Friday, July 23, 2010

We had a good free day today. We ran all over town but luckily the weather was overcast with off and on showers.

We rode the Staten Island ferry to
Staten Island and back (where Kailey showed off her dance moves on Staten Island while waiting on the ferry), toured Times Square one last time, went to Central Park one last time, watched a movie being filmed just outside Central Park and tried to get in the background, ate supper at Mickey Mantel's and went to New Jersey to go to Carlo's Bakery, home of Cake Boss. We had to wait in line almost two hours but it was worth the wait. Looking forward to being home tomorrow. I would take these students anywhere.










































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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Today was a good day. We were able to walk to our work site from our "home." Today, some of our guys made sandwiches and prepared sacks to hand out to the poor and poverty stricken. Others of us set up a Prayer Station in front of the church we were serving and handed out tracts and prayed with passers by who asked for prayer. Some even washed dishes and helped clean up the kitchen.















Following our time of service this morning, we had some free time. We went to China Town and did some shopping.

Following out shopping, some of us walked over the Brooklyn Bridge and others went back to the home site.

Our supper tonight was at a Dominican restaurant and it was delicious.






Following dinner we returned to our home site for a night of group worship. Elizabeth spoke about what this trip has meant to our group. Following worship we enjoyed some done time at Baskin Robbins.









Tomorrow is a free day and then home on Saturday.

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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

What a day! Today was our prayer walk. We walked through the financial district in lower Manhattan, around Battery Park where the immigrants came to America, through Times Square, through Harlem and the Bronx, down 5th avenue where the money people are and around Ground Zero. It has been an exhausting day but a very eye opening and rewarding day. Lots of us have drained our energy levels and have aching knees and feet. Please continue to lift us up in prayer. We will have a lot of thoughts and emotions to process and work through tonight in our debriefing time.






















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Tuesday, July 20, 2010







We have learned to sleep on the subway like the locals.

Today was amazing. We worked
with The Relief Bus in north Bronx. The organization has a refurbished bus with a kitchen, a section opens, and a counter folds out. They park in poor parts to feed the homeless and poverty stricken a cup of soup and a drink. We got to work in the kitchen, serve soup and drinks, walk the neighborhood passing out literature and visit and pray with those who came for the meal.


























This afternoon we got to spend about an hour of down time in Grand Central Station.

We then split into two teams (Vicki and Tyler leading and me leading the other) for a poverty simulation. We were each given $2. The team could pool their money to eat but they had to find someone else to buy a meal for too. They had to find a food pantry, a place that served free meals and a shelter where they could spend the night indoors. They were very creative in their efforts to accomplish these tasks and others given to them by CSM.






You would be extremely proud of these guys. Once again, I am so very proud to be a part of Lake Pointe Church and I am blown away by the students of Lake Pointe.


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Monday, July 19, 2010

We have had a great day! We started the morning by getting up at 5:00 :( We had a long subway ride today and had to leave by 6:00.

This morning we worked for a couple of hours feeding the homeless at a place called St. Paul's House. We welcomed them to the house (mostly men) and gave them coffee and a pastry. Then some of our students led out in 3-4 songs, I gave a brief devotional and we sang two more songs before setting up tables and feeding them a meal.












We got to visit with the directors of the house for about 30 minutes before heading off to our second work site.

Our second site was in Harlem working to clean up a park with The Green Team - part of the NY Horticultural Society. We moved rubble (bricks, rocks and stones), cut down a tree, disassembled an old flower bed, watered about 30 plants and planted 3 hydrangea.












The students have been outstanding and have worked extremely hard.

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