Miss Colleen Coughlin
 Colleen is a 2000 graduate of Notre Dame High School and a 2004 graduate of Webster University, where she earned a B.A. in Social Science and a minor in Media Communications. Throughout high school and college, Colleen enjoyed being involved with a variety of volunteer and work experiences. She has volunteered at Our Lady’s Inn (a shelter for pregnant women in crisis and their children), the Catholic Education Office, and at various events at Webster University. She currently volunteers with Hand of Help Christian Service Program. She has worked at Nazareth Living Center retirement home, where she assisted the residents in the residential care facility and in the skilled nursing facility, and in the Human Resources Department of Webster University, where she got the opportunity to work with Webster’s six international campuses, as well as its many U.S. campuses. Choosing to attend Webster University to study psychology, sociology, and anthropology, and being surrounded by such a variety of wonderful people from different backgrounds at the home campus of an international university led Colleen to become interested in humanitarian and global issues, and to go into a field after college where she could truly help people.
Colleen joined the Mission Office staff in September 2004. She is currently the Website Editor and the Holy Childhood Association Coordinator, and also handles the Monthly Donor program and some advertising/promotions for the Mission Office. Colleen is happy to be a part of the Mission Office staff, where she is able to promote missionary awareness and education to all people – children, young adults, and adults. She hopes that her blogs will share how rewarding it is to work at the Mission Office, and how wonderful it is to be helping people across the globe.
Sr. Carol Donohue
 Sr. Carol attended Ursuline Academy and graduated from Fontbonne College with a degree in Special Education. She received her master’s degree in Special Education from Vanderbilt University. Sr. Carol trained to be a consultant for teachers of learning-disabled and conduct-disordered students at Vanderbilt. Before changing from teaching to social service, Sr. Carol attended a two-year certificate program through Eden Theological Seminary for urban pastoral ministry, and has been working in this area since 1979, both in Bolivia and in the United States.
Sr. Carol became acquainted with the congregation of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood as a lay teacher, and she entered the community after her second year of working with the sisters. She has taught in Missouri at the junior and senior high school levels for most of her fourteen years as a teacher. In 1979, she was part of the founding community of a second Saint Louis Catholic Worker House and she worked there for 10 years, and also served part-time as administrator of a small non-profit corporation program on the near north side in the Catholic Worker neighborhood.
Sr. Carol has been with AMANECER, an orphanage network in Bolivia, for nearly 18 years and has worked in administration at the Central Office and in the family program at Sayaricuy. For the past 12 years, she has been directress of the day program and initial outreach to those living on the streets, as well as those who live in high-risk situations for ending there. Through her blog, Sr. Carol will share stories of the children being helped in Bolivia by Pan y Amor.
Miss Laura Hershberger
 Laura is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. She is a 2003 graduate of Sycamore High School and a 2007 graduate of Saint Louis University, where she earned a degree in social work and international studies. When choosing her major freshman year, Laura had hopes of someday doing social work in developing countries – so, when she learned of a study abroad program that SLU offered in El Salvador, she applied and was accepted. It was during this first experience in El Salvador that Laura was completely transformed, falling in love with the country and with the people.
Throughout college, Laura attended the Casa de la Solidaridad Study Abroad Program in San Salvador, El Salvador and the ICA Spanish Language School in Xela, Guatemala. Building connections between people in Latin America and the people in the United States became a big part of her focus as a student at SLU. During her senior year, Laura interned with the Center for Survivors of Torture and War Trauma, an organization that serves immigrant and refugee youth and heals the trauma of experiencing violence in their lives.
In January 2008, Laura left for El Salvador, where she volunteered with an organization called CRISPAZ: Christians for Peace in El Salvador. One of her key focuses was to find alternatives to violence for high-risk youth. Laura left CRISPAZ and joined the SHARE Foundation in El Salvador in April 2009, where she is currently part of the Grassroots Team. She coordinates with delegations that travel to El Salvador, as well as collects testimonies about SHARE's work through interviews and meetings. Laura will share her experiences about volunteering and living in El Salvador through her blog.
Miss Jennifer Lay
 Jennifer is a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She is a 2009 graduate of Saint Louis University, where she earned an Honors B.A. in Theology and International Studies and minors in Spanish, Women’s Studies, and Philosophy. Jennifer was raised in the Catholic Church and attended Catholic school her whole life. Through her local parish (St. Jude’s) and high school opportunities, she was involved in a number of service organizations and trips. She has always had a strong desire to serve marginalized and economically poor populations.
During her four years at Saint Louis University, Jennifer was involved in a number of organizations both on-campus and off-campus that work to bring about peace and justice in the world. She is grateful to these organizations for continuing to challenge her to be more and to expand her world-views and critical thinking skills. Jennifer was very involved in Campus Ministry and served as the social justice intern for the 2007-2008 school year. She has spent time volunteering at various parishes and organizations in the St. Louis area, including St. Cecelia Parish, where she was a first communion teacher and children’s liturgy of the word assistant; at St. Paul’s positive family enterprise, where she worked with children; at Accion Social Communitaria, where she tutored children; at St. Matthew’s Saturday morning youth program; and at Karen House Catholic Worker, where she also lived in the summer of 2009. Jennifer is especially indebted to the Catholic Worker community for all they have shared and taught her about living the Works of Mercy daily and serving the divine presence in each person.
During her college years, Jennifer was fortunate to go on mission trips to El Salvador, Honduras, and the Texas/Mexico border. She spent a semester abroad in El Salvador as part of the Casa de la Solidaridad program. All of the trips, especially her semester abroad, created a strong desire to walk in solidarity with the people of Latin America while seeking to transform unjust structures that keep people poor and marginalized. This desire led Jennifer to seek out a missionary program for after graduation, and she signed up with the Incarnate Word Missionaries (IWM), a volunteer program sponsored by the Missionaries of Charity of the Incarnate Word, based in San Antonio, Texas.
Jennifer will be serving as a lay missionary in Chimbote, Peru. Chimbote is a city on the Pacific coast of Peru (north of Lima) and provides 75% of Peru’s fishing industry. The city has a population of approximately 300,000 with the majority living in poverty amidst the pollution from the fish processing plants. Jennifer’s main mission work will be with St. Francis Parish in Chimbote, where she will be assisting with a number of youth programs at the parish, as well as exploring other ministry opportunities. She is particularly looking forward to being involved with the theater group and choir. She will be living with 4 other IWM’s in a house down the street from the Incarnate Word Sisters house. The four main pillars of the program are community, faith, simple living, and social justice, and Jennifer will seek to live these out the next two years in Peru, as well as in the many years to come. The mission of the IWM’s is to incarnate the love of God in the world, and Jennifer believes that is the mission of all Catholics and Christians. She encourages everyone reading her blog to incarnate God’s love wherever they are in the world.
Miss Caroline Leritz
 Caroline is a 2009 graduate of Nerinx Hall High School and a parishioner at Ste. Genevieve DuBois Parish. During her junior and senior year in high school, Caroline went on two mission trips to La Chinantla, Mexico over spring break, along with other students from Nerinx Hall, St. John Vianney High School, and St. Mary’s High School. While in Mexico, Caroline and the other students connected with a Marianist priest who operates a school and church there. One of Caroline’s main jobs was to pour concrete floors for people’s homes.
After graduating from Nerinx Hall, Caroline knew that she wanted to take a year off before going to college to do some volunteer work, particularly in Central America. A parishioner and family friend at Ste. Genevieve DuBois Parish, who frequently volunteers in Belize, gave her the name of Fr. Dick Perl, S.J. (a missionary priest in Belize) as someone to talk to about volunteering. Fr. Perl was again suggested as someone to contact through DeSmet Jesuit High School, where Caroline’s brother is a student. It seemed as though Caroline and her family had many connections to Fr. Perl, and after initial email contact about the possibility of Caroline volunteering in Belize, he accepted their proposal. They met in person while Fr. Perl was in St. Louis in July 2009, and continued to make preparations for Caroline’s upcoming trip to Belize. Caroline believes that going on the two service trips to Mexico prepared her for this experience in Belize, although she had no idea of what to expect, other than it being very poor and very hot much of the time. She knew that once she began living and working in Belize, that she would fully be able to learn and understand what her volunteer experience would entail.
Caroline will be volunteering and living with a host family in Punta Gorda, Belize from August 2009 to December 2009, and again from January 2010 to June 2010. She will be working at St. Peter Claver R.C. Grade School, and will also be going out to the villages with Fr. Perl to help him while he says multiple Masses. Two of Caroline’s friends will also be volunteering with her during her time in Belize – one friend during first semester, and one friend during second semester. Through her blog, Caroline hopes to share weekly updates with the St. Louis community about her time and experiences in Belize.
Mr. Andrew Pelikan
 Andrew is a 2004 graduate of Kirkwood High School and a 2008 graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he earned a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Spanish. He is a parishioner at St. Peter Parish in Kirkwood.
Andrew was extremely involved in his high school’s Key Club, which helped him to earn scholarships enabling him to attend Mizzou. Throughout college, he volunteered at Centro Latino, a center fulfilling various needs for the Latino community in Columbia, Missouri. He participated in the after-school program at Centro Latino, where he worked with two grade school boys from Mexico and helped them with their homework. During his junior year of college, Andrew lived in Alicante, Spain and worked/volunteered in an impoverished neighborhood called Juan XIII. In Juan XII, he participated in a program called Vivienda Para Jovenes Solidarios, in which he and other young people lived in government subsidized housing while performing service work in an effort to create a sense of community and security among the people of the neighborhood. Andrew has also been involved in a male civic leadership program called “Missouri Boys State” for six years.
In the summer of 2008, Andrew left for Quito, Ecuador, where he currently volunteers at a Catholic community center called El Centro Para el Muchacho Trabajador, or “The Center for Working Boys.” The main focus of the center is to break destructive cycles of domestic violence, poverty, and negative self-image. Andrew’s role at the center consists largely of teaching English, health, and adult education classes. The days, which start at 7:00 a.m. and end at 8:00 p.m., are long, but very rewarding.
Through his numerous volunteer opportunities, Andrew has discovered that his life feels empty if he is not living to serve others. He encourages all young people to go abroad for a year and volunteer. After his time in Ecuador, Andrew is considering pursuing a career in medicine.
Andrew will share his daily experiences of volunteering at El Centro Para el Muchacho Trabajador through his blog.
Msgr. David Ratermann
 Msgr. David Ratermann grew up in Saint Liborius Parish in Saint Louis. He attended St. Liborius grade school, and first entered the "minor seminary" high school, where he spent the first two years at Cathedral Latin School. He then entered St. Louis Preparatory Seminary in Shrewsbury as a day student, and two years later continued there as a boarding student. In 1947, Msgr. Ratermann was sent to the Catholic University in Washington, D.C. by Archbishop Joseph Ritter, with the commitment to study for a degree in theology.
Msgr. Ratermann was ordained a priest on June 1, 1951 and his first parish assignment was Most Blessed Sacrament Parish, where he served from 1951 to 1956. When the opportunity to work in Bolivia arose, Msgr. Ratermann very enthusiastically volunteered, and was thrilled when Archbishop Joseph Ritter sent him. In 1956, he became one of the first three priests to go to Bolivia, making him a founder of the Latin America Apostolate.
The first commitment of the Latin America Apostolate was to found Cristo Rey Parish in La Paz, Bolivia. Msgr. Ratermann helped to establish this parish and saw its beginnings as a shed with a tin roof and no walls (called “el galpon” in Spanish) transform into a permanent church in 1961. Throughout the years, Msgr. Ratermann has also worked at the Maryknoll Language School in Cochabamba, the Maria Reina Health Clinic, and Alcoholics Anonymous. He has spent the majority of his time in Bolivia working with the Aymara, the native people of Bolivia who live in the Altiplano region surrounding the mountains. In June 2008, Msgr. Ratermann returned to St. Louis, after 52 years of service in the Latin America Apostolate. He currently resides at Regina Cleri. We thank Msgr. Ratermann for his many years of serving the people of Bolivia!
Through his blog, Msgr. Ratermann will continue to share his amazing, everyday stories and first-hand accounts of life in Bolivia, as well as his new chapter of serving in St. Louis.
About the Mission Blog
In the mission blog, you will find thoughts, insights, and comments reflecting the views of those who have had mission experiences, mission stories to share, and those who see mission as an important part of everyday life. You will be able to read about anything related to the missions or missionary work. You can even decide which blog you’d like to read by choosing a blog by one of our "regular bloggers," or by checking out what our periodic "guest bloggers" have to say!
Readers are welcome to make comments on any of the blogs. While all comments are reviewed before being posted, we encourage you to submit comments – they are a great way to exchange ideas and to share your thoughts with the blog’s author and other readers.
We hope that you check out the mission blog often, as you never know what kind of mission story will be shared next! Thanks for visiting!
|
