During the summer months, teenagers haul mulch, pull weeds, clean yards, and laugh their way through service projects across the Diocese of Madison in the summer service program, Love Begins Here (LBH).
For the 515 total youth missionaries participating this summer, physical labor is just a part of something profound, an encounter of faith in action.
For a week in July, 58 missionaries in Dodgeville lent their service to Sienna Crest Assisted Living, the Kramer Shrine, various homes and farms, and other locations.
‘God, I hear you’
For many missionaries, LBH is a highlight of the summer, but for core team member Adam Hoffman, it’s a symbol of transformation.
Hoffman, 21, recently converted and was confirmed into the Catholic Church at the Pentecost Vigil.
“I was raised in a non-denominational Protestant church, but I left the faith around age 14,” Hoffman said.
“For six years, I considered myself an atheist.”
Everything changed last fall, when he went back to his non-denominational roots and reconnected with a
childhood friend who had also converted to Catholicism.
“We grew up in our church together, and he challenged me on my beliefs,” Hoffman said. “After a few months of intense study and prayer, I decided to submit my will to the Catholic Church.”
Hoffman began regularly attending Mass and befriended Anthony Flores, youth minister at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Monona, part of Stella Maris Parish.
Just two weeks before LBH began, Flores encouraged Hoffman to apply to join the core team of young adult leaders for the summer.
“The day Tony texted me about LBH, I was listening to a podcast, and it talked about how it’s not enough to just talk and study your faith. You need to go live it out,” Hoffman said. “Then the next day, the homily [at Mass] was about using your gifts for the community and church … and I was like, all right, God, I hear you.”
Hoffman then interviewed for the core team, put in his two weeks notice and quit his job at a warehouse in Sun Prairie, went through a week of training, got confirmed, and then started week one of LBH.
Now, Hoffman is spending his summer guiding youth in service and faith. He believes his faith transformation is also for the missionaries.
“Waking up at five in the morning every day can be hard, but it’s such a wonderful gift that we can give to these teens here, to allow them to do this work and to encounter Christ in a new way that they might not have experienced before,” he explained.
‘A great community’
Caroline Schnoebelen, diocesan coordinator of youth apostolates and young adult formation, helps oversee LBH. For her, the beauty of it lies in three key pillars: service, prayer, and community.
“The program is the foundation of living the Catholic Faith and our call to service,” Schnoebelen said.
“And, then doing that in a setting where you’re surrounded by young Catholics and have a great community to pray and worship together.”
Missionaries from St. Joseph the Worker Pastorate and Epiphany of the Lord Parish were strongly represented in this community in Dodgeville, as it is unique from other weeks. Dodgeville served as the “lost sheep” week for those who come from parishes that don’t typically send full groups.
“Everything we do at LBH is pretty ordinary, things like washing windows, sweeping floors, or visiting with elderly people, but they’re all things that kids can do during their week at LBH and then continue to do when they go home,” Schnoebelen said.
It’s the second year that Dodgeville has hosted the program, having first welcomed LBH in 2023. The format remains consistent; teens eat together, work side-by-side in neighborhoods, and finish the day with a dip in the pool.
Growth and service
But beyond the chores and camaraderie, the impact is spiritual and lasting.
“We’ve really grown in the past couple of summers. A lot of our core team members spent time at LBH when they were a teen, and it’s been so impactful in their lives that they wanted to come back and give a summer of service,” Schnoebelen explained.
Parent volunteer Paula Schuette, now in her sixth summer helping drive teens to and from sites, also sees growth.
“It takes their faith to the next level,” she said. “They can see that they’re making a difference for people with how grateful the people are that they serve. It’s things we just can’t do in a religious ed class.”
Dale LaWinger helps maintain the Kramer Shrine in Dodgeville and was particularly struck by the faith of the teen missionaries who helped clean the Shrine’s grounds.
“The work they do is great . . . and they’re kids that respond at Mass,” he said. “It’s just nice to see the youth realize that this is important.”
Bill Seyer, a parent lead missionary, called the kids rock stars because no one complains or rolls their eyes when they receive work. Rather, they work together and smile.
“After our work was done, we went to Culver’s, then to the pool, and the Bishop [Donald J. Hying of Madison] stopped by,” Seyer said. “It’s been a good couple of days, [other than] my snoring.”
Schnoebelen explained that the youth at LBH understand that their faith is meant to be lived. She used Mother Teresa as an example of how love begins at home in simple, everyday acts of kindness that bring glory to God.
“Every day I wake up and I thank God that he’s given me this opportunity to serve,” Hoffman said. “It can be stressful, but it’s such a wonderful way to show the love of Christ.”
LBH is wrapping up its summer of service this week in Monroe, loving those across Christ the King Pastorate.