Holy Family youth CONNECT and serve Port Aransas community

Seventeen High School students from CONNECT, the Holy Family Youth Ministry in Corpus Christi, and seven adults dedicated their day to prayer and service on Feb. 17 in Port Aransas.
 
The group boarded a bus to St. Joseph Church and began the day with Mass celebrated by the pastor, Father Romeo Salinas, followed by lunch and fellowship with parishioners and Knights of Columbus from the parish community.
 
The group of 24 cleared away debris from the former VFW building and a local park, as part of the community service project: Hurricane Harvey Clean-up.
 
“This service trip was an opportunity to live out as a group the “Christian Art of Loving” that we try to practice in CONNECT and the day was a perfect way to put it into action,” said youth minister Bea Romo from the Newman Center at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and one of the adults who participated in the group clean-up. “They learned that even the smallest actions could be offered as a prayer if those actions are done with intention and a ‘for you, Jesus.''"
 
Romo heard one student say that "through random conversations and laughter she was able to connect with God and others. Just hearing the joy in people made me feel God was with us the whole time.”. By the end of the day, another student recounted feeling “nothing but pure joy.”