St. Martin De Porres Catholic Church is filled with a plethora of loving volunteers who make all the events at the church possible. Many parishioners of all ages love giving back to their church by volunteering and putting in their time to make the church a home for so many.
However, something that is special about St. Martin De Porres’ volunteer community is their youth leader group, St. Martin’s Youth Leadership. SMYL (pronounced as “smile”) is St. Martin’s youth leadership group where high schoolers can join and give their time to serving their church. As a SMYL, you help guide middle schoolers and high schoolers through their confirmation journey. As well as being a youth mentor to these children, you also go on retreats with your fellow SMYL. However, what I have found to be the most special about being a part of SMYL is the family it gives you.
I wanted to join SMYL because of the impact of my SMYL, who guided me throughout my own confirmation journey. While I was in confirmation, two SMYLs assisted my confirmation group to help our teacher guide us during our confirmation and spiritual journey. When I was a student, these two SMYLs heavily impacted my confirmation journey, and I found it so inspiring that, as a high schooler, they still found time in their busy schedules to give back to their church. Also, I just witnessed how much fun they would have while giving back to God. So, as my friends and I were getting confirmed, we decided to join SMYL ourselves once we finished confirmation.
In my junior year of high school, I joined youth leadership and became a SMYL. And let me say, being a SMYL has truly changed my life for the better and helped me grow closer to God. Through helping teach confirmation classes and “Middle School Mondays,” it has been such a rewarding and heartfelt experience to help guide them through their spiritual journey, just like how SMYL helped mentor and guide me through my own confirmation journey. Through SMYL and the church, I have made lifelong friends, and I have gotten the opportunity to become friends with YLHS students who are just as passionate about their faith as I am.
Two people I have become especially close with through SMYL are Derek Milligan (12) and Katherine Nguyen (12). Derek feels that SMYL has given him a calming retreat, saying that, “Whenever I need advice or a place to just go to after a long day, I am always able to just walk into the youth room at St. Martin’s and feel at home.” Katherine is also thankful for SMYL and for the people it has brought into her life, expressing that, “Being a SMYL has brought me closer to people my age who also share my passion for the Catholic faith. I am forever thankful for everything SMYL has given me.”
Being a SMYL has given me the opportunity to guide students through their catholic faith. It has given me a safe place to go to whenever I need my mind off of anything stressful or scary. It has given me lifelong friends who truly want to see me grow in my faith as much as they want to grow. It has given me mentors who are always willing to give me a helping hand and look out for me, even on my hardest days. And most importantly, SMYL has truly given me a family and a home. If you are looking for a place to feel at home and continue to grow in your faith, St. Martin De Porres’ Church will welcome you into SMYL with open arms.
