Chicago April 2025

As I sit on a plane on my way to Chicago to lead Calhoun Christian school, I am reminded that a month ago I was in Chicago leading Maranatha church from Manitoba Canada.

I never wrote about that trip, I think because I just didn’t know where to start. It was an incredible experience, and I hope to be able to lead my new Canadian friends again in the future.

In one of our first leader meetings, I was talking about a listening prayer exercise that I like to do called a Holy Spirit Scavenger Hunt. They informed me that they had ALREADY been doing that, and they had a whiteboard full of all the people that God had revealed to them that they were going to meet and minister to in Chicago. They came prepared and ready to follow His leading.

We started day one with an outreach to the community around the church where we were staying, serving hot dogs, chips, and Kool-Aid on the sidewalk. The team walked around the neighborhood and invited everyone they met to come and join us for hot dogs, and it was a great encouragement to the community.

Day 2 we did a scavenger hunt that Jordan created called “Seed Planting” where we went out into different communities and talked with people about faith. Some of the items on the scavenger hunt were:
Talk with someone who changed their religion in their lifetime, and find out why they changed
Pray for healing for someone
Talk with someone who has a different faith than you, and compare your beliefs (respectfully)
Share a bible verse with a stranger
This was an incredibly successful activity that really encouraged the participants to get out of their comfort zones and talk about difficult (and meaningful) subjects with strangers.
Then after lunch we continued the scavenger hunt at Millenium Park (the Bean)

Day 3 we spent the day at a veterans home talking with and encouraging veterans. This was an amazing opportunity to get to know men who have served our country through military service. There were a few WW2 veterans, and quite a few Vietnam veterans. Many of these men were a bit lonely and appreciative of the opportunity to share their stories with someone who was genuinely interested. Some were even a little down and grumpy, but a few of the men who were grumpy when we arrived, were smiling and having a great time when we left. It was a wonderful opportunity to share God’s love and encouragement with people who sometimes get forgotten.

Day 4 we had to change our plans because it rained in the morning. Some of the participants wanted to try serving at the children’s hospital since we couldn’t do our original outdoor plan.  We tried, but unfortunately the children’s hospital couldn’t receive all of us.  A few participants were able to pray for and encourage the reception staff and hear about the history of the hospital and what they do there.  The rest of us walked the perimeter of the building and prayed for the patients, the parents, and the staff of the hospital.  Even though we weren’t able to meet those we were ministering to, walls are not a barrier to God, and we are confident that covering that place in prayer made an impact, even though we didn’t get a chance to see it.  Then in the afternoon we served at a food pantry that was open to anyone who needed it.  It was eye opening to see the wide variety of people who made use of the pantry’s services.  Most of our students were tasked with helping folks out to their cars since the parking lot was a couple hundred yards from the pantry.  Then they would return the shopping carts.  This created a wonderful opportunity for conversation during the long walk to the parking lot, and many were encouraged by those conversations.

Day 5 the rain had cleared, and we were able to execute our plan from Day 4.  But God knew what he was doing by delaying us for a day, because the plan was to minister in an outdoor plaza in the middle of downtown.  And by waiting a day our ministry overlapped with a protest that was happening against a new law that was going to make homeschooling difficult in the state of Illinois.  Since much of our team were home school students, they related strongly with the protesters.  They had purchased flowers and candy to hand out in the plaza just to brighten people’s days, and as they sang, and danced, and handed out flowers and candy to protesters and businesspeople alike, everyone was encouraged.  Many people were prayed for, and one woman was even healed from a perpetual pain that she had been suffering from for a long time.   Then in the afternoon we visited Pacific Garden Mission where some participants were able to help serve a meal to the residents, and the rest got an in-depth tour of the Mission, and a history and explanation of the facilities purpose.  The staff at the Pacific Garden Mission are dedicated to being the hands and feet of Jesus but also making the Gospel a HUGE part of everything that they do.  Jesus is truly the center of everything they do at the mission, and I am excited to serve there again this week.

Since nothing can express the success of a trip quite like the testimonies of the participants, here are some key takeaways from the participants.

I learned to depend completely on the Holy Spirit for all my strength on this trip

I have grown in hearing God and also trusting him and his plan.

There is so many moments, but I got to meet this man who was 97 yrs old at the veteran’s home. And hearing about his passion for God even at such an old age was inspiring and made me want to be that way (be on fire for God) always.

My faith and confidence has become stronger. God gave me a love for mission trips.

being able to go out into parks and talking to people definitely pushed my comfort zone, but it was amazing to see how God worked in the people we reached out to!! Most of the people were so willing to talk and share their lives with us and so that was so special to be able to share the gospel with them!

I believe I have grown spiritually by just trusting God even when plans change or something doesn’t work out and just believe that God has a different plan. That has really grown me closer to him.

We met two guys and neither of them were Christian’s. We prayed for them and they felt really impacted by the prayer. They were doing a yell thing in the middle of the city and they would dedicate it to something. One dedicated it to relaxation, but the other was so impacted by the prayer that he dedicated it to God!