Saturday: An Introduction to NYC

All credit to Betty-Ann, who read her schedule that said something about "Kitchen ministry" at 6am. So she had the girls up and ready for 6am kitchen duty. When Dan checked on the kitchen at 6:30, he discovered them at work. The guys eventually joined the girls and we helped serve breakfast, as well as do dishes (via a dishwasher).



At 8:00am, we had a brief orientation meeting for 3/4 of an hour about NYSUM and our week here. Afterwards we had a little bit of free time before our 9:30 meeting about our first ministry activity. We met Dan, who would lead us through a walk of Lower Manhattan. We had a brief time of worship (where our singing suffered due to lack of sleep). We shared why we were here and had a prayer.



Dan (not our Dan) then led us to the Subway. This was the first time for many on our trip to take the subway. It took three different trains and about an hour to get to the base of the Brooklyn Bridge. We walked this famous bridge, with its incredible views of the Manhattan. At the middle and highest point, we stopped for a time of prayer. On the other side, we had our boxed lunch. We then walked to St. Paul's Chapel, where there are many momentoes of 9/11. This historic church was where George Washington also worshipped. We then walked by the 9/11 site which is under major reconstruction.

We made our way to the Staten Island Ferry. It is a short journey across to Staten Island, but it provided a great view of the Statute of Liberty as well as the New York Sky Line. We did the sight seeing on the way out.

On the way back, we conducted surveys. These surveys asked religious questions and were intended to get a religious conversation going. The youth were divided into teams of 2 (and one into 3). The leaders held back, allowing the youth to do this on their own. While many people didn't want to answer a survey, everyone managed to complete at least one survey. This activity was clearly out of their comfort zone, as it would be to most of us, but it was a good experience. It got them to talk about Christianity with complete strangers.

We returned back to NYSUM around 4:30, with dinner being at 5pm. At 6pm we had a ministry prep class. We were expecting and prepared to do a Women's Shelter Ministry, but there was a last minute change. Instead, we were asked to go to the Teen Challenge center in Brooklyn. Teen Challenge, here, offers a residence program for those dealing with alcohol and drug addictions. At the center, the girls and guys were divided (so I can't speak about how it went with the women--but I think they ended up with more interaction than we did).

As this was a last minute change, they were not really prepared for us. They were just finishing support, so while they were cleaning up, we heard about the start of Teen Challenge (and the story written in the book The Cross and the Switchblade.) One person explained his journey to the program. We also were led in a tour of the facility, which houses 28 men.

Our goal was merely to interact with the men. This was slow in starting. A card game was started, but it mostly our group. Snack time helped start the interaction better, but soon we had to board the van back for the return trip. (On the way back we drove through an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, as they were finishing worship.)

We were back at NYSUM around 9:30/10pm. By 11pm it was lights out, as we needed sleep and we were going to miss a night's sleep.