Spring Break in Chicago

Last week we spent an incredible week sharing life and seeking God with the people of Chicago City Church in south Chicago. God has blessed us with a connection with these precious people over the past four years. He has connected the hearts of students with the hearts of the poor & broken in south Chicago. Two very different worlds but both having the same hope and needing the same God to forgive our sins and make us whole.

We spent our time serving, building relationships, encouraging one another and seeking God together. We had a blast working together to paint their church, organize the summer & spring clothes for their botique, hanging doors on their tutoring rooms and other work projects to help CCC do more ministry. Tutoring the kids, getting out on the streets to pray with people & invite them to the church, hanging out with kids in the projects & sharing about Jesus with them and helping with the Tuesday night outreach service & meal were incredible opportunities to love people and share our lives with them. It's amazing how God takes people from two totally different worlds and connects their hearts for one purpose and one hope. We all returned encouraged. I was amazed to watch all of the UMD students step out of their comfort zones and use the gifts God has given them to serve God and others. The gifts God has given them are incredible. I saw each of them grow a begin to really see who God created them to be. I'm so excited for what God has for them in the future!

One other exciting part of the trip was reconnecting with our friend Mercedes at her coffee shop "Mi Cafetal" in the middle of Pilsen, the Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago. We stumbled on Mercedes shop our first year in Chicago and have returned every year since. Mercedes is a dear friend who we have had the opportunity to pray with and encourage every year. We are always excited to see her and get her hugs. She's an energetic lady who cares for everyone. Every year she cries as we say goodbye until the next spring break. She blessed us with lunch for the road; they were incredible rolls with cheese, refried beans and some kind of spicy sauce she makes. Yum!