It started out as an annual mission trip to Blessed Assurance orphanage in Montego Bay, Jamaica – one that teens, along with adult missionaries, have been taking since 2008 through the Teens on a Mission program at Holy Apostles Church in Cranston.

The orphanage serves 32 orphans who are severely mentally or physically challenged.

According to Michael Santilli, pastoral associate and director of youth ministry at Holy Apostles, the goal of Teens on a Mission is to lead the missionaries to loving service and mutual respect, which brings joy, hope and dignity to people in marginalized communities.

For La Salle Academy senior Michael Stabile, the trip was life changing – and much more than a one-time opportunity to serve.

“The July 2019 trip to Jamaica was one of the best, if not the best experience of my life,” he said. “When I left, I was inspired to do something more, although I wasn’t sure what. I just felt like I had to do something.”

Stabile had left his annual summer camp in Massachusetts – the five-week, intensive Ron Burton Training Village Program – for one week in order to take the mission trip. When he returned home, he returned to the program, which includes time spent doing SAT preparation, Bible study, daily runs, quiet reflection and a daily sports clinic.

It was during the sports clinic when Stabile’s tennis coach, Delroy Allen, approached Stabile and inquired about his trip. Allen lives half of his year in Montego Bay, owns two hotels there, and is aware of the quality of life that many of its citizens experience.

“When he asked how it went, I told him it was great and that I’d gotten to play the piano and sing with the kids,” Stabile said. “Then he asked how the quality of things was there and I explained that I had noticed that the orphanage was struggling to get water because it is situated on top of an 11-mile hill. They have trouble pumping water from the bottom of the hill to the top and then pumping it to various spots where it is needed for things like bathtubs, sinks and showers, and that even when there is water, the water pressure is terrible, it barely trickles out.”

Allen offered to help Stabile solve the problem, and sent his hotel maintenance crews up to the orphanage to conduct a logistics assessment.

“They said that a pressure tank was needed that would have an on and off switch on it to detect when various spots needed water,” Stabile said. “It would cost $1,700 to fix the problem.”

Stabile orchestrated private funding for the tank and sent Allen the money. Allen, in turn, invited Stabile and Santilli back to Jamaica to see the tank installed.

Unfortunately, due to a flight delay, Stabile and Santilli missed the actual installation of the tank, but it was functioning when they arrived.

“The most rewarding part of it was that night when it was hot and I was full of sweat and I got into the shower, the full pressure of the water versus the trickle from before,” Stabile said. “It was the same thing when we went to wash our dishes at the sink.”

Stabile is grateful to Allen for his support of the project and to the teen program at Holy Apostles for the opportunity to serve on the mission trip. He hopes to be able to return in the future and potentially work toward solving additional problems.

“When you leave there, you definitely drive down that 11-mile road with the mindset that you’re never coming back,” Stabile said. “I loved going back. No one gets to repeat this trip while they’re in high school.”

Santilli truly believes that the mission trip, like those in years past, was life-changing for the teens in attendance, and especially for Stabile as he chose to take the impact the trip has had on him, one step further by working to make a difference.

“The mission experience is a spiritual leadership program that fosters our Catholic faith, creates teamwork and builds community. I am proud of the more than 130 teens who have been involved in our parish mission program at Holy Apostles over the past 12 years,” Santilli said. “Each missionary comes back and says they are changed and received far more than they gave the children at Blessed Assurance. I believe that when our hearts are changed through faith and positive experiences, we are called to give back in service and love. That’s what Michael Stabile accomplished in a profound way, he chose to creatively work to improve the lies for those 32 orphans who left everlasting handprints on his heart.”