Parting is such sweet sorrow.......I hope we meet again in some tomorrow.....

"We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place, we stay there, even though we go away. And there are things in us that we can find again only by going back there." - Pascal Mercier, Night Train to Lisbon

Walkway on the North Park University Campus

The last day of any mission trip is bitter sweet with conflicting feelings, mixed emotions, and a whole lot of tired! It's the day for good-byes, hugs and sometimes tears. At times it is hard to concentrate and be fully present on that last day. You inevitably begin to process in your mind the check list of things that need to be done before you leave, what things you won't get to before you have to head out. The feeling that for all that you have experienced, along with the effort and heart you put into your serving during the week, there is still so much work left to be done, people who need loving on, and connection to be made. The biggest blessing comes when you can truly live into a way of being that reflects your experience into your daily lives and futures as you move forward in your faith journey.

Street view of the Jackson Park Center

Yup! It's a bit hot! Lucky we had this awesome fan to walk in front of!

Just as your group starts to get in their rhythm of getting 15 people showered, breakfasts eaten, lunches made and devotions that are as meaningful as they can be at 7:45 in the morning, and being able to leave on time to get to our serving site on time; it's time to wrap things up and go home.
This morning started bright and early with the third (Yes! Third!) hot shower in a row! That can be a God moment all on it's own! During our last devotions this evening Derek Michel mentioned that in the early part of the week he was feeling a little unsure about our accommodations for the week in our old campus house with the creaky floors, no air conditioning, old carpet, funky bunk beds, and mismatched furniture and the bathrooms with cold water...  that is, until his immersion experience made him realize he was so very lucky to have the this amazing house to stay in that had running water, fans to keep cool and beds with mattresses.

Front door of our house

Our day today was fantastic with time spent at our main serving site at Jackson Park with the kids and group leaders there. I was lucky enough to be standing in the right place at the right time this morning when Miss Andria, the head of the center asked me if I would like to help her go to the local corner market for an ice run in their golf cart.

Miss Andria is an amazing and loving woman who has been working at the Jackson Park center for 27 years and just love the kids who come there so much. It is very apparent that their well-being, experiences there and safety are the most important things to her and she is very passionate about being there. They had a track meet and a basketball tournament today. This afternoon, we said our good-byes to all at our day site and headed for our next ministry site.

Group shot with Miss Andria (center)

However, not before heading to a small local coffee shop called "Everybody's Coffee." It is a very cool and unique Christian coffee shop that supports the community.

Doug in deep discussion with a new friend he met at the coffee shop

We then headed to the St. Thomas of Canterbury to help serve in a soup kitchen. We chopped vegetables, set tables and made salad.
The food bank at one time served up  to over 40 people every Tuesday and Friday, now since the surrounding neighborhood has gone through a transition those numbers are down to about 150-200 an evening. I don't think in my mind I was prepared for the reality of the process. Chopping vegetables was the easy part. As the patrons began entering the room to sit down we began the process of acknowledging them and serving them soup, drinks, salt and sugar as well as getting refills as they  needed. The dinner time is only 5:30 to 6:30 but there was so much interaction, serving of food and other needs that we we non-stop busy until the end of that hour. Some of the patrons were very approachable and others were obviously much less comfortable with our smiling, helpful faces. I don't think even with the soup kitchen experiences our youth have had in the past were even remotely the same as this experience. I have to say, "shout outs" to our students who handled this experience with grace, love, care, and a calm in the storm. They were engaging when it was received and not when others felt uncomfortable with it. That is something truly amazing to witness and I am so proud of our entire group! Qui-Qui, (nickname) the assistant director of the soup kitchen said we are the best group she has had serve there and would love for us to come back and serve again.
I hope some day we can. The experience is also an encouragement to check in to finding soup kitchens in the Denver area to serve in.

Our ethnic food connection this evening was at a Vietnamese restaurant in the UpTown area and was so delicious! It was also a bit sad as we realized it was our last dinner together before heading home tomorrow.

After dinner we went to a lakeside park on the south side of the city for our last evening of debriefing, high's and lows for the day as well as our traditional weekly awards! An all time favorite for the students and adult leaders as well and a chance to highlight those things in each student that stuck out during the week. It is really just silly and funny part of our trip but has become a very meaningful part of our last night activities.

Our group with Qui-Qui (nickname) at the soup kitchen

As the sun set on our lake view spot and we wound down the noise and hectic day, we really reflected what was special for us and what was a struggle for us and what we will take home with us about this experience.
I pray that our students and the adult leaders take with them that when they open themselves and their hearts to the experience of something new, take a step just outside of their comfort zone and when they are aware of their settings and the needs of others; they can and will move mountains, and show God's spirit to another by showing them compassion, dignity and grace. That acknowledging their existence, humanness and beautifully broken hearts it opens a space for creating anything.
Thank you to our amazing, informative and caring city host, Sara - We don't know what we would have done without you! Your presence is truly a gift to all that you touch, all you do and all that you say.

Thank you for all of your support as we have made this journey.
Thank you for taking the time to read the trip blog!
Blessings to you until we meet again.......

CSM Chicago Team from Calvary Baptist Church of Denver - 2015

"Hitting the wall" ... When was the last time you saw your wall up close?

We all have that moment in life, while traveling, or in your job where you just hit your wall and you feel done.
Happens on a youth trip too only it feels more extreme and you don't have the ability to curl up in the fetal position with your favorite blankie in the corner and chant comforts to yourself over and over until it all goes away.... So... You do what needs to be done (refer back to yesterday's blog entry in case you need a refresher!)
There are different approaches to the "hitting the wall" scenario... First, you have the "hit hard and fall to the ground" which usually plays out with sarcasm and passive aggressiveness towards others. Then you have the "hit the wall and stick to it" kind, where the reaction is more of the retreat from everything and everyone tactic. There is the "hit the wall with your head five times, pass out and then realize you hit the wall" - the results are a dazed and confused kind of reaction. You also have the one where you are in denial that your wall even exists, even though everyone else can see you've hit it you can't acknowledge it and get angry about its existence. My personal favorite is when you hit the wall hard, followed by a long, slow slide down the wall which results in uncontrollable fits of silliness breaking out in singing group songs all together on the L, in the van or other public places, weird jokes that no one else will ever get and laughter.......lots of laughter. It's especially great when numerous people hit this kind of wall at the same time and in public! When this one hits beware, you will probably end up with stomach muscles hurting from laughing so hard, need tissues as a result of crying from laughing and if someone snort laughs in the middle of it all... Any and all hope for recovery or sanity is lost in the midst of the group breakdown. This one is my favorite because it involves a sense of community healing of everyone and no ones feelings get hurt in the process. Besides a good group laugh directed at nothing in particular or rational ever hurt anyone.

There are a few cures to hitting the wall. One is the obvious solution of SLEEP and lots of it! If that is not a realistic resource then the laughing really helps. Ice cream! Such an amazing way to help cure a bad case of wall hitting, as is an opportunity to regroup by gathering together to play frisbee, a big game of Ninja, a picnic and an evening of worship led by an amazing speaker named Amy who calls herself a "Hope Dealer" to put things in perspective.

Thursday is a big one for hitting the wall. It's just past the middle of the trip but not over yet. We have spent the week playing with and helping to lead 100+ kids ages 6-12 at all sorts of activities and many other thought provoking and sometimes emotional situations. We have met so many people, covered a lot of ground in this city, had fun, played at Navy Pier, worked hard and the week is not over yet even though it is coming to an end as we get closer to Saturday when we head home.

Today we spent our morning at the Jackson Park Rec Center again and went to a skating rink to roller skate with the kids. Wow! talk about sensory overload! Next time you see one of our students who was present this week in Chicago to describe this experience! The kids had a great time roller skating and working off some energy for sure.
As a special treat we stopped at a local ice cream shop on the way back to our housing site.
It was truly amazing and made the high of the day shout out for several students for today.

This evening we were able to get together with all the other groups serving with CSM this week here in Chicago, play some games and eat dinner together. We can proudly say that our very own Owen  Honeycutt was the big winner and the last man standing in the big group game "Ninja." Way to go Owen.....snaps to you!
Following that we were able to get in some group worship, sing songs and hear Amy Williams who is a minister that lives in the heart of the Latin Kings gang neighborhoods and ministers to them, lives with them and has dedicated her life to be a light of support and love for them. She is an amazing woman and inspirational speaker who really put things perspective for us.

If you haven't done anything in service to others lately that has resulted in you getting an up close and personal look at your "wall" I highly recommend it!

Sometimes have to put on your "big boy pants" and other times it's OK to just go swing!

OK, since we just got in from our free day and it's late...this one is going to be short and sweet! It's after midnight and it's way past my bed time (YES! I do actually have one!)
There are moments in life when things aren't going how we planned them or how we expected them to go. There are many things in life that are out of our control, but the one thing that IS in our control is how we react to them, what we do with that, the lesson we get from it and what we walk away with. When life throws us curve balls sometimes we just have to suck it up and put our "Big Boy Pants" on (OK, "Big Girl Pants" too!), deal with it and move forward. On any youth trip there are at least one of these moments for each person (yes, adult leaders too!). Mine was today. It's Wednesday; tough day sometimes when it seems like it should be Friday already, I was tired, my feet hurt, my back hurt, it's hot, it's humid...blah, blah, blah....

We get to the Rec Center and my group heads out after the morning open play time so I start to follow....well, turns out we take a 1 1/2 mile trek to the our destination to play croquet and we have to WALK! My mind is screaming...."We're doing what?!?!" ---- Now, I have 2 ways this can go...I can quietly slip back and get "lost" or I can suck it up, put my big girl pants on and go have fun playing croquet! I choose the second one and it was a fun and meaningful time and I made a lot of connections with kids who had previously been a little standoffish. My feet still hurt, but hey.....that's not the point now is it?!
I'm sure that each person on our team has had this same experience this week....some daily. I have to say that I am so very proud of each student and adult leader on this trip this week because they have all done a fantastic job of making that same choice and it has made all the difference. Not only to them but to everyone around them as well. Shout outs to each one!










The great thing about Wednesday is it's our free afternoon.
There are times in life when you just have to take the time to be with each other, cut loose, laugh and have fun, act like a kid, share a great meal with one another and not worry about when or where you have to be next.  Our group does this amazingly well! We spent our free afternoon riding the L down to Millennium Park to see the Bean and to Navy Pier for some deep dish Chicago pizza, do some shopping, see the sights, watch fireworks, to ride the Ferris wheel, the carousel and the big huge SWING!
We were even able to meet up with one of our Calvary ABY Alumni Matt Beard who met us along the way to Navy Pier and hung out with us for a while! It was great to connect with a former "youth" and catch up, spend some time and just hear about how things are for him in Chicago!

Life is too short not to take the time to just swing when you need to!