Friday:
Our last day in Chicago! I went with a different color group that day due to the driving home plan. We traveled uptown to Cornerstone Community Outreach, a huge homeless shelter, with meal site and clothing "free-store". To start our morning at CCO, we had a little orientation to the shelter and learned about homelessness in Chicago. Our speaker was very interesting and I learned some new things from her talk - I could have listened longer, but we all wanted to get to work! Part of the group went to the kitchen area to help prepare lunch for the shelter residents (they can hold about 500 men, women, and children, but lunch was not that full because people go places during the day) and the other part went to the clothing "free-store". I wish I'd taken a picture of the store, it was huge and full of clothes for women, children, and men. Our job was to hang up some clothes that I had already been sorted and then place them in the right section. After emptying two huge bins, it was time for lunch. We went across the street to the meal site building and ate lunch with the residents. I sat by some young students: one studying to be a nurse and the other a high school student with big dreams. After lunch it was time to start back on our trip home. (I survived driving (a mini-van with 6 kids!) through the city!) Once back at church we were welcomed by parents, siblings, and other church members. We shared bits of our week with them as we enjoyed pizza. Overall, I really enjoyed the trip - it was bumpy at times, but I feel so good about the work that we accomplished in Chicago. I'd definitely go again.
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