Day One: Tuesday Update

Well Chicago 2012 is in full swing!! We kicked off our trip right at home by helping Chris Whitmire and her team unload over 6 TONS of furniture for the Early Learning Center at GCC. Chris said our team was a huge blessing and along with her team we were able to crank out all those boxes of furniture in just 45 minutes! Soon after that, we packed up the bus and were Chicago bound!  Two hours later we had parked in downtown Chicago and started making HUNDREDS of PB&J sandwiches to pass out to the homeless around the city. We divided into our groups and spread out to our designated streets. We spent the majority of the afternoon out there with the people who are homeless, listening to their stories, hearing about their lives, and praying with those who wanted it. The people of Chicago had such an impact on us and it was neat to hear the different stories from the group later that evening. One leader pointed out a simple but bold statement that "we are all homeless until we know the love of Christ." It was powerful to see that we all have a connection to those we served throughout the city.  Our team challenge this week was inspired by a man named Chino (who we met yesterday in Chicago) who, every single morning before he even gets out of bed, drops to his knees and prays for his day. We were so moved by his faith that we decided to make it our daily challenge on this trip to spend a minute with God every morning before we start our day.  After our day in the city, we headed back to the hotel, cleaned up for dinner, spent some time debriefing, and had some free time with our team.  We're off to a GREAT start, and are ready to see what God has in store for us this week! Be sure to follow all of our pictures posted on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Also, we LOVE your comments and will be reading them to the team durning debrief :)