One of Clare Doss’ greatest joys in life is seeing young hearts on fire for Christ. The recent graduate of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro served as president of the Blessed John Newman University Parish for the 2016-2017 school year. Doss, 22, helped plan events with others in the ministry.

“I think for me, it really just challenged me, seeing other people wanting to grow,” in their faith, she said. “I wanted to grow and help them learn more.”

For two years, the campus ministry program has conducted the confirmation retreat for local Catholic students.

“I like seeing their hearts just set on fire … it’s so cool after working with them to see that moment, ‘Oh my gosh, I want him in my life,’” she said.

This summer she finished her youth ministry certification at the St. John Bosco Conference in Steubenville, Ohio. Experiences at Steubenville events have helped her learn how to effectively run programs, like the St. Anne Vacation Bible School program in Berryville, her home parish, this year and to share tips on how the parish can energize youth ministry.

This fall, Doss is attending graduate school at Arkansas State to study hippotherapy, using horses as therapy for the disabled. Riding horses has helped with her own disabilities: her right leg is shorter than her left and her right arm is fused at the elbow, with two fingers on her hand.

“For me it isn’t a disability; if anything he’s given me a gift in it,” Doss said. “I’ve been able to have a better empathy for people. He’s given me so many things in return, something as small as that is nothing.”

 

• What is your most-used emoji?

“My most used emoji is probably the winky face. I’m pretty sure I use it on almost every other text I send. I like it because it’s a smiley face, but to me it’s even more open and happy than just a plain smiley face. You can use it for a lot of different things.”

While on a mission trip at a community in Texas that gives permanent residence to the homeless, Arkansas State University student Clare Doss met a resident who touched her heart in a special way.

The man, now in his 50s, was put on a bus at 8 years old when his mother’s fiancé gave her an ultimatum — it was him or the child. The young boy wandered the streets, was taken in and raised by a prostitute, who helped him find his father at 15 years old. When he went to his father’s house for shelter, he had a gun pointed at him.

He had always lived on the streets until he found Christ, and Community First! Village in Austin.

“He was such a motivator. He’d say, ‘Keep going, you all are doing such awesome work, we love y’all,” Doss, 21, said. “I thought you know he was crushed down by the world kind of like Christ was and he has so much joy all the time. I think it just helped me to look at life differently and the fact that the only place you’re going to find joy is when you find Christ.”

This was just one of many life changing experiences that 30 students from four state colleges experienced May 15-19, volunteering at the 27-acre community, part of the Mobile Loaves and Fishes nonprofit.

The mission trip was funded through $29,000 in grants from the Daughters of Charity Foundation in St. Louis and Our Sunday Visitor Institute in Indiana.

“It was an opportunity to make a major difference in the lives of formerly homeless people,” said Liz Tingquist, director of the diocese’s Catholic Youth and Campus Ministry Offices, of the diocese-sponsored trip.

Last year was the first diocesan mission trip, working in Appalachia.

“I wanted the young people who are kind of the movers and shakers for us in the future to see something worthwhile and life changing can be done in their own communities,” she said. 

Campus ministry students and leaders from the University of Central Arkansas, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia and Arkansas State University in Jonesboro attended the mission trip. Mandy Davis, executive director of Jericho Way homeless day center in Little Rock, also attended.

The village, established in December 2015, is a community with 240 low-rent homes, a mix of RVs, micro-homes and canvas cottages, with more than 100 residents. The ministry is part of Mobile Loaves and Fishes, which has given more than four million meals to the homeless across four states.

The village includes chapels, a medical facility and several amenities, from an outdoor movie theater to a bed and breakfast for visitors, according to its website, mlf.org/community-first. It has several enterprises that include catering and metal craftsman work to train residents in new skills. The bus line also stops by the community for those with jobs outside of the village. It is Christian-based, but no one is ever pressured to convert.

“To have a group of students from Arkansas dedicate a week of their lives in Austin, Texas, helping to work on (landscaping around the) kitchens and other amenities at the Village is truly indicative of the level of support and generosity we’ve been blessed with from communities across the country,” Alan Graham, founder and CEO of Mobile Loaves and Fishes who is Catholic, said in an email. “This is a genuine example of what loving your neighbor looks like, and we are beyond grateful.”

The students worked on landscaping projects around outdoor kitchens.

“I think what I enjoyed most is bonding with the actual community members because we were actually living with them and getting to know them more,” Doss said. “They’d join in on some of our meals or when we were praying together.”

Elijah Mulder, 20, a junior at UA, agreed that both mission trips the past two years were eye-opening.

“I heard a couple stories, each one touched me. It really made what I was doing there more fulfilling,” he said. “It opened up my eyes to do more for the homeless and try to do more in my community as well.”

Davis, who recently took over at Jericho Way, which is run by Catholic nonprofit Depaul USA, said the value of putting community first was an important takeaway. 

“I thought I knew what a home meant. Housing someone with four walls and a door is not a home … You’re housing the homeless, great, but is it a home? I can’t answer that, but that’s still an ongoing quest in my career,” Davis said. “It’s not housing first; it’s community first. It feels more like home than even my own home. There’s gardens, chickens, dignified working wages … that’s revolutionary … I was blessed to have the opportunity to go.”

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While most college students were finishing up finals and preparing for summer vacation, 30 Catholic students and chaperones brought the Year of Mercy message to Appalachia.

“I met representatives of ASP (Appalachia Service Project) while attending the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis in November of 2015 and was very impressed with their mission and their organization,” said Liz Tingquist, director of the Diocese of Little Rock Catholic Youth and Campus Ministry Office. This year, $20,000 was granted to the diocese through Catholic Home Missions, part of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, to sponsor a mission trip for Catholic college students for the Year of Mercy.

“So, when we were able to secure the grant, I knew this was the organization I wanted to work with … (it’s) a different experience for our college students,” Tingquist said.

From May 15-21, students from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, University of Arkansas in Little Rock and the University of Central Arkansas in Conway went to the ASP in Chavies, Ky. According to its website, asphome.org, ASP seeks to “provide one of the most rewarding and structured service opportunities in the nation — bringing together thousands of volunteers from around the country to rural central Appalachia to repair homes for low-income families.”

Clare Doss, a senior interdisciplinary studies major at A-State from Berryville, said she was filled with doubt when they first arrived.

“I walked in and believed that there was no way we would get everything done that we were asked to do,” she said, “but we came together as a group and did the flooring in not only the two rooms we were supposed to, but in an extra room as well. Seeing the joy on the homeowner’s face was the most meaningful moment for me.”

According to the grant proposal, the goals of the diocese concerning the Year of Mercy grant were “for campus ministry students to return home with passion for service, renewed compassion for other people and a fresh appreciation for their place and purpose in the world as Catholics.”

Sister Mary Clare Bezner, OSB, vocations director at Holy Angels Convent in Jonesboro, who accompanied the students, was moved by the gratitude they received from the homeowners they helped.

“One lady wanted to give something back to us so badly, and all she had to give was prayer,” Sister Mary Clare said. “She sang us an old hymn about seeing us in heaven one day. It was so beautiful. I have a recording of it and I watch it every day.”

Some of the projects the group worked on were fixing floors and roofs as well as emergency repairs. Caitlyn Barthol, a senior biology major at UCA from Little Rock, said this mission trip, her first, has given her a desire to help people in her community.

“I’ve been so blessed with everything I have, that I want to be able to give back to others,” Barthol said. “One of the ladies showed us around her house. She also showed us a gift from a different group of volunteers, and told us that we were all her earth angels. I thought it was amazing that we weren’t just repairing their houses; we were really getting to know them.”

Sam Johnson, a sophomore economics and accounting major at UA from Fayetteville, said the trip helped increase his faith. 

“I felt like God really wanted this to happen. There was always someone who knew exactly what to do, and it always worked out, even when something went wrong,” he said. “The trip really increased the sense of Catholic community. There’s not a lot of Catholics in Fayetteville, so it’s always nice to be reminded of how strong the Catholic faith is.”

Doss said the experience was so meaningful that she would “absolutely go back in a heartbeat.”

“After learning more about ASP, I’m very intrigued by the idea of spending an entire summer working there and continuing to give back,” she said.

Though each person from the trip worked hard, Sister Mary Clare said God was the one guiding their every move.

“All of the prayers that week were about service to others, and it felt like God had designed them exactly for that week.” Sister Mary Clare said. “Every moment felt like you were walking exactly the way Jesus wanted you to walk.”

While studies show more and more millennials leaving the Church or not identifying with a religion, Catholic campus ministers are on the front lines of a battle for Christ.

Armed with the Gospel truth, young adults Brandon Weisenfels, Anna Paige Frein and Adam Koehler are ready to catch souls on fire with the Holy Spirit. Weisenfels is the new director of Catholic Campus Ministry at Blessed John Newman University Parish in Jonesboro on the Arkansas State University campus. Frein and Koehler have been named campus ministers at St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

“As Pope Francis said, it’s not enough just to open our doors but go out of our doors and reach out to people,” Frein, 24, said. “You can invite someone to Bible study or to Mass, but it’s better to get to know someone and their own faith journey and walk along beside them to grow that relationship with Christ.”

Frein and Koehler, 25, are both graduates of the University of Arkansas. Frein, who grew up attending St. John the Baptist Church in Brinkley, holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work and was active as an undergrad at St. Thomas.

“It got me excited, it connected me to a community,” she said. “St. Thomas helped me discover more about my faith.”

Because of that, Frein took a leap of faith — for the past year, she worked on the south side of Chicago with AmeriCorps through the Archdiocese of Chicago, ministering to those in poverty.

“I met with clients one on one, I did intake for our food pantry,” Frein said. “I think the biggest thing for me in terms of my faith, I’d ask my clients how are you doing today even though you know they’re having a difficult time managing, they said with gratitude, ‘I’m just thankful God let me have another day and to be alive talking to you.’ That put it in perspective, to take that gratitude into every aspect of my life.”

For Koehler, who grew up attending Immaculate Conception Church in North Little Rock, he learned similar lessons by being a Catholic Youth Ministry volunteer at Christ the King Church in Little Rock and for the Search team through the Diocese of Little Rock.

“Being a part of more of a parish environment and Search inevitably prepared me really in relationship-building, being around those that are so passionate in their faith,” Koehler said. “To see 16- and 17-year-old kids let their heart out and provide bold, powerful witness talks to their peers was humbling for me, to see how much Christ plays a role in their lives.”

Koehler graduated from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and knew Frein through being involved with campus ministry at St. Thomas. The two will tag-team various responsibilities throughout the year, including organizing more Bible studies, growing the music and liturgical ministries, hosting retreats and outreach to students.

“Especially for new students, we want them to feel comfortable and welcome,” Koehler said.

For Weisenfels, it’s another step forward in his path of full-time ministry. In the past, Weisenfels, who is married with three adopted children and two foster children, has served in various capacities of youth ministry, including as the director of children’s and youth ministry at Blessed Sacrament Church in Jonesboro and as the faith and fun director at Blessed John Newman.

“One of my passions has always been to build discipleship and leadership in the Church … The college age group is where that really flourishes,” Weisenfels said. “The goal is they go back into the parishes with discipleship and leadership and impact all the parishes they end up in.”

Weisenfels joined the Catholic Church when he was 6 years old, after his mother married a Catholic. Prior to that, he was Assembly of God and still attended their Royal Rangers, which discussed spirituality because at the time, his parish, Christ the King Church in Fort Smith, didn’t have a spiritual, prayer-based youth ministry.

“My thinking was, why don’t we have this in the Church? My whole youth ministry career came off of a desire to bring spirituality and the prayers of the Church to young people and, of course, it’s grown from there,” Weisenfels said.

As director, Weisenfels handles all the programming for the roughly 45 active members, from music ministry to witness nights. 

This year, students will have organized Eucharistic adoration once a month and a new praise team for youth rallies. A new Missionary Leadership Project will train college students to work as catechists or youth leaders at Blessed Sacrament Church in Jonesboro as well, he said.

Though the campuses are different, the goal of building new leaders in Christ is universal, Weisenfels said.

“I honestly believe it’s through ‘disciple-ing’ them one on one,” Weisenfels said of keeping college students committed to the faith. “Once they know the presence of Jesus and want to share it, that to me is what keeps them.”

When Wendy Fernandez received her first Communion and confirmation in the ninth grade, she was on a mission — she wanted to serve the Lord as an altar server at Holy Cross Church in Crossett.

“I just like to be a helping hand for the priest,” the 19-year-old said, adding that she’s paid it forward. For about two years, she’s helped to train children to be altar servers, including one of her sisters.

She’s also passed her wisdom along to middle school students when she substituted in PRE and helped with Vacation Bible School. She remembers how one of her students wanted to get revenge on his bully, but she let him know “there was no point.”

“I was getting bullied in the seventh grade, and the more I got involved with the church and going more often and reading the Bible I told him … you have to make peace with everyone and yourself,” she said.

The sophomore pre-med major at Henderson State University at Arkadelphia hopes to open a cardiology clinic one day in Hamburg.

“I want to come back and not leave that church,” Fernandez said. “Having faith in myself and God, I know it can be possible.”

What one question would you want to ask Jesus?

“Why is it that we have to love our enemies even if they hurt us so much? Because every place I’ve been, there’s that one person … I don’t know how God does that, how he deals with loving everybody.”

 

Kevin Fialkowski is here to serve, whether it is at his home parish St. Albert in Heber Springs or saving lives … at least one day.

“In the future I just want to be able to take technology and medicine and (combine it) for the benefit of everyone,” said the 19-year-old sophomore studying biomedical engineering and pre-medicine at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Certified in several technical areas, he has operated the St. Albert’s sound system during Mass.

“I’ll be in the rear of the church behind the soundboard, monitoring all the sounds,” Fialkowski said. “The big thing though is to be prepared when something goes wrong.”

This summer he volunteered more than 300 hours in the emergency room at Baptist Health Medical Center-Heber Springs. He did everything from bringing patients water and blankets, delivering specimens to the laboratory and shadowing doctors.

“Seeing how with medicine and everyone’s teamwork they were able to revive a (critical) patient, that was definitely an ‘aha moment,’ just amazing,” he said.

In all his volunteer work, his Catholic faith guides him.

“Being compassionate and empathetic, I think a large part of that came about because of my faith,” Fialkowski said. “We’re always taught how important it is to love your neighbor, just help those around you in any way you can … I think faith definitely keeps me going in this pursuit.”

Which saint would you like to meet and why?

“St. Joseph; he’s such a fatherly figure in the Church and also because that relates directly to my family. I had a grandfather on my dad’s side who passed away before I was born whose name was Joseph and St. Joseph was my confirmation name.”

 

Just as Jesus said, “Let the children come to me,” Deidra Lee has made that her mission: educating the little ones as a catechist at St. John Church in Russellville.

This year she coordinated Vacation Bible School and although she thought many would think she’s “too young” at just 20 years old, the “Surfing with the Holy Spirit” program was a success.

“You have 100 kids singing and dancing about Jesus,” the junior early education major at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville said. “(They’re) so excited to learn about God and the Church. It’s fun to see them so excited.”

Lee also doesn’t forget the “least of these.” For two years, Lee has gone to work at a New Orleans homeless services center with St. Leo the Great University Parish during spring break.

“It’s the most rewarding experience I’ve ever been on,” she said, recalling a man she met on the first trip. “He came up to us to say they have people come in and out of here all day … but you could really feel God’s presence and peace while we were there. He asked if he could pray with us … We were all in tears.”

What is something not everyone knows about you?

“I love to sing … My family has a theme song that we sing, “Sweet Caroline.” Anytime we go on trips, that’s what we sing along to. We’re Neil Diamond people.”

When Lakyn Oliver was just a freshman in high school, she began teaching 3 to 7 year olds at Holy Cross Church in Sheridan about God. Throughout high school, she never passed up the opportunity to make the Bible stories interactive, including her annual “Lost Sheep” hide-and-seek.

“The church actually had stuffed animal sheep. I’d hide them around the church and the kids would have to find them,” the now 19-year-old said. “I’d talk about how the shepherd found his lost sheep and how God will always find his lost sheep; we are his flock.”

As a sophomore at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro majoring in interdisciplinary studies, she stays connected to her faith by serving as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist on campus.

“In the Catholic Church it’s such a sacred event. Just be able to do that for God is such a humbling experience,” Oliver said.

She is active in Holy Cross’ Altar Society, which she’s helped with fundraisers for years.

“We do come from a small church and a lot of people don’t have a ton of money and that’s fine but seeing people come together to raise money for things, that strengthens my relationship with God,” Oliver said. “It has really touched my heart.”

If you could have an additional skill or talent, what would it be?

“It would be healing, anything that’s ailing a person, to be able to help them and not have to see them suffer. I guess that’s close to my heart because my mom is a cancer survivor.”

 

For Hannah Philpot, 24, learning about the faith and teaching the faith go hand-in-hand.

Throughout her junior high and high school years at St. Raphael Church in Springdale and St. Joseph Church in Tontitown, Philpot was involved in her parish youth ministry and serving on the diocesan Youth Advisory Council. But it was at Missouri State University that she found her current mission.

As a freshman, Philpot met a Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) missionary and did what most college students do. She asked questions. For her, the answers brought clarity not only to her questions, but also her future.

“For the first time I understood how Jesus didn’t make sense without the Church and vice versa,” she said.

Philpot led Bible studies in her sorority and went on to mentor other women in other chapters while in college. This experience laid the groundwork and brought her full circle in following her vocation.

Now she is a campus missionary for FOCUS at Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau and works on a team with three other missionaries, befriending students and helping them live the Gospel.

“I truly believe this model of intentional discipleship on college campuses will change the face of the Catholic Church,” Philpot said. 

What is something not everyone knows about you?

“I did voice acting for a puppet monkey in the ‘Kids For Health’ videos we watched in elementary schools. The puppet’s name was Starla. She was Australian.”

The St. Joseph Church in Pine Bluff staff is hard-pressed to remember a time when Adam Smith ever turned down an opportunity to lend a helping hand. From being an extra “handy-man” to assisting with spaghetti suppers, the Arkansas Tech University sophomore just does not say no.

“The church doesn’t call you because they want to, they call because they need you,” the 19-year-old said.

This desire to help started with altar serving. Smith said he made his First Communion and “it was that next weekend I went up there and started doing it.”

To this day, if the church needs a server, he’s the man. Smith has served during the Easter Vigil Mass for the past six years.

“It’s a feeling I get with being on the altar when all of this happens, it’s just awe-inspiring every time,” he said.

His advice for other young adults? “Don’t assume you’re too good to help,” he said.

“It makes me feel good to help someone,” Smith said. “I feel like God gives me a pat on the back and tells me I did a good job every time I help out with something like that.”

What is the best concert you’ve ever been to?

“A Three Dog Night (concert). I went to Hot Springs with family and a couple of friends; I was really little and it was 10 at night and we just had a blast. It’s one of those that stick in your head forever.”