I cannot believe we've only been home for 2 weeks! I was talking with a friend a couple days ago about how it seems like we've been home forever! I really do miss being in the Bronx though. I miss the people (Cara, Harve, Robyn ... and really our whole team!), the 'go-with-the-flow' attitude, being able to walk basically anywhere we needed to go, and just the whole atmosphere in general. I've gotten asked several times if I had a particular favorite moment and it was really hard to answer that question because I couldn't pick out one specifically. A couple of my favorite moments include ....
- Being pushed/called up on stage at the Hip-Hop concert and singing a youth group favorite, the song Our God. Of course whenever I sang it, it was to a Hip-Hop beat. It was so different, but it flowed and it was so cool!!!!
-During our groups ATL ... having 4 of us think/hear the verse/line 'Be still and know that I am God.' That was really incredible! We never really figured out what that meant, but we came to the conclusion that it meant we just need to be still whenever we feel uncomfortable and just remember that we should be obedient to God no matter what the situation!
-While the boys were praying and sharing testimonies with the boys from the Bronx (in the old Sanctuary), us girls prayed, sang, and talked in the other room. It was such a great time because we were praying for the boys, but we were also just praying and sharing our hearts with each other.
-At the block-party/cookout ... We had a time of worship on the street and it was so cool! At one point I just looked up and saw a group of people around one or two of the boys from StreetLight and it was so amazing to see that!
Those were just a couple of my favorite moments, but I'm sure I could come up with many more :) I continue to pray for JUMP because what they are doing for this town is amazing! And even though while we were there we didn't see too many immediate changes, I know for sure we definitely planted seeds in peoples hearts and now we just have to trust that God will continue to work in their lives!
To my fellow team members, I love you all and miss hanging out with you guys so much!! Never forget the things that happened on this trip and the ways the God worked in each of your lives!
-Lindsey
Monday, August 1, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Erik's Post!
Wow! This missions trip was amazing it really opened my eyes to how so many people have to live. This was my first missions trip i had ever been on and it surely will not be my last on either. This trip really showed me just how well we have it, and how much more we complain when we should be greatful and happy for what we have. One of the best parts of the trip would have to be the hip-hop concert. That was just so fun to see people from all around the world worshiping God in so many ways. Another one of the bests parts but also the most eye opening part of the trip would have to have been poverty day when we only had $1 to use for food all day. This showed me what it would be like to live like a kid in the Bronx. It was also really cool seeing God work through everyone throughout the week. It was really fun hanging out with some of the kids from the Bronx. I miss the Bronx, Harve, Robyn, Cara, and all of the boys. I am praying for everyone in my prayers.
- Erik Welker
- Erik Welker
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Chad's Post Trip Blog...
It's always so difficult to know how to summarize a missions trip. There are so many stories to share. I will just try and cover some of the highlights for you. We spent the week working with a ministry called J.U.M.P. (Joint Urban Missionary Partners) led by Harve and Robyn Bowman. We stayed in a church in the Bronx called "The Pilgrim Church". This church has experienced some difficult times and Harve and Robyn are helping to lead the church through pastoring and fixing up the building. The church building looks to have been at one time one of the most beautiful buildings on the block, but over time the structure has decayed. The Bowmans have fixed up the basement and have around 20 boys from the neighborhood hang out in the church to play games and have Bible studies. These guys would live there if they could. It was really encouraging to see the impact the Bowmans were making on these boys.
There were two really significant moments for me at the church during the week. One was on Wednesday night when we worshiped with the boys from the Bronx in the old Sanctuary. Robyn told me that it had probably been over 5 years since worship has happened in the sanctuary. It felt like as we worshiped, life was being breathed into that place again. Our prayer is that it will again become a house of worship. Following the worship, several of our students and several of the boys from StreetLight (the ministry name they are a part of) share testimonies. Following this time, our guys and the guys from the Bronx shared and prayed over one another. Truly a special moment. The next night, we hosted a block party offering free burger and hot dogs to anyone in the community. We had many people come by and stay for a time while we worshipped right there on the sidewalk. Several people from the community commented to me how encouraging it was for them to see the church open again. It was a sign of hope for them!
The times that most of the group will say were very significant were the "ATL's" or Ask the Lord. These were times spent in listening prayer where a group of 5 or 6 students and leaders would spend time separately listening to what God was sharing with them. Then the group would get together and compare. It was amazing to see how much continuity there was! I sat in on 4 of the 5 of these and every one of them was different, yet each significant! Then the group would ask God what they were to do that afternoon. So many neat things happened during these times. One group saw two people as they were praying, then met those people on the street and were able to pray with them. Another group stayed in the church to pray over that place. Other groups walked around the Bronx to prayer walk and interact with people as God led. It was really significant!
For me, there was a time in one of the groups that I participated in that really blew me away. As I prayed I had seen a lady in a purple dress. Others in the group saw this as well. When we were walking, we saw a women in a purple dress, my heart started pounded. We tried to catch up to her but she went in the subway station. Thinking we had missed out, we went in anyways, wouldn't you know it, she and her friend could not find their subway card. I went up to her to see if we could buy her one, she said no, they had one, then I asked if we could pray for her. I told her about how we had seen her...she just started crying. We ended up praying for her and her friend. It was incredible. THEN! Later that night we were traveling to the Brooklyn Tabernacle on the subway. At one stop in Manhattan, a woman gets on, Billy Wirth gets up to give her his seat and wouldn't you know it, it's the lady in the purple dress!!! I have tried calculating odds to how many people rid the subway, how many cars, trains, tracks, etc. and what the odds would be that she would come sit right next to my wife and I can't calculate it! It was definitely a faith building time for this guy! :)
There were so many other incredible moments on the trip that you will just have to talk with me about! I am so proud of each of the students and leaders who went on this trip. I think I can safely say we were all stretched by God and this will be a week we will never forget! As you think of it, pray for the Bronx, pray for the Bowman's, and pray for Pilgrim church that it would be a source of hope to the community. God is working in the Bronx, and it was great to be a part of it!
There were two really significant moments for me at the church during the week. One was on Wednesday night when we worshiped with the boys from the Bronx in the old Sanctuary. Robyn told me that it had probably been over 5 years since worship has happened in the sanctuary. It felt like as we worshiped, life was being breathed into that place again. Our prayer is that it will again become a house of worship. Following the worship, several of our students and several of the boys from StreetLight (the ministry name they are a part of) share testimonies. Following this time, our guys and the guys from the Bronx shared and prayed over one another. Truly a special moment. The next night, we hosted a block party offering free burger and hot dogs to anyone in the community. We had many people come by and stay for a time while we worshipped right there on the sidewalk. Several people from the community commented to me how encouraging it was for them to see the church open again. It was a sign of hope for them!
The times that most of the group will say were very significant were the "ATL's" or Ask the Lord. These were times spent in listening prayer where a group of 5 or 6 students and leaders would spend time separately listening to what God was sharing with them. Then the group would get together and compare. It was amazing to see how much continuity there was! I sat in on 4 of the 5 of these and every one of them was different, yet each significant! Then the group would ask God what they were to do that afternoon. So many neat things happened during these times. One group saw two people as they were praying, then met those people on the street and were able to pray with them. Another group stayed in the church to pray over that place. Other groups walked around the Bronx to prayer walk and interact with people as God led. It was really significant!
For me, there was a time in one of the groups that I participated in that really blew me away. As I prayed I had seen a lady in a purple dress. Others in the group saw this as well. When we were walking, we saw a women in a purple dress, my heart started pounded. We tried to catch up to her but she went in the subway station. Thinking we had missed out, we went in anyways, wouldn't you know it, she and her friend could not find their subway card. I went up to her to see if we could buy her one, she said no, they had one, then I asked if we could pray for her. I told her about how we had seen her...she just started crying. We ended up praying for her and her friend. It was incredible. THEN! Later that night we were traveling to the Brooklyn Tabernacle on the subway. At one stop in Manhattan, a woman gets on, Billy Wirth gets up to give her his seat and wouldn't you know it, it's the lady in the purple dress!!! I have tried calculating odds to how many people rid the subway, how many cars, trains, tracks, etc. and what the odds would be that she would come sit right next to my wife and I can't calculate it! It was definitely a faith building time for this guy! :)
There were so many other incredible moments on the trip that you will just have to talk with me about! I am so proud of each of the students and leaders who went on this trip. I think I can safely say we were all stretched by God and this will be a week we will never forget! As you think of it, pray for the Bronx, pray for the Bowman's, and pray for Pilgrim church that it would be a source of hope to the community. God is working in the Bronx, and it was great to be a part of it!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
So it's been a week since we left the Bronx to head home and I really miss it. I still can't get over the fact that I can no longer just walk down the street into a mini-market and buy whatever I want. I miss Harve and Robin, Cara, and the boys and I've been praying for them every day.
The thing that impacted me the most from my time in the Bronx was the ATL. The way God spoke to our group was, like the pastor at the Brooklyn Tabernacle said, so impossible that it could only be God pulling the strings. As a result of our ATL, my group prayed over 2 apartment buildings and a couple of individual people. Along with that, we convinced a few people to come to our cookout that we were having that night, where they were blessed with free food and worship!
All throughout the week I felt God pressing me to spend more time with him through devotions, reading the bible, praying, and doing my own private ATLs. I hope to continue this even now that I'm home.
Also, me and a couple guys got to 'bless' some Mets fans by reminding them who's number 1 ;)
I miss the Bronx but its great to be back in the comfort of my own home!
-Joey
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Looking Back
Sorry about the previous post.. i was trying to do a post on my ipod and it wasn't working...
We have been back now for three days and i miss it already. It has actually been hard to fall asleep these past couple nights because its so quiet! haha i'm not used to not hearing the busy streets and our annoying clicking fan!! But just cause we are back here doesn't mean we have to stop praying for the people in the bronx! I continue to pray for Harv and Robyn and the boys and Cara... and everyone else...
I miss everyone and everything!
But all the same I'm glad to be home:)
The bronx was obviously an experience all of us will never forget!
~Madi
We have been back now for three days and i miss it already. It has actually been hard to fall asleep these past couple nights because its so quiet! haha i'm not used to not hearing the busy streets and our annoying clicking fan!! But just cause we are back here doesn't mean we have to stop praying for the people in the bronx! I continue to pray for Harv and Robyn and the boys and Cara... and everyone else...
I miss everyone and everything!
But all the same I'm glad to be home:)
The bronx was obviously an experience all of us will never forget!
~Madi
Monday, July 18, 2011
After Thoughts
Hey everyone!
This is Aubrey. We got home Saturday night at midnight from the Bronx. We had a lot of traffic in Manhattan on the way home, but after that it was pretty smooth sailing. I just wanted to give you all some of my post-trip thoughts now that we are home.
I've gotten the question "what was your favorite part of the trip?" several times already. I honestly have to say that that is a very difficult question! I always enjoy the VBS/kids clubs types of things that we do, which I had the opportunity to help with on Thursday. It just gives me such pleasure to bring a little bit of fun, joy, and hope to kids through the Bible stories and other activities we do. This year we were smart and used named tags! :) Believe me, names like Kenichi, Annaya, Aralisa, and Enyer are tough to remember on your own! :) I also really enjoy doing work project types of things too, so believe it or not, the times that we cleaned the church and picked up trash on the sidewalks were some of my favorites as well. I could probably keep listing things that I would be able to classify as "favorites", but those are two of them!
This trip was very eye-opening to me and very powerful. I was discouraged at several points on the trip because I wasn't seeing immediate results all the time and I felt like I wasn't making a difference. God gave me this verse multiple times though, "being confident in this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6 His results aren't always immediate, but that doesn't mean He isn't working!
Thank you so much to all who prayed for our team!!
Aubrey
This is Aubrey. We got home Saturday night at midnight from the Bronx. We had a lot of traffic in Manhattan on the way home, but after that it was pretty smooth sailing. I just wanted to give you all some of my post-trip thoughts now that we are home.
I've gotten the question "what was your favorite part of the trip?" several times already. I honestly have to say that that is a very difficult question! I always enjoy the VBS/kids clubs types of things that we do, which I had the opportunity to help with on Thursday. It just gives me such pleasure to bring a little bit of fun, joy, and hope to kids through the Bible stories and other activities we do. This year we were smart and used named tags! :) Believe me, names like Kenichi, Annaya, Aralisa, and Enyer are tough to remember on your own! :) I also really enjoy doing work project types of things too, so believe it or not, the times that we cleaned the church and picked up trash on the sidewalks were some of my favorites as well. I could probably keep listing things that I would be able to classify as "favorites", but those are two of them!
This trip was very eye-opening to me and very powerful. I was discouraged at several points on the trip because I wasn't seeing immediate results all the time and I felt like I wasn't making a difference. God gave me this verse multiple times though, "being confident in this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6 His results aren't always immediate, but that doesn't mean He isn't working!
Thank you so much to all who prayed for our team!!
Aubrey
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