'Fulfilling' journey all around

NORWALK — Local students recently made a difference 3,000 miles away from their homes. Ten St. Paul High School students loaded up on a plane last month to spread the word of God at a school in the Valley of Peace, Belize. They departed Jan. 4 and returned Jan. 9. Those students shared stories from the trip in a room of about 40 friends, family, school officials and faith leaders at the school on Tuesday evening. They recounted their experiences and the impact they made and what it meant to them. "It was amazing, more than what could have been anticipated," school president Martin Linder said. 'So full of love' The mission trip has been years in the making. Before the students shared about their experience, Linder gave some background on the partnership between Norwalk Catholic School and St. Oscar Romera Roman Catholic School in Belize. He listed a few past projects the Norwalk school completed, like raising money during Catholic Schools Week in 2024, filling a shipping container with donations and setting up the school with Chromebook technology, allowing video calls. The journey began with an early morning flight from Cleveland, but the excitement started to build long before. While reflecting on the trip, the students said they had a countdown to the day they would be able to go, and Linder emphasized how much planning went into the trip. Once in Belize, students not only learned about the area, its food and the culture, but they also supported students across several grade levels in growing their faith. The Norwalk students guided the Belize students in religious lessons they created. The Norwalk students would take elements of what they remembered learning when they were the same age as the Belize students and create a fun lesson. For example, one of the students remembered being gifted a "Jesus' life" bracelet. She took this idea to Belize and made keychains with the students. "It was very heartwarming," senior Allyson Takacs said. "They were just so full of love and so proud of their faith and that's all they wanted to do was share it, so you couldn't help but smile every time one of them came up to you. You're never going to experience that anywhere else." The experience was also nostalgic for students, like senior Chloe Hazelwood. She was appreciative of the "carefree" feeling she had while spending time with the students. It was something she had not felt for a long time. Will talk about trip 'the rest of my life' Despite being thousands of miles from home, the students were still able to pick out a few similarities between their school and the Belize school. Takacs said when they were in the classrooms, she noticed the same decorations that a classroom in Norwalk would have, like the alphabet lining the walls. But there were several differences that became apparent as the trip went on. A few of the biggest being security, trust and responsibility. The students shared a story of when they first arrived to the school. The principal came out to greet them and offered them all a coconut, which he opened with a machete. In terms of trust and responsibility, Hazelwood reflected on how the students were allowed to leave for an hour and a half to have lunch with their families. They were trusted alone for several points of the day, including leaving and coming back from lunch and playing during recess. When it was time to go home, the goodbyes were described as emotional on both sides. Tears fell from students' eyes, gifts were given to the Norwalk students so they would remember a specific Belize student and some were able to connect through social media. For example, a Norwalk student who shares a favorite color with one of the Belize students was told, "I want you to remember me when you see the color purple," and another told the Norwalk students they will plan a visit, adding, "Hopefully I can get in." "It was really a fulfilling trip all around," Hazelwood said. "It was fulfilling emotionally and spiritually just to be with the kids in the other country and connect with them." The students went on the trip to make a difference for the students in Belize, but several of them commented on how they were impacted by the people they met and the experiences they had. "I never would have expected the impact these kids would have made on me and how this trip is going to be something that I'll be talking about for the rest of my life," Takacs said.