Day 4 in Chicago

Another busy day in the city... We met with Dave Arnold today and were oriented to the work he is doing in an area of Chicago. With him, was Amos, a missionary from Nepal who is in Chicago working with Nepalese and Bhutanese refugees. There are soooooo many! Amos introduced us to 2 young guys who are helping him and we were taken in 3 different groups to visit some of the refugees. Chuck and I were in different groups, but I ended up with the camera! Chuck's group actually visited every family in the apartment building whereas my group spent the entire time with Naryan's family (Naryan was my group leader who has only been in the U.S. for 3 months from Bhutan). He and his sister-in-law and brother are Christians. His mother, father, and several other family members are Hindu. But, they seem to be listening and watching as Naryan shares the gospel. These families all live together and speak little to no English. Naryan served as the interpreter. They were very hospitable to us and seemed to have no problem with us being in their home. I had been warned before going in that they would offer something to eat or drink and I had to take it.... Well, I was already nauseated from the train ride and had taken medicine for a migraine, plus, I'm pretty ticky about my food:) As soon as we got in, sure enough the ladies vanished into the kitchen and I knew they were preparing something. I was nervous! They finally came out, pulled a small table in front of us, and sat down a tray of Nepalian tea, moon pies, saltines, and cookies! The tea was a little weird (had a strange film on the top) but hey, I can do moon pies, saltines, and cookies... so I was pleased! Chuck's poor group went in about 12 different homes and were offered something in everyone! They were all about to pop when they came out! All jokes aside, it was a great time to pray for these families and see first hand the struggles they are going through. Despite their difficulties, no money, no jobs, and language barriers, they say they'd much rather be here than in the refugee camps. I pray that they see and feel God working in their lives and that they were somehow encouraged by a bunch of strangers from NC today.

Tonight, we met with John Patrick, who is going to be planting a church in an area known as the West Loop of Chicago. This area is mainly business people, mostly young adults. John shared his vision for Christ Redeemer Church and gave us maps of that particular target area. Tomorrow we will be prayer walking and scouting out the neighborhoods for him. Pray that we would be able to start up conversations with those we encounter in that community tomorrow and that Christ would be made known!