At a recent Sunday mass at St. Mary’s church, two Cotter girls  knelt humbly before the God they have decided to follow.

The church was full of people doing just the same thing, but there was something different about these two. In fact, their parents, not even Christians themselves, weren’t there to tell them to get up and go to mass, the girls did not have a  family tradition where roots of faith were taught from generation to generation. Their cheeks were blushed from the walk over in the cold, unlike the comfort of cars which brought most people to mas.

 They freely chose to believe in Christ and that was all that mattered.  Their faith is so fresh and young, yet strong and humble, and that is what makes it so beautiful.

Sun ah (Victoria) Shim and Song Hee (Julia) Hyoung, both of whom are from Korea, are preparing to be baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. The both are taking classes as a part of the the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) program . According to Mrs. Hansel-Parlin, Cotter religion teacher, RCIA  offers the opportunity to all youth and adults to find out more about the Catholic Church.It encourages them in their faith and their decision to join the Church, yet, they do not have to do so if at the end of the program they decide not to.

Julia and Victoria seem to have made their decision already.

The inspiration for these girls is their Cotter family.

When asked whether there has ever been anyone whose experience at Cotter inspired them to do such a thing she said:

” All I know is that there has been one student I was involved with. His name is Jack and he is Korean, but I do not know where he is now. He left school a year after completing the program”  Hansel-Parlin explained.

Just as  Mrs.  Hansel-Parlin helped with Jack’s preparation, she is also happy to be there for Julia and Victoria whenever they need her. ” I am giving them rides to the classes they are taking” she laughs. The classes take place at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart every week. Julia even had some RCIA instruction last year. According to  Mrs. Hansel-Parlin, Julia  went to  the seminary and to discuss the Catholic faith with seminarians.

As Julia’s sponsor, Bryanna Meier says, “Julia is a very strong person, and as a matter of fact, she always stands up for her beliefs.”

Her curiosity about the way she wants to live her life is a great example to every student at Cotter. Julia thinks she has changed since she decided to become a Christian. She is more responsible.

“It’s wonderful to see that she found something so important in her life, something that gives her direction for all the other actions of her life”, explains Meier.

Julia and Victoria and their sponsors are going on a mission trip to explore an Indian reservation, as well as offer much needed help to the people there.

“It is the trip organized by school” adds Meier. The sponsors are not sponsoring the girls by themselves, but with their families.

Both Alex Strelow, who is Victoria’s sponsor, and Bryanna Meier and both of their families were asked to do that by Mrs. Hansel-Parlin this past October.

Strelow said, “Victoria has always been a good friend of mine. We were together on sports teams the first year at Cotter and half of the other year. Right afterwards, Victoria left for home at Christmas break sophomore year and did not come back.

” When I saw Alex in religion class this year, we immediately hugged.” remembers Victoria. “I like her very much.”

Victoria , who is a sophomore at Cotter High School, had come to Winona three years ago. However, as mentioned, she unexpectedly left our school in her second year. This past summer she returned because she missed her friends and the whole Cotter community. Like her Cotter classmates, she decided to practice the same faith and believe in the same God.

“I wanted to be  baptized years before, as I attended Catholic kindergarten and primary school, but I somehow never made time for that” she laughs. Victoria’s parents are not Christians themselves, but they wanted her to join the Catholic educational system because they truly believe in the great values it offers. “And  they have never interfered with my decision to become Catholic,” says she exclaims with  gratitude.

Picture  two amazing, wonderful girls sitting on the right side of the St. Mary’ s church on a  Sunday, preparing to take an educational and spiritual step together, and you know they are part of a real community.