Building upon the rich legacy of Youth Encounter Service, my vision was to pair service and social justice during the day with a powerful evening retreat to encounter Jesus.

“ACTS is about going on mission, discipleship in action.” said Michael Kuehne, a seminarian and volunteer for ACTS (989). “How can we be of service to one another? How can we bring Christ to others?”

I told the students, “I want you to encounter Jesus in the people we’re serving, not seeing them as needs but real people, with real needs, problems and strengths. In the evening we want you to have a powerful encounter with Jesus, to choose to follow Him as a disciple. We want to send them out into the world to share Jesus with people and continue serving.”

Throughout the day, high schoolers prepared meals at the Eastside Soup Kitchen, sorted food and clothes at the Diocesan Migrant pantry and Rescue Michigan, landscaped at the Mustard Seed Shelter, packed diapers for new moms at the Life Clinic, and painted and build new homes at the Habitat for Humanity.

“Going into this trip I was very skeptical, but it really blew my expectations out of the water,” shared Fredrick Ziola, a high school senior from New Lothrop. “I had no idea of the amount of (friendships) we would form, the relationships we would build over the few days. Even the community service I found really enjoyable, watching people light up as you come to help them.”

Michael Kuehne led a team of youth in repainting the house of an elderly couple in Saginaw.

“It's clear to see the highschoolers talk about how enjoyable it is to meet Joe and Marilyn and help them. This is not just another service hour opportunity. They can see the personal impact they have,” he said.

“There's no shortage of work that needs to be done, so having crews of (young people) that come in the afternoons and have good energy and are excited to be here is super meaningful,” said Abbey Temple, the Executive Director for Habitat for Humanity in Shiawassee County.

In the evenings, the students encountered Jesus through powerful speakers, small group discussion, Praise and Worship music, Mass, Confessions, and Eucharistic Adoration.

“I've had a lot of trouble knowing and accepting what God did for me and knowing that he did it for me,” said Elizabeth Ziola, a sophomore from New Lothrop. “In Adoration, I was staring at my hands and all of a sudden, I saw my hands with nail holes like Jesus had when he was nailed on the Cross. I then saw two hands, a carpenter's hands, cover those holes and when they came away there were no longer holes in my hands, but there were holes in His. That really put in perspective for me that Jesus did that for me. He took the fate that should have been mine.”

The miracles continued during Adoration: Isaiah Villanueva, a junior at Nouvel, reinjured his knee during a game, leaving him in 7 out of 10 pain. During Adoration, my wife Valentina prayed with Isaiah for his knee to be healed.

“I slowly put my knee down, putting weight on it, and I could feel (the pain) going away. In my knee, I could feel weight lifting up, like it was disappearing. The next morning when I was serving at the Life Clinic, there was no sharp pain that usually came when I bent down. It was zero, nothing. I’ve never had pain go away that fast, it usually lingers for about a week. That was the first time it stopped after one night.”

With all these breakthroughs and blessings, it’s our team’s dream to grow the impact of ACTS (989) in the coming years.

“Let’s do this again next year and invite your friends. Let’s grow this opportunity for this Diocese. It's life changing!” said volunteer Joylynn Rasmussen.

ACTS (989) was funded this past year by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. If you would like to join, volunteer, or support ACTS (989) in June 2027, please contact Taylor at tpiotrzkowski@diosag.org or 989-797-6639.

Ten parishes from Saginaw, Midland, Mt. Pleasant, Maple Grove, Freeland, and Sanford were represented at Acts (989).

• Sacred Heart - Mt. Pleasant
• St. Michael - Maple Grove.
• Blessed Sacrament - Midland
• Assumption of BVM - Midland
• St. Brigid - Midland
• St. Francis of Assisi - Saginaw
• Our Lady of Grace - Sanford
• St. Agnes - Freeland
• St. Dominic - Saginaw
• Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption - Saginaw