Tuesday morning we woke and made our way over to the Promise Land Church. Each day this walk takes us through the heart of the Bronx. As we walk we see neighbors sweeping their stoops, rinsing their sidewalks Down, walking to the corner store, and just enjoying being outdoors. The Bronx is a very friendly place during the daylight. Nicholson was running around in circles, doing flips, shaking his arm etc etc etc trying to register as many steps as possible on his jawbone. He would not be defeated.

Tuesday morning in music we were learning about naming notes on the treble and bass clefs. The morning groups I had were horribly out of control and tested every ounce of patience I had. I texted jeremy that I was ready to come home to memphis. I didn't want to be here anymore. I was dead serious. After a lunch of taco salad prepared by the high schoolers, Valentino and Alagie, the afternoon got brighter with my older groups. I was pleasantly surprised at how well behaved my afternoon groups were.

Bussy and Taylor's craft for the day was a visor they let them draw on, sticker up, and bedazzle. The kids loved them. In games they played soccer, which on a side note, all the running allowed Nicholson to log over 30,000 steps! Needless to say he whipped us all that day. Shaundras kids continued writing books about themselves. Lauren and Malory's kids kept on reading and improving their skills. In service the kids drew pictures of people then searched in the neighborhood for people dressed like their pictures and asked them if they could pray for them. They had a really big time with this activity.

After camp, a group of us went to Carmine's for Italian on the upper west side. This was a suggestion that our favorite front desk opera house hotel employee, duke, made us. Duke rocks. Duke has made our lives better. Duke needs to come home to memphis and be my personal assistant/cheerleader/friend. Dinner was delicious. We started out with some yummy fried calamari. We had chicken Marsala, vodka cream sauce over penne, and shrimp scampi over angel hair pasta. We got a huge salad with fresh mozzarella, roasted vegetables, and a balsamic vinaigrette. I love family style because you get a sampling of everything! After dinner we walked a back towards the subway and someone wanted to stop at Pinkberry so we all decided to partake in dessert. It was Yumz. After this we realized we were only a few stops from Times Square so some of us headed out to make some pictures and take in the sites.

TIMES SQUARE IS THE CRAZIEST PLACE IN NYC. DO NOT EVER STAY IN TIMES SQUARE. DO NOT EAT AT STUPID CHAIN RESTAURANTS IN TIMES SQUARE. Ok rant over :)

Wednesday was a much better day at camp. The kids on the whole were much better behaved and I enjoyed teaching and  crafting with them. In music we learned about rhythms and note values. They are so smart. They pick up and retain things very well. We also made shakers out of plastic cups and rice. It was fun to see them using their instruments at afternoon worship. The crafts group was making tie dye shirts. These are going to be so cute. Taylor's hands and manicure have certainly paid the price. Right now she has a nice shade of jaundice yellow going on.

The service project for the day was to write letters of thank you and love and encouragement, all the girls wanted to write notes to Nicholson and Jake and I'm pretty sure I saw Nicholson with a handful of love notes. He tried to act annoyed but Jake and Nick have really taken to the kids and have a big influence over them.

Mary, Bussy, Malory, Teresa and Nicholson went to see Matilda the musical after camp and have been raving about it ever since making the rest of us resent them and covet their experience. I'm so jealous but maybe I will go to a show Friday night.

Mary Helen and I had dinner with my cousin Emily and her husband Chris at a place in east village called B Bar. It was really delicious and nice to catch up with some family. After dinner, Chris headed home because he had a long day at work (which come to find out he works in the Bronx down from the camp!) Emily was going to go to her studio for a bit before heading home, her studio is at NYU. We stopped at a Ukrainian restaurant for dessert and I had the most delicious chocolate peanut butter pie. Mary Helen got a nice apple pie a la mode and Emily had the fudgiest brownie a la mode. MH and I headed back to the hotel and got home around 10:45.

Thursday We made the trek again but this time my muscles were screaming at me. Like unusually loud screams of pain. I've realized that you just have to forge through. There are hardly any cabs in the Bronx and they certainly aren't near anywhere we are walking except Target. This was our last day of teaching activities. The children have already been asking if we're leaving tomorrow. This is the moment you really fall in love with this place. You have a really hard week with some very difficult kids that you think could care less about what you're doing or about you being here. Then you hear a couple tiny voices ask, "are you guys leaving?" And in that moment I get it.

Thursday in music we did some rhymes and they were really good at it. We also made harmonicas. I know all the rest of the classes have really appreciated our instruments/noisemakers this week :)

The service group made a coupon book. Nicole and Mary got dramatic in bible class and have been doing some acting all week. Yesterday I even think they made some costumes out of trash bags.  Nicholson Teresa and JAke had free play in games and the kids ran wild (understatement). Any time we make a comment about the kids you can just go ahead and magnify what you are envisioning by about 1,000 because it can't be explained! And just like they do have negative energy, it's exciting to see their positive reactions and growth. In these moments we see love in action. These are the fruits of sharing our love for Godwin to them and allowing our selves to be vehicles for his Grace.

In service they made coupon books for hugs and good deeds, etc. they really like making things. At our daily debriefing we got our assignments for our field trio to THE BRONx zoo! I'm so excited. It's going to be a hard day but a very fun and rewarding day. Excuse we get to spend time withe the kids in a different setting. Stay tuned for what's to come and pictures to follow this post! Sorry I haven't written in a while but we have been going NON STOP everyday!

Step by Step: Day by Day

Rise and shine and breakfast at the hotel. We met around 8:30 to walk to the Promised Land Church where our camp day would begin! It was probably about a mile or so walk from the hotel. Fine by me. Let's keep logging those steps, folks! It was so exciting to see the same sweet faces from last year and I was eagerly waiting for the rest of the group to meet these children they would grow to love in just a few short days. We arrived at Promised Land just in time to welcome those sweeeeet babies...and some who are not babies anymore. It's crazy to see just how much they have grown since last summer. Soon it was time for our first classes to begin. I got to do music this year because after a series of unfortunate events and losing a few teammates we were in desperate need of a music leader. This has had me stressed for a couple weeks now because I had felt so inadequate in sharing information with these kids while making it fun. You see, singing I can do. I can be fine and lead fun songs all day long. But at this camp it's not your typical Bible camp experience. They want these to kids to learn very educational things. What would I share with them?

I prayed and prayed that God would help me share some knowledge that would mean something to these kids and that it would not be worthless. He certainly put some things in my brain and I woke up this morning thinking and scheming! Today we learned about genre and all the different types of musical genres. They are so smart. We talked about the importance of music to convey emotions, communicate with others and just make us feel good. They were pretty good at identifying the different types of music while listening and even pointing out some of the instruments they could hear and then we talked about making our own music out of the things around us. We made drinking straw flutes and they had a big time with that. I think Bussy and Taylor appreciated the straws once they made it around to their stations ;) each class is so different so you are constantly on your toes changing directions or you will lose control of your day. One group finished early so we freestyled and did the cha cha slide. Another wanted to listen to music at the end of theirs. Of course I've become an old lady and don't know what kids are listening to these days...hahaha. Every song they suggested I was afraid would have explicit content...I found myself looking to the interns of Beekman for assistance in this department...

Soon it was lunch time and we along with the kids were served a spicy spaghetti dish (oops) but it was pretty good. When Nicholson and jake came in from their morning of sports you could just see the joy all over their faces. They are such good young men. It was so sweet to see their excitement about the kids they had already met. I just know this week holds some pretty great things for these boys. I hope they understand how big of an impact they have already made in one day by giving their time and attention to these kids. Jake even found himself a huge baseball fan and threw the ball around some. This is a very special kid who needs a lot of love and attention and jake has already given him just that. I never heard one complaint from them and they are outside in the heat alllll day.

Mary Helen and Courtney had some pretty great moments teaching the kids about good deeds and Malory and Lauren loved every minute of sharing their love for reading with these kids. I saw some pictures on Facebook from Nicole and Mary's bible costumes and I think they're doing some pretty cute things. Taylor and Bussy had a run in with some paint this morning but like all good improvers...they quickly decided markers are where it's at....

Shaundra prepped for her writing lesson all night last night. She could hardly sleep she was so excited. They made the coolest aliens out of their cursive names. Her enthusiasm and drive are inspiring and I'm hoping very contagious since she's sleeping in the next bed over!

After the first day was under our belt we decided to trek to Target. (The greatest place on earth, or so I thought) Never believe a local when they say you can walk somewhere. It took us more than thirty minutes and it was pretty hot. Our feet were killing us and all for some poster boards and sharpies.

Nicholson And Mary Helen were dying to join the jawbone up band challenge and I'm afraid tomorrow it is game on. They bought jawbones and have set their accounts up. I can tell they are itching to start logging steps! In two days I have logged 21 miles. All I got to say is less of me better be going home than came with me.

Once we all finally made it back from our Target adventure, we headed out for dinner off the Hudson River in the West end area to a restaurant called Pier I. It was a patio out overlooking the Hudson River with super cute lighted umbrellas and the BEST homemade fresh squeezed blueberry lemonade. I had a lobster roll for the first time. It was definitely pretty yum. We made it back to hotel before 11 and I logged my steps took a quick shower, and sat down to finish this blog...it's day one: we need your prayers. The kids need your prayers, this COMMUNITY needs your prayers.

Blessings.

Anticipation....

We got settled into our hotel yesterday and boy is it nice! It is night and day compared to last year's accommodations. Thank you, Dallas for finding us such great digs! Well worth the extra effort. The rooms are very spacious and brand new and most of all extremely clean.

After we got settled, refreshed and reorganized we set out for some Saturday evening adventures. Dallas, Jake, Taylor, Bussy, Teresa and Nicholson headed out to Citifield for the Mets v. rangers. Apparently they had great seats and Nicholson and Teresa tag teamed to catch a t-shirt. They took a cab back to the hotel and got some great information from their cabbie.

The rest of the group headed out to Little Italy to have a fine Italian dinner. We got a reservation at Da Nico where we had an authentic meal served by an authentic Italian stallion. It was so yummy. We had spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, chicken Marsala, etc etc etc...after dinner we headed down to Ferrara for some authentic Italian canolis and gelato! Yum yum yum. We were in Guido heaven.

After dinner we got back on the Subway for the long ride home. We got off at the Brook Ave stop and Saturday night around 10:30. It's preeeeetttttty happening and in maybe not the best way. We hurried home the rest of the way and vowed not to go that way again. :)

Sunday morning we woke early and met in the lobby around 7:30 to head to the Brooklyn Tabernacle for worship. Once again...the choir was off because they had a 3pm concert. They still had a group of 20 of their best singers. They sang some of my favorite songs. We met Wes and brittany Wilkerson from Savannah first CP church for worship. We all had a very rousing hour worth of music and hour worth of preaching. I'm pretty sure we all got the message: god wants us to be in his will by being pure and obedient. Preacher was pretty entertaining to say the least.

After church we had lunch at a super cool hipster joint in Brooklyn off of Hoyt Ave called Mile End. I had the best Reuben sandwich I think I may have ever had. Others had delicious frittata and bagel sandwiches. After lunch we met at the Jackson Ave location for orientation and discovered we are working with a group from the same church we worked with last year from South Carolina. It was nice to see some familiar faces. Later that evening some of us ventured to Chelsea and explored the Chelsea Market. Dallas, Jacob, Taylor, Mary Helen, and Malory bravely went to Coney Island. According to them there were a quarter of a million people there and only 10 bathrooms. I think they had lots of fun riding rides and exploring the beach.

Dallas and I are in a huge competition with our Jawbone Up Bands. I recommend them to anyone looking for a good walking challenge. We've been walking our butts off (hopefully literally) and yesterday I logged 22,142 steps.... That's roughly 10.7 miles! And I certainly can feel every one of them throughout my body.

After a long day of adventure we all bedded down for a good nights rest in anticipation of meeting the sweetest kids in New York City. :)

NYC you might say that I'm square....

Well in the words of my dear friend Martha Bunn, we're off like a herd of turtles! 6am flight departure requires an extra early arrival at the airport. 4:30 am to be exact. God has already been performing miracles in this trip. My alarm failed yet I managed to wake up ten minutes before.... I'd like to say my alarm was supposed to go off. Unfortunately it was ten minutes before I had planned to leave my house!!! Miracle número uno: I made it to the airport on time! Even had a few minutes to spare!  We met at the American Airlines counter and began baggage check. [i would just like to insert a personal victory here that my loved ones will find hard to believe: my bag weighed 24 pounds!! A small victory in itself] We made it through security relatively quickly. I was disappointed that I did not get three green L's on my boarding pass. Apparently this means you can speed through security. Dallas and Jake must be friends with the people at TSA. I had to take my tennis shoes off and give them a DNA sample before they'd let me through.

The first leg of our travel took us to Chicago to O'Hare. I do believe Nicholson was talking when I fell asleep and I know he was still talking when I woke up. I can tell he is excited and that makes me even more excited about what he is about to experience through the kids at A House on Beekman. We had just enough time to make it down to our gate a few minutes prior to boarding the flight to LaGuardia. I was sad when we passed Starbucks in the main concourse because I knew I didn't have time to trek back before our next flight boarded. Much to my delight when what to my wandering eyes did appear, but a miniature Starbucks and 8 tiny baristas. Okay maybe there were on,y two but who cares?! I got my iced coffee with a double shot. Now I'm ready to take on the Big Apple. We've been fortunate to sit all together on the plane. It's nice to see our blue shirts and feel a part of something bigger than just us.

Even though our group hasn't been able to team build very much before our trip due to the team members living all over west TN, Nashville area and North MS, we have lots of connections already! Turns out a girl on the trip, Courtney, is the niece of a girl I know in Savannah. We have a couple of labor and delivery nurses with us so if by chance we have to help delivery a baby somewhere we'll be covered. Dallas works at the Shelby County Sheriff's department so if something hairy breaks out I'm sure she'll be able to handle it. We have a few teachers and that will certainly come in handy. Then to round out the group we have lots of excited energetic people and a couple of teenage boys who are in for the week of their lives. It's funny how God provides who we need and what we need and gives comfort in familiarity.

I am sad to say that one of our team members had to stay home and minister with us from afar. Nicole has had some mobility issues and had to make the tough decision to stay home. She has worked so hard for this and I know her efforts were not in vain. She will be with us in our hearts on this trip and I can't wait for her to get back to NYC next year with us. God certainly has a plan for her that will be made known and perfect in His time.

We are scheduled to arrive in New York at 11:45 Eastern time. We're going to purchase shuttle bus passes and ride to Grand Central Station. I am already starving so I can't wait to get to the food court there. Jeremy would probably qualify me as pretty hungry right now. However, the double shot of espresso is kicking in and I'm getting very excited!! Once we have had time to catch our breath and have lunch, Dallas will purchase our 7 day unlimited subway passes. We will then make our way to the Opera House Hotel to check in before a night out in NYC. I am praying we have wifi access (free) at the hotel so I can post these blogs and share our journey with you. Part of the group will be going to the Mets game v. Texas Rangers. Every one say a special prayer for Dallas and the baseball group because apparently she doesn't have a very good track record supporting the away team at the home teams stadium and apparently she is a huge Rangers fan! I would hate to bail her out of jail. I'm not sure bail money is an authorized purchase on the church's card.

Looking forward to getting settled into our digs and exploring the city tonight! Please pray for safety and guidance so we can enjoy our time and be refreshed for camp Monday morning.

Back in the Game

Here I am once again pondering over the children in the South Bronx. Since we left in July of 2013 I have followed these kids on Instagram and Facebook. How wonderful it has been to see the children we left who continue to participate in the activities at A House on Beekman. We have been able to see them grow and change over the past 9 months. I've seen pictures of lost teeth and the adorable snaggle toothed smile. I even got to see a post about a little girl who has since begun to learn to play the guitar. She has played at their after school program! I can't wait to get back to these kids and see what they have to tell us about the past year of their lives! The day we left a little boy went to the front and prayed over the microphone that we would "not forget them" and that we would "come back next year."

Revving up for this year's trip has really gotten me excited and has me thinking about some things. We have been in prep mode for a couple months and we have been working really hard to gather team members for the trip. We have been discouraged at times because we thought we weren't going to get enough people for the trip, we were worried about our accommodations, etc. But God has certainly taught us a lesson in perseverance and patience. God's timing is definitely more perfect than ours. Sometimes we want things to happen when it's convenient for us, but God sees the bigger picture and knows the right time for everything. God has also had a pretty good sense of humor so far about our trip. Tonight at the meeting, two ladies discovered that one had been her labor and delivery nurse a few months ago. A lady that found out about the trip is friends with a girl who was one of my dearest friends in high school. One of the girls going on the trip is the niece of a girl I have known for many years. What a small world it is in God's kingdom. That makes my heart smile. I even got a donation from a girl I went to high school with who I have watched through Facebook grow to become so passionate about missions, especially in Haiti. We got to chatting on FB and now she might be going on the trip as well! God is doing wonderful things for our team.

Please check out this video that Jeremy made for the trip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu4CXDGHpN8&feature=youtu.be He has been so supportive of me and the cause and he will never know how much it means to me. Every time we talk he asks about new developments on the trip front. He has given his time to use his expertise to make us a promo video as well as some print projects and for that I am so grateful. I am thankful to God for Jeremy's presence in my life and his love and support for the things that so matter to me.

I ask you continue to pray for us during this time of growth, formation, and preparation for our trip. I also ask that you pray for the volunteers who are already working on a regular basis in the Bronx. Finally, I ask for you to pray for the sweet, and sometimes unruly, children who we will get to love on in a just a few short months.

Nearing Journey's End

Our last day was very bittersweet withe children at A House on Beekman. The children were out of control wild, we were on the brink of insanity, and the heat wave once again continued. Today we all decided to take cabs to the promised land church because we had our suitcases with us. Ellen, Mary Helen, and I left earlier and got a cab to the nearest Walgreens with a 1 hour photo. It's surprising how hard some of the things we take for granted are to find in neighborhoods like the Bronx. We had 239 individual photos printed, plus some of us with our group at Central Park, as well as some small size photos to put inside buttons for their last craft. Thy absolutely loved it! I wondered how many pictures some of them Even have of themselves at such a happy time!  We got lots of great big grins with teeth showing. I will post some of my favorites soon. 

The service group baked cookies for the local police and fire departments as well as delivered cookies to some of the local store owners. I do believe their favorite part was taste testing the product! The writing group made airplanes and that was a big hit. Games were once again inside due to the ridiculous heat wave that apparently subsided the day after we left. All of the other groups reported successful but very tiring days. At the end of our journey we once again, for the last time, cleaned the buildings we were using. It was very hard work but worth every ounce of energy we had, every tear we were on the verge of shedding and every kick or punch we witnessed. 

We left the Cristo Te Amo for the last time and made the uphill trekk back to Promised Land Church. We stopped by the House on Beekman on our way back and made some pictures. Then we arrived to help finish cleaning. We had some trouble pulling up colorful duct tape off the floor they had used to indicate where the different color groups were to sit. We used windex, soap scum remover, knives, scrapers, etc to finally get the floors clean. After we swept we replaced the chairs for the worship services over the weekend. I love how used God's house their was. We like to keep out churches in pristine condition and only allow certain activities but its wonderful to see so much activity by different groups in this place of worship and sanctuary. We certainly could take some lessons in using God's resources to the fullest. We said our goodbyes to the children and the staff and there were definitely feelings of sadness and tears involved even though our patience and sanity was almost worn thin. God will sustain you in the hardest moments and give you peace and strength to endure and persevere. Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with these things this week.

 

Our leaving was hard on the children. They ask questions like, "why do you have to leave? Why does everyone always leave? Will you come back?" Etc etc. you can tell they long for stability in their lives and cling to anything that seems to be a constant. Brad and Sara are providing this for more than a hundred kids and I am honored to have been a part of their ongoing ministry to be Christ even to the least of these. 

After we left, we caught the subway to grand central with our bags. This was tough but we had enough strength because we were in much need of rest and we were so close to rejuvenation. We caught the Metro-North train to Brewster, NY were we were picked up by my aunt Jeannie, my cousin Libby, and her daughter Mackenzie. They drove us out to their beautiful farm and showed us to our rooms. Just the sight of trees, flowers, fresh air and a warm welcome lifted my weary limbs. We all dispersed I our rooms to shower and freshen up before heading to Libby's for a wonderful treat! They had lots of appetizers and finger foods for us to munch on while the master chef, Earl, began working his magic with a wide array if toppings and pizza dough. We had a pizza feast straight from Earl's very own brick oven! My favorite pizza of the night was called the Double H and its had grilled chicken, pineapple, barbecue sauce and jalapeño. It was delicious! There was then an assortment of desserts, gelato, ooey gooey bars, pound cake, cupcakes, etc. After dinner, some of us toured around the farm a while while some of us went straight to our Rooms to rest. After an amazing nights sleep, we woke to a beautiful sunrise in the countryside of Ridgefield. The views were breathtaking. Jeanne and Libby had fruit, yogurt and homemade breads for breakfast. They certainly were the best hosts and hostesses. I do believe god has blessed them with the resources to be hospitable. I believe one of their spiritual gifts is taking care and providing a place of rest for the weary traveler. The bible says, "Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you." 3 John 1:5. Are you being hospitable? Are you helping to care for the needy as well as those who teach and reach the lost? This is being faithful to God. 

Blessings and love, Amen. 

There's gonna be a heat wave!

So today there was a heat advisory in NYC. Yes, you read that correctly. Where the snow piles itself high on the sidewalks and over cars, where there should be a breeze and a chance to at least breathe, they're experiencing a HEAT WAVE. I'm not sure if I haw mentioned this r not, but three of the teams are working in an un-air-conditioned facility and one is stationed outdoors at the park. With the high temps and the amount of walking we have been doing, our clothes are wet before we make it one block to the subway. 

They moved the outdoor activities indoor an tried to fashion and semi cool situation in the Cristi Te Amo location. At one point I saw the thermostat register 93 degrees, INDOORS. And through all these obstacles, our team has managed to stay motivated with one goal in mind: showing god's love to God's children. 

We began the morning like we have every other. Breakfast at 9, children beginning to arrive at 9:30 and then classes starting at 10:30 after morning prayer and praise & worship. The worship leader, who also happens to be known as Principal Ben has been awesome! 

Today in crafts we made hats and they had an absolute blast! I love seeing them get excited about them and wear them all day. They were a welcome treat to deal with the heat wave.  The service class planted seeds to take home and nurture to grow. They certainly had a big time doing that. All of the other groups reported last of patience testing moments but the bright spots are worth all that is endured. 

After camp we hopped on the subway to grand central to have dinner at the "food court". We all got to have whatever we wanted and we realized this was a very good option for a group. After dinner we even did the magic trick where you get in two opposite corners and have a conversation. It's weird how you're voice will travel. That was fun!  Lawana and I got the tickets for the train ride tomorrow. We are all looking forward to that so much. It will be nice to clear our minds. 

I was reading this scripture earlier: 

"You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book." Psalm 56:8

I was thinking about all the tears, heartaches and hardships these children deal with on a daily basis. One precious little girl lives with her family in a shelter. Another little girl has very bad, untreated eczema so she has sores and scars on her arms. Another little boy lives with a single father who loves him very much but seems to have some serious struggles. It's comforting to know that when they live in a world that society doesn't place any importance on, they belong to a God that knows every tear they've cried. That's powerful stuff. 

I was also thinking about the irony of the fact that I've struggled with so much this week including impatience, frustration, and near insanity, but that I've not felt this much pure joy in a long time. The kind you have when you wake up in the morning feeling like you've been hit by a train but you can't wait to get going and get to camp because you look forward to the smiles and hugs of the children. Or when you go to bed at night remembering how gifted a particular student was or how you overheard them helping each other or correcting each other. They are building community that will change the face of this neighborhood. How can I have so much physical pain and mental strains and experience bliss? The juxtaposition of the two is unlikely but really the blood sweet and tears (yes I tripped at Central Park. My family reading this will not be surprised) make the joyful moments that much more grandiose. Serving a powerful God is inspiring and everyday that I spend trying to honor Him and His kingdom is another day of pure joy. 

This little doll has stolen my heart. 

Check out this side smile! What a darling?!

Hear my prayer, O God, that I might continue in your will to love even the least of these, for in this I find true joy. Amen.