The Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe youth group took a mission trip to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota June 26 through July 2. There were 25 participants -- 20 youth and five adult leaders.

The mission site was located in Shannon county, the second poorest county in the United States, having an unemployment rate of 84 percent and an average annual income for most households of $2,000.

This is the fourth mission trip taken by the cathedral youth group. Previous destinations were Cahoma, Miss.; Wind River, Wyo., and Benton Harbor, Mich. "Pine Ridge and Mississippi were the worst as far as poverty goes," stated Janelle Scott, who has participated each year. "It really seemed like the people there really needed our help."

The youth group stayed at the local school in the town of Porcupine. Here the youth ate, slept, and had time for individual and group prayer. One of the activities that went on was Kid’s Club. This took place at a school in Manderson about 20 miles from Porcupine. This was a chance for kids in the community to get away from home and have fun learning about God. They played on the playground with friends, learned Bible verses, sang songs and made crafts.

The youth group participated in work projects that included painting houses, pulling weeds and helping community members. The six houses that were painted during the week were located in Wounded Knee and Porcupine. Wounded Knee is approximately 12 miles from Porcupine. A local man grew organic vegetables to support the diabetes organization on the reservation, since there is such a high rate of diabetes in the area. A big group helped him pull weeds from his vegetable garden one afternoon. A different group helped an elderly woman with yard work and another group helped people move furniture to their new house.

"My favorite part of the trip was getting to know new people and knowing that I helped out the community," Josslyn Stremel said.

Each evening the youth group had a chance to leave the school for an activity and learn about new cultures and customs. These evening ventures included: a trip to a buffalo farm; a community cookout and baseball game in Manderson; a tour of the Wounded Knee battle field where the Native Americans were captured and killed by U.S. government troops; and a hike up Camel’s Back Ridge in the Black Hills. One morning the group also visited Red Cloud, a Catholic Indian school and church in the town of Oglala. Here the group learned about the Lakota people and their lifestyles, as well as the Indian Chief, Red Cloud, for whom the school was named. Stops on the way home included Mt. Rushmore and the mammoth archeological dig in Hot Springs, S.D.