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.