Chicago Mission Trip 2014

Hey! So you've found our blog...that's great! We look forward to sharing our story with you as it unfolds. Who are we you ask? We are the HPC Youth Chicago Missions Team, and our story has yet to be told. But starting Saturday, June 7th, you can keep up with our story as it is being written. Check here each evening (or morning because we may update this late at night) to see what our students have experienced throughout the day. Each post will be a personal account from one of our students, so they promise to be unique and interesting.

I also want to take this time to fill you in on what we're doing in Chicago. We will work with Sunshine Gospel Ministries, located on the south side. Their mission is to seek the renewal of the city through ministries of discipleship, justice and mercy. We partner with them for a week in a program called Bridge Builders, where we come to listen, learn and serve. We have much to learn from Sunshine and from the folks living in their neighborhood, and we look forward to serving alongside them!

As for our team, my greatest hope is that each student and chaperon will come away with a passion for Christ as a result of catching a vision of what God is doing through missions. Many Americans don't even realize that our own backyard is a mission field, but it is! And God is doing amazing things in places where hope has seemed lost for many years.

We look forward to sharing our stories with you, and we hope that you'll be blessed by what you read. Thanks for checking us out!

Day Six In Jamaica

Today was day six in Jamaica and it was the best day ever. I had alot of fun playing card games with the kids and with the team.  We had an awesome breakfest like corn porridge and toast and coffee. Then after that we went to work and did alot of different projects like unload four hundred bags of concrete. Then we finished our beautiful road. After work some of the team went and played volleyball and Morgan`s team lost and Sammy's team won and it was a very close game. Then after dinner we went so see some baby chickens that were so cute and after that we came back and played some more games. 

That's all for today but tomorrow we are going to have the best time ever.

Day Five in Jamaica

Today was a good day overal. We started off the day with some eggs and bananas. After that Ben and I washed the dishes which was pretty fun. After the dishes were done we headed done to the unfinished road and worked on finishing some more of it. First we had to dig some trenches and clear some rocks to help get the road level. This was a very big job that all of us were about off and definately the hardest days worth of work we have done on this trip so far. It involved lots of heavy lifting and shoveling. At around twelve we headed back inside to refuel our bodies with more food. Lunch was more of the mystery meat that cheese was involved with but I think we agreed that we think it was ham. After lunch Ben and I were again on dish duty. While everyone was taking a much needed nap or doing their devotions Ben and I were cleaning dishes that just seemed to just coming and coming and coming. After lunch we returned to work where Sammy returned stronger than ever after his power nap. Tonight the whole village came to eat with us and performed some songs in sign language for us. Today was a great day to be in Jamaica.

Ice Cream and Corruption on Day 4

So it's day 4 in Jamaica, and today was probably the most eventful so far, even though we didn't do any "work". We drove to Kingston to see CCCD's deaf boarding school, which was great but SO hot. Then we went to Devon House, a mansion in Kingston that is 3 or 4 on the Top Ten Places to Get Ice Cream list (for good reason). On the way home we got gang-banged by some window washers on the street. Lunch time, then nap time, then we drove to Mandeville to a children's home. We had some Jamaican apples, got tackled and threw up on by kids (and Morgan got his toe sucked on) and didn't want to leave at the end of the afternoon. Volleyball and frisbee preceeded dinner, and card games followed it. Phase 10 is more corrupt than you would think, my friend.

That is all for the day, except for maybe some late night Spoons. It could get violent, the next blogger might be typing with a few less fingers than I am tonight.
- Avery

Day 2 With No Social Media

After a terrible loss in Phase 10 last night, this day had to be good. Luckily, the morning got started off with pancakes. After breakfast, we started our first day of work. The only kind of work we did was weeding. We had to pick out weeds from a potato plant field. It was extremely fun and exciting. After all the work, we ate dinner. It was swell. Overall the day was great. Nick fell several times. I laughed. The food was good. I still need to interact with the deaf more but I'm having a great time on this trip. Fare thee well everyone.
-Sammy

Deep Thoughts from Ben Higley Fox Higley

I had a wonderful day.  Got to sleep in today which was nice, the days to come we will have to wake up early to work and have lots of fun.  After that we got to go to their church which was loads of fun, the song leader was very involved in his signing.  Soon after that Ben the man in charge gave us a tour of the wonderful property.  The rest of the day was just singing and card games.  Morgan has just informed me that I need to be more emotional about this blog.  For dinner we had sandwhiches but I am not aware what meat was selected but there was cheese involved.  On the tour we got to check out the conference center.  Ben said the bottom floor would be done in about two months with the help of lots of volunteers.  Tommorrow will be more interesting with a different blogger. ;)

A Safe Arrival

We arrived safe and sound at the Deaf Village around 2:15 local time. The flight was a brand new experience for a few of our students. The van ride was a very exciting time for everyone! So far the team seems happy to be here and ready to soak in all the new experiences. But for now, we all just really want naps. So that's what we will do for now until dinner. Today will be a relaxing day without much to do other than eat and socialize. Tomorrow we get to worship with our new friends and take a tour of the campus. Look for another blog post in the evening tomorrow.