Chicago Pt. 2

6/26/14-6/29/14

Thursday we were back to our normal schedule for the work day.  We woke up to have breakfast and make our lunch for the day.  Than we moved into worship and our morning speaker.  That morning it was a shorter message.  It was a message of dying to ourselves every day.  Carissa spoke very shortly about the tornado that went through Washington county.  Frank, a native of Chicago, got out and felt the Spirit moving to show that he had chosen to wear his Washington strong shirt that day.  It was an awesome God sighting to start the day off right away.  Then after worship we headed out to the work sites for the morning.

We had started a bit of a rotation schedule with the kids.  We would have three stations: crafts, outside time, and Bible time.  It was going very well and it did so on Thursday as well.  They were into what was going on and having a great time.  That morning Serenity came up to me and Kaitlyn, separately, and told us she was sorry for forgetting her Bible.  We both said that was no problem and then she proceeded to tell us everything she had read the night before.  Hearing the creation story as well as the story of Noah from her was an awesome moment.  She was so excited and loved sharing what she had read.  After lunch we had some fun time at the park with the kids.  It was a lot of fun to see them run and play.

We then headed back to the church earlier because we were taking a trip to Concordia Chicago.  We had gotten a corner on our way back that we gave out a lot of our tracts and food.  It was great to see their faces as well as say God bless to them as we drove away.  We got back and got ready for the trip.  We traveled over there as work teams.  There we ate supper and got some more time to hang out with the Redeemer folks.  Then while many people went on the tour we played a game of forks and knives (no spoons available).  After that we had our worship service at the chapel.  We had communion that night and Pete talked about love and the love that Christ has for us.  It was very good.

The last day of Chicago had finally come and it was a bittersweet day.  That morning Austin spoke about his life and what he had gone through.  He had lost his mom at a young age it was an amazing story of faith and trust.  We then headed out to our work site for the last time.  It was an amazing day and the kids were great.  At one point I had lost something and after looking I prayed with Eugene and looked up and saw what I was looking for.  We ended our time with playing drip drip drop (duck duck grey duck with water).  We then headed out the the park we had been with the kids the other day and started picking up trash.  We got some great conversations with people and prayed with them right there in the park.  For sake of time I will not go into great specifics but feel free to comment or ask me questions if you are curious.

That night Pete talked.  He talked about how we are on a Spiritual high right now.  Also the real mission was going to start when we headed back.  We had to make sure that we didn't loose all that we learned even though we would come off the high.  We had a time of worship and than a later curfew time that night so people could hang out and also write affirmations.  I wrote a second set of affirmations with my name on them unlike my first ones.

The next morning we packed up and cleaned out the church and did some work around their property.  It was nice to give back to them for all they had done for us.  That night we had a message from Pastor David recapping everything and had an awesome moment where he lifted the white sheet that they had put our shredded sins before.  Underneath it was nothing, which is exactly what God has done with our sins.  It was a great recap message and just what we needed to continue on.  With that we got in the vans and headed to Portillos for some food and last goodbyes to a couple groups.  After that we were on our way to Madison to see the House on the Rock the next day.  My drive back I rode with Cassidy and Brandon and we had some fun moments with Paul's driving and Grayson's fan.

That night we had an amazing time of worship.  We sang songs on the beach and then had a time of sharing.  There were things shared there that had never been talked about before.  God was really working on our hearts there.  It was amazing and humbling to see.  I thank God that I got to know these kids so well and pray that they will continue to trust and lean on God just like they have been.  We ended the day with a couple of the young adults and me swimming in the hotel's pool.

In the morning I rode with Michael, Tabitha, and Samhill.  Then on Sunday we headed to the House on the Rock.  We were worried that the youth might not like it as much as the adults would.  However they all said it was awesome and had a great time.  We all loved looking at his house and the second section of the tour.  However we all agreed that the third section was a bit creepy and weird and we were all probably overwhelmed at that point.  Then we were off on our way home again.  On our way home I rode with Julie, Jorgen, Conner, and Cassidy.  We arrived at the church, said a prayer with the parents, and all went our ways.  It was an amazing trip and this little short summary doesn't do it justice.  Please feel free to ask me questions or posts comments on here with things you would like to know.