Sunday, Oct 2, 11:30 Mission Trip Presentation

Greetings Chicago trip participants and parents!

This Sunday we are scheduled to do a presentation to people after worship/Sunday school.

Brooke, Jena, & Deb have all said they would be willing to say or read something for the presentation. Sean said he is willing to share something himself.

Those of you who are not able to be here on Sunday, please type into the comment section of this blog post something that you wish to share about the trip. I think people would like to know your reflections on the trip--what did you learn about homelessness? what did you learn about feeding a crowd economically? what was the best part of going to Chicago on this trip?

Those of you who will be here, please feel free to make the comments to the posts too. Or just type them up and have them available to read.

I have a bunch of photos from the Benoits and some from facebook that we can look at via the web. I will have my computer to use. I also thought we could just use this blog as our notes to read and share info from.

Please come on Sunday at 9:20 to go over a plan before worship. Bring yourself and whatever you have to share. Please comment on this post to log anything you wish to have online.

Thank you!

Nita

Chicago Trip--Sharing with Congregation & Community

Greetings, trip participants!

Wow, we have been back for two weeks now from Chicago and lots has happened in our lives. In another two weeks, school will be underway. I wanted to touch base with you all about a few things related to our commitment to share about the trip with our community and congregation. First of all, I have heard great things from those who have viewed our blog and seen pictures on facebook. Thanks to everyone who helped push that along and shared links with family and friends.

On the way home, two of the vans were able to share feedback on the trip. It would be great if Amy, Heather, Hannah J, Ben J, and Max could chime in with their answers to the following...

The craziest thing about the trip:

The most meaningful thing about the trip:

The most fun thing about the trip:

The most intense/difficult thing about the trip:

The most adventurous thing about the trip:

You can add a comment after this blog post or send your answers to me via email and I'll compile and post them like the others. Either way is fine!

In addition to this blog, there are two other things in the plans. Emily wrote an article for the Dunn County News and for the church newsletter which will go out soon.

The other plan in the works is that on Sunday, October 2, we have "Neighbors in Need" Sunday where we have a special offering for our church's outreach to people in need. We thought that would be a good day to have a powerpoint presentation to share during coffee/juice fellowship time.

Please check your schedules to see if you can be there that day. In order to share the responsibility for this presentation, perhaps the food teams can put heads together to share something in person about the trip or volunteer to do a powerpoint with pics. The powerpoint could be done any time. Kristen has digital photos that could be shared and I know many of you have pics too.

Please post a comment to share how you can be involved in the Oct 2 event &, if you are one who has not shared your "craziest, most meaningful, fun, intense/difficult, adventurous" things about the trip, please do!...or email: nitaucc@yahoo.com

Trip Reflections by Kristen, Deb, Rachel, Brooke, Jena and Emily

The craziest thing about the trip:
The dancing at Ed Debevic's (Rachel)
Sleeping in an old haunted church (Brook)
Playing Curses (Kristen)
Washing my hair in the sink (Jena)
Eating a deep-fried Snickers bar somewhereh other than the Minnesota State Fair (Emily)
Sean, Ben and Todd eating jalapeños (Deb)

The most meaningful thing about the trip:
Connecting with people at the shelter (Brook)
Playing games with people at the shelter (Rachel)
Getting to know the guests at the shelter (Jena)
Eating dinner with the people at the shelter (Emily)
Getting to know the guests and seeing the youth interacting with each other and gelling as a group (Kristen)
The appreciation we received from the people at the shelter (Deb)

The most fun thing about the trip:
Ed Debevic's (Jena and Deb)
The Art Institute (Rachel)
Second City (Brook, Emily, and Kristen)

The most intense/difficult thing about the trip:
Getting the timing right for serving the meals (Kristen)
Figuring out the right amounts of food to serve (Deb)
Walking all around Chicago in 100 degree weather (Jena)
The crowds at the taste of Lincoln Park (Rachel)
Leaving (Brook and Emily)

The most adventurous thing about the trip:
Using the public transportation (Rachel)
Navigating the streets and transit system (Deb)
Exploring new areas of Chicago (Kristen)
Exploring the church (Emily)
Exploring and living in a church (Jena)
Walking in dark streets in a big city (Rachel)

Trip Reflections from Todd, Nita, Ben C, Sean W

The craziest thing about the trip:

Using the mass transit (Sean)

Ed Debevic's (Todd)

Showers at the church (Nita)

Going to the Paul McCartney concert (Ben)

The most meaningful thing about the trip:

Making the food for the homeless people (Sean)

Getting to know the guests at the shelter (Todd)

Talking to the guests during suppers (Ben)

Seeing all of our group engaged with serving and participating at the shelter (Nita)

The most fun thing about the trip:

Paul McCartney concert from the alley behind the Wrigley Field (Sean)

Taking the kids to the beach (Lincoln Park) (Todd)

Second City (Ben)

Taking Sean & Ben to listen to Paul McCartney (Nita)

The most intense/difficult thing about the trip:

Walking everywhere (Sean)

Walking....(Ben)

Helping people figure out moving from point A to point B and that kind of thing (Nita)

Figuring out public transit (Todd)

The most adventurous thing about the trip:

Making friends at the homeless shelter (Todd, Sean)

Just going around Chicago, seeing the city lit up at night (Ben)

Embarking on this great trip with these wonderful people! (Nita)

Last day in Chicago--Monday plans...

We served our last meal at Lincoln Park Community Shelter this morning (Kristen, Todd, Jena & Ben J) and the sack lunch team has one more lunch to prepare today (Heather, Amy, Sean, Max, Ben C).

Today we plan to be out and about--a museum for each of us (Shedd,Art, Field), maybe time back at the beach (Lincoln Park), then out to Ed Debevic's for supper and Second City. It's our last night together in Chicago.

Last night Sean heard from one of the shelter guests that Paul McCartney was playing at Wrigley Field. He was sooooo excited. Amy R-S, Nita, Sean, & Ben C. took the Red Line up to Addison stop to see if we could hear him. We could!! Sean was especially happy!! Ben, Amy, and Nita also enjoyed the excursion.

The church just had a yoga class in our usual meeting space so we've been waiting to get back in there. We are about to begin our day away...

More later.

Saturday

Saturday morning one team made breakfast and served it at the church where we are staying. The people were at the church to get breakfast and learn about the program at the Lincoln Park Community Shelter.

After breakfast, several of us did our grocery shopping and got organized for making lunches and serving dinners.

We had free time in the afternoon and got lunch at the Taste of Lincoln Avenue. Some checked our the vendors at the craft market and had some big city sticker shock. Most of us spent the later part of the afternoon at the beach in Lincoln Park. Almost all of us at least put our feet in the water, but Sean, Max, Ben and Emily wore their swim suits and spent a lot of time playing in the waves of Lake Michigan.

In the evening there was more grocery shopping and one group served the first dinner at the LPCS. Those not preparing the meals hung out and played games or got to know the guests at the shelter. All of us ate dinner with the guests.  

Here's what the kids said about the experience of meeting the guests. "Talking with guests was surprisingly comfortable. We were expecting it to awkward but it wasn't. They were nice, open, approachable and easy to talk to. Not like the stereo typical homeless people you see in the movies."

In the evening all the kids played fun interactive game called Curses. They had a great job and the group seems to be bonding well.

Our First Evening in Chicago

We arrived in Chicago at St Paul's UCC about 4:30. We were glad to have made it through rush hour traffic safely. Yay!  The church is lovely and there is ample space in the church for all of us to sleep. The neighborhood here is beautiful. The streets are tree-lined with  brownstone style houses. It will be a nice area to explore during our time here.

We got settled in a bit and then walked over to the Lincoln Park Community shelter and got a short orientation tour. Julia, our contact there, showed us the living quarters and the kitchen where we will prepare food starting with supper on Saturday. It is very welcoming and interesting to learn about it. We are excited to begin our work there.

We were pleasantly surprised to learn that the residents set the tables and also do most of the dishes. That will make our part a little easier. Some of the residents were watching Tv in the common room and said hello to us. We will get to know them when have our first meal with them tomorrow evening.

After our visit, we went back to St Paul's and decided to hit Navy Pier right away so we could eat there and have plenty of time to check it out. We had fun, went on a few rides, did a little souvenir shopping and had a most interesting ride on the El.

We are all pretty tired and hope we get a good night's sleep so we are well rested for our busy day tomorrow.