Al: Al and Jamie talked for a while. They talked about music; Al performs his own jazz music. He plays the fugal horn (sp?) His nickname for Jamie was L.A.J because Jamie is from SoCal =) We caught his interest while out cleaning up the yard at the mission.
AJ and Sabrina: These two have known each other since childhood. Sabrina is long and lean and wears beautiful dresses. The day we met her she was wearing a long, light and flowy red dress. She was intrigued by our yard work as well but it was the farmer's truck that really caught her attention. When he came to drop off the lettuce, cabbage and onions for the next day's distribution she lit up and was disappointed she wasn't on the list... she then signed up for next week's farmers market. Her friend AJ asked if we wanted help unloading the farmers truck. He says that he doesn't like Coney Island because the people living there were not as sweet as us. Both him and Sabrina live in the projects; they are next-door neighbors. I think AJ likes having us there.... we seemed to brighten up his day with the light conversation that he's not used to having. Him and Sabrina both came back the following day to pick up some pantry items at the food distribution. When we saw them it was like seeing old friends. Time seems to go by more slowly here. Each minute feels like an hour and each day feels like a year. There is just so much to absorb and take in.
Guy in wheelchair (shame on Jamie for not getting this guy's name...=P): This guy wanted us to know how it was done. He comes straight up to the fence and says, 'No, no, no, that's going to take forever. Trust me, grab a rake and rake up the small trash and weeds. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about, I used to be a landscaper.' This man is incredible. He volunteered to help clean up ground zero in the months following 9/11. As a result he breathed in toxic fumes and ashes that deteriorated one of his lungs so badly it had to be removed. He was in a coma from December 6 to 26. He missed Christmas with his two kids and wife. His 9-year-old son just got student of the month for the entire county. This guy has had it rough... he used to be a burly guy, landscaper, healthy. Now he can barely walk from his living room to his kitchen. But do you know what he told Jamie? He still praises God that he has one lung to praise and worship with. Incredible faith.
The neighbors: One of them owned a store next to us and kept bringing us water and ice for free. He didn't speak much english but was curious about what we were doing and watched the yard transform over the week we were there. The neighbor on the other side was a gardener. He owned the community garden next door. His son invited us to come over anytime for fresh vegetables. He seemed so loving of us and our work. Everyone poured love into us this week.
Irving: Irving is a man that volunteers at the mission under conditions of his welfare. Irving was shot in 2002. He was coming home to the projects and a man was in his hallway. Irving had a necklace on that the guy wanted. When he did not follow the robber's commands, the robber shot Irving in the hip. The bullet damaged his bladder. He got inside and called his wife saying he'd been shot. She though he had to be joking but when she heard the pain in his voice she called 911 and rushed home. Irving was able to get a couple thousand from his apartment company because of the unsafe living conditions but the physical damage has kept him out of work. He's 46. He had his first child at 16; Irving told us how he never planned to be a parent that young. His oldest is 30. He has four daughters all together and a step daughter and step son. He said he doesn't even know how many grandchildren he has... off the top of his head at least =P. Irving told us he goes to church further downtown. We're not sure if he is a strong believer but he told us that he loves on everyone in the community. He has stayed out of the gang seen despite the way he dresses and carries himself. He says he just tries to mind his own business and be friendly to everyone... even the trigger happy bullies. He wasn't even phased about a high speed chase that we saw go down after having lunch at Nathan's. He told us that he's seen someone get shot right in front of him and that he's so used to it by now he barely even notices the violence or foul language anymore. It made me really sad for him.
Reverend Fusco: The Rev of the mission has a heart of gold. His passion for Coney Island is unmatched. What an awesome testament to God's empowerment and strength. His wife is a wonderful artist. The Rev is italian but people have always mistaken him to be of latino descent so he learned some spanish... enough to be conversationally fluent. He remains so calm and peaceful in times when all hell is breaking loose. He really encouraged me just through his actions. It is because of him that I have so much hope for this community.
The people of Coney Island are all so different. Some mull around all day... they are on welfare. Some of them are hard at work in their stores or churches. Some hoot and whistle when us 5 white girls walk past them but most of them ask us about the yard work or they thank us for coming or they ask us where we are from or they tell us to have a good day. Some of them say 'God Bless'. A select few look like they don't understand why on earth we would pour our hearts and time into Coney Island- they have given up. Most of them seemed inspired by our actions. They know we are different, just trying to follow God's command, just trying to prove this community's worth. Some of them say nothing. Some of them say too much. All of them look like they're thinking- what it is I do not know. I pray that it is positive. I pray that they are processing... seeing that there are some that still care deeply about the well being of Coney Island. Most of them are appreciative. For our work. To see young people with goals. To see white people. That may sound racist but I think that many white people must avoid downtown Coney Island. They stick to the beach and go back to their 'safe' neighborhood at the end of the day. I was only in Coney Island for 4 days but they captured me. Intrigued me. Got me wanting more.
I pray that wherever I go, whatever I do, my journeys lead me back to Coney Island here and there. It is a place and they are a people I will never forget.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
coney island lighthouse mission
day 1 (june 21): what a physically draining day it was. check out the pictures because you will think i'm lying about the next sentence. we walked into a 60x20 backyard covered in weeds that were waist high. miss denise, the program coordinator, asked, "is this too much." reluctantly we all answered no but we knew we had a task in front of us. i have to tell you how much grace the Lord poured into me because there were tiny spiders crawling all over my legs and biting me and i kept working. that was God right there because if you know me, you know that i HATE bugs with a burning passion. they're one of God's creation that i could definitely live without. from 9 to 12 we pulled most of the weeds (that, praise God, were actually really easy to pull!) miss denise sent us off to a much needed lunch break. we were absolutely covered in dirt. in our ears, on our legs and arms, in our fingernails, in our hair, on our faces, between toes, in our eyes... covered. the think that makes me chuckle is that i specifically told God i wanted to get my hands dirty for Him while i was in ny. i meant it in a metaphoric sense but God answered my prayer in a literal way. praise Jesus for that because it was awesome to see that transformation. it was palpable. coney island is so incredible diverse. us 5 white girls were the odd ones out for the first time (for me anyway...) it was incredibly challenging to confront the stereotypes i didn't even realize i held. the people there trumped many of them within the first day. after lunch we came back for another couple hours of yard work. there was so much trash underneath all of the weeds, it looked like a landfill. i was so full of praise to be provided with this job though because we saw just how much this church needed this chore to be done. we were exhausted... and sweaty... and dirty... but the after school program was still another task on the list. i think we perked up when the kids came in and we saw how great they were. Amoyea, Jesus (DJ), Amaya, Jennifer, Wei Lon, Adolfo, Jarrell, and Miriam were the kids that came in today. please pray for these by name. they are such urban kids. they have grown up seeing more than kids in longmont, colorado will ever see in their life. amoyea told me the story of the gospel. i don't actually know if she knows what it means or believes it fully but there was a light in her eye when she told it to me. after telling me the story of the gospel and reciting john 3:16 and psalm 23 to me she sang some psalms of david to me. she is a little diva. look for her on american idol in a couple of years, she could make it. the influence of living in the city is so strong for these kids and their parents.
day 2 (june 22): another busy day! i think my joy level was a lot higher, God definitely renewed my energy. it seemed as though our team leaned more on the Holy Spirit that the day before. we relied on Him to provide us strength and joy. we had to use our muscles a lot today; we unloaded boxes from the food trailer into the church. after that we packaged bags for pantry distribution that happened later that night after we left. this mission has food distributions every tuesday and thursday. on thursdays they also have fresh produce from a farm in new jersey that donates his crops to the cause. i pray that he will help the mission plant their own garden in the newly cleaned yard! we got to eat lunch on the boardwalk and walk on the beach. the ocean has never looked more tempting. new york is so hot and humid that the second you step out of the ac, you're already sweating. we felt so gross all week. when we came back we got to meet Reverend Fusco! what an awesome man of God. he is so calm and gentle. he has such a passion for the community of coney island. we also met winnie... i think she's another program coordinator. she's only a few years older than us so we connected with her quickly. we headed back into the yard to clean up the weeds along the building and start picking up all the trash. we have found 4 needles in the yard... 3 of them had insulin labels on them but still, it is very possible that these needles were used for intravenous drugs. please pray for that. instead of just staring at us through the fence like the day before, people started coming up to us and asking about the yard and us and why we were here. we got many compliments about how nice it looked. one girl walked by asking if the mission needed volunteers. in a way i think we're helping cultivate a sense of community by doing this yard work. see, many people on coney island are on welfare and seem to mull around all day. they have probably walked past this yard for a while thinking nothing about it. then we come and show them that their community is worth it and there is a new sense of worth developing- at least, i pray. we actually got most of it cleaned before the kids came for after school. again- we were dirty and sweaty but the kids didn't care. they were so open to us- not shy at all! there were 3 new kids today... the twins ( i cannot for the life of me remember their names) and Marcel. Wei Lon has a lot of catching up to do on her reading. she doesn't know how to sound out words. i think mandarin is the language spoken at home but still- she didn't know how to say the word 'him' and she's in second grade. she doesn't like reading at all either. amoyea on the other hand loves to read! she read out loud most of the time and i really enjoyed listening to her enthusiasm! saying goodbye was even harder than the day before... uh oh!
day 3 (june 23): today was an EARLY day! we got to the mission at 8:00 means that we left manhattan at 6:45 which means that we got up at like 6:15.... sleeeepy! but working outside woke us up and guess what? we got the entire yard cleaned and weeded out! it looks incredible... healthy... a place that can be made beautiful. there was one corner that took us from 8 to 12 because it was so filled with trash and vines. the bugs in this corner were huge and actually, believe it or not, we found a possum skull. yuuuup. it was kinda cool actually but we couldn't help but wonder how and why and for how long? haha. we ate lunch at the original nathan's hot dog stand on the boardwalk. it was sooo good, a much needed treat! more of God's grace pouring out into us because we all wanted to quit. it was His strength solely that was my strength today. none of it was me. we are really starting to see how these people live day-to-day now. it is slowly breaking my heart. there are so many young mothers. unmarried. on welfare. i can't help but see just how vast the work is ahead of us. the cycle just continues. i start to wonder if i am cut out for this. i pray that i am not. as stupid as that sounds. but it scares me, just how overwhelming it is. i want that burden, but i don't at the same time. i ask myself and God if i am strong enough to stomach this for more than 5 weeks? there's a part of me that wants to run away from this and just pretend that it doesn't exist. just put it out of sight out of mind. but thankfully, God has burned it into my mind so much so that if i try to run, it will haunt me. i trust completely that God will reveal the answer to me in time and that if this is what He is calling me to, He will give the strength and the stomach to do it according to His will. i have to keep reminding myself that my life is for His will, not my own. please pray for that.
day 4 (june 24): here comes the fun part.... hear the sarcasm. today.... today... oh, today.... was a challenging day to say the very very verrrrrry least. but i cannot describe to you how very thankful i was for it. today was a big food distribution day. sounds harmless right? piece of cake is what i remember saying to myself during the first one before lunch. it went smoothly. although we had to turn a few away, my heart was still completely intact. but after lunch the day quickly turned dark. somehow the mission received a food order they weren't expecting. because of this there wasn't enough room in the trailer for all of the food we had to do a second distribution. this time there were perishables like chicken and yogurt and franks and green peppers. it was an incredibly hot day and the distribution was held outside. people started lining up about an hour before and we were still waiting for the truck to fully unload. people were getting so hot and impatient. our team really had no clue what we were doing so when we got conflicting orders we were so confused and just started letting people grab what they needed and go. for this, we got yelled at... and people got angry. we really saw the desperation of these people. all they wanted to do is to provide their families with real food... chicken must be like gourmet to them. once we got the truck completely unloaded we let the volunteers and the handicapped people have first dibs. there was one woman in a wheelchair that had to have weighed close to 300 pounds that would just not move out of the way. she just kept complaining... about what, i could not tell you. i asked her to stop yelling at us, leave us alone and that i didn't know what else i could do for her and she just looked at me with such disdain. it was like a game to her, which i didn't understand and it hurt. we started distributing to the line but nothing we gave them satisfied them (generally speaking- most of the people were thankful but it only took a select few to make the experience difficult). they kept demanding more. it was like they thought we were trying to rip them off, like we were purposely withholding from them. one man got so angry he threw down his bag and stomped away. a chinese woman wanted a package of meat that was intended for big families only she kept motioning for me to sneak it into her bag. i had to say no to her and her face will be burned into my memory for a very long time. she looked crushed. she didn't understand why i wasn't giving her something she needed. i had to yell at a french woman to leave. i had to yell at someone that has to fight to bring food home to her family. do you know how heart wrenching that was? i have this very vivid picture in my head of this day that i both want to forget and remember forever. it's not fair. the gap between rich and poor. nourished and suppressed. strong and weak. it's not fair. it was such a dog eat dog experience, seeing the desperation for food that WILL NOT SATISFY. i prayed for ability to be like Jesus in that moment because i felt so hopeless in my own skin. i knew the only thing that would satisfy their hunger was to know the love and power of Jesus Christ. but i couldn't give it to them at that exact moment. i was me. insufficient. weak. powerless. hopeless. meek. small. and that was a very dark feeling. time with the kids was rehearsed and shallow. i couldn't pull my mind away from what had happened, what i had seen at the distribution. i kept replaying it over and over in my mind. on the way to the subway i tried to call my mom and larissa. thankfully neither of them picked up because i was trying to run away from the one i knew i had to talk to first... God. so on the subway i let Him have it. i told Him how angry i was about the situation. how helpless i felt. how unfair it was. and do you know what He did? He allowed me to rest in Him. He summoned me into such a peaceful and calm place, He told me just how much He was in control. He reminded me of His sovereignty. He provided me with scripture that healed me emotionally and spiritually. He brought me from a place of turmoil to a place of contentment. He brought me joy in the midst of this and reminded me of all the good things about today. and then i was ok. and then i saw the bigger picture and that is that Jesus already defeated this. He promised us one day He would be back and on this day we would all take part of a kingdom so high and mighty there will be no more tears, pain or fears. when the burdens of this place will fall away and we can spend an eternity with our creator. it was also comforting to know that even though my heart hurt so much for these people, God's heart hurt even more. and unlike me, He has to power to fix this. He already knows how He will do it and if that's not comforting i don't know what is.
if one thing is certain about coney island it is that the Lord is already very much alive and working there.
God Bless.
day 2 (june 22): another busy day! i think my joy level was a lot higher, God definitely renewed my energy. it seemed as though our team leaned more on the Holy Spirit that the day before. we relied on Him to provide us strength and joy. we had to use our muscles a lot today; we unloaded boxes from the food trailer into the church. after that we packaged bags for pantry distribution that happened later that night after we left. this mission has food distributions every tuesday and thursday. on thursdays they also have fresh produce from a farm in new jersey that donates his crops to the cause. i pray that he will help the mission plant their own garden in the newly cleaned yard! we got to eat lunch on the boardwalk and walk on the beach. the ocean has never looked more tempting. new york is so hot and humid that the second you step out of the ac, you're already sweating. we felt so gross all week. when we came back we got to meet Reverend Fusco! what an awesome man of God. he is so calm and gentle. he has such a passion for the community of coney island. we also met winnie... i think she's another program coordinator. she's only a few years older than us so we connected with her quickly. we headed back into the yard to clean up the weeds along the building and start picking up all the trash. we have found 4 needles in the yard... 3 of them had insulin labels on them but still, it is very possible that these needles were used for intravenous drugs. please pray for that. instead of just staring at us through the fence like the day before, people started coming up to us and asking about the yard and us and why we were here. we got many compliments about how nice it looked. one girl walked by asking if the mission needed volunteers. in a way i think we're helping cultivate a sense of community by doing this yard work. see, many people on coney island are on welfare and seem to mull around all day. they have probably walked past this yard for a while thinking nothing about it. then we come and show them that their community is worth it and there is a new sense of worth developing- at least, i pray. we actually got most of it cleaned before the kids came for after school. again- we were dirty and sweaty but the kids didn't care. they were so open to us- not shy at all! there were 3 new kids today... the twins ( i cannot for the life of me remember their names) and Marcel. Wei Lon has a lot of catching up to do on her reading. she doesn't know how to sound out words. i think mandarin is the language spoken at home but still- she didn't know how to say the word 'him' and she's in second grade. she doesn't like reading at all either. amoyea on the other hand loves to read! she read out loud most of the time and i really enjoyed listening to her enthusiasm! saying goodbye was even harder than the day before... uh oh!
day 3 (june 23): today was an EARLY day! we got to the mission at 8:00 means that we left manhattan at 6:45 which means that we got up at like 6:15.... sleeeepy! but working outside woke us up and guess what? we got the entire yard cleaned and weeded out! it looks incredible... healthy... a place that can be made beautiful. there was one corner that took us from 8 to 12 because it was so filled with trash and vines. the bugs in this corner were huge and actually, believe it or not, we found a possum skull. yuuuup. it was kinda cool actually but we couldn't help but wonder how and why and for how long? haha. we ate lunch at the original nathan's hot dog stand on the boardwalk. it was sooo good, a much needed treat! more of God's grace pouring out into us because we all wanted to quit. it was His strength solely that was my strength today. none of it was me. we are really starting to see how these people live day-to-day now. it is slowly breaking my heart. there are so many young mothers. unmarried. on welfare. i can't help but see just how vast the work is ahead of us. the cycle just continues. i start to wonder if i am cut out for this. i pray that i am not. as stupid as that sounds. but it scares me, just how overwhelming it is. i want that burden, but i don't at the same time. i ask myself and God if i am strong enough to stomach this for more than 5 weeks? there's a part of me that wants to run away from this and just pretend that it doesn't exist. just put it out of sight out of mind. but thankfully, God has burned it into my mind so much so that if i try to run, it will haunt me. i trust completely that God will reveal the answer to me in time and that if this is what He is calling me to, He will give the strength and the stomach to do it according to His will. i have to keep reminding myself that my life is for His will, not my own. please pray for that.
day 4 (june 24): here comes the fun part.... hear the sarcasm. today.... today... oh, today.... was a challenging day to say the very very verrrrrry least. but i cannot describe to you how very thankful i was for it. today was a big food distribution day. sounds harmless right? piece of cake is what i remember saying to myself during the first one before lunch. it went smoothly. although we had to turn a few away, my heart was still completely intact. but after lunch the day quickly turned dark. somehow the mission received a food order they weren't expecting. because of this there wasn't enough room in the trailer for all of the food we had to do a second distribution. this time there were perishables like chicken and yogurt and franks and green peppers. it was an incredibly hot day and the distribution was held outside. people started lining up about an hour before and we were still waiting for the truck to fully unload. people were getting so hot and impatient. our team really had no clue what we were doing so when we got conflicting orders we were so confused and just started letting people grab what they needed and go. for this, we got yelled at... and people got angry. we really saw the desperation of these people. all they wanted to do is to provide their families with real food... chicken must be like gourmet to them. once we got the truck completely unloaded we let the volunteers and the handicapped people have first dibs. there was one woman in a wheelchair that had to have weighed close to 300 pounds that would just not move out of the way. she just kept complaining... about what, i could not tell you. i asked her to stop yelling at us, leave us alone and that i didn't know what else i could do for her and she just looked at me with such disdain. it was like a game to her, which i didn't understand and it hurt. we started distributing to the line but nothing we gave them satisfied them (generally speaking- most of the people were thankful but it only took a select few to make the experience difficult). they kept demanding more. it was like they thought we were trying to rip them off, like we were purposely withholding from them. one man got so angry he threw down his bag and stomped away. a chinese woman wanted a package of meat that was intended for big families only she kept motioning for me to sneak it into her bag. i had to say no to her and her face will be burned into my memory for a very long time. she looked crushed. she didn't understand why i wasn't giving her something she needed. i had to yell at a french woman to leave. i had to yell at someone that has to fight to bring food home to her family. do you know how heart wrenching that was? i have this very vivid picture in my head of this day that i both want to forget and remember forever. it's not fair. the gap between rich and poor. nourished and suppressed. strong and weak. it's not fair. it was such a dog eat dog experience, seeing the desperation for food that WILL NOT SATISFY. i prayed for ability to be like Jesus in that moment because i felt so hopeless in my own skin. i knew the only thing that would satisfy their hunger was to know the love and power of Jesus Christ. but i couldn't give it to them at that exact moment. i was me. insufficient. weak. powerless. hopeless. meek. small. and that was a very dark feeling. time with the kids was rehearsed and shallow. i couldn't pull my mind away from what had happened, what i had seen at the distribution. i kept replaying it over and over in my mind. on the way to the subway i tried to call my mom and larissa. thankfully neither of them picked up because i was trying to run away from the one i knew i had to talk to first... God. so on the subway i let Him have it. i told Him how angry i was about the situation. how helpless i felt. how unfair it was. and do you know what He did? He allowed me to rest in Him. He summoned me into such a peaceful and calm place, He told me just how much He was in control. He reminded me of His sovereignty. He provided me with scripture that healed me emotionally and spiritually. He brought me from a place of turmoil to a place of contentment. He brought me joy in the midst of this and reminded me of all the good things about today. and then i was ok. and then i saw the bigger picture and that is that Jesus already defeated this. He promised us one day He would be back and on this day we would all take part of a kingdom so high and mighty there will be no more tears, pain or fears. when the burdens of this place will fall away and we can spend an eternity with our creator. it was also comforting to know that even though my heart hurt so much for these people, God's heart hurt even more. and unlike me, He has to power to fix this. He already knows how He will do it and if that's not comforting i don't know what is.
if one thing is certain about coney island it is that the Lord is already very much alive and working there.
God Bless.
Friday, June 25, 2010
summer in the city
what a long week and a half it has been since the last time i wrote! forgive me, i am sick. yeah. it was bound to happen!
day four we just had some more training... i think... then we got together with the whole project and explored the museum of modern art. it was... interesting to say the least. it was cool to see the original works of van gogh and picasso but the rest of the stuff i didnt really care about. it was a bit strange for my taste... after that we set out looking for an indian restaurant. we didn't really realize that we were in an extremely rich part of town until we saw the ferrari and mercedes stores. that's when i suggested going to a less rich part of the city.
well, some exciting news. i have a boyfriend and his name is Lower East Side. it's pretty serious and don't judge because though i've only known him a week it has felt like a lifetime! juuuuust kidding. but seriously, the lower east side in manhattan is the most exciting and the cutest place here in the city. it's quiet; no tourists! by the time we arrived all of us were tired and starving so we stopped at a japanese restaurant. jamie and i ate sashimi, which was oh so delicious. we plan to make trips to the lower east side a regular event.
day five... this is why i need to write more often than once a week... all i can remember is that for dinner we went to the seinfeld restaurant in the upper west side. it was a couple of blocks from the hudson. the restaurant is called tom's restaurant. it was fun to hang out with the girls and get to know them even better. after eating we went to herald square for more shopping... yeah, i know... well, some of us had to go to the bathroom so we figured there had to be a ton of bathrooms in macy's right??? wrong. there was one all the way up on the seventh floor. there were literally employees directing traffic to the bathrooms. it was the strangest bathroom ordeal i've ever experienced.
day six was also a blur. we went to church at City Church in Manhattan near times square. the service was ok... i personally didn't really connect with the pastor but it was still a good experience! after church a big group of us went to planet hollywood for lunch. very expensive restaurant but there were a bunch of trinkets and such from movies. it was definitely a good choice to go and experience that. i really have no clue what else happened on sunday...
day seven was the first day of our ministry site... please read coney island blog (coming soon) to read about our experience there. afterwards, the arts track held a worship night at the monday night meeting. it was great, after being so physically tired to worship and praise God for a couple of hours. tribeca is an amazing project, there are some really great people apart of this! a couple of girls did an interpretive-like dance that was beautiful, there was some singing and guitar playing. it was just what i needed.
day eight continued at our ministry site. action groups (bible study) followed. we are doing a series about compassion for the poor. we are starting to see what poverty really means and who it affects and how it happens. it is absolutely heartbreaking but such an awesome thing to grow in knowledge about.
day nine continued at our ministry site as well. after a day of strenuous work we were provided with the opportunity to get dressed up and go to Mary Poppins on broadway! it was so awesome. first we went to dinner at my favorite place in times square- juniors. their cheesecake is to die for! and the show was absolutely incredible. the set was amazing the way it changed and moved around. burt walked on the ceiling, mary flew with her umbrella. there was tap dancing, ballet dancing... the singing was great. it has reached the top of my list that's for sure!
day nine was the last day at our ministry site. after we went to queens for our track night at the hlic office in long island city. see, in queens, people will say which neighborhood they live in instead of saying that they live in queens. it's because it's so big! our speaker lisa... i can't remember her last name.... talked about reconciliation of God's people with each other. the main focus was on black and white people because of the vast history between us. it was extremely helpful and convicting! ... i keep falling asleep...
day ten (today) i slept most of the day to try to get over this stinkin' cold. i got up for a couple of hours to have discipleship time with sam and amanda. we talked about spiritual warfare. what a perfect topic to end such a trying week. then tonight we went to a mets game. i wore my boston hat and didn't get harassed! it was a fun time but i couldn't yell because of my cold. =( the mets won, i may or may not have gotten on tv in minnesota because i was surrounded by signs that said CIRCLE ME BURT. he's a sportscaster in minnesota for the twins who circles fans on his tv while reading the highlights. after coming back to the village we went to a dessert place called sweetie pie. wayyyyy overpriced for what it was but it was cute none the less.
ok... time for bed i am falling asleep. tomorrow i will write about our ministry site Coney Island Lighthouse Mission... night!
day four we just had some more training... i think... then we got together with the whole project and explored the museum of modern art. it was... interesting to say the least. it was cool to see the original works of van gogh and picasso but the rest of the stuff i didnt really care about. it was a bit strange for my taste... after that we set out looking for an indian restaurant. we didn't really realize that we were in an extremely rich part of town until we saw the ferrari and mercedes stores. that's when i suggested going to a less rich part of the city.
well, some exciting news. i have a boyfriend and his name is Lower East Side. it's pretty serious and don't judge because though i've only known him a week it has felt like a lifetime! juuuuust kidding. but seriously, the lower east side in manhattan is the most exciting and the cutest place here in the city. it's quiet; no tourists! by the time we arrived all of us were tired and starving so we stopped at a japanese restaurant. jamie and i ate sashimi, which was oh so delicious. we plan to make trips to the lower east side a regular event.
day five... this is why i need to write more often than once a week... all i can remember is that for dinner we went to the seinfeld restaurant in the upper west side. it was a couple of blocks from the hudson. the restaurant is called tom's restaurant. it was fun to hang out with the girls and get to know them even better. after eating we went to herald square for more shopping... yeah, i know... well, some of us had to go to the bathroom so we figured there had to be a ton of bathrooms in macy's right??? wrong. there was one all the way up on the seventh floor. there were literally employees directing traffic to the bathrooms. it was the strangest bathroom ordeal i've ever experienced.
day six was also a blur. we went to church at City Church in Manhattan near times square. the service was ok... i personally didn't really connect with the pastor but it was still a good experience! after church a big group of us went to planet hollywood for lunch. very expensive restaurant but there were a bunch of trinkets and such from movies. it was definitely a good choice to go and experience that. i really have no clue what else happened on sunday...
day seven was the first day of our ministry site... please read coney island blog (coming soon) to read about our experience there. afterwards, the arts track held a worship night at the monday night meeting. it was great, after being so physically tired to worship and praise God for a couple of hours. tribeca is an amazing project, there are some really great people apart of this! a couple of girls did an interpretive-like dance that was beautiful, there was some singing and guitar playing. it was just what i needed.
day eight continued at our ministry site. action groups (bible study) followed. we are doing a series about compassion for the poor. we are starting to see what poverty really means and who it affects and how it happens. it is absolutely heartbreaking but such an awesome thing to grow in knowledge about.
day nine continued at our ministry site as well. after a day of strenuous work we were provided with the opportunity to get dressed up and go to Mary Poppins on broadway! it was so awesome. first we went to dinner at my favorite place in times square- juniors. their cheesecake is to die for! and the show was absolutely incredible. the set was amazing the way it changed and moved around. burt walked on the ceiling, mary flew with her umbrella. there was tap dancing, ballet dancing... the singing was great. it has reached the top of my list that's for sure!
day nine was the last day at our ministry site. after we went to queens for our track night at the hlic office in long island city. see, in queens, people will say which neighborhood they live in instead of saying that they live in queens. it's because it's so big! our speaker lisa... i can't remember her last name.... talked about reconciliation of God's people with each other. the main focus was on black and white people because of the vast history between us. it was extremely helpful and convicting! ... i keep falling asleep...
day ten (today) i slept most of the day to try to get over this stinkin' cold. i got up for a couple of hours to have discipleship time with sam and amanda. we talked about spiritual warfare. what a perfect topic to end such a trying week. then tonight we went to a mets game. i wore my boston hat and didn't get harassed! it was a fun time but i couldn't yell because of my cold. =( the mets won, i may or may not have gotten on tv in minnesota because i was surrounded by signs that said CIRCLE ME BURT. he's a sportscaster in minnesota for the twins who circles fans on his tv while reading the highlights. after coming back to the village we went to a dessert place called sweetie pie. wayyyyy overpriced for what it was but it was cute none the less.
ok... time for bed i am falling asleep. tomorrow i will write about our ministry site Coney Island Lighthouse Mission... night!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
the world's greatest city
hello all from new york! the Lord got me here safely and i am only on day three but in love with this city all over again!
day one i arrived at laguardia and met up with another girl from colorado and we shared a cab to the herald towers in midtown manhattan. then we took the subway (which is extremely HOTTTT this time of year!) to our home for the next 5 weeks which is the Markle Evangeline Residence in greenwich village no less. we took a short walk past a movie set (mildred pierce starring kate winslet). we took some pictures with some of the extras dressed in their 1920's garp. then we had dinner at with our entire group (there are 120 staff and students involved with tribeca this summer!)
day two came early. we had some orientation stuff and then went out in a group. our group went to lower manhattan and saw the wtc site. the tower were tower #7 stood is almost done. we looked at a memorial plaque on the side of a firehouse right next to the site for a while and then moved on to the trinity church. the church graveyard is older than our country! there were grave stones dating back to the 1740s. this church is the site where alexander hamilton and john watts are buried. the movie national treasure takes place here! right next to the church is wall street. i'd been there before so it was really no new sight. still a very busy place and lots to look at down there. federal hall is on wall street and this is the place where george washington was inaugurated. then we went to rockefeller center and viewed the entire city from the top of it. central park is absolutely beautiful... lush and green as could be! dinner was a cosi which will probably become a regular for me. it's really awesome sandwiches, soups and salads with a mediterranean taste.
day three was probably my favorite thus far. we ventured with our discipleship groups to some ministry sites in the lower east side. this is a part of the city that was literally abandoned twenty years ago because of the skyrocketing crime rate. the first was graffiti church. they reach out to children and youth in the area. they have a ged course available and many programs for kids and youth to get plugged in and away from the streets. then we went to abounding grace ministries. the founder is doing an awesome thing in that neighborhood. he has brought gang members to Christ, "adopted" several children around the area and raised his own children to love the Lord and have the same heart he does for the neighborhood. the last ministry was called the bowery mission. we had the opportunity to sit and eat with the homeless men apart of the program and heard many of their stories. we even heard some very powerful testimonies and it was just a very encouraging time. it made me think of my brother and i pray that someday he will have an awesome testament to faith as well! then we had dessert in little italy which was AMAZING!! i had a cannoli; oh so delicious, praise the Lord for sweet ricotta cream! we walked around china town a bit and then went to herald square for a bit of shopping. now here i am!
most powerful experiences thus far: praying over the city in the morning from the roof of the markle which has an amazing view of most of manhattan. hearing the testimonies to faith from men that came from nothing and now are co-heirs with Christ. connecting with women (and a couple of men) from all over this country that are so beautiful and unique in their own ways.
ways to pray from us: to be a witness of Christ 24/7. we want to stand against the crowd and be bold for the gospel. but we must depend on the Spirit to give us the strength and grace necessary to do this. also that the Lord is preparing the hearts of our team and those we will interact with over the next five weeks. for the ministries we visited today. for our feet! walking is a common activity here =)
know that i am praying for your summers and i love you all so much!
in Christ,
aly (or as they call me here... son =P)
day one i arrived at laguardia and met up with another girl from colorado and we shared a cab to the herald towers in midtown manhattan. then we took the subway (which is extremely HOTTTT this time of year!) to our home for the next 5 weeks which is the Markle Evangeline Residence in greenwich village no less. we took a short walk past a movie set (mildred pierce starring kate winslet). we took some pictures with some of the extras dressed in their 1920's garp. then we had dinner at with our entire group (there are 120 staff and students involved with tribeca this summer!)
day two came early. we had some orientation stuff and then went out in a group. our group went to lower manhattan and saw the wtc site. the tower were tower #7 stood is almost done. we looked at a memorial plaque on the side of a firehouse right next to the site for a while and then moved on to the trinity church. the church graveyard is older than our country! there were grave stones dating back to the 1740s. this church is the site where alexander hamilton and john watts are buried. the movie national treasure takes place here! right next to the church is wall street. i'd been there before so it was really no new sight. still a very busy place and lots to look at down there. federal hall is on wall street and this is the place where george washington was inaugurated. then we went to rockefeller center and viewed the entire city from the top of it. central park is absolutely beautiful... lush and green as could be! dinner was a cosi which will probably become a regular for me. it's really awesome sandwiches, soups and salads with a mediterranean taste.
day three was probably my favorite thus far. we ventured with our discipleship groups to some ministry sites in the lower east side. this is a part of the city that was literally abandoned twenty years ago because of the skyrocketing crime rate. the first was graffiti church. they reach out to children and youth in the area. they have a ged course available and many programs for kids and youth to get plugged in and away from the streets. then we went to abounding grace ministries. the founder is doing an awesome thing in that neighborhood. he has brought gang members to Christ, "adopted" several children around the area and raised his own children to love the Lord and have the same heart he does for the neighborhood. the last ministry was called the bowery mission. we had the opportunity to sit and eat with the homeless men apart of the program and heard many of their stories. we even heard some very powerful testimonies and it was just a very encouraging time. it made me think of my brother and i pray that someday he will have an awesome testament to faith as well! then we had dessert in little italy which was AMAZING!! i had a cannoli; oh so delicious, praise the Lord for sweet ricotta cream! we walked around china town a bit and then went to herald square for a bit of shopping. now here i am!
most powerful experiences thus far: praying over the city in the morning from the roof of the markle which has an amazing view of most of manhattan. hearing the testimonies to faith from men that came from nothing and now are co-heirs with Christ. connecting with women (and a couple of men) from all over this country that are so beautiful and unique in their own ways.
ways to pray from us: to be a witness of Christ 24/7. we want to stand against the crowd and be bold for the gospel. but we must depend on the Spirit to give us the strength and grace necessary to do this. also that the Lord is preparing the hearts of our team and those we will interact with over the next five weeks. for the ministries we visited today. for our feet! walking is a common activity here =)
know that i am praying for your summers and i love you all so much!
in Christ,
aly (or as they call me here... son =P)
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Support raised, God more awesome than I know
Hello friends and family.
Yes. God has provided more than enough for me to go New York. It touches my heart completely that He has had this planned for me since before I came into existence. Since before existence came into existence. Our God is such a strong and powerful Lord. He not only provided $3500, He provided a plane ticket, left over graduation money, and the means to send out letters and thank yous, pay bills, etc.
To those of you who have supported me, I cannot thank you enough for trusting your hard earned earnings with my trip.
I leave in 5 days. Crazy stuff. I get butterflies in my stomach thinking about it. Not nervous butterflies... the kind of butterflies you get when you have a crush on someone. Yes, I said it. I have a crush on New York City. My main prayer is that God would break my heart for the city and that I would fall head over heels for it. My prayer is that it would fully change me, making what God will show me impossible to forget. Making it impossible to not burn for the inner city and its needs. Or even my city, wherever that may be.
I will be posting at least once a week from now on. I hope you'll follow me and keep my team and what we're doing in your prayers.
Divine Romance by Phil Wickham
The fullness of Your grace is here with me
The richness of Your beauty’s all I see
The brightness of Your glory has arrived
In Your presence God, I’m completely satisfied
For You I sing I dance
Rejoice in this divine romance
Lift my heart and my hands
To show my love, to show my love
A deep deep flood, an Ocean flows from You
Of deep deep love, yeah it’s filling up the room
Your innocent blood, has washed my guilty life
In Your presence God I’m completely satisfied
I am praying for your summers knowing that God is present in them and moving!
Yes. God has provided more than enough for me to go New York. It touches my heart completely that He has had this planned for me since before I came into existence. Since before existence came into existence. Our God is such a strong and powerful Lord. He not only provided $3500, He provided a plane ticket, left over graduation money, and the means to send out letters and thank yous, pay bills, etc.
To those of you who have supported me, I cannot thank you enough for trusting your hard earned earnings with my trip.
I leave in 5 days. Crazy stuff. I get butterflies in my stomach thinking about it. Not nervous butterflies... the kind of butterflies you get when you have a crush on someone. Yes, I said it. I have a crush on New York City. My main prayer is that God would break my heart for the city and that I would fall head over heels for it. My prayer is that it would fully change me, making what God will show me impossible to forget. Making it impossible to not burn for the inner city and its needs. Or even my city, wherever that may be.
I will be posting at least once a week from now on. I hope you'll follow me and keep my team and what we're doing in your prayers.
Divine Romance by Phil Wickham
The fullness of Your grace is here with me
The richness of Your beauty’s all I see
The brightness of Your glory has arrived
In Your presence God, I’m completely satisfied
For You I sing I dance
Rejoice in this divine romance
Lift my heart and my hands
To show my love, to show my love
A deep deep flood, an Ocean flows from You
Of deep deep love, yeah it’s filling up the room
Your innocent blood, has washed my guilty life
In Your presence God I’m completely satisfied
I am praying for your summers knowing that God is present in them and moving!
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