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     If I could sum up this week in one word it
would be “AMAZING!” From the moment we met the group from Arkansas we knew it
was going to be a GOOD week, but when we saw how the group from Arkansas
greeted the group from Canada when they got off their bus we knew it was going
to be a GREAT week! The bonds and the friendships that were already in the
groups and the ones that were built between the two groups are going to last a
lifetime and that is only through the love of our Lord. I was amazed at how
well the groups clicked and I enjoyed getting to know everyone and seeing
everyone serve each other, the church, and the community. They even began to
affectionately call the group “Arcadia” (the mixture of Arkansas and Canada)
because of how well they worked together. They desired no separation and no
distance, only community and friendship.

     One story from the week that I would like
to share is when we did our ATL on Thursday. Before we left for Grant Park we
began to do our ATL at the church. During that time the Lord gave a picture of
a tall, skinny man with dark hair wearing khaki slacks, and a blue button up
collared shirt and he was holding a drink in his hand. Then I got the color
yellow. After that I got a picture of a middle aged Mexican woman in black with
a stroller and a baby boy in it. Then I got the scene of those people standing
in a McDonald’s (I am assuming that is where the yellow color came from)
waiting for the food that they had ordered. Well when we got to the park every
team had gone their own way and I stayed behind to search for a nearby
McDonald’s so I can see if those people were there. I checked my phone and the
nearest McDonald’s was on the other side of Chicago so I decided to keep that
image in my head for another day and look for one of the teams so I can join
them. I ran into Carol from Arkansas’s team (Carol, Parker, Anna-Bel, Claire,
Melanie, Amanda, and Michaela) and joined up with them. We walked around for a
bit and were asking the Lord where we should go and we ended up walking over to
the Buckingham Fountain. Of course we took pictures and grabbed a snack at the
café, but some of them saw an opportunity to talk to these three people; an
older gentleman and lady, and a young girl. It just so happened that the young
girl was about to leave on a missions trip of her own and we were able to pray
for safe travels for her. During our ATL we were able to talk as a group on how
to approach someone if we knew we needed to pray for them and we had some good
discussion, and I was also able to hear from Melanie about what the Lord had
told her during her ATL back at the church. Claire had also shared with me what
the Lord had been teaching her during the week and it was awesome to hear how
the Lord is always faithful to teach us exactly what we need to be taught when
we need to learn it. Before heading back we also stopped to see the Cloud Gate
(or the Bean as the locals call it) in Millennium Park which was a cool site.
On the way back to meet the group we all walked past a man in tattered clothes
who looked homeless and hungry, but no one noticed him except for Melanie. She
asked everyone for a bottled water to give him, but no one had one. There is a
great lesson to learn here. How often do we walk past the needy without
noticing them because we are focused on what we have to do? How many religious
people have to walk past the dying man before the Good Samaritan stops to help?
How often do you ask the Lord to keep your mind, heart, and eyes open to see
what He sees? I am guilty of not asking the Lord for His thoughts and eyes more
than I should be, but the lesson is not focusing on what we could have done in
our past, but rather what we can do in our future. Each day brings a new
opportunity to minister to someone so I want to encourage everyone who is
reading this to constantly be on the lookout for those people. Even though I
did not see those people in the McDonald’s doesn’t mean that the Lord won’t
bring those people into my life later on (just ask Michelle Buenrostro). I must
always be prepared to do His will.

     Arcadians, I love you and I miss you and I
hope that we can all meet again someday by the greatness of our Lord.

In Him,

Jonathan Michael
Oliveras