Our first service day went well. The kids dove right in and got dirty, sweaty and joyful!
The post below this lists the teams everyone is on so you can see where your favorite students are serving this week.
Mondays experience was the tour of Pacific Garden Mission, the largest homeless shelter in the US. The tours are given by men who were once a part of the homeless community, came to PGM, found the Lord and now serve.
A theme of the week is to look for God's glory on display and also the brokenness of man. It is cool to see the kids finding all the amazing ways that God is working at PGM and also things that are harder and more challenging.
Joel, the director of Sunshine, has done the teaching these last two nights. Monday nights talk asked the question "Why are people poor?". Many of our students hadn't given that question much thought so it was eye opening for them to discover together the many different reasons that someone might fall into, or stay in, poverty. Then Joel talked abut the causes of poverty listed in the bible. Tragedy, personal sin and oppression and injustice. And which one does the bible talk about most? Oppression and injustice. This is always a challenging talk as we look at God's heart for the oppressed and what that looks like on the south side of Chicago and where we live. The kids handled this college level talk with patience and wisdom. We did some debriefing and will continue to explore what this means for us and how God calls us to join him in his work for justice.
Today the kids head out to work. Wadsworth will have a short work day as they will do the meal share experience this afternoon. SGM and Living Hope will have long work days and they are excited to complete the tasks that they began yesterday.
Here is what some of your students had to say so far...
I was at Wadsworth Elementary School with Mrs. W's 4th grade class! It was so amazing seeing how the children opened up to us within minutes of walking in the room. I am so excited to see how God continues to work in the children's lives and also mine! (Because he is for sure at work in me). Emma Gulden
Today I got placed in demolition group (SGM). I realized I had so much more strength then I thought I had. It was AMAZING. I felt so alive with God that I'm ready to take on tomorrow with a huge smile! Jessi Erickson
Today we stared our service at Wadsworth Elementary School. We began by touring the school and getting assigned to different classes. It was a very interesting experience considering we were the minorities. The kids here are very different from the ones back home. In this week we want to be a positive influence on them. The kids love having us there and we love serving them. The kids also think we have a Minnesotan accent and that we looked weird. Even those these kids are different that the ones back home they just want to be loved and we hope we can share the light of Jesus with them.
Signing off, Ron Steinhoff and Colten Dover
For our work project, we spent time with Pastor Brad at Living Hope church! We were able to help touch up paint, clean and organize an apartment over the church that they are renting to a Muslim family. The best part was later that evening, we met the family moving in and were able to carry up their mattresses and boxes. They were so appreciative of our help and it was such a blessing to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Leader Kate
Excited for the day and what God has in store. Praying that you are also looking for and finding God's glory on display in your day!
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