Day 1: Sunday
We made the long drive from Durham to NYC and went into Manhattan & Times Square for dinner and hang out time. This was my first time to New York, so needless to say, I was pretty much in awe of the city.
We made the long drive from Durham to NYC and went into Manhattan & Times Square for dinner and hang out time. This was my first time to New York, so needless to say, I was pretty much in awe of the city.
Day 2: Monday
We met with Brad, who was our local contact for the week doing ministry in NYC. He is an amazing man of God with a heart to reach Muslims with the gospel. He taught us some of the basics about sharing our faith with people, and pretty quickly two things stood out to me:
1. This week was about abiding in Christ. Walking with God. How freeing! It wasn't about how many people we shared the gospel with, how many places we went, or anything else! It was all about our walks with Jesus!
2. Sharing the gospel isn't an awkward, forced, weirdo-Christian thing. We basically got to spend the week starting conversations with random people about their religions, giving us a chance to learn more about Islam, Sikhism, and Hindu, and in the process sharing what we believe with them. Talking about the gospel could just be a part of our everyday conversations! So we got to spend a week making friends all over NYC! How cool!
The rest of Monday, we went into Manhattan & then Jamaica (a part of Queens) to meet with people. Just for fun, we went up to the 38th floor of the Hilton - check out the view!
We met with Brad, who was our local contact for the week doing ministry in NYC. He is an amazing man of God with a heart to reach Muslims with the gospel. He taught us some of the basics about sharing our faith with people, and pretty quickly two things stood out to me:
1. This week was about abiding in Christ. Walking with God. How freeing! It wasn't about how many people we shared the gospel with, how many places we went, or anything else! It was all about our walks with Jesus!
2. Sharing the gospel isn't an awkward, forced, weirdo-Christian thing. We basically got to spend the week starting conversations with random people about their religions, giving us a chance to learn more about Islam, Sikhism, and Hindu, and in the process sharing what we believe with them. Talking about the gospel could just be a part of our everyday conversations! So we got to spend a week making friends all over NYC! How cool!
The rest of Monday, we went into Manhattan & then Jamaica (a part of Queens) to meet with people. Just for fun, we went up to the 38th floor of the Hilton - check out the view!
Day 3: Tuesday
Brad brought in a man named Boto to teach us about Sikhism, which resulted in us getting to spend two hours in a Sikh temple. That was an incredible experience, once which I honestly never imagined I'd get to do! We learned about Sikhs and what they believe...what I realized is that their whole religion seems to be built around questions (seeking), and they just stopped before they found Jesus. Jesus is the answer to their questions, to their seeking! That was really cool to realize because it helped me to understand Sikhs better and to understand the gospel more truly.
Brad brought in a man named Boto to teach us about Sikhism, which resulted in us getting to spend two hours in a Sikh temple. That was an incredible experience, once which I honestly never imagined I'd get to do! We learned about Sikhs and what they believe...what I realized is that their whole religion seems to be built around questions (seeking), and they just stopped before they found Jesus. Jesus is the answer to their questions, to their seeking! That was really cool to realize because it helped me to understand Sikhs better and to understand the gospel more truly.
That evening, our City Project group walked through Central Park, which is BEAUTIFUL. We talked about what God has been teaching us, primarily about the community that He's building in our group and what we've been learning about the importance of community. For me, that was a central part of what I learned this past week. Then we just stood under this gazebo in the middle of Central Park in the middle of NYC and prayed and worshiped the Lord. Another thing I never in a million years imagined I would ever get to do! It was a beautiful time of thanking God for sending Jesus to reconcile us to Himself. As the week went on, we realized more and more how beautiful the truth of the gospel is, and it was so refreshing to just take time to praise God for what He's done, what He's doing, and what He's going to do. He is doing big things in NYC and it was incredible to get to be a part of that for a week!
Day 4: Wednesday
This was one of the most intense and most difficult days of the week for sure. Boto taught us about Hinduism, and we visited a Hindu temple. It was a dark, oppressive, and very demonic place. We could all feel it and the weight pressing in on our souls. As we walked through it, Boto reminded us that there are 800 million Hindus in Indian alone (to put that into perspective, there are only around 300 million people in the United States)...That's a LOT of people who don't know Jesus! I learned a few huge things through this day:
1. As I walked into the temple, I couldn't get over how weird I thought it all was...the stories make Greek mythology seem plausible. But I was convicted that, no I don't build statues and put them in a temple and worship them, but to God, that's what my heart looks like. I am an idolator; I worship all kinds of things in place of God. And when He looks at my heart, He is disgusted by my idolatry.
2. Spiritual warfare is REAL. I so often forget that angels and demons are battling over souls and that it is a real battle, not just some fairytale or pretend thing. The most incredible thing happened in the temple: we got to sit and pray and sing to the Lord in the middle of the Hindu temple! Another thing I will never forget! As we sang "Amazing Grace", I was reminded that God dwells in the midst of us when we gather in His name. Therefore, God was with us in that temple. His angels were battling with Satan's demons over that temple in that moment. God was pushing back the dark. It was an amazing thing to picture; and it was REAL.
This was one of the most intense and most difficult days of the week for sure. Boto taught us about Hinduism, and we visited a Hindu temple. It was a dark, oppressive, and very demonic place. We could all feel it and the weight pressing in on our souls. As we walked through it, Boto reminded us that there are 800 million Hindus in Indian alone (to put that into perspective, there are only around 300 million people in the United States)...That's a LOT of people who don't know Jesus! I learned a few huge things through this day:
1. As I walked into the temple, I couldn't get over how weird I thought it all was...the stories make Greek mythology seem plausible. But I was convicted that, no I don't build statues and put them in a temple and worship them, but to God, that's what my heart looks like. I am an idolator; I worship all kinds of things in place of God. And when He looks at my heart, He is disgusted by my idolatry.
2. Spiritual warfare is REAL. I so often forget that angels and demons are battling over souls and that it is a real battle, not just some fairytale or pretend thing. The most incredible thing happened in the temple: we got to sit and pray and sing to the Lord in the middle of the Hindu temple! Another thing I will never forget! As we sang "Amazing Grace", I was reminded that God dwells in the midst of us when we gather in His name. Therefore, God was with us in that temple. His angels were battling with Satan's demons over that temple in that moment. God was pushing back the dark. It was an amazing thing to picture; and it was REAL.
"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and He rules over the nations." - Psalm 22:27&28
Day 5: Thursday
We returned to Jackson Heights, the area we had been hanging out in the past couple of days, to continue to meet people. The girls in my group went to get henna tattoos, which was really fun. (FYI, it's a temporary tattoo - lasts 2-3 weeks - and is an Indian bridal tradition but has extended to being part of all female Indian culture.)
We returned to Jackson Heights, the area we had been hanging out in the past couple of days, to continue to meet people. The girls in my group went to get henna tattoos, which was really fun. (FYI, it's a temporary tattoo - lasts 2-3 weeks - and is an Indian bridal tradition but has extended to being part of all female Indian culture.)
That afternoon, we returned to the subway stop to grab one of the guys in our group, but to our surprise, the area was roped off in crime zone tape and Mark (our group member) was standing in the middle of the area with a few other City Project members. Needless to say, we freaked out! But everyone was okay, thank the Lord! Please follow this link to read the full story (yes, this was actually printed in the New York Times!): http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/08/nyregion/a-thief-in-queens-is-thwarted-by-missionaries.html?_r=3&ref=nyregion
Day 6: Friday
Friday was fun day for us; honestly, it was fun, but I enjoyed the rest of the week just as much if not more (reflections on this to come in "Part 2"). We played tourist! Yahoo! We rode the Staten Island ferry so we could see the Statue of Liberty and take cool pictures of the city.
Day 6: Friday
Friday was fun day for us; honestly, it was fun, but I enjoyed the rest of the week just as much if not more (reflections on this to come in "Part 2"). We played tourist! Yahoo! We rode the Staten Island ferry so we could see the Statue of Liberty and take cool pictures of the city.
Then we walked down Broadway, got to see Trinity Church (where part of National Treasure was filmed), Wall Street (the econ nerd in me loved that!), and finally ended at the 9/11 site. I was surprised because it's been 11 years since the tragic day of September 11, 2001, and yet the whole area was still a construction zone. But they're building the Freedom Tower, which was incredible to see. It was just very sobering to be there and to remember back 11 years ago...
To finish up the evening, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was absolutely amazing!
On Saturday, we said good-bye to The Big Apple, and I think we were all glad to get back to the South and to Durham. The first thing we did was rush to Chick-fil-A haha. But New York was an amazing time; "Part 2" will be my reflections on the week, so please check those out next!
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