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.