Urban Impact

aye, it's been wayyyy too long since i've posted something new; let's pray i can remember! i will say though that 3 days at urban impact was just not enough. i absolutely loved the vision and the heart of this ministry. larry, the program coordinator, has a huge heart for the muslim community. i have never come across someone who cares more for the salvation of this group of people. of course, his passion was to serve whoever the Lord brought his way but his ministry focus is directed at immigrants from South Asia and West Africa. he coordinates ESL (english as a second language) classes in Queens and Brooklyn. they are for anyone, particularly the groups listed above and are completely free. the morning class we helped out with on monday consisted of about 11 to12 people, most from south asia. the women i interacted with were Syeda, Gurbax, Shanti, Syeda Nessa and Indira. I think Syeda and Syeda Nessa were from Pakistan, Gurbax and Shanti were from India and Indira was from Nepal. Indira brought her 10 month old son, Nathan. In Nepal, Indira received her masters in sociology and worked at a non-profit agency that helped refugees. apparently, nepal has a serious problem with maoists and living conditions are far from free and can be scary/ unsafe at times. her husband moved to america 8 years ago for a better life, better schooling, and more money. Indira came about 2 years ago to escape the turmoil and be with her husband. that means that she was away from him for 6 years. apparently that's typical of south asian immigrants. they usually have arranged marriages and don't really like their spouses so being away isn't difficult. i don't know if indira's marriage was arranged... i didn't ask. she said her life, despite the safety conditions, was better in nepal. she had a job, a life... probably got used to being away from her husband... i can't help thinking how many immigrants come here for a better life and don't find it? more than we'd ever admit i imagine... i think what people are searching for in america cannot be found or obtained because it is so flawed. God, on the other hand, well he's definitely not flawed and the home He offers us in Him holds the riches and the peace we all long for. but to indira, God is not a being she worships. she said she worships work which i'm sure she is not the only one. in my opinion it's actually very 'american' of her. i think about people dear to me that worship their work and time and time again it fails to satisfy. jackson heights (the neighborhood in queens that we were in) is a very different place. i've never been exposed to so much muslim/ indian/ hindu culture in my life. there were so many languages being tossed around as we walked down the streets.
i ended up missing the next day (tuesday). my group went to the here's life inner city office in long island city, queens while i laid in bed because i was sick. they told me it was a pretty chill day but they were glowing because of the love they received while they were there. they said that people were so genuinely nice and grateful for them. it makes me realize how hungry we are for kind words in this city and how much of a difference it makes when we hear them. and we're not homeless or poor or destitute. we've only been here for 3 weeks. think about the people that live on the streets, have been there for years, and have no one to give them kind words. they are starved in more ways than one.
on wednesday we got an introduction to muslim faith 101. larry talked about the 5 pillars of faith with us and how we can use those to gather common ground and minister effectively with people of that faith. it was cool to break down my ignorant shield against a religion i have always kind of avoided. after helping out with a few things in the beach house urban impact bought for mission trip groups at rockaway beach, larry took us down to the beach before we headed to brooklyn. we're definitely going back to that beach... in brooklyn we went to a neighborhood that is populated predominately by west africans. most are 2nd generation muslims; 3rd generations were tribal religions. we helped teach at another ESL class there. there was a woman and two men; bentu, ya-ya and ali. ya-ya and ali (the males) were almost fluent in english. it is a good opportunity to teach more about Jesus when they become more fluent so i think that is what class is based upon now. bentu was just learning the alphabet. in fact, when she came in she barely knew lowercase letters and by the time i left she was really understanding lowercase! i was so excited... it seems like such a small feat but i was only with her for a half hour. so just pray that she would learn more just as quickly and use this place a resource. the Lord is using urban impact to reach those that we tend to forget about.
the last day at urban impact was sad for me because i fell so much in love with the ministry focus there. i craved more time and to get to know these people better. but it was certainly a good way to end the week. our vacation bible school that we planned on monday fell through so we planned the major vbs going on july 5th and 6th. our first lesson is on God-given talents, gifts and belongings and how we can share those with our neighbors. we made puzzle pieces that represent how we are each a piece of God's puzzle. We put 1 peter 4:10 on the back of the pieces. It says, "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others." our bible story is about the boy with the bread... i have no idea what piece of scripture this is... the second lesson is about forgiveness since that's more of a christian concept. the kids will make "salvation bracelets" while each color of the beads is explained. (the colors of the beads represent a piece of the gospel; ie sin, blood of the Lamb, life) we used ephesians 1:7 which says "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins," as a verse to explain how we acquired forgiveness through Jesus. later we helped with ESL again. tonight we sat in with the advanced class with 4 women. Carmela (from Mexico, Catholic), Zakiya (from Bangladesh, Muslim), Shan (from Sri Lanka, Buddhist), and Brihasmira (from Nepal, Buddhist). they told us about their lives back at home and here. all of them were married with children. zakiya didn't look a day over 30 but she has a 14 year old daughter! she's probably about 46 years old because she got married when she was 22. it was funny because all of us girls are around 20-22 and we're all single. these women had to laugh a bit at that because they marry so much younger where they're from. they were somewhat interested in christianity. they don't understand the trinity. they think we worship 3 separate gods and mary. it was difficult for them to relate that way. brihasmira believes that there are several different belief patterns that will lead you to God. of this, i have a hard time denying but i believe there is only one doorway to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ. it's not about being moral (which is what Buddhists believes), it's not through works, it's not by eating the actual body and blood of Christ. it is by grace that we have been given a gift and if we say yes to it wholeheartedly that's our ticket to know a God that's greater than the air i breathe. carmela was very quiet about religion. i feel (at least from my own experience as a catholic) religion or God is more a private topic. no one wants to step on anyone's toes, no one wants a debate. which is true, we're not called to debate, we're called to love and share love. His love. zakiya seemed very set as muslim for now. there was a sense of pride for her religion. i trust that God will break down those walls for her as she continues to attend ESL classes through urban impact. shan seemed confused about Buddhism- pray that that is a good in-point for someone else. and buddhism was impersonal for both shan and brihasmira. pray that that is also a good in-point for someone to share the gospel.

overall this was an amazing experience; one that left me wanting more. i feel ill-equipped most of the time here. i trust though that God will fill that. where i lack, God gives grace and strength. where i fail He succeeds.

pray for strength of urban impact. pray for more volunteers and outlets to reach out to. pray for the men and women we encountered this week and that there we seeds planted. seeds that will only grow. pray for our team please. some of us are homesick and tired (like me for example). i don't want to lose sight of this mission, of what the Lord brought us here for. i want to keep my eyes fixed upon Jesus. pray that we wont give satan a foothold here. this is God's city, not the enemy's. he will not distract us from bringing glory to God. pray for my sickness, that God will heal it wholly so i can focus on Him more and more.

i love you all and miss you tremendously. i have fallen deeply in love with this city and know that i will never be able to pretend that what goes on here doesn't exist. it does and will until God's people follow His call to nourish the needy and love the destitute.
God's love and peace to you all!