It's all a matter of perspective!

Cheesy movie quote of the morning.....
"Life is like a box of chocolates....you never know what you're going to get"-- Forrest, Forrest Gump
Very true....
However, if you are "that guy" who takes tiny bite off the corner of the chocolate to see if it's the one with the pink creme inside instead of taking a full on bite of the whole piece of candy --- you are truly missing out on the full effect of really embracing all that small piece of chocolate has to offer!
It is amazing how your perspective changes from day to day when faced with the same circumstance.
Yesterday morning the thought of stepping into the ice cold shower was "Heck no! I don't need a shower that bad!" But when faced with the same icy shower the second morning in a row, after spending the day before at the beach, playing with kids, exploring the town, etc....my mind and body immediately said "I don't really care how cold it is....I just need a shower!" ....AND....it was great! Good to go! So thankful for the water, the shower, the clean and refreshing experience!
Sometimes in order to see things from a more positive light we have to take a look at the situation from a different light or perspective. When I am out and about taking photos I try to use that different perspective approach in finding things to photograph. Sometimes when I go back and look at the photos it helps me to actually SEE that looking at it differently changes the look, feel and emotion of that experience.

It's the same when we take away our stereotypes and expectations of a situation, an neighborhood a group of people, individual or organization. Today was only our 2nd full day of serving with CSM and it felt like we have been here in Chicago for a week already!
Our day today took us back to the Rec Center for more hanging out with the kids, playing, eating lunch with them and participating in a "Color Run."

It was a good morning and all of our students did a great job in connecting with the kids at the site despite being tired and running on not a lot of sleep!

It's amazing what quick nap in a van will do for helping to recharge and regroup!

 It's also amazing how crossing over a few streets an take you not only to a different neighborhood but also into a whole new culture, a different way of life and almost feel like you are in a different country.
Part of this afternoon's activity was to visit a area ten-block stretch of Devon Avenue, on the city’s Far North Side, where the people, aromas, and markets are mainly Indian focused, but is the most intriguingly multicultural street in the city, with businesses also run by Pakistanis, Iraqis, and Russians, among others, and catering to Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Jains, Sikhs, and Christians.
We split into groups and were assigned questions and tasks we had to collect and accomplish on our scavenger hunt  of the area, which included finding people to talk to about their story, where they were from originally, how they got to Chicago, what their struggles have been, holidays celebrated in the area as well as other suggestions for interacting and connecting with people in that area of the city.

 Our group met Emitt who owned the King Sweets bakery. He was very patient and gracious in sharing information about his store, the area rent costs, and other information. We also met Sandi who's family owns the tailor shop Sonia Selections. She shared that her family moved to the area in the 80's and has had the shop for 15 years.

 It was another opportunity for our students (and adults) to step out of the norm in their interactions with others, with each other and spend some time really connecting with people of the Devon neighborhood.
We then headed to the Puhjabi Dhubha  restaurant for a totally fabulous dinner of Indian food, complete with Nan bread.

 After dinner we headed to the United Methodist Church about a 5 minute drive to visit with the Men's homeless shelter that is housed out of gymnasium of the church.
We spent time learning about the program, the facility and about homelessness in Chicago as well as in general and heard about the struggles and realities these men face in being homeless.
It was a very eye opening experience but one that held a lot of impact for many of our students. We spent about a half an hour talking with the residents there and hearing their stories, sharing our and really making connections on a personal level.
It helped to change the perspective and stereotypes that tend to go with how we think about being homeless.

Changes perspectives, stereotypes and expectations is hard and tiring work so I am signing off now!
Please keep our young people and leaders in your prayers this week as we experience what is for some a life-changing and very impacting experience!  As I said before it has only been 2 days but with all we have experienced it also seems like a lifetime.