Mount Carmel School is joining the continuing celebration of the 90th Anniversary of the arrival of the Merdedarian Missionaries of Berriz, or the MMB sisters, on Saipan. The school recently held a series of contests that invited students to reflect on the impact of the MMB sisters on Saipan and their school. Winners will be announced during a special\u00a0May 4\u00a0Mass for May Crowning. Featured here are the poems of middle school students Robin Alvarez, Lynzey Green, and Hannah Laca\u2014the finalists for the poetry contest.
\nAlong with Fr. Arnold Bendowski, the MMB sisters were the founding mothers of the school who served as teachers and administrators when the school opened in 1952. Over the years, the MMB sisters have continued to help as teachers, facilitators for student retreats, and spiritual advocates who keep the school in their prayers.
\nTo honor the work the MMB sisters have done, the school challenged students to reflect on the theme, \u201cThe MMB Legacy: Looking Back and Looking Forward, What Will Your Mission Be?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLegacy\u201d<\/strong> You have sailed far, You built many churches and schools, Because of your doings, God has called you, It has been 90 years since your voyage, \u201cMissionaries\u201d A community of devoted women,\u00a0 A community of loving, nice, helpful women, They traveled all over\u00a0 Like a four leaf clover,\u00a0 On March 4, 90 years ago\u00a0 They have made many achievements here on Saipan;\u00a0 They were fierce, brave, dependent woman,\u00a0 \u201dLove\u201d The love of God is what they believed in Moving everywhere, spreading the word\u00a0 It was a struggle trying to stay safe. Many lives were lost and some injured. If the war couldn\u2019t stop them\u00a0 Many years later, we students visit And ever since then,\u00a0 They\u2019ve taught us how to love Their work is very important to our school And that He can help\u00a0 And ever since then, Mount Carmel School is joining the continuing celebration of the 90th Anniversary of the arrival…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[20892,1181,10341,20893],"class_list":["post-274411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","tag-hannah-laca","tag-mcs","tag-mmb","tag-robin-alvarez"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274411\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nBy ROBIN ALVAREZ<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nOut into other worlds.
\nTo spread the word of God,
\nFor many centuries to come.<\/p>\n
\nTo teach the children of God.
\nTo know his good deeds,
\nYou inspired many of us.<\/p>\n
\nWe had our only Catholic school on island.
\nWe got to know you well,
\nFrom a place on the other side of the world.<\/p>\n
\nTo be his servants.
\nThat your one and only job,
\nIs to teach us about our mysterious God.<\/p>\n
\nTo travel around the world.
\nWe hope you will do this,
\nFor many centuries to come.<\/p>\n
\nBy LYNZEY GREEN<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nwho gave up everything to travel land and sea;
\nto spread the good news;
\nto implant seeds of God in people; to grow beautiful human beings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nwho had nothing to gain\u00a0
\nbut helping others grow and prosper\u00a0
\nbecome stronger in their faith.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nto a small island called Saipan;\u00a0
\nThey traveled all over\u00a0
\nto lend a helping hand\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nspecial and rare\u00a0
\nthey worked so hard they had no time to spare.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nFive women far from home arrived on Saipan and got right down to task.\u00a0
\nNo time to waste; time raced\u00a0
\nwith a new mission at hand
\nthey planned to do as God commanded
\nto teach, to preach, to let others know,\u00a0
\ngive young girls knowledge to grow, grow, grow!\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nbeing the building blocks of our island\u2019s Catholic faith,\u00a0
\ncreating institutions that still lie here today.<\/p>\n
\ntheir work of pilgrimage will never be forgotten;\u00a0
\nit holds a special place in our hearts,\u00a0
\nthat set them apart from the rest to be the best of the best!<\/p>\n
\nBy HANNAH LACAP<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThe love that Christ gave them
\nThe love that inspired them to keep moving forward<\/p>\n
\nOf God
\nGaining followers from around the world.
\nWanting to spread His teaching even more
\nThey moved to Saipan.<\/p>\n
\nWar and danger surrounded them.
\nDodging bullets and bombs everywhere
\nThey went.<\/p>\n
\nYet they still kept on going\u00a0
\nKnowing that God was still with them.<\/p>\n
\nWhat could?<\/p>\n
\nTheir home to build a strong\u00a0
\nRelationship with God every year<\/p>\n
\nWe have always enjoyed our time
\nWith the sisters<\/p>\n
\nAnd forgive
\nThey\u2019ve taught us how to work together\u00a0
\nAnd maybe inspired some of us to\u00a0
\nBe like them<\/p>\n
\nThey inspire us with the amazing deeds\u00a0
\nThey\u2019ve performed\u00a0
\nShowing us that anything is possible with the\u00a0
\nHelp of our Lord<\/p>\n
\nUs with our calling to our true vocation<\/p>\n
\nThey\u2019ve been one of Mount Carmel\u2019s
\nGreatest friends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"