Inside Out

Moving is Moving

Greater Schaumburg

I was the project leader for helping two families move. The first one was helping a grandma who is raising her two grandchildren, ages 2 and 7. We moved her and provided food and clothing for the children.

The second project was helping a family with health problems. The couple has a three-year-old child battling a tumor. After chemotherapy and surgery the tumor is gone!

The mother has Lupus and also needs chemo for six months. Our team helped them clean their new house and their old apartment.

I was moved to see all the volunteers helping with such big hearts. I love to see the Church serving in a small scale like this! And the family was overwhelmed to receive so much help from people they don't know! God is so good to all of us! Thank you.

Bruna Srb

EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER

Greater Barrington

We had over 100 people serve two widows and their young children on the Saturdays in November. 

One of the widows, Vicki, lost her husband in August and has five children ages 6-14. God has been so good to enable us to team up with Vicki's church (Vineyard in Elgin) to get the following accomplished.

We built a room in the unfinished basement, purchased and installed a water heater, painted every room in the house and much of the wood furniture, removed all the flooring and replaced it with hardwood/tile on the main floor and carpet upstairs, installed lights, repaired cabinets, re-padded chairs, did landscaping, repaired leaks, purchased new chairs, dishes, Christmas decorations and more. Whew!

Not only is the family being blessed during this difficult time, but the volunteers are having so much fun working with their neighbors and serving God. It's also great working with Vineyard Church. This is truly a community event!!

Missy Graf

Curtains and Bingo

Greater Palatine

The residents of St. Joseph's Home for the Elderly in Palatine were recently disappointed when arrangements fell through for a donation of sheer curtains for their rooms. The existing curtains block out all light when closed and when open, they let in too much sunlight to watch television.

Our Inside Out project team of four women wanted very much to find a way to make this project happen. So we prayed and then called and e-mailed friends, relatives, neighbors and another neighborhood group.

We raised enough money and found enough people willing to spend a Sunday afternoon at St. Joseph's hanging new curtains. Many of the families had already served on a neighborhood project but joyfully stepped up again to help us.

There was just one glitch to our project. The day before our serving day, we discovered that all 74 special order curtains we received were two feet too long. By scouring local stores for the correct size we were able to find enough curtains to complete more than half of the rooms.

Twenty adults and six children helped get the curtains up, and then stayed to visit the residents in their rooms and to play Bingo.

Our team is looking forward to another afternoon of hanging curtains and bingo with our new friends at St. Joseph's. Initially I thought that providing and installing the curtains was the major part of our project. However, it became clear to me that the most meaningful part of our day was the time spent visiting the residents.

It was just like Mike Breaux says, "Love God, love people."

April Kimura-Anderson

Christmas Away from 'Home'

     This Christmas was the best of my life, even better than the Christmas when I was 3 years old and we got a puppy.  What I regret is that I am 48 now and this is the first time I have participated in serving the homeless on a holiday or any other day.

     I arrived at Breakthrough Urban Ministries Men’s Shelter on Christmas Day with my food and drink offering in hand. After pounding on the door for fifteen minutes, I got no response.  Walking up and down the street in the Edgewater neighborhood in Chicago and peering in windows and rattling doors made my thoughts turn to the fact that just down the street my Buick LeSabre was parked and at any moment I could get away. There would be others peering through darkened windows who weren’t that lucky.

     Eventually I found the right place and gathered with about five Creekers who were there to serve.  In the true fashion of

Willow

, we became instant friends as we prepared for the luncheon we would serve to the homeless men at the shelter. From salads to BBQ to homemade lasagna to desserts, it was all there. 

     While some of the shelter’s residents had been given day passes to visit their family, the men who go remained sat and talked to each other or played Scrabble until it was time to say grace and begin the meal.

    After all the residents had been served, the volunteers fixed plates for themselves and sat in empty seats at various tables. I joined a table with people who had been there from a couple of weeks to a couple of years.  I began to realize just how close most of us are to their same plight.  There was no insanity here.  No dereliction of ‘the system’.  There were just a bunch of people who were just one paycheck away from having a home.  How many of us are just one paycheck away from losing our homes? I know that I have been there.

     These folks all have good times, bad times and ordinary times.  So do I. They have despair and shame; I do, too. They have hopes and dreams and I have hopes and dreams.  I also know that God was there on Christmas Day.  And He was there for all of us.

Victoria Eastwood

Serving a New Member

Greater Elgin

As a new member of Willow Creek, I was thrilled to learn of the Inside Out projects. I eagerly contacted my local team and began to create a mental list of project ideas. My group, however, had found a local project that totally overwhelmed me--my family.

I am a single mom of two beautiful children ages 4 ½ years and 15 months. I have no family in the area and I am in the midst of a divorce and custody dispute. My generous team volunteered to assist in many of the home repair and maintenance projects for which I have neither the skill nor knowledge.

They offered: fellowship, prayer, compassionate and thoughtful calls of concern, back-up service as sitters as I go back to school and, most importantly, a faith family for me and my children. They have even given me security by changing the locks on my home at their own expense.

At first my pride got in my way, so I embarrassingly rejected the offers and tried to steer the team in a new direction. But my team did not give up until I accepted the blessings of their assistance and friendship. Additionally, they have found other Inside Out projects where I can participate in service.

Many thanks to the Tallgrass team: Ed, Kolleen, Ricardo, Leticia, Greg, Rose, Dave, Kristine, Henry and Rachael.

Lisa Hall

Surprised by Clean Gutters

Greater Elgin

Dave Lovestrand, my son, Patrick and I decided to clean gutters for seven elderly residents at Willow Lake Estates in Elgin. We decided to do this because there was no way these people could climb a ladder and do it themselves.

We really enjoyed working together and the job was fun because we were doing it together. The folks we helped were truly surprised that we were doing this on a volunteer basis and they all tried to pay us for our work. We just told them the blessing we received by helping out was our pay. One sweet lady sent us a Thank You card and included $15, which we donated to the food drive. 

Tom Madura

A Third World Serving Experience

Sometimes volunteer projects take on a life of their own.  This happened to the Somalia Refugee project recently completed by Willow Creek Wheaton.  On Saturday morning, 20+ volunteers stood outside a local coffee shop for orientation about refugees from

Somalia

.  The project leader, Claudia Root, shared a little about these refugees, many of whom were children in the school where she teaches.  Her last words were, “Get ready for your Third World Serving Experience!”  What transpired during the next few hours impacted our hearts as well as our minds. 

Our first job seemed simple.  We picked up trash outside the apartment complex and while doing this, refugee residents appeared from their apartments.  Most just watched and smiled.  Somehow they seemed to understand we there to help.  Then individual teams of three to five volunteers each went to individual apartments in the complex, communicating with the families with sign language and one syllable words.   After entry into the apartments, how eager the refugees were to help! Our team of four set about cleaning a small kitchen and bathroom.  It was quite a shock to see this family of four in a small apartment with practically no furniture or belongings. Right away, donated clothing was brought to the family, including coats for the coming winter.  The excitement on their faces was contagious.  Cleaning the stove and the kitchen cabinets became the next task. The father wanted to show hospitality to us and asked if any of us wanted coffee.

After cleaning time was over, the refugees were treated to a picnic of fried chicken, mango juice and other favorite foods the refugees liked.  They met with the volunteers one last time and we all appreciated it.

The Willow Creek DuPage volunteers who participated in this service project gained knowledge about the challenge to those who come here, not knowing our language.  They really do have to start over. By serving them, we learned to appreciate those who are culturally different from ourselves, which is what INSIDE/OUT is about!

Sandy Truitt

Visitors to Governors Park

Greater Barrington

Five families in our neighborhood visited patients at Governors Park Nursing Home. It was surprising how young some of the residents were. One 40-year-old mom from our group became attached to a patient about her age who had a husband and young children. There were even patients in their 20's.

All the patients were happy to have visitors so they could share stories about their family history. The kids seemed to enjoy all the attention and the opportunity to make these people happy.

Even though this may not seem like a big activity to perform for our neighbors, this simple act of kindness and love to those who may otherwise have been forgotten was rewarding to all.

Roger Dehaan

Hanging Plastic

Greater Schaumburg

My team went to Crossroads Ministry for Women, a local shelter for women addicted to drugs and alcohol, to do a work day. All we did was a little painting and winterizing of the windows by putting up plastic.  Those were their needs for the day. It didn't seem very glamorous...but that's what they wanted.

What sticks in my mind was the graciousness of everyone at the shelter.  After talking with two of the women, we found out that the program is a discipleship program to teach women how to rid themselves of drugs by living for Christ. They stress going from a "gimme" attitude to a "giver" attitude. They cooked us lunched and talked with us. As we left, they all thanked us again and gave us big hugs. I left with a huge smile. Even now I am amazed at how the day went and how thankful they were and all we did was just put up plastic.

Natasha Banke

Grace on Grace Lane

Greater Barrington

Two elderly widows requested help with their home and yard cleanup through the Barrington Council for Aging. They each have over one-acre lots and they live next door to each other.

On the day of the serve we had 22 adults and 16 kids; 14 families in total! And we needed everyone that showed up. People were everywhere, in the yards, on the roofs, even beneath the shrubs.

One volunteer had a broken shoulder, but wanted to participate. She became the errand runner and supply getter. We had another woman with back problems. She drove the lawn mower the whole time while her husband bagged leaves.

Many families stayed beyond their committed time. Everyone was thoroughly immersed in serving and the children had a blast. All day it looked like a storm was going to start. Finally, it did, but not until we were finished with all the work.

We called this the "Grace Lane Project” for two reasons. One, because the property addresses are on Grace Lane. Secondly, for the way God’s grace touched all of us on this project -- the elderly and the volunteers. He was in total control that day. He brought the people we needed, filled their hearts to serve, and even held up the rain.

Cynthia Clement

Removing Gang Graffiti

Greater Elgin Area

A group of neighbors from Cobblers Crossing in Elgin spent a day cleaning up McKinley School Park after the principal requested help.

There was gang graffiti painted all over, so we worked on removing it. The playground was in disrepair and we got that fixed. And we did general cleaning of the park.

Some parents from McKinley School made us a Mexican lunch and we spent time getting to know them a bit. Even Elgin’s Mayor and our State Representative, Ruth Munson, stopped by to see what we were doing. It was a great day! 

Dorothy Henson

Abandoned Dog Serves Neighbors

I wanted to help out with the Katrina efforts. I’m the kind of person who needs to DO something in order to feel that I have actually helped. I heard about PAWS Chicago posting pictures of abandoned animals brought in from the hurricane area. I had no intentions of adopting until I saw this one dog. I always wanted an older, male, golden retriever and I want to help in someway with the Katrina efforts ... he was the way I could do both!

We named him Nola (New Orleans LouisianA) and he is such a sweetheart. He has been a great addition to our family and gets along with Roxie (our 13 yr. old female Shepherd/Beagle mix).  He is playful and affectionate.  He acts like a 70 lb. puppy!  But we have a lot of work to do with him because of the neglect he suffered at the hands of his previous owners. Turns out he was saved both from the hurricane and abusive owners.

Nola has medical issues and some odd behavior when he is allowed to roam the house. The vet said that’s because he was caged for most his life and he doesn't know how to act in a warm, cozy home with soft surfaces.   

My daughter is learning a lot by adopting Nola. She understands what happened to the people and the animals in New Orleans. She understands that Nola was left alone and abandoned and that we are to nurture him and give him lots of TLC.   

The best part of this is that Nola is already going to serve others. On Thanksgiving Day we took Nola to visit nursing home patients. I hope being greeted by our daughter and a great dog brought some joy to these people who are without family.

Jeannine Walaszek

Helping at Sparrow 's Nest

Greater Palatine

Our Inside Out Team was greatly inspired by the messages to take Christ's love into the community and serve others in need. Our prayer was, "Oh, Lord, the need is everywhere. Send us to the place where we can contribute something needed."

To help support Home of the Sparrow, a shelter for battered women and their children, we served at their Thrift Shop in Palatine. We organized boxes of donated shoes, sorted Christmas decorations, handled donations dropped off and we even polished silver.

One team member commented that serving at Sparrow's Nest gave her a chance to see clearly how much extra "stuff" she had. Knowing that the proceeds from sales at Sparrow’s Nest Thrift Shop benefited families in need many of us decided to de-clutter our own homes to help raise even more money.

When the manager told us how much she needed volunteers and that our presence was a gift from God, we knew we were serving in the right place.

As for the team, we felt fortunate and blessed to have served abused women through Willow's community outreach efforts.

Cathy Risberg

Beauty--Inside and Out

I saw true beauty on our Inside Out project. HIM (Hairdressers In the Marketplace) simultaneously hosted ‘Day Of Beauty’ events in each of the four Willow neighborhoods.  We needed to find four Salon/Spas willing to open their doors on a Sunday for six hours and allow volunteers to come in and serve women who have fallen on hard times.  We also needed to find four organizations designed to work with these women on a longer term basis.  We needed to recruit volunteers and community support - and we only had two months to bring it all together.

While I knew the goal was admirable, I also felt the task was overwhelming. I knew that in my own strength it would be impossible to accomplish all that, so with much prayer I leaned on the strength of God with confidence that He would go ahead and provide for our needs. And provide He did, bringing together these four communities to take care of and show His love to 54 women who so desperately needed to know their lives mattered.

At each site the blessings were abundant. Restaurants and bakeries donated complimentary pastries and luncheons. Clients from all four salons donated clothes, jewelry, shoes and handbags for a complimentary boutique. A bank in Crystal Lake gave $50 savings bonds to each lady. Carson’s, Hobby Lobby, and Mary Kay Cosmetics, just to mention a few, gave beautiful gifts. It was a tremendous example of communities coming together to show their support and God’s love to these women.

The women received new hair styles, manicures and make-up applications. Most of these women had never been in a salon before. At the Elgin location, two women were an hour and a half late because  when they drove past the salon and saw how beautiful it was, it was they thought, “That can’t be the place!”  They continued driving until they were no longer in Elgin, only to discover when they called for directions that the big, beautiful salon was in fact where they were invited!

As I drove from salon to salon that day, I was reminded of my prayer. God had truly gone before us and prepared the way. The highlight for me was at the end of the day. I entered the Elgin Salon and noticed the team leader, Naomi Lacheta, off to the side with one of the guests.  I know Naomi; she’s always looking for the one lost sheep! The woman had approached her and started sharing her hardships and her struggle with considering suicide. She was very touched by the Day of Beauty and expressed gratitude at how she was treated that day. It gave her a sense of hope. Naomi prayed with this woman to ask Jesus to become her counselor and hope. Now He will never leave that precious found sheep!   

The Neighborhood Day of Beauty was a tremendous success, thanks to the participation of 85 volunteers, four Salon/Spas, eight restaurants, one bank, clientele from each salon and vendors, all who came together for six hours to become the body of Christ. “WITH GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.”   

Teresa Russo-Cox
Director of HIM (Hairdressers In the Marketplace)
 

Caring for Imprisoned Teens

Wheaton Regional

Our group from Naperville went to the Illinois Youth Center in Warrenville to deliver gift bags and visit with incarcerated young women in this maximum security youth prison. These girls attend a weekly Bible study with a group of volunteers from Willow.

These girls come from all over the state and many don't get visitors often, some not at all. They are very thankful for the time spent with them and the love they are shown through the volunteers.

They were refreshingly open and honest as we talked one-on-one. A young inmate told me that she now knew Jesus loved her just for who she is. No one had ever loved her like that before.

I spent some time with Andrea who serving a three-year sentence. She is looking forward to going home in the spring and had a lot on her mind--all the things she was going to do differently. Her only brother has been locked up for three years as well.  We talked about how tough this has been on her Mom, a single parent. She really touched my heart.

When it was time to leave she quietly asked, "Will you be back?” I said yes, in December, and she said she would watch for me. She hugged me for several minutes. It seemed hard for her to let go. I didn’t want to let go either.

As our group stood in the parking lot before going home, it was obvious I wasn't the only one who was blessed to have spent time with these special girls. The life change they are experiencing is so awesome to see. I'll be back. Andrea is counting on it.

Julie Hodge