in their own words

WHERE TEENS SHARE THEIR TESTIMONIES, STORIES & ENCOUNTERS

"Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples."
— Psalm 96:3

We encourage the teens in our community to be COURAGEOUS for Jesus Christ, and to make talking about Him a way of life. What better way to bring others to Christ than to share our story of how He's working in us with as many people as possible? During his papacy, Pope John Paul II once said the best way for young people to evangelize in this day and age is to share their testimony.

"In Their own Words" is a series we started in June of 2025, in which we have given the youth in our community a place they can share their testimonies, encounters with Christ, thoughts on Catholicism and whatever else the Holy Spirit puts on their hearts to share with the world.

If you have a story, encounter or collection of thoughts you'd like to tell to bring others to Christ, please email Austin Fox at afox@stmarychurch.net.

the most amazing feeling that could ever be felt: love

By Elizabeth Rehmann

My friends and I went to a really cool retreat at St. Joseph's School, and we never expected what would happen in Adoration. My friends and I were having a blast at the retreat learning all about God's love for us. We had the most amazing group leader named Madiya, and she was a great role model for me.

When all of the groups gathered to go to Adoration, we were given papers that had a lot of Bible verses and quotes on them. They were all about the abundance of God's love for us. So my friends and I were sitting in pews, and some of us were waiting to go to confession. I was one of the ones who was in line for confession. We all were looking at the paper, realizing how deeply God truly loves us. As I was walking into confession my eyes started to water and I started shaking. (I feel bad for the priest who had to try to translate what I was saying).

Well when I got out I started my penance, and when I looked up I saw a few of my friends crying and shaking too. I instantly went over there after I was done with my penance. We could all feel the endless love of God. It felt like waves were crashing on me, making me feel like there was no worry in the world, but I was still shaking and crying at the same time. It felt like we sat there forever thinking, giggling, crying, and shaking. (I guarantee we used about 100 tissues). My friends and I were hugging each other closely and never wanted Adoration to end, we just wanted Jesus to stay in the presence of us forever.

When Adoration did come to a close we didn't want to leave, but we had to because we were the only group still in the church and we had to have a closing meeting. When we got back to the school everyone was looking at us like "What just happened?" Some people asked us what was going on but we couldn't explain what just happened, we just laughed. We were all in shock and I couldn't imagine having this beautiful experience with anyone else.

I feel like I have an even stronger bond with all of my friends now. I will never forget this once in a lifetime experience. God works in such beautiful ways to show us how deeply we are loved, so don't take His love for granted!

my journey toward veiling

By Claire Jandernoa

A few years ago I felt God’s quiet whisper telling me He wanted me to start wearing a veil at Mass but I really didn't want to, so I ignored it and made excuses. After a few weeks of doing this, the topic o f women veiling at Mass would randomly come up in conversations I’d have with my friends who did veil at Mass. I’d usually try to change the topic as soon as possible. But it kept happening, and I felt like I had to defend why I didn’t wear a veil so my excuse was, “I don’t know enough about it to do it.” And then I’d never do any research.

A few weeks went by and I thought I was safe from veils, but then I walked into my sister’s room and she had one hanging on her wall! So obviously I pretended I didn’t see it. But without me asking she says, “I’m going to start my journey of veiling because I feel like God’s been asking me to do it.” To which I replied, “That’s awesome! I would too but I just don’t know enough about it,” then I ran out of her room before she could teach me anything about it.

Another few weeks went by and suddenly when I’d go on my phone my feed was filled with videos like: Father Mike Schmitz Talks About Women Wearing Veils, or Why Women Should Cover Their Heads. So naturally I scrolled away from them and turned off my phone. Because if I learned more about veiling than I wouldn’t have my excuse anymore. But a few nights later I was doing my nightly prayer and I came across 1 Corinthians 11:3-16, which talks about why women should have their heads veiled when she prays. I know the Bible is not always meant to be taken literally but this was enough to make me agree with God that I should at least look more into wearing a veil.

While I was researching it I found that women wear veils as a sign of humility, submission, and reverence, but also because of our ability to bear children, women's bodies are sacred. Those honestly sounded like great reasons to wear a veil, on top of the fact that God had been asking me to do it for about 8 months at this point. So my new excuse was that I hate spending money. But God reminded me real quick that someone had already given me a gift certificate to Our Lady of Fatima book store.

Once God took away all my excuses I realized the real reason I was avoiding it was because I was scared. Not only was I scared of what people would think; but I realized later that I was scared of isolation. I was afraid that by doing something different that people might not understand, they’d only see me as “that girl who wears a veil” even outside of Mass and they’d treat me differently. In hindsight, this is really dramatic, but I’ve learned that the enemy is really good at making God’s plan seem terrible when it’s really awesome. At this point, I had no excuses, it was just me and my fear and I knew I couldn't continue to avoid God’s will.

I called one of my best friends, who happens to wear a veil, and I asked her if she would go with me to pick out a veil. When I asked her she got so excited for me! When we got to Our Lady of Fatima, one of my other best friends, who doesn’t wear a veil, was working and she was able to help us pick out a veil for me. When I got home I surprised my sister with my veil and she was so excited for me. I didn’t even realize then but God surrounded me with faith-filled women who loved me at a time that I was fearing isolation. However, none of them were free that night to go to Mass with me.

It was a Wednesday night, which meant I’d be going to Mass at St. Mary’s, not my home parish of St. Joseph’s. I was terrified to wear my veil by myself and not in my home parish, but I also knew that if I let fear stop me that night, I may never actually start wearing my veil, so I decided to finally just trust God and do it.

I’ve worn a veil to every Mass I’ve gone to since then. It’s not always easy, sometimes it’s still scary; especially when I wear it somewhere new. But God has given me so many graces through it. Wearing my veil challenges me to trust God and His will for me, it also reminds me of the woman that God created me to be. Even when I’m scared and God has to meet me where I’m at, it gives me a greater desire to strive more and more to become that woman.

my reminder of love

By Eden Pung

Joy and God’s love had been shared the whole night. I was at a youth middle school retreat that was 5 hours long. We played games, watched skits, and listened to testimonies. We split off into small groups and were asked the question, “If you could describe your relationship with God in a few words what would you say?” No one in my group spoke up so I responded, “not as close as I would like.” Little did I know that would all change.

We gathered back up and had a home cooked meal for dinner, then got ready for adoration. We started adoration by walking into the Church with instrumental music playing, and finding our seats. I sat down and waited for everyone else to fill in the pews behind. Once the pews were filled, the NET members put on a skit reminding us that God loves us so much, and He will forgive us no matter what.

All of a sudden I was shaking and on the verge of tears. The feeling slowly went away and I sang along to the worship song that everyone else was singing. Our small group leaders gave us a few papers. One paper was a guide to reconciliation and the other was a love letter from Jesus to me. I quickly glanced through it not thinking much about it, then thoroughly I read through it. That feeling came back to me and this time I couldn't fight back the tears anymore. Our group leaders prayed over us and everyone was going to confession and feeling amazing afterwards. I knew that I was crying for a reason and that many people probably felt the same way.

When one of my friends got back from her time of reconciliation she saw me crying, sat next to me and gave me a hug. She too started crying because she had been feeling the same way and all of the Lord’s love was being shared. Shortly after, four more of my friends came over, sat by me and started hugging me as well. At one point we were all shedding tear after tear because of God’s immense love for us. It was one of the most incredible things that I have ever felt in my life. The joy and love that everyone was feeling made me cry harder. I felt closer to those 5 people in that moment more than ever and I will never forget my experience. God’s love was truly present and it was so unbelievable that others felt the same way just by being near me.

Even though I felt God’s intense love at this moment, I learned a valuable lesson that I carry with me wherever I go: Love is something that can sometimes seem impossible to feel but is never impossible to receive.

turning to god

By Renell Eklund

When Austin asked me to write this, I was pretty confused on what to write about because I haven’t gone through anything extremely traumatic or had any crazy miracle happen to me. I’ve had my ups and downs with my faith but it has always been there.

As a 6th grader in St. Mary's, my faith life was very strong because I was always surrounded by it. Then when I got to PW in 7th grade I had to make sure to set aside time for the Lord. I like to read a devotional every night before bed and pray about the day I just had and what will be happening the next day. I tend to turn to God when things get tough and ask Him to help me through the moment. I need to learn to thank God when times are good.

I have been trying to thank God every night for what went well that day instead of always complaining about what went wrong. In Deuteronomy 31:6 it says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

This shows that God wants to hear all of our problems good and bad. It shows that He will not leave you when you make mistakes. If you are in a rough patch with your faith try to do simple things like praying before bed and before meals and always remember God will not abandon you.

the importance of family and friends

By Jalen Thelen

Hello everybody! For anyone who doesn't know me, my name is Jalen Thelen. I am going to be a senior this year at P-W! My faith journey started like most people's did, growing up in a Catholic family, going to church every weekend, praying before meals, etc., etc. However, as I got older, it became harder and harder to keep my faith a priority in my life. Life gets absolutely crazy and just the small things like praying for me, just slipped my mind at times. I am sure that I am not the only teenager that feels that way. However, I knew that this needed to change, so that I can go to heaven and live a life with eternal peace.

As I got into middle school, I got made fun of a lot, and I felt so alone at periods of time. I would pray and pray to God for help and his continued strength and courage. However, I just never felt like things were getting better. However, this is when God blessed me with my two best friends to this day, Kiera Pohl and Eli Thelen. These two showed me the true definition of friendship and showed me that people like that don't matter. They also showed me how to keep my relationship with God strong. As an 8th grader, I got the opportunity to attend our annual Steubenville trip with the parish. My parents were always extremely supportive in any way when it came to my faith. So, when I told them about this trip, they were so excited for me :)

One of the things that kids always talked about was the Saturday night adoration and how powerful it is for people. That whole week leading up to Steubenville, I was very nervous. So, every day, I prayed to God and asked him to keep me safe and to help me open myself up to Him. That Saturday night adoration truly changed my life and helped me learn new ways to open up to the Lord. This helped mend my relationship for a good period of time.

However, during high school I started to struggle again. Junior year was one of the hardest years for me. I had a really hard time in school, my grades weren't as good as I wanted them to be, and there were still classmates that made fun of me as well. This is when my relationship with the Lord started to go downhill, and I wasn't as close with God as much as I thought I would be. At this point in my life I felt so alone and did not think anyone would understand what I was going through. However, I was wrong. My family and friends were actually just what I needed during this rough patch in my life. As I got older, I have made so many friends, and I am forever grateful for the friendships that I have made, and I still have to this day.

These people are the reason that I made it through my junior year, and they helped show me how to fix my relationship with God. For example, this past year I was asked to go on ASB (alternative spring break) with the church. I was very up in the air for a long time, thinking that wasn't for me. Then my best friends Kiera and Eli both said, "You don't have to go, I just think that you are going to regret it if you don't give a try." So, after some prayer, I thought why not, I get to make an impact on people's lives, let's do it. Going there and seeing the people's houses and their living situations really put into perspective how incredibly lucky we are for everything we have. Also on this trip, I got to meet so many people from our parish that have now made so many impacts in my life. I will forever be grateful for this trip.

In summary, I would just like to say a few things:

1. Never be afraid to open up to your family and friends when you are struggling.

2. If you ever need advice about your relationship with God, NEVER be afraid to reach out to your friends and family!

3. Never be afraid to stand up for what is right!

Your family and friends want nothing more than for you to reach out when you're struggling.

These are just a few points that I have learned over the years. Family and friends have helped me so much in my life and have changed me and my relationship with God for the better. Forever grateful for this community and how it's brought me closer to Christ!!

— God Bless!!

we need only to be still

By Brigid Flynn

My name is Brigid. I’m 17 years old and I’m starting my senior year of high school, and I’d say my faith life is pretty similar to a lot of people in my small home town. I was born and raised Catholic, have always practiced my faith, and grown up going to Mass every week and holy day. I’ve always kind of done what I’m supposed to and have never really had any significant visions or conversions occur to me or anything like that. I could be called, as some people say, a cradle Catholic. However, I sincerely love the Lord or at least try my best to, and I realize that my relationship with Him is as beautiful as any, and it is my own. I have had no life changing experiences like some, but I still have the Father, His Son, His Mother, and the Holy Spirit, who have all been gently leading me toward them, especially within these past few years.

In the modern world, it is hard to imitate the lives of the saints who, for example, lived in the 1500s with frequent silence, minimal distractions, etc. You would probably be looked down upon in modern society if you left your family for solitude in order to find God in nature like the famous monks such as Saint Benedict did, or try to cover your beauty up to scare off suitors like Saint Rose of Lima, but we are all called to be saints with our own stories, especially in our current world, the 21st century.

Not to say that there were no distractions or busyness back then, but in our lives now, we have the great struggle and temptation of the media, which can be sincerely difficult to overcome and be disciplined in when using — but with new times comes new struggles. After all, our striving for sainthood should look different than it did back then. And although I am convinced of my general ignorance on the subject of sainthood, there are a few small things I have learned in my life so far that have helped me to grow and learn in my Catholic Faith.

I’ve had my ups and downs, bends and curves, feelings of anxiety and loneliness, but through it all God has given me the gift of knowing that He is always there. That is something I have continually fallen back on in times of spiritual dryness or hardship. He is always there, we need only to be still (Exodus 14:14) and let Him come to us. I’m not quite sure when or how my trust in the Lord’s presence was established in my heart — probably at Baptism, when the Holy Spirit came upon me, and reinforced at Confirmation, when I was given more grace through the Holy Spirit to live out my faith, but I have always known in my soul, He is there.

Now this isn’t to say I can always feel His presence profoundly, or hear Him speak to me in a clear voice, but He is there, reigning over my heart and urging me to come closer to Him. For me, Jesus speaks mostly through the Holy Spirit and through silence, especially in prayer. God has always been very gentle with me, He knows my heart and knows the best way to speak to me. Of course, the Lord speaks differently to everyone. Some may respond better to signs or clear, loud messages. Although I sometimes wish this were the case for me, I was once told that when we are right with God, with no mortal sin on our soul and have been trying to grow closer to Him, He will give us the freedom to make certain decisions and choices and will bless them whatever way we choose.

A clear sign on which path to take, which college to go to, or what job to accept may not actually be needed. The Holy Spirit and Mother Mary have been a great help to me in this. The former has inspired me, given me promptings and thoughts on decisions to make, ways to live, and has soothed any anxieties I may ever feel. The latter has been a source of comfort, love, and THE example of womanly virtue. Although human love can be fulfilling at times and every person desires to be loved, we are imperfect which means our love is imperfect, but Mama Mary is always ready to love us.

We have a spiritual mother in heaven just waiting to be called upon to comfort us, love us, bring our needs to her son, and give us the graces needed for holiness in this life. They are my biggest friends in Heaven. God has also given me many good role models and holy men and women to imitate like my parents, siblings, friends, and classmates. If I can offer one piece of advice or inspiration, it would just be to sit in silence with Him. It seems like silence goes against everything our popular culture says, and I believe that silence is the best way in which Our Lord speaks to us. We may not hear a clear voice telling us exactly what to do, but over time, when we look back on certain moments in our lives, we will realize that He was working all the time, and attuning our hearts to His without us even being aware.

Walk by faith

By Faith Rooks

"Walk by faith, not by sight." — 2 Corinthians 5:7

I have lived by this bible verse before I even knew about it. When I was in second grade, I switched schools and didn’t know anyone. I knew I had to trust God and have faith that I would be ok. Looking back I realize that I was walking by faith, not by sight.

A couple years later I experienced some difficult life changes again, and I lost some loved ones. I was sad for a while but reading one of my favorite prayer books, praying with my family, and making new friends — I was walking by faith and not by sight. This gives me joy and happiness.

I understand what this bible verse means now. I might not always understand life and what it throws at me, but I do know that I have to walk by faith and not by sight. I might not always be able to see God's will but knowing that Jesus is walking with me, I have faith.

I also have faith that Mary, the Holy Spirit, and my guardian angel will guard me, guide me, and protect me. I pray that God helps me to keep growing in my Catholic faith. I hope to always live by my favorite bible verse: Walk by faith, not by sight.

A message from god

By Mariah Beuschel

God works in mysterious ways. I have found these words to be true in many different aspects of my life. God never fails to show His love for us and to make His presence known. One of these times happened to me almost 3 years ago when I was 11.

It was right after my dad got in a car accident, which would later lead to his death. At this time my dad was still alive, but he was unconscious in the hospital. It had been less than 3 days after his accident. I am pretty sure that I went to bed crying that night. I was so overwhelmed. The closest person to me in the world was in the ICU and I couldn’t do anything about it. I couldn’t talk to him, and at that point I hadn’t even seen him. That was a hard week for me. So a few days after his accident I went to lie down in my bed, just like I do every night. I went to bed feeling sad and very distressed. I was already missing my dad and was extremely worried about him. I lied down, closed my eyes, and fell asleep.

I was in a busy area with cars driving by me fast. There were lots of buildings surrounding me. I realized that I was in Comstock Park, MI. This is where the funeral home that my mom and dad built, Beuschel Funeral Home, was located. In my dream I walked into a building that looked like my family’s old funeral home, but I knew that it wasn’t. As soon as I walked in, it felt off right away. There were no lights on, but I was able to see 3 men in front of me yelling at a younger man who was sitting in a chair. I walked in right as they were talking about how they should kill him, when the boss yelled, “Get her!” I sprinted out of the building as fast as I could, but I didn’t know where to go. I saw a building farther down the road and ran into it.

As soon as I ran into the building, I realized that the bad guys were no longer behind me. I had lost them. I exhaled and looked around. I was surprised to find that I was in the funeral home, except somehow it had changed. Usually there is a sad atmosphere about the building. It feels wrong to ever smile in there, even if you are just a little kid excited to see your dad at work. The funeral home was brighter than I had ever seen it before and everyone had smiles on their faces. They were talking to one another and everyone looked happy. There wasn’t a sad person in sight. I looked to the left where my dad’s office was and saw my dad standing up.

He was wearing his suit and smiling at me. He had the biggest smile on his face that I had ever seen. It was warm and comforting and he said that everything was going to be fine. He looked immaculate to me. That was the best that I had ever seen him before; he looked truly happy and almost appeared to be glowing. The way he smiled at me made me feel that everything was going to be ok. At that moment all he was thinking about was me. I was the only thing that mattered to him. We both looked at each other with huge smiles on our faces, and then suddenly I woke up.

I was disappointed that my dream was over. I didn’t want it to end. I knew that if I had stayed asleep for a few more seconds that I would have run into his arms and he would have given me a giant hug. But I also knew that I had received what God intended. I knew as soon as I woke up that God was sending me a message. He was letting me know that everything would be alright. He was watching me, and no matter what happened, He would take care of me. He knew that I was in pain and He was doing His best to soothe it. At the end of my dream it felt almost as if I were in heaven. There were smiling people all around me, without a care in the world. They all seemed like friends towards one another. The atmosphere was so peaceful and joyful.

At the end it reminded me of the Prodigal Son parable. My dad looked so joyful when he saw me, and I was filled with joy too. My dad was waiting for me and welcoming me. When I walked through the doors it felt as what I imagine heaven would feel like. It felt like a great weight had been lifted off of me. I had no worries anymore and everything was as it should be. Sin could no longer touch me. Nothing could harm me any longer — not sin, not sorrow, my problems no longer existed. At that moment I was perfectly happy and I knew when I woke up that even if I never saw my dad again, everything would be alright.

the amazing embrace

By Evelyn Simon

Today was the day I had been looking forward to for a long time! I get to go to the St. Joe's retreat in Pewamo with some of my friends and some cousins! When I found out I got to go to this retreat I was very excited and for around two weeks, I had been waiting for the day I finally got to go! I had never gone to a retreat like this one. It was very fun, and we did many things! When we got there that night we didn't really know what to expect. But once we got there we put our stuff away and got to play some games for a while – me and most of my friends decided to play volleyball!

After everyone was there our leaders said to find a seat and look at them so we did, and they started by just talking about why they do this retreat. They said that they love to travel around, meet new people and spread their faith. After they did the introduction they did some faith skits for us; they were just some little skits on how to be polite and easy things like that! Next they split us into groups. I was with two of my closest friends and one of my closest cousins!

In the groups we started by introducing ourselves. After that our leader asked us how we felt about our relationship with God. I didn't really know how to explain my relationship but then one of my friends stood up and said how they felt, and that encouraged me to try and say how I felt. We were in groups for a while and then we went all together again and our leaders did a few more skits, we played a few games, and then we had dinner! It was all going so well and it was so fun!

Next we got back with our groups and they said we were going to head over to the church and have adoration! This is when everything started to hit me! When we got to the church the leaders did a few more skits, and then one leader played us music on her guitar. They handed out packets with songs on them so we could sing along! I loved sitting in the presence of the monstrance and just letting God talk to me and say whatever He wanted. After we sang and had skits they let us go to confession and just sit in adoration. I went to confession right away, and so did many of my friends. After confession I went back to my pew and sat there for a little longer. Then one of my friends started to cry and shake! When that happened I really just felt the urge to go and sit by her! So I did, and I could just feel the Holy Spirit go from her to me! This was an indescribable feeling!

The only words that come to my mind when I try to explain this is the Holy Spirit was “raining on me.” All of a sudden as I'm sitting by my friend I start to shake and cry as well. Next some of my other friends came over and the same thing happened. They started to shake and cry. Even my cousin who wasn't even super close to the rest of my friends was sitting with us and also started to shake and cry! This was like a chain reaction and it was amazing! After this when adoration was over we all left the church and went back to our groups crying! In our groups we talked about what happened and it was just proof that the Lord is here and loves me!

I will never forget this experience and I will forever feel grateful that I got to experience this! Ever since this retreat I have been closer to my friends and we have gone to many more Catholic things together! I am also definitely closer to the Lord! I hope that anyone who reads this or heard about this can also just see that the Lord God is good and is with us no matter what! God bless!

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