authentic experience

indeed it is, an authentic experience. one that has changed me, is changing me, will continue to change me in the future by the provision of the Lord and my heart that is. i never want to leave this behind. this isn't going to be just something i did. it will be something that is always apart of me. praise Jesus for that!

it has been a while since i've shared what i have been doing besides ministry... it would seem like life is already busy with that... but i'm in a city that never sleeps, therefore neither do i.

friday june 25 is the last time you heard about... here's what has happened since.

on saturday we walked around the village (yes- i am officially a new yorker, i know what the village is. if you don't- google it =P). it's such a cute part of the city, very trendy, very overpriced. we hit up washington square park where the hippies used to hang out- they still do. but there were people there sharing the word and the gospel with others which was cool. people seemed to be engaged in the hymns one group was singing. it was such a classic new york place to be. we walked passed used books kiosks (which i'm dying to stop at one of these days...) and basketball courts. we eventually wondered over to the east side and passed nyu. and then all of the sudden we were in front of our destination... latter 33 =) jamie's dad is a firefighter in california and so he hooked us up with some firefighter friends he met while helping out with the aftermath of 9/11. this was such a sensitive subject. the guys definitely didn't want to talk about it... who can blame them? it is so much more real here in ny than it is anywhere else. the grief is palpable. i feel a deeper sadness being here than i felt the day it happened. anyway, the guys showed us around the firehouse, they were happy to have us there... despite the fact that we were acting like tourists. they were such nice men, i've never been realized how much i admire their strength and courage. we continued on our not realizing that we were in the east village (my favorite neighborhood). oh man, did we have fun checking out all the vintage shops down there. it was so fantastically new york. for dinner we ate some venezuelan empanadas (mmm...)

i am absolutely falling in love with my team. each of these women (...and nathan!) are so unique, have such passionate hearts and are growing tremendously. you know, for so long i have felt like i've needed to "catch up" with my christian friends. i've let myself believe i'm below the curve but in reality we're all growing and learning and struggling. that's what makes us so beautiful. God has used this trip to show me that i am right there with them and they are right there with me.

on sunday we went to bethel assembly of God church in harlem. now, this was a honest to goodness gospel church. the 'choir' consisted of about 6 women and 1 man and they could belt out a tune with more power, force and strength than my high school choirs all put together could. and that's not including the members of the church in the seats with us. i thought someone in the crowd was going to break out in a solo. they even welcomed us so personally. they all got up out of their seats and sang to us, shook our hands, hugged us. i've never felt more special in a church service before. what a concept, eh? we have been showered with appreciation from young and old, believer and nonbeliever, black and white since we've been here. they say new yorkers don't do what you all are doing. my response to that is confusion. it would wear on me to walk passed suffering everyday and pretend not to see it. i couldn't stay here with that mindset for long, i'd never last.

i have come to love our monday night meetings (MnM). it is a time when all of us from tribeca get together, hear about each other's ministries and make new friends. we also worship during this time and get to reflect on what God is up to in New York. this week we talked about confession and repentance which was an awesome topic to talk about because it is something i tend to put on the back burner. the staff here at tribeca have the biggest most humble hearts i have encountered. their stories and lives are incredible testaments to God's love and grace.

i was sick on tuesday =( i spent the day sleeping mostly. i spent some legit time with God. last week i was reading Hosea which seems very appropriate to read while here in the city. i find so many connections between Israel and New York City. both disobedient, both struggling but both dearly loved by God despite all of this. God promises us that He will never let go. He has such genuine and endless compassion for us even when we're running the other direction.

thursday and friday were awesome to say the least. sy rogers (if you don't know who he is you need to go to syrogers.com right now) came and talked to our summer project. he has an amazing story of how God pursued him and lifted him up to be an inspiration to thousands. long story short he used to be gay and the Lord called him into a life that now glorifies him and reaches the unreached. he talked about the things no one wants to talk about but we all deal with: sex. it was uncomfortable, embarrassing and strange. wait scratch that. it was incredibly convicting, comforting and enlightening. i have never felt less ashamed of my struggles in my life and i am now equipped with the knowledge to confront and attack them. and i feel like i have some insight as to how to minister effectively in this area. if you want to know more about it, just let me know. he covered a lot of information and it would take forever for me to write it out here. seriously, let me know if you're interested! or just hit up his website too.

if you ever come to new york go to s'macs in the east village. it's on east 12 st. between 1st and 2nd avenue. seriously.

on friday we went down to the battery and walked on the promenade. we wondered up to ground zero and stood in the world financial center for a while and looked over the construction site. the world trade hotel was just completed. i'm thinking it's going to be at least another 5 years before the new tower is done. they are going to make a beautiful memorial there. i look forward coming back to ny to see it. that night we took the staten island ferry at the most perfect time we could have: sunset. and to make it even better, God was showing off that night too; the sunset was breathe taking. check out my pictures, i think you'll agree.

i am going to miss this city tremendously. i have grown so used to the traffic and people and sights and buildings. coming home to trees and quietness is going to feel so strange.

saturday was such a fun day! i went to central park with nathan, nichole, katelyn, sara and alisha. we went up to 72nd street and central park west which is where john lennon was killed. they have a memorial called strawberry fields there. yoko ono still lives in the apartment on the corner. we walked eastward and stumbled on the fountain that is in enchanted and the boat house that was in 27 dresses. we also saw the bow bridge and the statue of alice and wonderland. central park is even more charming than i imagined. authentic new york. later that night we went to one of the staff's apartment in queens, andrea, and ate dessert and played a game called murder (it's kind of like mafia- you know, wholesome christian games...) i love that i can feel like such a little kid with these people i've known less than a month. i feel like i've known some of them forever. like nichole. and jamie. and hannah. i feel such a strange connection to them and know that God hand picked each of us to be here for a reason.

the fourth of july was a wonderful day. i spent the fourth of july in new york, how many can say that??? we went to tim keller's church, Redeemer, in the upper west side. to celebrate the fireworks we went back up to the upper west side on 50th street and 10th avenue to sam's apartment. sam is a woman that went on the inner city ny summer project 2 years ago and now lives here. we ate some dinner and played catchphrase for a while but ended up hanging out with a bunch of gay guys who were also on sam's roof. they were so welcoming and kind even though they knew we were christians. people are worried about getting judged so sometimes they judge us. understandable, i know i do it. anyway, the fireworks were amazing- there were 5 different barges along the hudson shooting off fireworks and we got to see it all!

well- that's about it. actually it's not. there's a lot more but i have to condense it in fear that i might lose your attention... maybe i already have by now and you just skipped down to the bottom to make sure you didn't miss anything big down here. haha.

love to you all!