CROSS PLAINS — This summer marks the 15th year of Love Begins Here (LBH) in the Diocese of Madison.
In the last decade and a half, Love Begins Here has given more than 142,000 hours of service and has served at 31 different church locations throughout the diocese with thousands of different work sites.
In an interview with Caroline Locke, LBH director and associate coordinator of youth and young adult formation for the diocese, she expressed great excitement for the program so far this summer and for the future.
“This year we decided to offer two different middle school weeks, a four-day week or the three-day week. The amount of service is the same but the timeframe is a little different. We’ve really liked it so far and the middle schoolers have liked it too,” said Locke.
“We are also at two new locations this summer, Dodgeville and Cassville, . . . the summer has been going really well. [We’re] getting out there and serving our neighbors.”
Locke added, “My hope next year with the new pastorates is that parishes that have previously not held Love Begins Here will be able to combine with a parish that has and we’ll be able to get them involved with the program too.”
Faith, fun, and service
Locke and the Love Begins Here missionaries have been having a lot of fun serving the teens and the communities.
This summer, they spent two weeks headquartered at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Cross Plains, with one week for middle school and one week for high school missionaries.
More than 180 teens, from various parishes, helped serve at a variety of work sites.
One of them was Pursley’s Valley Stable near Cross Plains.
Sawyer, who is going to be a senior this fall, was very excited to “clean this thing” — that thing being a bench.
Clara, who was very tired, was still enjoying the work.
The group of teens was working together to help clean and organize the horse barn.
Although it was a hot and hazy day, the teens were all smiling and joyful in their tasks.
Molly, a senior who has participated in Love Begins Here for the past six years, when asked what her biggest takeaway was, reflected on Mother Teresa.
“She was human too, and it’s good to remember that and that we’re all human, so it’s okay if we’re not perfect.”
Serving others
Another worksite was 6:8 in Sauk City.
6:8 is a Christian organization that seeks to serve those in poverty in the Sauk Prairie area and beyond.
It does this through a variety of programs that include food packs, mission trips, support groups, and many other wonderful programs.
Founders John and Sarah Ramthun are always happy to receive help from Love Begins Here teens.
This group of teens, some from Darlington, Reedsburg, and Berlin, helped for an entire day with weeding gardens, emptying trailers, freezing raspberries, and
making jewelry out of the weeds they found. Before they began their work, they started the day in prayer.
Among those weed-eating were Grace, Amilia, Laura, and Kennedy who herself had not done Love Begins Here before this year.
Grace reflected on how wonderful Love Begins Here has been.
“Everywhere we go, people are just so joyful, and it’s really contagious. It’s just nice to help out.”
One of the teens reflected on coming to 6:8 last year and helping “get rid” of some expired chocolate. “It was expired, but it was still really good.”
Outside, a group was helping to empty a trailer and remove a metal post from the ground.
There were many cheers and applause once it was out.
It was fun to watch the teens work together to figure out how to move everything and disassemble things that would no longer be in use.
Tina Moritz, a long-time chaperone for Love Begins Here, shared her takeaways.
“It’s not just for the kids; sometimes, in our busy lives, we forget to look for others, to see others’ needs. I really wish this was around when I was a kid. But I feel I’ve benefited just as much now being a chaperone.”
“I Thirst.” These words from our Lord served as a reminder to St. Teresa of Calcutta about Christ’s thirst for our love and to see Christ in our neighbor.
These past 15 years, thousands of teens have lived these words out through Love Begins Here, helping to satisfy not only a physical thirst in the needs of people in the diocese but a spiritual thirst by showing others Christ’s love through their service.