Chicago 2024
Chicago 2024 was my 5th year attending the Chicago Mission Trip with Reach The Heart and every single year I have gone has been amazing! I would have to write a couple books to share all the testimonies I and the team around me have had over the past few years. But this is why I have the blog, to share with you all the testimonies of what the Lord has done on this trip.
We got to Chicago on Saturday, the 15th of June, and stayed in the Chicago City Life Center until Sunday the 23rd. Each year I have gone to Chicago we have been well taken care of while staying in inner-city Chicago. I often get asked if I feel safe in Chicago and my simple answer to that is yes, and that is only because of the protection from the Lord, and that Reach The Heart has been going to Chicago for over 30 years now and the community knows all about the program and our sincere intentions.. It has been so cool seeing how much the community enjoys our fun week of getting to share the love of Christ with everyone over the years.
My first time attending the Reach The Heart mission trip to Chicago was in 2019 and during that year I got to meet two families who five years later decided to attend the evening events once again. It was so cool getting to see them again and catch up on life. I got pretty close with this one family during my first year in Chicago and I am amazed that the Lord allowed me to see a seed planted so many years ago growing and blooming five years later. This family had a son and daughter named Lashon and Arianna and they both got baptized that week! They had received Jesus as Lord of their lives a few years ago and decided to get baptized and their decision warmed my heart. I got to speak with them for a while after the kids got baptized. As I was speaking with Lashon, I asked him if he had a Bible, he said no, so I ran inside to grab a Bible, and when I set that Bible in his hands, his heart leaped for joy and he just started to squeal in excitement! Seeing Lashon’s love for the Lord almost brought me to tears! The little Lashon I met so many years ago would dance his heart out for the Lord and now Lashon is doing the same thing but singing gospel songs too! I am so grateful for how the Lord is moving in their lives and I will continue praying for these wonderful families!
I met another family this year during the Juneteenth celebration in Washington Park and our crossing of paths started with playing football. I started playing catch with this young boy named Tyrell and as we were tossing the ball Tyrell would give me tips on how to throw and then teach me victory dances, so I started calling him “Coach”. Getting to uplift Coach by sharing God’s character with him was such a blessing. As the evening continued I got to meet Coach’s godmother Keiasha and she is such a sweetheart. I do not have enough good things to say about who Keiasha is. She loves the Lord and is eager to see her family and friends on the straight and narrow path. Keiasha is one of the most loving and caring people I have met in Chicago and I am so grateful for her! I invited Keiasha and her family to the evening events at the Church and to VBS (Vacation Bible School) and the next day they came to both!
At the kids’ rally during the evening event, Coach was not enjoying his time, he was too old for this “little kids stuff” and I could see where he was coming from so I decided to sit with him and a few other kids and leaders and just talk about God’s love for us, baptism, and our testimonies. Tyrell was the one who wanted us to go around and share our testimonies with each other and I am so happy he did because we got to hear some amazing stories. One of the young boys explained that one day he was on YouTube and came across a video that spoke about selling your soul to the devil and that day he did that, he explained how it was a bad decision he made and another day he came across a video that explained giving your life to Jesus so he turned from his bad ways and started following Jesus and received him as Lord of his life (Thank you Jesus for giving him the opportunity to choose You and turn from his evil ways). We got to hear a few more testimonies and it was just amazing that these kids, 9-12 years old, understood what living a life of following Jesus can look like. I will forever be grateful for that conversation, it was so beautiful and needed at the right time for these kids.
I am so grateful for this trip and for the team the Lord allowed me to be a part of. Our VBS team consisted of the Chi Alpha group and the South Dakota crew. The leaders were Joshua, Daniel, and I, and the students were, McKaykla, Kindra, Irelyn, Faith, Maddie, Jordy, Chance, Caleb, Josh, Rachel, Sierra, and Glenn. This team was such a blessing and they all worked so well together. We never had to prompt the students to go out and talk to people, because they took initiation! They prayed, spoke with, and invited people to the events happening all week, and they did it all with a servant’s heart. This team served well, spoke well, lived well, and most important of all, loved well this past week in Chicago. Their quick obedience and eagerness to serve made the week go by smoothly and I will forever be grateful for them all!
Thank you Jesus for allowing us to reach the hearts of Chicago, your will be done forever and always.