Higher Than Ever Before
Three weeks into our team's time in Chicago and it feels like we've been here for a few months already. Our time has had its fair share of laughter and grimaces, curve-balls and hits out the park, and an all around amount of good times with our Chicago family we have now been integrated into.
The team: Dan, Tommy, Brittany, Tracy and myself
The first two weeks were full of cleaning our site, especially the basement, with many, many (did I say many?) meetings to try and figure just how this summer will look these next two months.
Home, Church
New Life Pilsen, our church, we are working and living at for the summer is amazing. The heart of the Pastor and congregation for this community is astounding and blows me away day-in and day-out! Pastor has even talked about being a church NOT behind their four-walls, but a church that GOES out into the community to make a difference in prayer and projects for their neighbors! (My heart screams 'AMEN' here!)
Our city!
Last week, our first week with teams, we had two teams from South Dakota and one team from Ohio and let me just be the first to tell you that these teams came in and ROCKED the socks (my line, Brittany, my line) off everything asked of them. It was crazy how much they responded to the call to serve and the call to step out of their comfort zones.
Helping after 8th grade graduation
For Brittany and I (AJ typing), we are in charge of helping the church with their Safe Haven program (last week after school mostly) and the teens and two adult leaders we had with us totally blew us away with how well they loved on the kids and adapted quickly on the fly to changes in the plans that came up. I am SUPER proud of each one of them, actually, I'm BEYOND proud of every teen and leader from our first week with teams here in Chicago.
All the teams covered the neighborhood, Chinatown, and this church with prayer and I am confident every participant had a fire catch and begin kindling deep in their heart and souls to take back to their hometowns and churches. I am SO excited to hear the stories of my brothers and sisters I met last week and to see how much they grow.
The groups even raised $475 for this week's snacks and lunches for the Safe Haven kids because they would not have anything this week as the charity supplying the food the other weeks of the year is on break. We did not ask them, did not elude to them doing such a thing, and yet they heard the Lord speak about helping these kids be able to eat even after they had gone home. WOW!!
Our family for week one!
My team and I are super excited for the rest of this summer here in Chicago and to bring the Kingdom of God to a city such as this!
~By: AJ Wagoner
Evening Sears (Willis) Tower
P.S.~ To the Sioux Falls, Watertown, and Ohio teams–Thank you again for all of your hard work and for loving so deeply this week! I (we) are super proud of you and cannot wait until we all meet up again at some point in eternity!! Stay strong and keep loving!!
P.S.S.~I personally still need to raise $500, so if you have it in your heart to help me out, then please go here: http://www.adventures.org/give/donate.asp?giveto=staff and put in my 'APPEAL ID' of WAGONERAJ. Thank you so much!! I love you all!!
