Day 3 - posted in a hurry before we head out for day 4

Our group in the chapel

We were invited to eat breakfast in the Refectory, the seminary’s cafeteria.  We had a wide range of options from made-to-order omelets, pancakes, bacon and a variety of beverages. Fanya, the director of Beyond Belief, gave us a tour. A highlight of the tour was the hallway that contained photos of graduates, including Salem’s own, Paul Erickson.

Look for Paul on upper right

After our seminary tour, we went to The DuSable Museum of African American History. There was an animated, interactive display featuring a life-size Harold Washington, the first African American mayor of Chicago. We took a self-guided tour of the museum which was interesting, challenging and disturbing.

An animated Harold Washington spoke to us about his time as Mayor

Thanks to Paul’s driving skill, we were able to locate a parking spot for our 12-passenger van and we walked to the Taste of Chicago for lunch. It was difficult to decide how to use our tickets – there were at least 50 booths and many times that many options. It was a fun place to people watch. The weirdest things we tried were aged Gouda ice cream and bacon ranch mac and cheese bites.

This afternoon and evening we helped to serve a community meal at A Just Harvest. There were placements and flowers on the table and the meal was served restaurant-style, a change from yesterday’s cafeteria-style meal at Cornerstone. There were many volunteers so we had some down time, but eventually all of us were given jobs to do which we did willingly and well. We ate supper there when the guests were gone and we had cleaned up – turkey sausage, squash, coleslaw, fresh fruit and dessert. It was fun to interact with the other volunteers and the floor host, Erin, was friendly and inspiring. She greeted the guests with “Hello, beautiful people!” and “If no one said anything nice to you today, I want you to know that you are all beautiful people and I appreciate each and every one of you.”

We stopped on the way back home for Garrett’s popcorn then sat by the lake as the clouds were clearing and the sun was going down. 

Throughout our trip, we’ve been on the lookout for dogs and have had the opportunity to pet a few, including one that looked more like a bear than a dog. Today, we spotted 55 dogs - a new record!

It was long, full, very good day. These are really great kids. 

Pastor Lynn, with input from our tired group

Bagging up bread and sweet rolls for the guests

Looking good in our aprons and hair nets

Mopping up at the end of the meal

Mission Trip Update

Lots of whole chickens to bag

This morning, we got up bright and early at 5:30 am to get ready for the day. Our service project for the day was at Cornerstone Community Outreach and food pantry. First, we helped to prepare and serve breakfast and began to prepare pizza for lunch. We helped cut up the pizza, add toppings, and arrange them efficiently on the oiled trays, kinda like Tetris. Once breakfast was served, we helped out with the food pantry. Some of us policed the food to make sure everyone got a fair amount. Others helped to register people and sign them in. After this, we helped to set up the tables for lunch. We met many new people speaking many different languages.

Oiling the pans for pizzas being assembled on the other table.

Once we left the food pantry, we had a picnic in a park area. We used ingredients we had bought last night to craft our own sandwiches. 

During our meal we were greeted by a friendly squirrel in search of a few crumbs. After a chip was thrown at him, he realized that the food was not for him, and ran up a tree, never to be seen again.

After this, we walked over to the subway to catch a ride to the Oriental Theatre, to see the world premiere of the SpongeBob Musical. The subway experience was new for many, but exciting for all. Once we got off the train, we stopped by Garrett’s popcorn to eat samples and Magnolia’s bakery for banana pudding. Then, it was time for the best musical of our lives. We found our seats on the balcony and admired the extravagant set around us, full of fluorescent flowers and streamers. The musical was very colorful and extremely fun, with many cheerful songs and detailed dances, such as Squidward’s tap dance. The plot featured a volcano and the surrounding apocalypse facing Bikini Bottom, but was surprisingly cheerful in the end. Our main takeaway was that optimism can prevail even in the darkest of times.

Rice was chosen by almost everyone

Then, we walked over to Cloudgate, or the Bean, in Millennium Park and admired our reflections. From there we went to another big park with an even bigger playground. After that, we stopped for gelato and something to drink. Finally, we went back on our way to the Youth Center, our home for the week, where we have eaten meals and rested.

Ryan broke down 1000 boxes

The SpongeBox stage - so exciting!

Can you find our reflections in the Bean?

Maggie Daley Park - playground for all ages!

Perfect adventure for our group - even Paul cried a little at the end!

Riding the train downtown

Towards the end of the food pantry

Rafael cooked up eggs for breakfast

Stay tuned for the next installment of our Chicago adventure!

Chicago Bound

Today we traveled with six of our high school youth to learn, serve and play in Chicago. We are staying at the Beyond Belief Youth Center at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. That's a mouthful - simply put, some of the seminary housing in Hyde Park has been transformed into an awesome retreat center for youth groups.

 Tonight we walked to Giordano's for deep dish pizza. We had to carry the leftovers with us to get the lakefront, the grocery store and back to the youth center. The box was really heavy!

Starting very early tomorrow, we'll be working with different organizations that provide meals and other services for those who need them. We'll also be visiting some museums, exploring the lakefront, worshiping at the beach and more. Paul attended seminary and was a pastor in Chicago - so he's confident getting us around.

We were able to sit along the lake, looking toward the skyline downtown on this beautiful, warm evening.

We look forward to tomorrow and the adventures it will bring.

Back in Iringa continued

Fora was in Minnesota with an Iringa choir in 2005. She is from Magome.  Now she is a new Pastor  with a new parish in Iringa.  We visited her church which isn't completed but is beautiful. We are packing to leave tomorrow morning for Dar es Salaam.  Can't believe it is time to leave here.  We are all well.  Thank you to everyone for your prayers and contributions.  We will give a report at the annual meeting.  Judy, Jack, JR and Jeff

Back in Iringa

We got back to Iringa last night, but the Internet was down. We had a wonderful time in Magome.  On the way we encountered a detour and then when we got fairly close to Magome we had a huge log truck blocking our way!! He had been there for 2 days and there were some men that came from Magome to literally dig out the hillside so we could drive around the truck. We were delayed about 20 minutes. We were greeted by singers and dancers, one of which was the new pastor.  However, we didn't realize that.  We went to church after tea. Here is a picture of the pastor and our  interpreter.  Also a picture of the congregation.

The internet is hit and miss, so I will summarize our village experience. After lunch we got our gifts separated,  found 10 iof our scholarship students.  We took their pictures and gave them their gifts. We showed the "hi Magome " video. Sat around the cook fire and sang songs.  On Monday we went to Ikelamo preaching point. The evangelist's home is pretty well finished. Last trip we took a picture of him on a pile of bricks. Then we went to see the Salem preaching point. The mud hut church has been torn down and a new foundation has been poured.  They hope to have the walls up by September,  the bricks are all there. Then the roof raised so they will have a roof over their heads before the rainy season.  We also visited the primary school,  gave out our school supplies and soccer balls. That afternoon we also visited the dispensary and gave them the medical supplies that Louise and friends got for us. It was a very busy day. Again we sat around the fire,  when a box of crystal bells showed up.  They are using them as percussion  instruments! ! On Tuesday we attempted to drive to the 30 acre tree farm that has been planted. We got to within 3 hills of it driving on a plant covered road.  Michael our driver said "no farther". This is the "road".

We went back to the village and said our goodbyes. Pastor Agrippa and his new wife Lucy

We then went to Image school to see our form 4 students. Only 4 of the 9 that we thought would be there were there. Always frustrating to try and track down our students. Another long day. Today we visited the Diocese Office, and Radio Fruaha. We then met Flora Chavala whom we have known for 11 years!! She actually was in Minnesota years ago with an Irin

Heading to Magome

We are at the Luthern Centre and will load the Land Cruiser tonight because we have to be on the road tomorrow at 6:00 am!! This is a picture of all the bags we are taking. Today we shopped in Iringa to buy supplies for the village.  We bought rice, brown sugar, corn meal, cooking oil and notebooks for the secondary students we sponsor. We also bought notebooks for the elementary school in Magome.  The supplies are already in the cruiser. Hopefully we can get the bags in or on top of the vehicle.  We are all doing well and look forward to visiting the village and meeting the new pastor.  Keep us in your prayers. Judy, Jack, JR and Jeff

We made it!

We made it to Dar es Salaam with all our luggage. 

We are heading to Iringa this morning in our Land Cruiser with our driver Michael.

Judy