HomeWindy City Project 2011

The Windy City Project too place July 21 – 26. To see some highlights please click on the link below. Our mission still continues this Christmas season and beyond. Many of the inner city kids will be going with our high school students to their annual ski trip in the upper peninsula this winter.

http://web.me.com/wazhikwa/WindyCityProject/Welcome.html

Naperville Church Mission Trip Stays Close to Home

 The city and the suburbs came together recently when 71 members of the Naperville Covenant Church in Naperville, IL, decided to stay close to home for a recent mission trip July 21-26.

Aptly titled the Windy City Project (WCP), church members committed to raising funds and providing the labor to complete a wide range of projects for four different partner organizations in Chicago and nearby suburbs.

It was a multi-generational effort that included families and volunteers ranging from young children to retirees, all of whom fully participated in mission activities.

Over a six-day period, WCP participants completely overhauled two bathrooms, laid floor tile, cleaned and reorganized storage rooms, painted walls, hung wallpaper, built a brick patio, distributed Bibles to shelter children and provided children’s Christian education programs. While the work was important, the emphasis was on connecting with people and showing them the love of Christ. In return they heard the hopes, struggles and stories of people they met.

WCP members stayed at Tapestry Fellowship, a church plant located on Irving Park Rd. across from Independence Park. They also helped the church by turning a small piece of unused ground into a patio area where members and visitors could mingle.

Other projects benefited residents of Cornerstone Community Outreach, programs sponsored by the Jesus People USA worship community. Cornerstone provides housing and a variety of additional services for homeless individuals and families at seven different shelters. Bridge Communities, a grassroots organization that provides housing, mentoring and other services to help homeless families and move them toward self-sufficiency, also benefited from the project.

“Most of our previous mission trips have taken us to other states and countries,” noted trip coordinator and Pastor of Spiritual Formation Diana Shiflett. “Many participants find these trips a little frustrating because most of the volunteers don’t get to see the people they meet ever again. We knew there was plenty of work to be done in Chicago, and we are close enough to the city that we can keep in touch even after the mission trip is over. We also avoided expensive transportation costs, so we could devote that money to WCP projects.”

Another advantage of staying close to home was that it allowed more people to participate. The six-day program was divided into three two-day modules, and participants could elect to participate in one to three modules depending on their availability.

Darlene Brown, who owns her own hairstyling salon, seldom gets to take part in mission trips because she has to work. This time, however, she was able to provide haircuts for Cornerstone residents on her days off.

“Transportation got a little tricky,” noted WCP transportation planner Ron Carlson.

“But picking vehicle teams from participants who chose the same modules led to a surprising match of skill sets to the multiple sites projects.”