Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just 8 days away.  Thanksgiving is just what it means,  giving thanks.  It's one of my favorite holidays,  but in recent years it's been shut out by the always-earlier-apprearing Santa Claus,  snowmen,  reindeer,  and all the commercialization of Christmas.  Seems like we go from the pumpkins,  ghosts,  and ghouls of Halloween directly to Santa Claus,  with Thanksgiving crammed in between.  Thanksgiving likely has been snuffed out because you can't buy decorations or gifts,  or stuff you really don't need.  It's a simple holiday,  which has been forgotten in all the holiday hype and uproar. 
 
 What are you thankful for?

Last Sunday in Chicago - Haiti coming up

Last Sunday I rose early to train it downtown and attended the 10AM service at Willow Creek's Chicago campus,  even though I was there 2 weeks earlier,  just can't get enough of that place.  Afterwards I served some hot dogs and burgers to about 50 homeless men at a nearby shelter,  located on Clark & Van Buren streets in Chicago's loop.  The guys are always grateful to nourish their constant hunger pangs,  as the shelter does not feed them,  so they resort to begging on the street.  It was quite an experience last Sunday.  Many of these guys struggle with addictions,  depression,  and other habits.  Some were still "drying out" in the back,  and one man was zonked mindless on PCP (not kidding!).  I might serve them again on Thanksgiving Day.  I then caught a 2:30 train departure back to the northwest suburbs,  and reflected on the experience the whole way back.
 I'll be traveling to Haiti from December 8-December 13,  and will visit 3-4 orphanages in and around Port Au Prince.  One of them,  Jumecourt Inn,  I visited during my last trip to Haiti in March of 2010.  I'll be bringing donated items with me for the orphans here. 

 Also,  if you wish,  or are led,  to support Atala, (the handicapped widow I met in Uganda in September,  whose hut burned to the ground) you can log onto www.brighthope.org and feel free to contribute as you are led.

 On Monday evening we had over 100 souls pour into Bessie's Table,  which is a soup kitchen located in the basement of First United Methodist Church in Des Plaines.  They are open on Mondays from 5:30-7PM.  Seems like the need really increases this time of year.  Until the economy improves somewhat,  the need will always be there