LEWISTON — After riding in vans for two days, they arrive in the deep South, where they sleep on the ground in tents each night.

They can’t use cellphones, iPads or technology. Their days are busy with manual labor, painting houses, raking yards and patching screens for senior citizens.

April vacation is no vacation for 17 seniors at St. Dominic Academy, who are on an annual mission to Mound Bayou, Miss., a community founded by two freed slaves that is among the poorest in the country.

This week marks the 17th year of the mission, which was started by the late St. Dom’s principal, Michael Welch. One reason students still go is to honor Welch, said organizer and teacher Lori Rioux.

Welch died of cancer in 2006 at age 61. Before he came to St. Dom’s in 1993, Welch worked at a school in Mississippi and knew Mound Bayou could use help, Rioux said Tuesday from the St. Gabriel Community Center.

Before the St. Dom’s students arrived April 19, Sister Donald Mary asked community members what they needed help with. From that evolved a to-do list of trimming shrubs, building ramps, cleaning windows and ceiling fans, painting and raking, things the elderly can’t do anymore. “They’re so appreciative of the help,” Rioux said.

St. Dom’s senior Alexis Dwinell, 18, agreed. While she and other students visited an elderly man to plan what work to do, “I shook his hand and said, ‘We appreciate you allowing us to enter your home and trusting us to do the work,’” Dwinell said.

The old man responded, “’Oh, no. You guys are the angels here.’ It warmed my heart,” Dwinell said.

The Maine students also work with young students, mentoring and teaching. On Tuesday, they coached kindergartners on counting skills and made paper flowers.

Another morning, students rode the community bus that picks up seniors, going into homes and helping the elderly get on the bus. As the bus chugged along, they sat and chatted with the seniors. Once at the community center, high school students participated in the senior citizens’ daily devotions, chair exercises and lunch.

Their mission isn’t all about service. It also involves learning. Students gain insight into Southern culture, better understanding Southern hospitality, food and history.

When they arrived, Sister Donald drove them around town sharing the history and pointing out landmarks. On Tuesday, the Scott family put on a catfish fry dinner at the community center. Monday night, a local group of “step” dancers performed for St. Dom’s students.

The locals are inspiring, Dwinell said. Even though they have little, “they always have a smile on their face. Even though we don’t know them, they’re always waving hi.”

Each night the students form a circle to pray and reflect “on their good of the day,” Rioux said. They might talk about how they helped someone or saw appreciation in someone’s eyes.

“The kids are proud of themselves,” Rioux said. “It makes them feel unstoppable.”

Mound Bayou folks look forward to the students’ arrival each April, Sister Donald said.

“It’s a real boost to this community,” she said. “They are a positive influence. Today, they’re cleaning gutters and trimming hedges in the housing projects.” People turn out to thank them, she said.

Taking part in the mission is life-changing, said college student Alexis Servidio, who made the trip as a St. Dom’s senior in 2012. “I hadn’t seen poor until I went to Mound Bayou,” Servidio said. “You wouldn’t believe some of the conditions these people were living in.”

But they are happy, “and shared what they had with us,” she said. She did things she’d never done before, painting a house and building benches.

The experience taught her to appreciate what she has “and not get caught up in the materialistic things.”

The students leave Mississippi on Saturday.