Chicago YouthWorks Trip

Waiting on the tracks for the "L" train.

The girls hanging out.

The Chicago skyline taken from the Catholic school
where the group showers.

A group of 25 youth and 6 adults traveled to Chicago to serve with YouthWorks from July 22-27, 2012 led by Erin Swenson-Hatzung.

Here is Erin's report of their first full day in Chicago via phone:

On Monday, the group was split into six smaller groups. Four of them worked with inner city kids (ages 6-14) within the neighborhood the group is staying in. The work was fun, hard and tiring. It was very hot, and the groups were working outside all day-long in 100 degree heat. The youth have noticed that working with inner city kids is a lot different than working with kids back home and are being stretched in a lot of new ways.

Another small group spent time painting the nursery at Seed of Abraham Church in Chicago, where everyone from SOTV is staying,

The final small group spent time at "St. Stan's" Catholic School doing several different tasks: removing a block of concrete, mopping the floors, and serving at their soup kitchen.

That evening, the entire group took the "L" downtown, and got to see some of the sights in downtown Chicago including the infamous "Bean" in Millennium Park and enjoyed hearing some live music. Despite the hot night, everyone had a great time.