I was Rocked this AM! (In a good way)

Earlier this morning I once again rose early and boarded the 8:12AM train at Schaumburg to head down to the city.  As usual the Loop was pretty quiet at 9:25 on a Sunday morning,  and today was no exception.  I entered the historic Auditorium Theatre 10 minutes later and grabbed my usual seat in one of the opera boxes.  Where else can you worship the Creator of all from an opera box?  Only at 10AM on Sunday mornings at Willow Creek Chicago.  The service began with a great rendition of "Better Is One Day",  which made me think of how Willow Creek was back in the 90's and early 2000's.  In my opinion,  Willow was at it's high point during that time.  A couple of songs later,  the message (videocast from South Barrington) began.  The speaker was Blake Mycoskie,  founder of TOMS shoes out in CA.  He openly described how TOMS began in 2006 and grown to worldwide status in 5 years.  He initiated a "One for One",  you purchase a pair of shoes,  a child in a Third World country receives a pair of TOMS shoes.  I just sat there and took it in,  and could not believe what I was hearing.  In that moment this morning,  my world was rocked.  After the service I had a few conversations with some folks about what transpired in the last hour or so.  I was still in a daze as I walked out of the Auditorium Theatre,  past Willow Chicago's brand new ministry center at 418 S Wabash,  and headed for Union Station to catch the 12:30 train back out to the burbs.  During the train ride I was still processing the message.  Serving the less-fortunate in the Third World is my life's passion. 

In other news,  my upcoming trip to Zambia and Uganda is now finalized.  I'll depart on Friday Sep 16 and return on Tues night,  Sep 27,  which is now a day sooner.  During my 2 weeks there I'll be visiting some microloan businesses begun by poor villagers in Zambia,  some water purification systems,  and even a Willow Creek partner site (even though I'm traveling with Bright Hope International and not Willow Creek).  Most of my time in Zambia will be centered in/around the impoverished rural community of Samfya.

I'll continue to update.  As always,  remember to choose kindness

Trip Dates and other items

I'll be traveling in Africa (Zambia & Uganda) from Fri September 16 - Wed Sep 28,  returning a day sooner than originally planned.  I'll be traveling with a staff member of Bright Hope International (That's right,  just 2 of us now).  I'll have a trip-prep meeting this Thursday at 2PM,  and at that time I'll find out what kinds of items I'll bring with me.  One thing about this adventure is that we'll be constantly on the move,  no more than 2 days in one village.

 On Sunday morning,  August 28 I'm planning to head back down to Willow Creek's downtown Chicago campus once again,  and anyone is more than welcome to join me.  The service is at 10AM at the historic Auditorium Theatre (Congress & Wabash)

 I also recently hooked up with a great local organization.  Backpack Buddies is based in Hanover Park and last week they collected nearly 750 backpacks from local families.  Many of them will be distributed in U-46 school district and a few other NW suburban districts.  My small contribution consisted of 4 backpacks.  I'm also looking at some organizations and food pantries/soup kitchens in the Elgin area.  There seems to be a lot of need in that city.

 That's all for now.  I'll post back next week about collecting items for Africa