Read Jennifer Merck’s first post from Beirut, Lebanon. June 3 About 24 clock-hours after departing O’Hare, we arrived in Beirut and met up with our teammate who arrived the day before. Some of you may know John Schoff from St. Mark’s Geneva. Do you recall that moment when Dorothy wakes up after the cyclone and […]

Jennifer Merck is bound for Lebanon. She joins a team from Exodus World Service to experience first hand the plight of Syrian refugees in the early stages of their journey. Jennifer will continue to post from Lebanon. Keep checking our blog to stay current with her. “We envision a world where refugees are at home, […]

In this third and final post, Jennifer Merck writes about a transcendent moment shared with the newly arrived Khalid family. Once we unloaded, unpacked, and set up the apartment, we regrouped with Emily regarding the Khalids’ timing. Each refugee family is met at the airport by a caseworker from the resettlement agency, in this case, […]

In her second post in this series, Jennifer Merck tells us about an unlikely partnership on behalf of the refugees we help.   All Souls has been involved in Welcome to America! Pack deliveries for quite a few years. We used to welcome families moving into apartments in Wheaton and Carol Stream. In recent years, […]

Lydia Griffith tells us what a hoarder has taught her about life and beauty. This semester I became a stalker. To tell the story, I’ll use the pseudonym “Beverly.” At Wheaton College, I am part of an organization that works to bring clean water (through the installation of a gravity-fed water system) to a different […]

In this first of three posts, Jennifer Merck introduces a refugee family that All Souls  helped welcome to America in November, 2018. Be sure to read the second part of this great story in Jennifer’s next post.   “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my […]

In the first week of August, twelve students and two adults from All Souls, Church of the Savior, and Church of the Great Shepherd spent time in the Edgewater neighborhood, serving the community. Some of us served food at a homeless shelter while others talked with the guests. We staffed a food pantry, walking clients […]

By far the most daunting part about planning to move to India as a missionary and teacher for three years was the idea of fundraising. I grew up in a large family where finances were always a peripheral worry, but it was something that could be managed with determination and hard work. This hardworking Midwestern […]

During Lent, All Souls collected over $1,000 for Easter Care baskets to help provide KDS families with food staples during their month-long Easter break. We also wrote letters to our ten sponsored children: Faith, Ann, Ryan, Wilson, Japhlet, Hussein, Jayceline, Virginia, and Emmanuel. We just received letters from them thanking you all for the Easter baskets […]

Sophie Dickinson attended All Souls as a Wheaton College student. Now, she’s preparing to leave for a three year assignment teaching in India with Back2Back ministries. In this post, Sophie shares about her journey to orphan ministry. When I was about sixteen, I watched the documentary It’s a Girl on a whim, after coming across […]