Mission & Service · March 2026

Wait for the Lord: Our Students' Mission to Puerto Rico

A reflection on the 2026 Mission Trip— St. Catherine of Siena Academy, Wixom, MI

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"Wait for the Lord; be strong, take courage, and wait for the Lord." — Psalm 27:14

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These were the words with which Father Roberto, of Our Lady of Carmen Parish in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico, opened his remarks at the Mass of Thanksgiving celebrated in honor of our young women. They were the right words — not only for the people of Puerto Rico, who have waited with extraordinary faith and resilience since Hurricane Maria devastated their island in September of 2017, but for our students as well, who arrived not entirely sure what they would be asked to do, but certain they were called to serve.

That is precisely the spirit of EPOCH week here at St. Catherine of Siena Academy.

Setting out in faith

On Monday, March 9, a small but enthusiastic group of SCA students departed from Detroit bound for Puerto Rico, accompanied by Fr. Matthew Kurt and two of our own: Principal Judith Hehs and Learning Specialist Julie Rzepka. The trip was organized through Catholic Mission Trips, Inc. (CMT), an organization that helps schools like ours connect meaningful service with genuine human encounter.

For Ms. Hehs — who brings 38 years of experience in Catholic girls' education to everything she does at SCA — this trip was a natural extension of her conviction that formation happens beyond the classroom walls. For Mrs. Rzepka, whose life's work is meeting students exactly where they are and helping them grow, the chance to walk alongside our young women in an entirely new environment was one she embraced wholeheartedly.

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The students had seen only a brief video clip about what to expect. They packed their work clothes, N-95 masks, gloves, and goggles — ready, they thought, for carpentry, masonry, or maybe roofing. What they could not have anticipated was how perfectly God had already prepared the work that awaited them.

Our CMT group leaders, Casey and Ivhanna, met us at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, and the air-conditioned school bus that carried us toward Arecibo was, I will confess, a very welcome first blessing. We settled into our rooms at the Comunidad Misionera Villaregia, a retreat center in Arecibo — bunk beds, in-suite bathrooms, and ceiling fans — basic, yes, but everything we needed. That evening, before dinner, Fr. Matthew celebrated our first Mass together, and we began to understand we were already exactly where we were supposed to be.

One of our early and lovely surprises: Ivhanna, our CMT leader, is an accomplished musician and aspiring Gospel and Christian artist. Music became part of the fabric of our week from the very first evening.

The chapel — and the story behind it

Our mission, as it unfolded, was the exterior painting of a small neighborhood chapel that had been left battered and worn by Hurricane Maria — a project, it turned out, beautifully suited to our group.

Father Roberto put the significance of this work in context for us. After Hurricane Maria, FEMA had approved approximately $44,000 to repair and repaint the chapel's exterior. Years passed. By 2023, the allocated funds were no longer available. The roof, fortunately, had been patched and the ceiling repainted — but the rest waited.

"Almost ten years after that hurricane," Fr. Roberto said, "these repairs have been completed by young people for less than one-sixth of what FEMA estimated." He said it with tears of gratitude — and more than a little wonder at the way God provides.

A Mass of thanksgiving

On the afternoon of March 12, the parish gathered to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving. The honorable mayor of Barceloneta, Wanda Judith Soler Rosario, was present. The community came together to honor what had been done, not by a government program or a professional contractor, but by a group of high school girls from Michigan who simply said yes.

Fr. Roberto's homily lingered with all of us. He spoke of Psalm 27 as an invitation to trust God in difficulty, without becoming discouraged, confident that God strengthens those who wait in Him. He thanked our students for their "economic generosity and their hands." He noted that finding willing, affordable help is not easy for a community where most parishioners are elderly — and yet, he said, "God moved your hearts to this beautiful and warm mission."

He offered these parting words to our students: "When they return to their land and feel the cold again, remember that God called them like He called Abraham to a foreign land — but with the confidence that 'He is with you.' Surely He will reward their generosity."

Fr. Roberto also offered a beautiful word to Fr. Matthew, congratulating him for placing himself "at the level of others, open to learning and being one more among the faithful." It was a generous observation — and an accurate one.

Why we do this

At St. Catherine of Siena Academy, we believe that a young woman's education is not complete in a classroom alone. Our mission is to form women who go out into the world with not only academic excellence, but with a deep awareness of who they are — daughters of God, created in His image and likeness, possessing what St. John Paul II called the feminine genius: a particular gift for empathy, receptivity, generosity, and love that the world needs urgently.

A week in Puerto Rico, paintbrush in hand, working alongside missionaries, worshipping with a community that has known real suffering and real faith — this is formation. This is what it looks like to discover your purpose not in theory, but in service.

We are grateful to Catholic Mission Trips, Inc., to Fr. Matthew, to Ms. Hehs and Mrs. Rzepka who traveled with the group, and above all, to the students who gave their EPOCH week to serve.

And to the community of Barceloneta — thank you for receiving us. You gave our young women far more than they gave you.

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