move!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

MOVING THROUGH THE WEEK - Tuesday's Report

We have Owen, Zach, Billy and Tony here reporting...

This is a 7:15 a.m. posting. Zach has been up since 6 cooking breakfast.

Tony:
I saw God on the move when the residents at the retirement home were really energized. One gentlemen there gave a lady a rose and they started to dance. They sat next to each other, he put his arm around her and it was very sweet. I saw God in that moment.

The struggle of the day was sticking to the schedule - one lady at the home wanted to give us a grand tour. We wanted to be kind to her, but we knew we would be late. We went with her - so she could show us her home.

When we were at Flushing Meadows Park last night, home of the UN, Shea Stadium and the Unisphere, I saw God in some of the skateboarders who were going through the fountains. There was one guy there who seemed to minister to the younger kids - he was welcoming to us and an interesting person to talk to. His background was Korean and Venezuelan. I saw the face of God in the kindness in his eyes and his willingness to help others out.

For now, I am good.

Owen:

At the Salvation Army yesterday, I wasn't with the kids at all except for lunch. But still at the end of the day, the kids were all attached to everyone in the group - not just the ones who played with them during the day. While the rest of the group was playing with the kids, Ross, Jake and I packed lunches for immigrant workers in the community. The sandwiches for day laborers. We packed food bags for impoverished families. Depending on the size of the family, we made different assortments of food and supplies.

At Flushing Meadows, I had the most fun yet so far - definitely the best thing - because I got to play soccer with New Yorkers. Everybody there was Spanish speaking - Mr. Hoppe motioned if I could come in. They motioned back to wait until someone dropped out of the game. I waited around for ten minutes, someone left, and I got in. They passed me a few passes, to check me out. Once they knew I could play, I was in the game.

Zach:

I've been at the "Living Room Ministries" all week. They have a summer program - upstairs is for toddlers, downstairs are kids through sixth grade. There is time for school work to stay up on things through the summer, there is worship, and there is play time. All of the kids get three meals during the day. Mrs. Meyer says that "Living Room Ministries" is a great name - that we should all 'live' in the 'room' of our faith. Maybe a new name for the SHYG Lounge?

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Getting the MOVE on! Monday's Report

We arrived Sunday after the minivan mafia infiltrated I-80 and the George Washington Bridge. Our arrival in Queens was highlighted by a major lightning storm crashing through the sky. We unpacked amid the thunder and storm to settle in here at First Presbyterian Church Jamaica.

We woke up on Monday -Hilary's crew was breakfast duty - 6:45 rise and shine! We ate, packed lunches and had devotions up in the sanctuary. A quiet time to 'pause' - and get focused for the day. After devotions we headed off to our work sites for the first day.

Our crews went to: the Salvation Army, the Living Room, two assisted living centers, several VBS and kids programs. We met folks named Aquarius, Jummy and Eric - who all shared parts of their life stories with us. Jummy, the Jamaican program director, was so happy and funny. She ran one of the Assisted Living centers - the folks there loved her good humor and so did we.

Megan is thankful for little Anna - one of the little girls at her ministry site. Kim loved playing with Manuel - they played kickball - and he was quite a kicker. We are remembering what it means that we honor Christ by loving children. We all loved that Ross Wastvedt's compliment of the day - was a little guy who said, "I love the way you play kickball." Lisa's compliment of the day was a little girl who said, "You have beautiful green eyeballs."

Our theme for the day was 'pause' - before we begin to "MOVE" forward - the encouragement was to stop and take in your surroundings. We read from the book of Phillipians that speaks of pausing to find contentment.

Last night we went to Rockaway Beach. Driving through Queens is a little crazy. We met an 'angel' of a driver. A nice gentlemen in a Mercedes who not only rolled down his window to give us directions, but shepherded us through a busy interchange - eveyone in our van, could only say "Awwww..." every time we remembered his nice companionship on our journey.

Driving home, we saw a grapefruit colored sunset literally over the skyline of New York City. It was unbelievable. It looked like the sunset in "The Lion King" - but with the incredible setting of NYC.

First Presbyterian Church of Jamaica is 345 years old. It was founded in 1662 - the amount of ministry that happens within the doors of this church is amazing. God MOVES here.

We are in process here - expectations are different than reality - we had a good group conversation about that last night. Today, a new chapter unfolds. Thank you for your prayers for us. In the midst of it all we can see God moving - what we are learning is that sometimes that 'moving' isn't in pretty pictures of huge accomplishments - but in day to day relationships across cultures and in connecting churches with communities.

- Addie, Kim, Megan, Delila and Hilary