Saturday was a long hard day of getting things ready for the VBS program. The day began before 6:00am. We ate breakfast at Shilas Restaurant in the Portage Park neighborhood where the church is located. The food was great as was the service. But more importantly than how they treated us was how our team is learning to live intensely local (meaning, learning to be intentional about connecting with people in our relational sphere of influence for the intent of building a relationship, having spiritual conversations, sharing the good news about Christ and spending time together). Our hope is to eat most mornings at Shilas and build a relationship with the owner and employees and start to see opportunities for having spiritual conversations.
Following breakfast we began unloading and setting up. Some of our group walked around the neighborhood handing out fliers letting families know about the VBS. Going door to door to talk to strangers was a stretch for some in our group, but they did it with a positive attitude. The church was cooking food for the neighborhood and had rented a bounce house. Several of us had the opportunity to greet and visit new people from the neighborhood and hclp COSC build local relationships.
After a long day of setting up and prepping, the church building is getting closer to being ready for the arrival of the children.
We had some great time together as a team and connecting with the youth and adults at Christ Our Savior Church (COSC) today. It is a joy for me to see the youth connecting with others in our group and others from COSC.
We ended the day with a great Middle Eastern meal at Naf Naf Grill in Skokie and ice cream from a Filipino ice cream shop called Village Creamery. It was a sweet ending to a sweet day. Tired, but filled with joy at the opportunity to spend time with these amazing young men and women and see them serving the Lord together as a team. Praise God!
