The Amazing Nancy May 19, 2007

Today we worked with New York city Relief, which is a bus that goes around to different parks in the city and hands out food, clothes, and prays with people. It is a great organization that is based out of Elizabeth, New Jersey and travels to NYC in their soup making, kitchen equipped, clothes distributing bus. I had the pleasure of talking with a lady named Nancy. Let me start by saying that she is a very special lady! She came to the bus to get some hot soup. As she was signing the sign in sheet, I asked if there was anything she needed prayer for. She replied,

“Oh, honey there are so many things I need prayer for”.

She then went on to tell me a little bit about her life. She has suffered from a drug addiction for many, many years and is in the process of detoxing. She has been clean and sober for almost a year. She then went on to explain that is through the grace of God that she was able to find her sobriety. She was able to come to know Jesus through the bus ministry. She is now in the process of helping her husband of 25 years detox.

Nancy is an incredible person because she is willing to admit there is a problem and she has the courage to do something about it. She draws her strength from God and he has proved to be faithful. She said that she cries in the mornings in the shower because things have been so tough, but God gives her the strength to face each day. She said she had to hit rock bottom until she finally cried out to God, but he was right there to meet her. She didn’t have to go anywhere fancy or do anything special. He came to her once she was ready to come to him. He wants to do that for you to, so what are you waiting for? Go to him and let him meet you,  if you haven’t already. And if you have come to him before continue to go to him daily because after all,  how can any of us get through the day without strength from the Lord?

Back in NYC! May 15, 2007

Well, this week I am back in NYC helping Center For Student Missions. It feel so great to be back. Once you are here it really is hard to not love it! I am excited for the opportunities I will have this week to serve in soup kitchens, after school programs, churches, and homeless shelters. It is interesting because as much as I want to bless people by serving them, I know and expect that I will probably be blessed more. It is funny how God works like that. He calls us to serve, but through that he blesses us. It is just another way we are able to see his amazing love. I will try my best to keep you posted this week on what is going on, but to begin, here is a poem

New York City

Filled with Diversity

From Street Corner to Street Corner you go

There are people you see that cling to hope

The world around is zooming by

People don’t realize to cherish the time

There is so much to see, so much to do

People miss it, don’t try anything new

They are stuck in a cycle that never ends

In the process losing family and friends

Until finally, one day they stop

They look around and they look up

There is the answer they have always seeked

They couldn’t find it anywhere else, not home, not work, not the busy street

A Fathers loving arms they are surrounded by

Finally there is a purpose for their busy life

No matter how magnificent or amazing a place is it is nothing, absolutely nothing without knowing the peace and joy of Christ’s Love. No matter where you are, whether it is Po-dunk town, Kansas or Brooklyn, NY people need Jesus.

A Band Shelter Community… May 2, 2007

Today I sat at my desk working away to the sounds of thunder, rain and flashes of lightening. It was a major spring rain storm and nothing could have made me happier. I love thunderstorms. When I was younger we lived in a house that had a tin roof over the back patio and my favorite thing was to fall asleep to the sound of the rain on the tin roof. Now rainstorms make me smile for another reason. They remind me of a time that myself and a dozen other strangers quickly became apart of a little community…

My first week in New York last summer I was participating in Staff training week. This week consisted of learing our way around the NY subway system and team building. My favorite day of that week happened when we were doing some training in Central Park. We were all gathered in a circle discussing the wonderful jobs of a city host when all of a sudden out of nowhere the sky opened up and started to pour. Here in Colorado there is usually some sort of warning before it starts to really pour. Usually it spinkles a little and thunders a few times giving everyone a fair chance to take shelter. This is not the case in NY. There was no warning, no time to get inside, the sky open up and poured. We all instantly grabed our things and ran as fast as we could to the first thing we saw… a band shelter. We were not the only ones who did this. Dozens of other people soon appeared from different parts of the park and were dashing for the shelter. It poured and poured for about an hour and half all we could do was sit there and watch it. Sounds boring, right. It was the best afternoon ever!

          

 The community was made up of chess players, card players, couples in love, mom’s and their kids, let’s call him an entrepenuer that tried to sell everything he could get his hands on and a saxophone player. The saxophone player serenaded us all as we sat and watched the rain. It was amazing.

For that brief hour and a half we were all brought together. We were forced to stop and take a breather from the busy hustle and bustle of NYC, of life. The rain was beautiful. We were able to take time to appreciate it. We talked to people we never even would’ve looked at and laughed becaue what else were we going to do, we were stuck. Sure we had plans that were suppose to fill that hour and keep us busy. But how great it was just to stop and relax. Just to stop and sit. Just to stop and appreciate the people around us and the creation around us. Sometimes we need to just stop more often and look around. I am probably one of the people most guilty of this, but we get so caught up in our life that we miss out on it. We are so busy thinking about what we are going to do next or how we are going to make it better for us in the future that we miss the now. I was forced to stop and it was one of the greatest hour and a half ever. Why don’t I just stop more often? Why don’t you?