Operation Blessing

"I have said democracy and freedom do not work too well if you are hungry, if you are starving." -Pete Domenici I tagged along with a group of students as they went on a seven day mission trip to Los Angeles, CA. The students spent each day at a different ministry/non-profit helping distribute food to the hungry. They mainly focused on distributing food, but also sorted donated goods, cooked meals, played with kids, and loved on people. The group of students were from Rockford, Illinois, part of a gap year discipleship program called Focus One. As a high school student back in 2003 I took...


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A dangerous storm system passed through the Midwest on February 29th, 2012. Dubbed the "Leap Year Tornadoes," parts of the Midwest were hit hard. The morning after the storm passed through Harrisburg, IL our disaster team gathered to talk about a possible deployment. The small town in Southern Illinois had six deaths (a death a week later would result in seven), and initial reports were suggesting around 300+ damaged structures. By 3PM I was on a plane headed to Illinois. I arrived 18HRS after the tornado hit. The small community had more resilience, hope, and heart than any I've ever seen...


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