Inside Out

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

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

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

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)
 

Greater Need Appears

Greater Barrington

Betty, a recently widowed neighbor in our Cary group, was hospitalized with double pneumonia. Thirteen men, women and young people worked at her home trimming trees and bushes, clearing her garden and removing an old washing machine from her basement.

When we visited Betty at the hospital, we gave her photos of the work we completed. She was thrilled.

While she was still in the hospital, the doctors discovered cancer in her lungs. Our serving team decided to continue serving her through the cancer treatment with transportation, meals and whatever else we can.

Mike Singleton

The Widow Three Doors Down

(Greater Barrington) -Our Hickory Hollow, West Dundee, neighborhood decided to help a woman whose husband had recently died. We were told that she was having trouble coping with her loss.

When nineteen of us showed up to rake her yard and clean her gutters she was so excited she started taking pictures.  Sensing the need for relationship, I soon dropped my rake and sat down with her.

She was lonely and missed her husband very much. About five of the women wanted to regularly help her with house cleaning and get to know her better. She was not comfortable with the cleaning but agreed to have lunch with us instead.

We have now met for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know our new friend. Next we’re all getting together for a Christmas coffee in my home. It’s so amazing that she lives only 3 doors away and I almost missed this blessing. I'm certainly going to be more open to what’s next as we become closer friends. Maybe she’ll come to the Christmas service and to one of our homes for dinner. It's all so exciting!!

Thanks Willow for helping us reach out!!

Pam Olson

Squeaking the Clown's Nose

(Greater Barrington) - The weekend before Halloween, our neighborhood group filled 150 gift bags to deliver to nursing homes. We visited residents of Lexington Nursing Home in Lake Zurich, delivering goodies and visiting a little as we went along. The next day we went to St. Joseph’s of Lake Zurich, a home for mentally challenged women.

It wasn’t enough to bring the kids in costume. The adults wanted to wear them as well. There is something about being in costume that makes one behave differently than normal. Needless to say, we all turned into children.

The reaction from the residents was everything from confusion (“What is Tigger doing here?”) to utter laughter. It was really great to hear the sounds of joy. My clown nose was squeezed almost nonstop. They liked the squeaking sound it made. They enjoyed our silly antics and were thrilled with the gift bags. Even the staff had a good time.

Both visits were extremely touching to me. I'm not sure who received more--those we visited or us who did the visiting. But isn’t that how God works?  It was a great project.

Chris Cooper

Fixing a Flat Tire

(Greater Barrington) - Two of my kids, Jason (11) and Shelby (4) were riding in the car with me when we spotted a car with a flat tire on the side of the road. There were two elderly women alone in the car. We decided to stop and help. They were waiting for their brother to come and help, but we decided to change the flat for them.

All the time, the two ladies were saying:
"You do not have to do this.”
“We don't even know you.”
"Let us pay you.”
“This is not right since we are strangers.”

I finally stopped them and said, “We are a Christian family and find great joy in helping you. You don’t have to talk us out of serving you, it is a priviledge. God has been good to us.”

Soon a Lake Zurich cop pulled up behind us and kept his lights on until we were done. The ladies thanked us and went on their way. As I was walking back to my car, the policeman rolled down his window and yelled out, “Hey Mark, well done, fellow brother in Christ.”

He was a Willow Creeker from years past. I have not seen him in over 15 years. You never know who you are serving and who is watching. What a great adventure to be children of God!

Mark Russ

Brunch with the Girls

(Greater Barrington) - One woman in our newly formed neighborhood group told us about a friend who was experiencing major struggles in her life. She was very discouraged and unable to see much hope for things getting better. We decided we’d all take this woman out to brunch as a way of gathering around her for support.

We listened to her story, then took turns telling her about our own survival stories. We talked about the different seasons in our lives and how we learned to trust the Lord.

We also provided gifts to help meet her basic needs. Our gathering not only encouraged her, but deepened each of us in our own trust in God. We were served by serving.

Donna Jung

Email Gets Needs Met

(Greater Barrington) - For the Barrington Blitz, I coordinated the distribution of the senior citizens care packages for Huntley, Marengo and Harvard. We had 62 boxes to deliver, so I e-mailed the need to Willow people in our area and waited to see who would respond. I was amazed at how quickly people from different areas stepped up to deliver the boxes.

The seniors were surprised when we came to their doors. One lady thought we were selling something and said she didn’t want anything. We had to convince her we were not trying to get her to buy anything. We told her we had a care package for her and that it was free. After she was convinced of our intentions, she took the gift. It seemed to really brighten her day.

We’ve gotten involved in other serving opportunities. I again used e-mail to alert our Willow neighbors of the needs. So many different people stepped forward to help. We’ve seen other neighbors, family and friends get involved who don’t even go to Willow.

Our first project was for a single mom named Amy who has three small children. She needed help with basic home up-keep. While we were helping her, one person from our group wanted to donate bunk beds. Amy didn’t need them, but told us about another neighbor who could maybe use them,

Mary has three children with another one due very soon. She doesn’t have enough money to pay her utilities. We gave her the bunk beds and asked what else she needed. All she wanted was to get a room ready for the new baby.

My husband, Eric, talked to some guys in the neighborhood about painting the room. One of them was a professional painter. He told Eric and the other guys to go buy supplies for the baby while he painted the room. A few of the women took Mary’s 14-year-old daughter to get new clothes and school supplies. Then we found out about her unpaid utility bills. Once again I e-mailed the need to the Willow people from Huntley. One by one, people dropped off checks and now her all utilities are paid. Since then, Mary has come to Willow a few times.

These two moms, Amy and Mary, were very grateful. I know they are telling their friends and relatives about being served by their neighbors. I trust these simple acts of service will lead to spiritual conversations. I can not imagine the ripple effect this is going to have.

This has been a wild ride. I just wanted to be the hands and feet of Jesus to someone. It is so neat to be used by God and to see what he can do with a servant who is open to suggestion. I can only pray that I will continue to be used. I am very humbled.

Therese Emling