As some of our updaters may have told you already, our groups are split into three teams. My team is called the "YES" team. That sometimes makes it a little difficult to have a conversation about our teams: "Is the Peace group working on that project?" "No, Yes." okay, dumb example, but you get the picture. Being a leader member of our group has, of course, given me a very different perspective on the way the trip is going. The basic premise of the Yes group is that we work with Brad Beier, a terrific pastor (from what i've seen) of a neighborhood church here in Woodlawn. It's a PCA church plant (woohoo) out of which he is hosting a summer day program for neighborhood kids. The fun with the kids doesn't start til 1pm, which means that we have the whole morning to sit in bed and play games. Yeah right. Since our "real work" doesn't start until 1, our mornings mean we do whatever we are told...that morning...where ever in the lower neighborhoods of Chicago that may be. You see the challenges now.
Today's first project was cleaning various areas in Christ Bible Church (our home for the week). This meant our second day of cleaning toilets and third of watching my crew stare blankly while we tried to figure out how to do what we need to. Again, not a bad thing. Just interesting.
After our primary work is done, we have "exercises" to get us into the life and culture of Chicago. Today's was at first odd, then lots of fun. We rode the El(ivated train) from the closest station near the south end of the line to the top end of the line, then back again. Sounds like a weird idea, i know, but the object is not just to ride, but to engage. We were assigned to strike up conversation with people on the train. Now, this is far beyond MY comfort zone, so i can only figure what this did for the young'uns. But we had some really great conversations with people, just on the train. Some as light as how to navigate the transit, and some about how to best teach communities how to embrace diversity. It makes it sound like a good idea to go ride CARTA when i get home for the same reason. i keep getting all these ideas about stuff to do once i get home. Maybe you should try it in your public transit system.
Let me make it very clear at this point how proud i am of the way our group is rising to the occasion handling any task thrown at them. My fellow HPCers never cease to amaze me in getting stuff done. i am particularly pleased with our Minneh-Soe-duh friends' addition to the group. It took a couple of days for them to understand what i say to them, and i have upset them at least a couple of times making fun of their accent. But we have made some good new friends. i am equally as proud of these young ladies and their willingness to help out. And i don't mind driving their car too much either.
i admit, i was dreading the responsibilities of leadership on this trip in the week leading up. But being in this authority position is awesome. Not only do i get to drive my young folks around the streets of Chicago-Oh, let me brag on my navigating skills for just a moment. As long as we've been in Chicago, i've not looked at one map, unless you count the transit map i got on the El today. But i have not gotten us lost once. we've had to turn around and make a better turn once or twice. But that comes with the new city...and the parks that show up out of nowhere. But i have also gained a great deal of insight on our group. i would ask as i wrap this up without hopefully going too long, that you pray that God would open the hearts of all the young people on this trip to experience the spirit of the trip. We are doing a great job at getting our work done and making things happen. But that is only half of what God has in store for us here. If He is using Sunshine the way He obviously is, then our task here is to change our own hearts using the experiences we've seen here.
Oh yeah, and pray for that smell in our sleeping room. Not quite sure what it is. Oh, and Dan, the Minnesota leader says hi. Think i'll go take a shower in the dark now.
--bo
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