Center Baptist Church Christ is the center of all we do. Col 1:18

Saturday

We made it to Chicago with no problems. The traffic was not too bad and the trip was divided up with a trip to Lincoln’s Tomb in Springfield IL as well as some bathroom breaks along the way. We met with the other youth this evening and have been able to experience some good Chicago Pizza. With the group we had a time of worship, Bible study and a couple of goofy games to get to know one another better. Gina led the group in Bible Study this evening. She will be doing this every evening. At this time most of the kids are with Dennis Whitehead at the pool. I guess they need to relax after a hard day on the road.

Well folks, that’s about it for day one. I’m sure I will have an update tomorrow. We will be having Sunday School, morning church and afternoon church. I think we will be in the heart of Chicago, so we are looking forward to great time.

Keep us in your prayers and we thank God for the safe trip to Chicago.

Pastor Mitch and the Missionaries in Chicago

Wednesday

Another full day in Chicago and all is well. The day started as usual with a trip to the breakfast bar. It’s a good way to start a hard day.

Our morning started with a trip to the church to do some mission work. We put a second coat of pain on the some of what we painted yesterday, cleaned up some more of the church, and worked in the sanctuary. After we completed the work we went back to the city to the Sears Tower. After looking at Chicago from 103 stories high we walked many blocks to a place called ‘Ed Debevic’s’ for lunch. It is a Chicago landmark and was a lot of fun. The only hard part was walking the many blocks to get there. By the time we got back to our cars we were pretty tired.

Back at the church we had another VBS that went much better. We divided the group into two groups which went much better. A couple of the boys that were giving us a lot of trouble did not come back, which also made it better. The kids responded well to all of the activities and we had two boys accept Jesus as their savior. If for no other reason, the trip was a great success. We also helped a couple homeless people and I went on a hospital call with Pastor Jakes. During the evening service our kids song some songs and I taught. It was a good service and only lasted about 1 1/2 hours.

After the church service we went back to the lake to see fireworks. The city does this every Wednesday and Saturday night at 9:30 PM. It was relaxing and only a few minutes from the church.

Well, midnight is here and I’m out of energy. I just got off the phone with Nathan and we appreciate all of your prayers. We really do need them and we have been very blessed by good traffic, safety and strength.

Before I close this note, all of the kids are doing great. They are still healthy and doing well.

Thanks again for your prayers and I will try to write one more note tomorrow evening.

Mitch and the rest of the missionaries in Chicago.

Monday

It was another great day in Chicago. We got up and ate breakfast in time to leave the hotel around 9:00 AM. I know that doesn’t sound very early, but if we leave earlier we get to experience the wonderful rush hour traffic of Chicago. Speaking as one of he drivers, that is not something I am waiting to experience.

After we left, we went to a place called the Garfield Park Conservatory. It is a botanical garden with more plants than I have ever seen in one place. It was built during the early part of the 1900s and was pretty impressive. After leaving the conservatory we took our picture in from of two statues. One of Lincoln and one of Robert Burns. We didn’t really know who Robert Burns was but we have a picture. We then went to the United Center. For the non-sports fans, that is where the Chicago Bulls play basketball, and more specifically where Michael Jordan played. We took our picture in front of Michael Jordan’s statue. That seems to be a theme this trip. We then went to down town Chicago and had lunch by Buckingham Fountain. That is in Grant Park, I think, which is by Lake Michigan, which I know.

We then went to the church. We needed to be there at around 1:00 PM to get ready for the afternoon. We organized into teams as we surveyed our area. The greatest challenge was what to do with the games. They are outside games, but there is no parking lot or yard, so we had to adjust them to the alley. Katie Doran was in charge of this and she did a great job. They had a great time and I was very proud of her. We did some puppet ministry, songs, crafts, Bible stories, memory verses and few things I am probably forgetting. The best part is the kids did all of the work. Debbie Whitehead put the snacks together, but your youth ran the VBS. They are a great bunch and I’m very proud. We also had two teams go into the neighborhood to hand out flyers. Pastor Jakes took Autumn and Seth while I took Austin and Robby. It was not Ash Grove, but we were well received and never felt threatened. I think a good number of the kids were a result of this activity. All in all we had 22 kids with about 6 adults watching as well. There were some who came in late or left early, so I would say around 30 total who listened to the message of salvation!

Well folks, it’s about 11:40 PM and I’m about to run out of steam. If I misspell a word, or something doesn’t make since, it’s probably the late nights, at least this week.

For all of the Moms reading this note, everyone is healthy, eating well,and getting a pretty good nights rest.

Keep us in your prayers.

Mitch and the rest of the missionaries from in Chicago.

Thursday

Last Day!!

Before I get started on today’s events, let me apologize for the sentences that didn’t make sense. It was late and my mind was not in it’s best form.

Today we completed the last VBS. We had a total 34 kids today not counting the adults that hung around to see what was going on. We did go to Navy Pier this morning which was fun. It has shops, rides and a few more things to attract the tourists and their money. After lunch we went to the church and were able to get back to the hotel by 6:30. The traffic was bad, so it took about one hour instead of 20 minutes. This evening we had a time of Bible study with Gina and then a couple of the Youth On Mission guys came for a last meeting. They presented your youth group with a mice plaque which will be shown to the church.

Before I sign off for the last time, I want to express my thanks and gratitude to the Whitehead family. Dennis has been the navigator, handy man, transporter, tour guide and much more. He has been a great blessing and I’m sure glad he was on the trip. Debbie has been such a support in every thing we have done. She has helped with the navigation, food preparation, cleaning up the kitchen and eating area, keeping the doors locked and most importantly being a mom to kids and Dads that need an even temper. I’m not sure how many times she counted heads, but I know she was always aware of where every kid and adult was. Gina came along again this year as an adult sponsor. She kept us healthy, organized, moving the right direction, and always ready to pitch in wherever she was needed. On a more important note, Gina provided our Bible study each night which kept us on track. The next time you see them, whether at church or just around time, make sure you show them your gratitude for their ministry. It was a big sacrifice on their part and I was honored to have them on this trip and humbled at their dedication to our youth.

Well, that about wraps up the updates from Chicago. There are many more things that need to said and will be said at a latter date. We will get our pictures developed, put together a program and fill you in, as best as we can, on what we did, what we learned and how God worked in us and through us.

Please pray for us on Friday as we travel back to Missouri. I hope to leave around 9:00 AM and get to Center no later than 6:00 PM.

Thanks again for your prayers and I will see you this Sunday.

Pastor Mitch and your missionaries in Chicago.

Tuesday

What a Day!

We had another event filled day that was not what we expected. The day started out with the usual breakfast and leaving the hotel around 9:00 AM. We went to the Shedd Aquarium this morning for a couple reasons. First of all it is on Lake Michigan and it’s free on Tuesdays. If they had only served chips and salsa I would feel right at home. That is the point where the day started to go wacky.

We went back to the church thinking we still had a couple hours to prepare. The schools let out at 12:00 noon, which meant the children were in the church about 12:30 to 1:00 PM. From that point on we were on our heals, but by the end of the day we had completed most of what we needed to do, and were able to tell people about Jesus. The day was hectic and by the time the children left at 3:30 PM, which would have been the time they would have started, we were beat. One of the highlights of the trip was when Cameron told the kids the Bible story of the day. He was very afraid to do this, but did it anyway. He then spoke to about 100 people during the meeting tonight telling everyone what happened during the day. It was a great day for him and for our group. Other speakers for our group were Logan, Seth and Autumn.

After we did the VBS, or the VBS did us, we then went to work on the building. Some of the kids painted a couple bathrooms, some mopped and scrubbed the floor of the room where we are eating and doing the crafts, others moved a piano, an organ, a drum set and an electronic piano and we all just tried to clean up and pick up to help the church out just a little. It was dirty and hot and by the time we got back to the hotel, we were tired and ready for a break.

A couple other things happened that merit some lines. One is that we were able to guide one homeless lady to a shelter for a few nights, with the help of Pastor Jakes. Actually we were helping him in this as he did the work. We were able to give her some food that will be her meals for the next day or two. We actually fed two homeless people with the food we prepared for the kids, but did not get eaten. It is a much different world than Ash Grove!

Well, it’s about time to close as midnight is drawing near. Tomorrow we are planning on finishing painting the bathrooms, going to sears tower, eating lunch in Chicago and (Ed Debs?), doing VBS, watching some fireworks at Navy pier and going to bed. It is making me tired just thinking about it. We will also be having church tomorrow evening at 7:00 PM where I will be preaching once again. Thanks for the prayers and keep them coming.

Again to the parents: All is well. No one is, or has been sick, everyone is eating good and getting a fair amount of rest. Your kids are working hard and I’m every proud.

Pastor Mitch and the gang from Chicago.

One more thing: As I read the other days reports I noticed a few mistakes in spelling and grammar. Do your best to look past those areas and see what God is doing with these kids in Chicago.