Love Begins Here (LBH) is a diocesan program designed to give teens the opportunity to be local missionaries. But teens aren’t the only ones being transformed.

Every LBH mission depends on parents and other adult volunteers to transport and lead the teens. For the parents, that experience often ends up being far more than they expected.

“I will be honest, I grudgingly went that first summer. There are other things that I could have been doing,” said Athena Lyons, the mother of four LBH teens who has volunteered for LBH since 2021.

“I didn’t realize how much the experience would minister to my soul. From the jump, I was transported into a world of vibrant, joyful, and enthusiastic young people . . . I attribute LBH for awakening in me a joyful desire to know and be known by God.”

“Truthfully, my first year was more out of expectation than personal desire,” said Kristia Loeder, a parish leader and parent who will mark 10 years volunteering for LBH this summer.

“As someone working in faith formation at St. Patrick Church in Cottage Grove, it became part of my role. Like most parents, I wasn’t eagerly signing up to scrub headstones in the blazing sun or sleep on a classroom floor while twelve 13-year-old girls giggled at 2 a.m. But the Lord stretched me far outside my comfort zone, and I am so grateful He did . . .  What once felt uncomfortable has become one of the greatest blessings of our family life.”

Local service

LBH is structured around prayer, service, and community.

During the mission week, days begin with Mass before teens depart to their various works of service, which can include yard work, painting, visiting with the elderly, sorting food or clothes for local shelters, and many others.

Later in the day, there is swimming and other chances to have fun in community, as well as prayer and time for discussion.  

The experience is primarily aimed at teens, with middle schoolers and high schoolers participating in separate weeks.

Parents and other adult volunteers sign up as lead missionaries. These volunteers are essential to the program.

They provide transportation to and from work sites as well as pray with teens and guide them in the works of mercy.

The program is founded on the example of St. Teresa of Calcutta, who famously encouraged people to begin love at home, and who herself took inspiration from St. Thérèse of Lisieux, whose “Little Way” was to do “small things with great love.”

“I have done service trips before, but not many locally. I always thought I had to do grand gestures of sacrifice to make an impact,” said Athena.

“When our youth coordinator asked me to step in for her that one summer, I felt obligated but not excited. I am so glad that I answered the bell. I was blessed beyond measure . . . A theme of LBH is based on the life of St. Mother Theresa — do small things with great love. I didn’t know how truly impactful that statement was until LBH.”

Teens transformed

Their teens were also fans of LBH.

“LBH was a week every summer where only what really matters mattered,” said Mary Lyons, who’s now a senior at UW-Platteville and who participated in LBH for six summers.

“I got to cook, declutter, assemble furniture, haul junk, all for real people I could look in the eyes . . . LBH strengthened the idea of service as not optional in my life. Physical mission is not the call of a few; everybody has to get down and dirty for the Gospel, especially in the ‘Little Way’ LBH demonstrates.”

Her brother Anthony, who gave the maximum summers possible for a teen participant at seven, is now a sophomore at Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Initially, he hadn’t liked the idea.

“My mother sent me to LBH in middle school, and originally, I did not want to do it at all. I thought that it’d be a waste of time and pointless.”

However, his attitude changed pretty dramatically.

“I was drawn to LBH because of the countless smiles and sheer amount of joy I saw from the leaders and those involved with the mission. Simply, I wanted to join in that joy.”

It was his and his friends’ joy that, in turn, influenced his mother to eventually volunteer.

Looking back, “LBH means a lot to me as it served as a huge pillar for my faith every time I went, seeing the fun that follows from it and the people you can meet who are essentially in the same boat as you. Reminding me of the importance of the Faith and how with Jesus we can do everything, but without Him we can’t do a thing.”

Gus Loeder, now a freshman in college, served six summers — and he wishes the years of service weren’t over.

“LBH was something I looked forward to every summer. This summer will be the first time since seventh grade that I won’t be going, and it kind of bums me out.”

One of the highlights for Gus was becoming more at ease in serving strangers.

“It helped me get more comfortable talking with people I didn’t know, especially when going to the homes of people we were serving. I . . .came to really enjoy talking with and helping the older people.”

Max Loeder, Gus’s brother, who also served six summers as a teen, is now a junior in college.

“LBH was always a highlight of the year growing up. Being able to live in community with other people my age who desire to grow in virtue was such a blessing.”

He feels like it made a difference in his relationship with his family.

“It created so many memories for us and helped us to see each other in a different context than our normal lives.”

Gratitude

Seeing the effect on their teens has been monumental for the parents.

“The impact on Max and Gus has been deep and lasting,” said Kristia.

“They’ve learned that no task is too small when done with great love for the Lord, and they’ve grown in initiative, humility, and joy. Both boys have become more willing to step out of comfort, serve cheerfully, and recognize Christ in our neighbors.”

Max will return this summer to be on the LBH core team.

Throughout the year, he’s involved at the Newman Center at his school: washing dishes for student dinners, carrying the canopy in Eucharistic Processions, and leading small groups.

Gus, in his first year away at school, is also already actively involved in the Catholic community —  cooking Sunday brunches, attending retreats, and joining a Bible study.

Kristia, looking at this, counts her blessings.

“As a parent, watching both sons grow from hesitant middle-schoolers into confident young men living as missionary disciples has been one of the greatest gifts of my life.”

Athena’s seen a similar transformation.

“I saw them begin participating, perhaps out of obligation from me, to begging me to sign them up again. I saw them take their faith and realize that we can be joyful with it. I see them willingly deepen their walk with God because LBH gives them tools to live out the Gospel . . . I see them take ownership of who they want to become.”

“I got to witness Anthony receive his seven year plaque,” said Athena.

“He joined just a handful of teens who dedicated all possible years that he could to the mission of LBH. This was something that he worked for. One of the greatest things as a parent is watching your kids grow into the person you know they’re capable of.”

Join the effort

“So often, parents think their kids don’t want them there,” said Kristia.

But after 10 years, she’s convinced that’s just an excuse.

“I have yet to see a parent-child situation wish one of them wasn’t there . . . It’s so good for the kids to see their parents doing this, because it just validates how important service is . . . It’s a very important side of us for our kids to see.”

For parents concerned about disturbing their teen’s time with peers, it’s worth noting that parents aren’t necessarily assigned to their kids’ group, even if they attend the same week.

“I was never their group leader,” said Athena. “But was able to have the same experience as them . . . I got to walk the walk with them.”

These two families’ experiences speak to the nature of the Christian journey — which is one of joy and of sharing the Gospel across generations.

They also point to the nature of LBH. Love Begins Here requires a lot of work. But that’s the reality of the missionary disciple: It is precisely in giving that one receives.

“I initially saw LBH as something transformative for the teens, never imagining how profoundly it would change me as a parent and as a follower of Christ. Each year my trust in God’s plan has grown deeper,” said Kristia.