The countdown has begun...for me at least.
This year in Chicago looks to be incredible. The youth that are going are amazing. I always tell them, "If you are going to Chicago, you are being called."
My prayer for the teens is that they discern WHY they are called. Who is there that they are to meet? What experience is there that they are meant to have? Who is there that is to meet THEM? How is God going to use them this year in Chicago?
Things change for people who go on this trip. It's hard to put into words until you experience it. My daughter Mac put it this way one time...she said she learned what "God is love" means after going to Port. Being at Port is to be in the presence of love at all times. Last weekend while in Chicago for another reason, she tweeted, "I am 76 minutes away from my missing piece at 5013 S. Hermitage, Chicago" which is Port's address.
Teens feel free to jump in here. Share your thoughts, insights, perspective. Both those who have been and those about to experience serving in Chicago for the first time with me.
When we go to Port and serve, I think I speak for most of us when I say we leave a piece of ourselves there. I have had profoundly humbling experiences at Port over the years...usually in watching the teens and kids from the neighborhood connect. Miracles happen every day at Port.
This year, we have added a new site to serve...It's called Mission of Our Lady of the Angels. It's on the west side of Chicago in another poverty stricken neighborhood. We will be working at a Bible Camp for the day.
Some of the teens who have been to Port with me in the past are struggling with the change. I get that. I am too. My heart has a home at Port....it's a place I am most at peace and feel closest to God.
But I also know that Jesus didn't stay on the mountain. He came down because there was more to do. I am pushing these teens...asking them to change, do something different and unknown. That's hard to do, especially when the KNOWN is so incredibly powerful and life giving.
My prayer of late has been for the teens who I am hoping will go to Mission of Our Lady with me each day. We have more to do...more people to meet...more things to see...more experiences to understand. While I am nervous to be somewhere other than Port during the day, I am comforted by the idea of sharing this with youth who I have already experienced Port with...and the fact that Christ will lead us.
In the words of St. Patrick,
Christ with me,
Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.”
― St. Patrick
This year in Chicago looks to be incredible. The youth that are going are amazing. I always tell them, "If you are going to Chicago, you are being called."
My prayer for the teens is that they discern WHY they are called. Who is there that they are to meet? What experience is there that they are meant to have? Who is there that is to meet THEM? How is God going to use them this year in Chicago?
Things change for people who go on this trip. It's hard to put into words until you experience it. My daughter Mac put it this way one time...she said she learned what "God is love" means after going to Port. Being at Port is to be in the presence of love at all times. Last weekend while in Chicago for another reason, she tweeted, "I am 76 minutes away from my missing piece at 5013 S. Hermitage, Chicago" which is Port's address.
Teens feel free to jump in here. Share your thoughts, insights, perspective. Both those who have been and those about to experience serving in Chicago for the first time with me.
When we go to Port and serve, I think I speak for most of us when I say we leave a piece of ourselves there. I have had profoundly humbling experiences at Port over the years...usually in watching the teens and kids from the neighborhood connect. Miracles happen every day at Port.
This year, we have added a new site to serve...It's called Mission of Our Lady of the Angels. It's on the west side of Chicago in another poverty stricken neighborhood. We will be working at a Bible Camp for the day.
Some of the teens who have been to Port with me in the past are struggling with the change. I get that. I am too. My heart has a home at Port....it's a place I am most at peace and feel closest to God.
But I also know that Jesus didn't stay on the mountain. He came down because there was more to do. I am pushing these teens...asking them to change, do something different and unknown. That's hard to do, especially when the KNOWN is so incredibly powerful and life giving.
My prayer of late has been for the teens who I am hoping will go to Mission of Our Lady with me each day. We have more to do...more people to meet...more things to see...more experiences to understand. While I am nervous to be somewhere other than Port during the day, I am comforted by the idea of sharing this with youth who I have already experienced Port with...and the fact that Christ will lead us.
In the words of St. Patrick,
Christ with me,
Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.”
― St. Patrick