Epiphany UMC

Our staff is ready to receive the team soon! They will be arriving and settling in soon! We can't wait to see what God has in store here in Chicago!

The team has arrived! We've settled into our home for the week, had orientation, and are ready to rest up for an incredible week ahead.

We are staying at Restoration Ministries boxing club. Such a cool lodging facility!

After a good night's sleep in our home for the week, we work up and spent some time in the Word all together. This week we'll be walking through the story of Joseph each morning. 

We attending Spirit of God Fellowship Church this morning! It was such an encouraging time worshipping with the people of South Holland. So many backgrounds and ethnicities are respresented in the congregation. It was a beautiful service. 

We acknowledged Juneteenth and the impact that has had on our country. "Freedom" is the battle cry of the Lord. He frees the captives. 

We celebrated father's today! We are so grateful for our dads. We also go to remember and be thankful for the best Dad, God. 

This afternoon we got on the train and headed to Chicago. It wasn't just about getting to downtown, it was about seeing the stops along the way and praying over specific issues and the people in those neighborhoods. 

We loved the experience of the train and we stretched our prayer muscles.

We got to explore and little slice of Chicago right now and enjoy our favorite Chicago treat.

We stopped by at Chicago’s famous pizza place, Giordanos! We all enjoyed a nice deep dish pizza.

After dinner, we walked to Millenium park to view the cloud gate (the bean) and some more cool structures! 

This week we are partnering with Restoration Ministries on the Southside of Chicago, in Harvey. They have a men and women's residential program for those who have struggled with addiction, a children's program to help with homework and ready comprehension, a children's summer camp, a food pantry, a thrift store, and the boxing/art club(where we are staying). 

They are truly making an impact and changing families through their ministries and programs in this area. It's an honor to serve with them. 

The team was split up into 2 main groups this morning. One half of the group came to the thrift store to help! We organized clothes in the front of the store and also sorted and prepared clothing in the back room to be sold. We had a great time serving alongside wonderful women from the Tabitha house (women receiving help through restoration ministry

We were able to work at the community garden this morning. They have fruits and vegetables planted that are available for the neighborhood residents to use and the produce goes to supply the food pantry as well. We weeded the raised beds and the ground around it to get ready to mulch and do yard work in the surrounding yards tomorrow. 

For dinner, we headed over to Restoration Ministry and ate with the men from Harvey house! We enjoyed hearing their testimonies and chatting about how they’ve been engaging with the multiple opportunities that restoration offers.  It was really encouraging to hear how God has worked in their lives. 

Before the night ended, we met up with another mission team serving at New Life community church. We had some delicious ice cream with many toppings and played some games together! 

Overall, we had a great day serving within the restoration ministry and getting to know new people through restoration! We can’t wait to see how God continues to use us this week. 

The team is pumped and ready for another day of service at Restoration ministries! We are headed over to have breakfast and then split off into teams. We will go to the thrift store, finish putting together shopping carts and laying down down some mulch! 

Many of us are working on the cart assembly project. We've gotten pretty good at it already! We are having fun and getting work done. 

Part of the group returned to the thrift store to help unpack, sort, and hang up clothes to sell! The group had fun while sweating in the back room and talking to some of the employees! We had some crazy breaks and look forward to returning one more time tomorrow! 

Here’s a picture of Grayson and Zachary taking a break on one of the shelves. 

We were able to install new ballet bars for the art club this afternoon. Until now, they have been using portable ballet bars that weren't as durable. We tested them out and can promise these are sturdy and ready to go! 

After eating delicious spaghetti, we took time to hear Ray’s testimony. He was the former executive director of Harvey house, a men’s program that fosters a Godly environment and a welcoming place for addiction recovery.   He shared about his previous life and how God had completely changed it and given him a second chance. God is truly evident in his life! 

This morning we sorted clothes that were donated to the food pantry. Since it was donated from a store, the clothes can't be sold at the thrift store. So we got them sorted and hung up so that families that come to the food pantry can also grab a few clothing items they may need. 

Some of us worked in the community gardens and the courtyard of the Harvey House. We weeded, mowed a neighbor's yard, cut down overgrowth near by, and watered the crops to make sure the area was useable and welcoming. 

And we are so grateful for the clouds the Lord gave us this morning! They kept us a little cooler as we worked hard outside. 

After 3 long days, the team finally completed 198 shopping carts! 

After a hot day, one of our amazing trip leaders treated us to ice cream from Baskin-Robbins! It was a cool way to end the night!

The team had worked incredibly hard this week with an open heart to serve in the Harvey community. We are looking forward to a fun day of recreation tomorrow! 

It's rec day. We are spending time in downtown Chicago enjoying the city we have been serving this week. 

Our first stop is the iconic bean!

After visiting the Sky Deck at Willis Tower (which was awesome!), We headed over to Portillo's hot dogs to try out some famous Chicago dogs. It was such a fun atmosphere and a great place to rest out feet before trekking it over to Navy Pier. 

To end the day, we tried out another favorite pizza place, Lou Manalti's. We walked more than 10 miles and had a great time! 

What an amazing week, time, and ministry! 

Today was the last morning at restoration ministries! The team woke up, got ready, pack, and did devotions before heading out. It was so fun serving at restoration ministries and getting to know the city of Chicago!