WHO: Bettie, Kayla, Faith, Jamie, Dan, Stephney, and Lauren, students at North Park University in Chicago, IL
WHAT: A 9 day mission trip to Skid Row in Los Angeles, California, working with the homeless, the poor, children, and senior citizens.
WHEN: University spring break, March 8-16, 2014
WHERE: Compton, CA, an area most often referred to for its crime rates and homeless population
WHY: To be the hands and feet of Jesus, and to show the people of Compton that they are not forgotten, and are not unloved!
HOW: Through the support of North Park University, and our friends, families, and churches!
Our trip to LA is quickly approaching, with a little more than a week left. Time to get our ducks in a row, to pack, to plan, to pray, and to prepare our hearts. We are doing wonderfully financially, and our plans with the Center for Student Missions in LA are all coming together. The seven of us have been meeting every Thursday night since the beginning of the semester to grow closer together, learn about each other, and to respond together to the call placed on our lives.
Pray for us as we continue to prepare to show God's love, and to be salt and light in our broken world. It is not an easy task, but it is one that is well worth living into. North Park's motto is to live lives of significance and service, and as someone who will be experiencing their first mission trip, I am excited to be able to put those words into action- not for my own significance, but to glorify God!
I am feeling the increasing importance to remember that not only has He created me, but He has also handcrafted my teammates, and those I will meet in LA. We are all valuable, indescribable masterpieces to God, and I am praying for Him to open my eyes to the beauty that he sees in every person I will come to walk with.
-Lauren
