannah grew up with a lot of religions, she has recently been very drawn to the Catholic Church. Hannah asked me questions on how to pray the Rosary, how to say the Hail Mary, and what the Sacrament of Confession is while we were doing construction work on her mother-in-law’s house. Talking to Hannah was a blessing as she reminded us all that is absolutely necessary to maintain hope!! She kept telling us that “If God puts us in it, He’ll get us through it!” So please keep Hannah and her family in your prayers as well!
Overall, there have been many God moments for me personally during this Jenkins, Kentucky mission, but my main God moment was being able to give my faith talk and personal testimony to the 40 youth who joined us on mission. It was my first time telling my story and being vulnerable to such a large group of people and it was amazing to see the effect the story God wrote for my life had on those who listening in the audience. My faith talk was titled “Restorstion of Freedom” and I was able to share how God was the Light who helped me overcome my darkness. The opportunity to speak was very healing to me and I am excited to comtinue allowing the Holy Spirit to give me courage to lead the summer CMT missions in powerful and courageous ways.
Please know that you are all in my prayers – I bring your names with me to the Blessed Sacrament everyday during Holy Hour. Thank you all again for your spiritual and material generosity – I would not have been able to be on mission right now to share and experience God’s love without your support! May He continue to bless you all!
Kristine