love begins here - Overview 

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In 2009, 56 high school and middle school missionaries from Madison took to the streets to serve throughout their own diocese. Now, eight years later, over 700 missionaries are serving individuals, parishes, organizations, and communities throughout the Catholic Diocese of Madison.
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In the summer of 2017, the Diocese of Green Bay first partnered with the Diocese of Madison to host it's own local mission experience based right in our own communities. We started with five host parishes and over 200 missionaries (students) joined us in service for the summer. Each mission experience aims to serve those most in need in humble, simple ways based off of the patronness of the mission experiences, St. Teresa of Calcutta. 

--​2020 Registration--
​Now Open!

Please click below how you are seeking to register:
For those 21 years or older,
​do you desire to serve alongside students ​all summer in life changing ways? 
Consider applying for LBH Core Team!

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"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the action that we do. I want you to find the poor here, right in your own home first. And begin love there.” -St. teresa,
Nobel Peace Prize speech (December 11th, 1979)

Mission Manifesto 

NEIGHBORS FIRST.
We boldly take initiative to bring love to our neighbors, evangelizing with patience and joy. We are aware that when we close our eyes to our neighbor, it also blinds us to God. We encounter Him in those we serve. By putting God first in all we do, we live to serve others. Things of the world come last. We will find ourselves and come alive when we make a sincere gift of ourselves to our neighbors.

SMALL THINGS. GREAT LOVE.
We work on a small scale with a larger perspective. No task is too small in the eyes of the Lord when filled with great love. We will aim for perfection in our work because our work belongs to the Lord.

​MISSIONARY DISCIPLES
We are missionaries who work with passion, knowing we can bring God’s love to our brothers and sisters who hunger. Love, in order to survive, must be nourished by sacrifices, especially the sacrifice of self. We refuse to settle for comfort and complacency, because we know each person is infinitely loved. We are the ones who enjoy life most, leaving security on the shore, on a mission to spread the joy of the Gospel.

FAQ 

What is the schedule like?
The day in the life of an LBH Missionary goes as follows:
  1. ​Wake up and eat breakfast
  2. Mass will be around 7:30-8:30am depending on the host parish
  3. Missionaries and their car groups will go out and serve from about 9:00ish until 3:30/4:00 p.m.
  4. After we are done serving, each car group will meet at the local public pool for swim time and showering until about 5:30pm
  5. We will return to the host parish for dinner and relaxing time
  6. Each night we will gather as a full group and have a Collatio time to share about our days and where we encountered Jesus that day
  7. Most nights will have parish group time
  8. And one night of the week will be Adoration and Confession for the missionaries (students)
  9. After we share, there will be time to hang out, relax, and play games before we head to bed for the night
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What age groups are able to attend? 
Middle School Weeks are for those currently in 6th, 7th, 8th grade during the 2019-2020 school year. In essence, middle school weeks are geared toward those who have experienced middle school for a year or more but have not entered high school. 
High School weeks are for those currently in 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grade during the 2019-2020 school year. In essence, high school weeks are geared toward those who have experienced high school before and have yet to experience college. 

Are adult chaperones free?
Chaperones are free. We understand that they are giving up their time from work and home. All that we ask is that the parishes reimburse them in some way for gas and that each chaperone is VIRTUS trained.  ​

How much money is it?
The middle school mission trips cost $100. The high school mission trips cost $120. Chaperones are free! Cost is everything included (materials, night programming, food, supplies for service, etc), but if students want to purchase merchandise, they are encouraged to bring some money for that. 

Does our parish have to send an adult chaperone?
Yes, we need the partnership of adult chaperones to make this mission successful.  If you have more than four students, we ask that the parish send a VIRTUS trained adult whether that be the youth minister, parent, or adult volunteer that can serve the entire time with the students, including staying overnight. 

Can the students or adults leave throughout the week if they have commitments?
Love Begins Here is a mission experience. Just like we wouldn’t be able to return home if we went on an out of state mission, Love begins Here wants to emphasize how important it is to detach from the normal chaotic daily activity. We ask that all students and chaperones sleep on site and stay for the entire experience.
What sort of work do the students do?
LBH emphasizes that students do small things with great love. Mother Teresa said that the world longs for love more than it longs for bread, so the emphasis is placed on the work, but also the time visiting with the people they serve. Students serve at a different service site each day, sometimes two in one day. Jobs include weeding, painting, visiting and playing games with residents in nursing homes, lifting items, cleaning, raking, yard work, landscaping, sorting clothes/food for local shelters, trimming, cleaning windows, and simple acts with great love for those in the community.

How do the groups get to the service sites?
​A chaperone drives them in their car or van, so each student is paired with one chaperone and 3-5 other students in their car group. The car groups are mixed groups with students from various parishes.

Will students see the people they serve?
We put a large emphasis on students meeting with the people they serve so that they can make the connection between the small actions and the people who benefit. We try our best to pair groups with different types of service such as individuals’ homes or community organizations so that they are able to experience different types of people and service.

Where do we stay?
Each site for Love Begins Here will have somewhere for us to stay on site at the host Catholic parish or school. We will stay in classrooms throughout the school or sometimes in the old rectory. Missionaries (students) are encouraged to bring an air mattress/mattress pad and blankets. All rooms will be separated by gender.

What does night programming look like?
Each year, Love Begins Here focuses on a theme. Short talks given by the Love Begins Here young adult core team each night are based on this theme. One night, there is adoration and confession with alternating praise and worship and silent time. Most nights include talks, parish discussion time, night free time, games, relaxation, and dessert.

What if one of my students can’t make the week I am promoting, but wants to go on a different week?
We encourage that individual students reach out to the LBH Coordinator due to this special circumstance to see what the Coordinator advises. We want to encourage a communal mission experience that can be built up after the summer, so we do encourage individual missionaries to partner with a group already scheduled to attend. If that is not possible, we encourage these students to attend with at least a chaperone.  We want to make sure we have enough transportation for everyone and unfortunately, our LBH staff is not extensive enough to transport students to and from work sites. 

Can I be a host site for next year?
If you are interested in being a host site, please email our Love Begins Here team at lbhgbd@gmail.com.  Be sure to include your parish and if you are interested in a high school or middle school week.