Things are still going well.  I have to make this update quick as I have to head out to find some milk for breakfast for the clan.  (Thanks to google maps, I know there is a Wild Oats opening in a few minutes a couple blocks from here.  Pretty darn amazing, this internet thing.) 

We still don’t have a solid internet connection for uploading pictures so I am sorry for that.  There is a Starbucks near Hemenway UMC in Evanston, which is serving as our Chicago home, so I may hit it up early tomorrow or late tonight.  Since we last spoke…

Monday, we divided into various teams.  All did their jobs well.  I especially wanted to lift up the demolition of a garage that was accomplished using nothing but hammers, crow bars and one ax.  The devastation was pretty amazing!  Know of something you want demolished?  We may be just the people you need!

Yesterday, we loaded early and left from Cedar Point.  But before we did, we spent some time in the sanctuary of the Nehemiah Center in Cleveland.  The Center is basically a church that was decommissioned in December and it shows the wear and tear of being in slow decline for a number of years.  And yet, it sits in the middle of a thriving, vibrant community.  Pastor Phil led us all in prayer at the altar, as we prayed that the wind of the Holy Spirit would blow again in the people necessary to make that church both a congregation and a neighborhood outreach again.  (And I have to say how thankful I am that Pastor Phil took this week to come and be with us on this adventure.  Not a lot of senior pastors would do that and I think it has helped him get a clearer picture of the youth ministry and the students at Bethelehem.)

The theme park was amazing.  Tons of fun photos, stories of death defying rides and long waits in line.  Everyone seemed throughly taken with the day.  We then loaded up and headed to Hemenway UMC in Evanston.  It was a late arrival, made slightly interesting because Zhon Paul, our fantastically amazing bus driver, realized that the bus would lose its roof if we didn’t find an alternative route.  So we are here now, eating breakfast, heading to the YMCA for showers and then on to a full day at a center that helps developmentally challenged adults.  Keep us in your prayers.  The long road home is starting to loom in front of us on Saturday and a celebration of what God is doing in our midst will happen on Sunday at the one service at 10:45 AM.