Young Neighbors in Action (YNIA)

2014 YNIA

Twenty youth and five adults headed to Winnebago Indian Reservation on July 6-12 to participate in Young Neighbors in Action, a Catholic-based program that focuses on service to the people in the area, while learning about the Catholic Church's social teachings. Six parishes from around the country gathered at St. Augustine's Catholic School for the week, ready to serve the people of Winnebago! Winnebago had recently received some heavy storms, and the Kearney group was assigned to cleaning up their Pow-wow grounds, in preparation for their large, annual Pow-wow in two weeks. We diligently worked to clean it the best we could, doing tasks such as picking up branches, raking, scrubbing bleachers and painting them, cleaning concession huts, replacing screens, and painting many different parts of the grounds! By the time we finished on Friday, the difference was impressive. The people of Winnebago treated us on Friday to lunch as a thank you!

In the evenings, we celebrated Mass, learned about the Catholic Church's social teachings, learned about the people of Winnebago, and enjoyed the fellowship of the many other people we were blessed to be serving with!

Jennifer