A CHRISTIAN group has returned home to Chicago after spending a week on housing estates in Accrington.

The group of 10 spent $15,000 to bring American football and tales of hope in the midst of US poverty to the Fern Gore estate.

During the day, they entertained the children with face painting and circus skills, Bible stories and crafts.

Brian Jackson, leader of Hope Church in Infant Street, got to know the group during his year-long stay in the city.

He said: “In the evening, it was the parents’ turn as the Americans shared how they coped with the downtown deprivations and violence of Chicago.

“One evening, one the estate’s biggest drug dealers sat through the preacher’s message on how God helps us beat the worst of our addictions.”

The group also visited Hodge House estate in Nelson.

Church leader Marie Mensah from Oswaldtwistle said: “We wanted to be part of the solution on the estates.

“The parents are delighted that somebody bothered about their kids, and we were very happy with the community’s welcome and how we worked alongside each other.”

Chicago pastor Joey Silva led the group as they also visited local prisons to share stories of how they found healing in a city full of addictions.

He said: “We brought over our scars of life.

“I grew up in the most violent and deprived part of Chicago with many killings happening each year. We shared with Hodge House and Fern Gore some of the ways God healed us and used our scars to help others.”

The retired church minister, Kevin Logan, said that religion helped people struggling with addictions.

He said: “In Alcoholics Anonymous they are given a 12-step progamme and one of the first issues is you have to have a power that is greater than yourself.

“The American group wanted to be part of the solution to some of the difficulties on our housing estates.

“They got a fabulous welcome from the housing association and the residents.”