Chicago Summer Project 2012 is Officially Over

Wow. What a week! So much has happened in these last seven days; it's insane. I better start at the beginning.

Saturday it stormed. Like, insanely.

 The sky was green. It was insane! A big group of people came up to my apartment to watch the storm; it cleared up later though. And we played sardines that night. It was super fun.

Sunday was the usual with a small change. We had church in the morning, where 40 to 50 people got baptized. Then we met as a Prayer Team to pray together one last time, and our Impact Team only met to get our sharing stats for the week. Then Sunday night, for Project Fun we had a picnic together in Millennium Park.

 Katelyn even had a kite (although we weren't allowed to fly it). We ended up playing in the park that night, and we had a blast!

Monday was the usual. We had pizza and our Monday meeting. It was a fun night!

Tuesday we did an outreach to the Chicago homeless. We passed out pb&j sandwiches. Then Sydney, Alex and I went to the Lincoln Park Zoo.

 The lion was my favorite. And look how large their paws are compared to my hand. It's insane! And we rode the carousal. I know, I know, the 19, 20, and a 21 year old college students rode a carousal. But we did it, and it was great! 

 Tuesday night we treated the guys who took us on our Creative Date. We decorated mugs and cooked them appetizers and desserts, and then just chilled together afterward. They really appreciated the thank you, almost as much as we appreciated the date itself!

 Wednesday morning we woke up extra early (5:30am) for baptisms. 13(?) people on Project decided to get baptized on Wednesday morning in Lake Michigan, making a public proclamation that they were dedicating their lives to Jesus. It was so beautiful to watch, and was totally worth getting up really early!

 Wednesday night was the Farewell Banquet, and I have to say, the team planning it did a fantastic job. We had a great dinner, project personalities ("Most likely to knit you a poncho" right here! Katelyn got that as well), a section in the corner where we could write encouragement notes and memories, a photo booth with funny props we could use, and a dance.

 Me and a few of my friends. The "O-H-I-O" picture was interesting. Even though Katelyn and I go to Ohio University (because we are Ohio and they are State), we were all Ohio roommates, so we took it. We had a blast together, and I love them so much (which is why I can totally make fun of them for being State and not Ohio and they know I'm kidding and love them in their scarlet and grey anyway).
Afterward we went back to the Lofts for an after party! We changed into comfy clothes, watched a video of us that was recorded by the Banquet team of our greatest memories, project secrets, most embarrassing moments, encouragements, etc., and they gave us little gift bags.

The little card explains what is in the bags and what it represents. The objects inside correlate with our weekly themes (with our overarching themes of Magnificent for the first half of Project and I AM for the second). It was really thoughtful of them to put together, and we couldn't have asked for a better night.

Thursday morning we had our last meeting together as a Project, and then I proceeded to clean and pack up for the rest of the day (literally. Like, I was packing until almost 3am). We came together as a Project, or those of us who were left as people started leaving Thursday morning, and did a hug/goodbye line in the lobby so we could all get our goodbyes out at once. And do you want to hear something surprising? I haven't cried about leaving once. Yeah, I've missed home a lot and have wanted to be back on the farm like crazy, but after all we went through as a Project, these 68 other college students from all over the country have really become my family, and have given me a glimpse of what Heaven will be like. When I was first applying for Project and people told me that I would be spending the summer with almost 70 of my closest friends, I said yeah right. We'll be friends, but there is no way that we will be that close. I can honestly say that God proved that assumption incorrect. These men and women have become so dear to my heart, and I cannot wait for our Project Reunion in November. And the best part is,

Jenn