| Dear Peace Families, Tomorrow, our group of travelers will return home from their week in Chicago, where they’ve been spending time serving others and exploring the city. Led by their amazing leaders, Lori Thomson and Ann Losinski, they’ve had a great week growing in their understanding of what it means to love others because God first loved us. Here’s a brief summary of what they’ve been up to this week:On Sunday, the group tracked over 21,000 steps as they adventured through the city. They went to church, ate Chicago-style deep dish pizza, experienced first hand on Navy Pier where the “Windy City” nickname came from, and got prepared for the week. |
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| On Monday, the group started the morning with a visit to the Lydia Home, a local foster care center, where they played games with the children and helped with morning programming. During the afternoon, they sorted and packed clothes at Share Our Spare, then experienced the city from above at Chicago 360 and ate delicious Peri Peri Chicken at Nando’s, a wonderful South African restaurant. |
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| Tuesday brought the group to the Chicago Food Depository, where they packed around 14,000 pounds of apples that will be sent to other local food shelves in the community. They also visited the ELCA World Headquarters, where they learned about our churchwide efforts to battle hunger and got to meet Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton. The day was capped off with a trip to Wrigley Field where, after a rain delay, they got to watch the Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in a decisive victory. |
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| Yesterday the group went to Working Bikes, where they de-pedaled over 50 bikes that will be sent overseas to communities in need of easy transportation. They also made a second visit to Share Our Spare, this time making book and toy bags for toddlers and diaper packs for babies. |
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| Today, they will return to the Lydia Home and the Chicago Food Depository, and enjoy one final evening together before returning home tomorrow. Please continue to pray for the group, that God would continue to form them in faith and shine through them in the community, and that they would return home safely tomorrow, ready to share their stories and empowered to continue making a difference here. Additionally, this weekend Peace will send its first group of campers to Camp Wapogasset for the 1st-3rd Grade “Seeds” Weekend. Camp Wapo’s summer theme for this year is All the Stars, which is inspired by Isaiah 40:26 and says: “Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.” Campers will be exploring how, as a child of God, each of us has been beautifully and wonderfully made. Like all the stars in the sky, we are called by name and cannot be lost. No matter where we are in life, we belong to God. We pray that Ben Budz, Savannah Fields, Stella Loeffler, Elsie Macejkovic, and Wyatt Tschida would have an amazing time up there, and that they would experience the great love of God–who created all the stars in the universe, yet knows and loves each of us more than we could ever imagine. Grace and Peace, Joe |
Family Tip of the Week
As our group of adults and students return from Chicago, be sure to ask them about their experiences when you see them next and thank them for their time serving others.
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