See You Later, Alligator!

The Goodbyes

And They're Off!

As you all probably remember, Nick went on a fun camping trip this summer with the youth group from church. Well, not to be outdone, Luke also hit the road for a little summer fun. He went to Chicago on a mission trip with some kids from church. Mission trip, you say, that doesn't sound very fun. I beg to differ. From the sound of it, they had a blast. Sure, they worked and worked hard. They saw poverty and need unlike anything they've seen before in their young lives. They reached out to homeless people and gave them food and hope in Jesus. That's a neat thing for a young man to get to do. The funny thing is, had they been with their parents, we would have, no doubt, rushed them past the 'unlovely' people and steered them to more 'suitable' attractions. And think what they would have missed. I'm glad my son got to see men with nothing...and that he gave them all he had.

But they also enjoyed all the sights of Chicago. They toured the Navy Pier, ate from the street vendors, played at the ESPN Zone, walked around downtown, took a boat ride out on beautiful Lake Michigan, even attended a famous church on Sunday! The campus where they stayed had huge nightly worship meetings and they all liked the band and speakers.

I like to think that Luke had fun and I know he did. I've seen the pictures to prove it! But more importantly, I hope he came home a little more mature, a little more aware of how blessed he really is.