Mercy Multiplied in Chicago...

I wanted to give you guys a brief glimpse of the very special time we had in Chicago Thursday night. It was my great joy to be joined on stage by eight of our graduates from over the years. Each one of them told a bit of their story, and several of them spoke of having graduated from college and going on to professional jobs. Each of their stories was so moving, and one of the girls even announced her engagement at the event with her fiancé in attendance. (See picture below)


After these girls shared, Tara Knott 2008 graduate and her mother Susan came to the stage and told their compelling story. It was such an insightful time as we heard not only what Tara had been through but also what her parents went through. (See Tara and Susan pictured below) Tara’s dad came up to me afterward and gave me a big hug as he fought back the tears of joy. He told me that he would be a supporter of Mercy Ministries for the rest of his life because of their great gratitude.

Tara, Me and Susan

Last, but not least, the night was capped off by popular contemporary Christian artists and Dove Award nominees, BarlowGirl. Not only are they well-known to the masses for their music, but they are well known to Mercy because of their huge hearts. They travel all over the united states raising both awareness and finances for our Mercy programs. We have such a special bond, and we shared a moment afterward with Brightie Lowe, a beautiful young women who over 19 years ago was a newborn baby to one of our residents from 1991. The thing that was cool to me is that BarlowGirl is Brightie’s favorite group. We got to share a special moment together in this photo. (See below) It was such a fun evening; so intimate and so special. Hope you enjoy these pictures! We’ll be posting a web story later this week.

(Pictured left to right)
Lauren Barlow, Alyssa Barlow, Brightie Lowe, me and Becca Barlow