And We're Back (Chicago 2012)

The adventure to Chicago with the Sr. High group from church has come and gone.  Let's relive parts of it.

We got to church for training and prep last Friday and spent time learning about what was upcoming, getting to know each other, praying and preparing ourselves for the adventure.  On Saturday, we shifted locations to a camp about 2 hours from here to continue that training and preparation.  By Sunday morning, our hearts were full and prepped, and our energy levels high.

Sunday we drove.  The car ride went well.  Upon arriving in Chicago we faced our first challenge...the AC was broken, and it was hot.  No problem, we'll "embrace it" (the unplanned but clear theme for the week).

A training session and dividing into workgroups finished that night.

Monday brought the work projects (helping organize a school, clean an old convent, build a new church, or run a summer camp) and helped those serving together to form strong bonds.  The girls AC got fixed (only half the building) and we left to tour a homeless shelter (Pacific Garden Mission).  We debriefed as we got back, ate dinner and had another lesson.  The guys slept in heat, but he girls donated us their remaining fans.

Tuesday saw work projects continue, and half of our group did "Mealshare."  That is where we packed extra bag-lunches, went into the heart of downtown Chicago and walked around looking for homeless/needy people to offer a lunch to and eat with.  Tuesday night was our evening off as there was a night service at the church we stayed at.  We ate deep dish pizza and went to a beach.  This helped refresh us a bunch.  The guys slept in the heat again.

Morning work projects again on Wednesday followed by another unique afternoon experience.  We rode the "el train" and struck up conversations with strangers.  For 2 hours.  Night continued with dinner, a lesson, and a trip to the hospital as we had a student faint and forget a few things.  Some didn't get much sleep (dealing with hospitals from 11:30-5:15) while the guys still slept in the heat.

Thursday we were exhausted.  Work projects drained us.  The other half did "mealshare" and we left afternoon free-time for naps and resting.  A lesson followed dinner and then the guys slept in the heat.

Friday was our final work day.  We finished up work projects and said goodbyes to those we served.  Packed up some at the church, had one final lesson, and then team time.  The air finally got fixed, so for one night, we all slept comfortably, though followed that with our earliest wake-up time.

Saturday started at 6:15.  We left to drive back, with one final experience at a park near Wisconsin Dells.  That experience lasted 4 and a half ours in the midst of our drive.  We were ready to get home.  We headed that way until the car (we had two big vans with a trailer and then our Escape) got a flat tire.  We sent one van and the trailer back while the other van and car stayed to get the tire fixed (the spare was only a donut, not a full-size).  This adventure was welcomed by the students with "embracing" attitudes.  All in all, we got all the students home by 11:00, and the last 3 leaders pulled in at 12:40ish.

God did a lot of things, blessed us in a lot of ways, and showed himself to us in countless stories.  The team bonded, displayed their awesomeness to us leaders, and made the trip a lot of fun for us to lead.

Time to return to normal for four days before the Young Adults camping trip this weekend.