We’re celebrating! After more than 8 months of hard work, the food mill that your CHIC offering made possible, is finished! Twelve truck loads of equipment were brought over from Laos. Grain bins were sanded down, repainted, and re-assembled. Roller mills, hammer mills, and extruders were cleaned and re-conditioned. Augers and transitions were fabricated. And a heavy-duty electrical system was installed. But now it’s all together.

We had our first taste of the corn-soy puffs as they shot out the end of our extruders! Put a little honey on them and they wouldn’t be far off the taste of some of the breakfast cereals we grew up on. After they are ground into a flour and fortified with vitamins and minerals, this product will be sold to school feeding programs in countries throughout this region. This flour is steamed into nutritious cakes, with a little sugar added, and given to grade-school children throughout Laos.

Why? A study by the World Food Program in Laos estimated that almost half the schooI-aged children in Laos are chronically malnourished. Not enough of all of the key nutrients in their diet means that many of the children are stunted—not only in height, but also their mental development. The World Food program has been working to counteract this problem through a school-feeding program throughout Laos. Similar programs exist in refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border and in surrounding countries.

The food mill that CHIC has built will not only meet this big need, but has many ‘ripple-benefits’. Our mill brings jobs and income not only to the families of people working in the mill, but also to l farmers who are able to grow and sell more crops in the local economy. In the process of making and selling nutritious food, Covenant missionaries engage with the community and work with local churches to spread Christ’s love. FROM THE THAI-LAO BORDER IN THE NORTH, WE WANT TO SAY A BIG THANK YOU, CHIC, FOR BEING A BIG PART OF THIS PROJECT!

Nearly 200 new photos from Thursday have been added to the Extras Gallery.

Over 400 new photos from Wednesday have been added to the Extras Gallery.

Over 350 new photos from Tuesday have been added to the Extras Gallery.

We’ve posted over a thousand new photos from the first two days of CHIC that didn’t make the initial cut. So mosey on over to the Extras Gallery
to have a look.

We’ll let you know when the last few days of extras get posted, too.

Photos from Thursday afternoon have been posted.

On a different part of campus, Native Alaskan heritage was celebrated at The Gathering in an event entitled, Agaayutim Inui which translates into ‘God’s People’. Refreshments were served as CHIC participants from churches in Alaska shared with us cultural games, and educated us on the different roles that men and women play in the Alaskan culture. Students from the Alaskan youth group demonstrated the Alaskan Olympic sports of ‘seal hopping’ and ‘high kicking’. The two students were state contenders in both of these sports.

CHIC has officially begun as students and counselors are in constant flow to the Welcome Party, taking place at The Hub. While not all CHIC-goers have arrived yet, hundreds are here and having a blast!

The countdown to CHIC ended as students yelled “3, 2, 1…” outside the gates of the Welcome Party. Excitement is in the atmosphere as CHIC-goers spend the afternoon painting The Wall, jumping through inflatables, eating hotdogs and pizza, aiming to hit the dunk tank and much more!

Students at the Welcome Party expressed much enthusiasm and high expectations for the week. Cody Bowers, of Alaska, said, “I’m most excited about the bands, the hype and the excitement.” Bowers and his youth group flew to Knoxville from Anchorage, Ala., and said they expect CHIC to be well worth the 2,000-mile trip.

The memories of CHIC ‘09 have only begun!

View the Welcome Party photos.

Back Row (l to r): Gary Chumley, John Pearson, Brian Johnson, Dave Lueck, Glen Posladek;
Front Row: Michael Gromer, Craig Lueck, Glen Penner

Craig Lueck, Master Artist at Hallmark Cards and member of Hillcrest Covenant Church in Prairie Village, Kan., began forming an idea to reach the creative thinkers at CHIC. Two years later that dream has become a reality. Lueck was envisioning a way for students to uniquely express themselves through art. CHIC Creative is the final result of multiple visions, hours of planning and lots of hard work.

“Craig’s premise was he was artistic and not into jock stuff. CHIC Creative is a great way to meet the needs of kids with that interest,” said Brian Johnson, fellow member who assisted with the construction of this project.

Lueck, along with seven other men from Hillcrest Covenant Church set out early Wednesday morning. Four of the men cruised from Kansas to Knoxville on their motorcycles, while the others pulled a trailer loaded with supplies.

When asked how they got involved with this project, crew members said, “Craig’s our good buddy. He’s done it for two years on a team led by Tim Ciccone. We had spare time and were asked to do it.”

The crew spent all day Friday constructing a 208-foot long wall made of Masonite paneling, putting on the finishing touches Saturday morning.

“It took a while to get our prototype built. Once we got rolling, we built all alike,” said another crewmember.

Throughout the week, CHIC Creative will be a public display of ideas, emotion, questions connections and creative muse. A variety of artistic styles are expected as expressions are composed through this collaborative art experience.

“To me it will be interesting to see what the kids will do with it. It’s all an experiment,” Johnson said.

Stay posted to see photos of CHIC Creative throughout the week!

Setup for CHIC 2009 has begun. Take a look at the first official pictures from CHIC 2009: Undone.