As we head back home to Minnesota we look back on this past week and what we have learned. We all had a wonderful time working and it was very rewarding to see all the work that we put into our projects. On our way out of Chicago we stopped at the ELCA central office. We spent about a hour or more talking to one of Matt's friends about YAGM (Young Adults in Global Mission), touring the building and planning for this coming weeks service. Then we continued our trip back. A few hours later we stopped for a lunch/dinner at TGI Fridays. The food was very delicious and filling. After everyone was done we loaded up into the vans and are on our way home.

-Maya

Yesterday was our last whole scheduled day. It definitely was something to remember because we finished the heavy dirty work and planted all they had at Eden Place. This last day meant a lot to us because we could finally see what we we had done, and realize that we were actually making a difference and impacting a whole community's lives. Coming into this project I think we all dreaded it but all the sweat and dirt was worth it. After we finished, the whole group (Our group "The Bulls" and the Colorado group) and Troy drove in our vans to pick up the deep dish pizza, we first stopped at the Soldier Field where the Bears play. We probably didn't appreciate it as much as maybe the boys but it was pretty cool to see. Once we got pictures we drove to Giordanos to pick up all the pizzas. Heading back we were supposed to see Obamas house! But unfortunately we just drove right past without noticing. Troy told us later that we couldn't have stopped anyways because there's security everywhere and the house is blocked off! So we did see Obamas house... We just didnt know it.. We went back to Eden Place to eat. The deep dish pizza was delicious! But it was huge and only two people could eat 2 pieces. The one piece I had expanded a bit later and it did not feel comfortable. Once everyone finished Troy had us play a game together to end on a good note, I think we were all too full and hot to put in 100% but it was fun. We said our goodbyes and headed to the showers. We went back to Seed of Abraham to prepare the dinner. We grilled burgers, hot dogs, and made a pasta salad. For every dinner the group is supposed to make a introduction of what the food is for that meal, we made a parody to "Cups" by Anna Kendrick. I think it worked perfectly and sounded great. They saved the best Crew for last! After dinner everybody hung out for awhile because there was a church service going on upstairs. It was a really nice time to get to know each other even better. Not only the kids from our church but the other kids as well. We also had a very nice talk with one of the girls from Lindsay. She is from the Nebraska group and will be a senior next year. What surprised us the most about her was her view on marriage equality and LGBT rights. To our surprise she was a supporter of the freedom to marry. Since she is from the Nebraska group (which is conservative catholic) we expected her to disagree with us. Instead she was in favor of equal marriage. One thing she talked about was how the people from her group were not exposed to the opposing view so they were not open to the idea of LGBT's getting married. A few years ago her brother explained the opposing side of LGBT rights to her, but let her make her own decision. A few years after that her brother came out to her as being gay. She was very open to speaking with us which we were very grateful for. The last thing that happened that night was a very special tradition in YouthWorks, the foot washing ceremony. First our YouthWorks leaders came around and washed ours leaders feet and than our leaders washed ours, but you could choose to not participate aswell. To a lot of us it was a very humbling and empowering feeling. It encouraged and connected us with Jesus, who also washed the feet of his disciples. Many of us got very emotional and cried, but it was a wonderful feeling. After we had some time to ourselfs we took everything and packed up, prepared to wake up extra early the next morning.

-Emilie, Maya and Clara

Today, the boys returned to Lowell school, this time not working in the garden but in the school itself. We were working to set up the YIPPEE Program for the summer. YIPPEE is a free summer camp for poor kids in the Chicago area that takes kids on field trips, gives them environmental and nutritional information, and provides lunches and physical education. We quickly cleaned the offices and finished everything we were given. However, the art teacher was walking by and asked if some of us could help clean and repaint her room. We painted an entire wall and scrubbed shelves while she informed of the inadequicies of the Chicago Public Scool system. After lunch, we went over to a dojo that the YIPPEE Program was using to teach kids karate where we mopped and painted (and felt very Karate Kid-esque). Later, we returned to the Seed Of Abraham Church before heading out to eat on the shores of the Great Lake and return completely exhausted.

Peter

Today at Eden Place, we were surprised by all the rips in the tarp we laid down the previous day by 6 semi-trucks filled with soil. Our goal today was to shovel the huge piles of dirt into rows where we will plant a vegetable garden. With limited shovels, we had to resort to rakes and hoes. With consistent work and perseverance from everyone, we had a successful day! Later tonight we went to a beach where we ate pizza and watermelon in the chilly wind and blowing sand.

Rachel Tetlie

The girls in our group were able to visit Eden place. Michael Howard started this non profit organization many years ago trying to create a better environment. Today we cleared out a lot of weeds and trash in an empty lot that will become a garden, the people from the neighborhood will be able to get fresh produce right around the block instead of miles away. While the girls were weeding and rolling tarp the boys were working hard at a child learning center. After all the hard work we did a little tourism. The group saw the bean and the buckingham fountain. Then we all got together again and did our kum by ya club thing and all of a sudden lights out. We'll blog tomorrow. Bye!

-Anna Carpenter

Hey everybody. Us white sox had a extravagant experience on this humid day. We started out our day with a early wake up to prepare the morning meal. Each individual was able to share an item on the breakfast menu with a witty haiku.

Here is an example of one of extraordinary poet's introduction of oat meal:

"Cinnimon and spice

Is one flavor of oat meal

Other flavored rock"

The community outreach we were givens the chance to do was restoring a beautiful garden. After fighting the treacherous crab grass and thorny dandelions we were victorious. This garden is suppose to be used to educate young children at the local school on basic mechanics of gardening and the variety of organisms living right next door. Following our sunny day of gardening us guys began to cross pollinate with our fellow Minnesotans and played a frustrating game of cards. While experiencing rollercoster of emotions we began to create friendships with our fellow Christians. Later in the night as we visited the mellinial(I think that's how you spell it" park. Here the whole entire group got to develop from acquaintances to friends in a matter of two hours. It's amazing how quickly us humans can create such closed nit communities in such a short span of time.

-Miles French

After two days of tireless works at YIPPEE the boys crew of the "White Sox", which has been a strange adjustment for the twins fan, we were sent to a tranquil park for some beautification. The three of us gents, plus a fourth male from saint Michaels, spent the day throwing mulch. Three trunks of mulch came and were seemingly effortless (only because of the massive amount of strength each one of us possessed) tossed into seven wheelbarrels for several hours. Before lunch the love Maggie, head and founder of the YIPPEE program introduced us to her Catholic Church. The stories that Padre Tivy told us about the parish and its history were very interesting. After finishing up early, mainly do to our massive strength, we all grabbed a quick ice cream cone from the "Tastee Freez" on the corner by our showering location. Well, all but Miles who got a Sprite instead in a misguided moment of confusion. After our delicious meal of tacos and finishing our duties as the dinner clean up crew, we attended a wensday night bible study/worship service at a local Assembly of God church, temporarily being held in what we were told was a high school auditiurim, though it looked more like a huge office building from the outside. The service was filled with high energy and up tempo music, an enthusiastic preacher focusing on the second chapter of Titus (literally breaking down and explain every single word), and a seemingly palpable joy from the electric crowd. And though the message was not always in agreement with what us youth believed the experience was extremely eye opening, and to witness the parish in their different form of worship made for an awesome evening. It was a truly rewarding and enlightening day and the last day seems to be coming to soon.

Ben

We left Hope earlier than we had planned and arrived at Seed of Abraham Pentecostal Church around 5:30. We set up our sleeping areas first and had dinner soon after. After dinner and clean up, the Adult Leaders split up from the students. The staff from YouthWorks introduced themselves and played games withs the students. We then had what they call "CLUB" (we don't know what it stands for) which will be our daily worship with the other churches accompanying us at YouthWorks. We read the story of Luke 19 and were told the theme of this week is the quote at the top of this post. Finally, we had group reflections of the day. All of us, both youth and adults, agreed that was our favorite part of the day. 11 pm is lights out!! Goodnight!

-Amy and Emma