BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
Friday, September 19-21
We met at the church on Friday evening 'bout 6 pm to load us all up. Including advisors, there were 24 of us making the trip to Brooklyn First Church of the Brethren this weekend.Parents dropped youth off, and then many returned with the food they forgot to send the first time. It's hard for us all to keep our wits about us all the time! :) ME included! Parents had readily signed up to send food along for the soup kitchen; that made our job a lot easier!
We exited the church parking lot @ 6:15 pm. Made 1 stop on the way there, and arrived at Brooklyn First around 10:20 pm. Pastor Jonathan was awaiting our arrival. Edwin & Rosalyn (a deacon couple who lived a half hour away) also awaited our arrival. (Not sure about the spelling of her name.) We unpacked quickly and efficiently - these youth don't waste any time!
Girls slept downstairs in a classroom. Guys were in the upstairs gym. The neighbor (a Chinese couple with an impressive urban garden) asked that lights be out by 11:30 pm each night so they could sleep without bright lights shining in their windows. That seemed quite reasonable!
We thought the youth might be tired, but a game of knock-out basketball ensued. Lights were out around 11:30 pm as we all flopped onto air mattresses, cots, the floor, etc.
Most of us slept. Somewhat fitfully. Thankfully there were huge fans in each area, and so we ran them for some circulation, and also for the white noise. Sirens went all night, and the subway rumbled & shook through the walls of the church quite often. We were warned the girls might wake up 'round 2:30 am when a particularly loud subway went through, but none of us did. Guys were warned about all the cats they might hear in the alley, but the windows were closed so it wasn't a bother.
Cereal, yogurt, and bagels greeted us for breakfast at 8:15 am the next morning. Pastor Jonathan was kind, and had obtained day-old bagels from a local bagel shop. They would've just been thrown away so he froze them to treat us. I've never had a flattened bagel before. Seriously - that's what some of them were called. Quite honestly, it looked like someone had just sat on it and completely squashed it. 'Bout made me giggle; sure tasted good!
Youth loaded up the food, and we were off by 9:15 am on Saturday morning. Sure is interesting driving the streets of New York. Cars squeezing here and swerving there. Motorcycle doing a wheelie the whole way across a bridge, etc. We waited for a trash truck, and then for the gate to be unlocked, but we were able to park in St. Michael's parking lot for the duration of the time we helped at the soup kitchen.
Jennifer graciously & willingly headed up the preparation of the main meal. Richard helped her out with all those big pots and pans & gas stove. Darrin & I oversaw the paper-bag lunch preparation. A dear lady from the church got a little huffy with me that we were putting TWO slices of meat per sandwich. Then, when she realized we had enough along to put two slices of cheese in the sandwiches as well, well she just shook her head and pursed her lips. She was rather adorable. I felt badly though like we were giving the homeless way too much or something and so I questioned Pastor Jonathan. I think our thought as advisors was that we wanted to not be stingy at all. Pastor Jonathan just smiled & shook his head. He said the homeless love it when the Brethren come to the soup kitchen. Said we know how to EAT, and we know how to FEED. :) Well, we just loaded those paper bag lunches up after that. Not sure how, but instead of the 60 lunches they requested, we were actually able to make more like 75. Somehow, I kept getting confused with the 60 lunches/120 sandwiches, and inadvertently requested too much food. God knew what He was doing though, and used my mistakes to bless some folks who really needed some food.
The kitchen helpers were busy washing potatoes, cutting potatoes, making gravy, etc. Eventually they had to mash 45 pounds of potates with a not-very-big potato masher. They did an awesome job...some tired arms...but looked kinda fun as well. Jennifer's gravy was yummy; we had enough to feed an army, and so the soup kitchen was able to freeze a bunch so they won't have to make any for the actual Thanksgiving meal. Yay!
Pastor Jonathan also introduced us to a 16 year old named Oscar who attends St. Michaels and who was helping at the soup kitchen. He quickly made lots of friends amongst our youth. He was quite talkative and entertaining. He kept telling us how excited he was to have made so many wonderful friends in one day.
We served a record crowd from 11:30 - 1 pm, we're told. The crew from St. Michael's integrated us into the serving process. One gentlemen thought I was there to watch his few bags of belongings, and got a bit huffy with me when I unknowingly left my imaginary post. I quickly stepped back, and kept a watchful eye. :) Quinn handed out silverware, some served the hot food, some were available for drink orders, some carried trays of pies around, some were go-fers, some cleaned up the kitchen, etc. It was very humbling, and a blessing to be able to serve the men & women who came. They were so appreciative and thankful, and it overwhelmed me how unselfish so many of them were. They kept looking out for the person sitting near them - making sure each got a slice of pie, enough bread, etc. How is it that those who have the least are the most giving and unselfish?
It is so easy for us to complain, get annoyed, etc. with such small, trivial stuff. Sure gives one a different perspective watching homeless being grateful and gracious!
After the meal, each who came was also given one of our brown paper-bag lunches so they would have something to eat on Sunday.
Not exactly sure when we left the soup kitchen, but think we arrived back at the church @ 1:35, and left again by 1:50 pm to view some of New York City. Pastor Jonathan was our guide. I was completely flummoxed as to how one would ever figure out the subway system, but he was incredibly knowledgeable, and a great tour leader. He had pre-purchased subway cards for us, and we were off. Thankfully the man wore a very bright shirt, and it was easy to spot him. I'm not sure how many times us advisors counted from 1-24 to make sure we had everyone! Pastor Jonathan actually had us number ourselves so every time we got off the subway we quickly yelled out our numbers to make sure we had everyone. I wonder if anyone who was near us at those moments ever felt like yelling out a number, as well?! ;)
Our first stop was at Ground Zero. Pastor Jonathan stopped quite often to act as tour guide, and many people stopped to listen to him alongside of us. He had such incredible moments of nonchalantly witnessing to others as they stood there and listened to him speak of how God's hand was still there in the midst of the evil. What an awesome opportunity!!
It was neat for us to see Freedom Tower, but as I watched people's faces, it struck me how emotional this moment must be for those who lost a loved one to the tragedy in NY that day.
We did not visit the museum since that was $25/person, and Pastor Jonathan said even most New Yorkers won't pay that price. :)
Since it was warm, and we were drinking lots of water, we decided we needed a bathroom break. Burger King around the corner was the only public restroom we could find so we waited in a 40 minute line. Whew!
And we were off again. This time to ride the ferry from Manhattan past the Statue of Liberty to Staten Island. Somehow, as we were receiving instructions from Pastor Jonathan to share with the youth, the youth boarded the ferry. That was the only time I felt a little disconcerted. So, instead of trying to locate everyone on the ferry, we just unboarded quickly and kept a watchful eye. Lo and behold, when we counted off again, everyone was there! Thank you, Lord! :)
We took a vote at that point (since it was 6-ish), and the youth voted to fit a visit to Times Square into the day yet. That meant we would probably only eat around 8:30 pm so we bought soft pretzels for a snack. Til we got the pretzels we literally had to run and push through the doors they were closing to make the ferry ride. We made it, and settled in for the ride back to Manhattan. Add to that another 20-minute subway ride, and we arrived at Times Square around 7 pm. Now, it was a Saturday night, there was a concert, and construction, and we had a group of 24. Still not sure I'd ever need to go back. It was a sight to see though. Flashing signs on every building, wall-to-wall people, smells, noises, etc. I kept wondering where everyone had come from, and what they were all going to. :)
We boarded the subway again, transferred mid-way, and arrived back in Brooklyn on 59th street around 8:30 pm. Pastor Jonathan took us to Angelo's - a family-owned pizza place on 59th street. The pizza was reeeaaally good!!! And the owner seemed quite grateful for our business; we filled up his little pizza shop. :)
Thinking we arrived back at the church on 60th Street around 10:15-ish. Pastor Jonathan smiled and said he was exhausted, but the dear man still had to prepare his sermon, and take care of a few other items. I received a text from him at 11:30 pm so who knows how many of the night hours he burned?! Thought the rest of us were all pooped as well, but one of those games of everlasting-knockout began again. I have the hardest time remembering to watch for the basketball to fly at me, and ended my stint after I caught one in the mouth. It does bring out the competitive side of a person though. If someone gets you out, and then they get out, you get back in. Does that make sense? The youth can play and play and play. It's fun to watch them!
In the meantime, Jennifer had previously gotten to walk to a little flower shop with Jonathan, and purchase some flowers. How cool is that?!! So she spent some time arranging them in vases for the worship service on Sunday - pretty!
We advisors faded before the youth on Saturday evening. I remember thinking I'd just read my book for a few moments around 11:30 pm, and wait for the girls to quiet down, and the lights to go off. I woke up at 1, and realized most were asleep. At 1:45 am I walked out to where we ate breakfast, and there was still a crew going strong. They thought they'd heard a rat, and were in the supply closet with brooms. What the world! I was feeling a little heeby-jeeby-ish, and then Steph (who was sitting on a freezer) inadvertently brushed her toes against my leg. Apparently my small scream may have briefly awoken a couple of girls. I left those crazy night-owls, and headed back to bed. They all collapsed finally right before 4 am.
Breakfast was at 8:30 am, and then we needed everything packed up, and pushed to the side by 9:30 am. We set up tables & chairs in the room the girls slept in. Some ladies from the church had been cooking the day before, and the aroma still lingered.
Pastor Jonathan had told us we didn't need to be in church before 11 am, as they practiced music, prepared, etc. until then. I went to the bathroom around 10:30 am, came out, and (did you ever have that odd feeling 'cause everyone had disappeared?!) Too funny! I knew Rosalyn had mentioned she was heading up to prepare, and somehow our youth ended up in the sanctuary around 10:40 am. They sat for the next 2 1/2 hours. They did REALLY well! We watched and listened to the music team prepare and practice. They were quite talented. Seriously! That girl had an amazing voice! Sister Doris totally put our youth on the spot; asking them what peace meant to them. She just up and told the first one to get up, come up to the microphone in the front of the church, and share. Galen just smiled, and did as she asked. We spent the next few minutes listening as one by one the youth shuffled out of the pews and shared up front. A few uh-huhs, yes Lord, and Amen's ensued from the congregation. :) We sang, people shared, Pastor Jonathan preached on the church of Philadelphia in Revelations, and we heard Revelations 3:11-13 read in four different languages (Chinese, English, French and Spanish). They asked us if we'd share in German, but the only thing we could muster up was a slight PA Dutch accent so we declined. The words were:
11 Behold,[a] I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. 12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
13 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’
After church the few congregants were so incredibly friendly, and we were able to share a meal with most in the church basement afterwards. A few had prepared an ethnic meal for us...some Salvadoran, some Spanish, and some Chinese food - all prepared from scratch. It was so very yummy!!! Fried rice, beans, turkey, chicken, salad, and some fruit. We enjoyed conversation with the Chinese couple, Caroline & Tony, seated next to us, and also with Pastor Jonathan. Jennifer's niece was able to join her at the soup kitchen, and also for worship on Sunday so they enjoyed a nice visit with family as well! :)
Afterwards, we packed up, swept out the church, and listened as Pastor Jonathan thanked the youth, and prayed over us. A group photo quickly on the steps of the church, and then we were headed for home.
We talked a bit on the way home about the weekend. How one of the ladies in need (we were able to bless with some lunchmeat, etc.) was one of the those who had spent her own money to prepare food for us 'cause SHE wanted to bless US. How the church has to pay for the water we used for showers and to flush toilets. It's an amazing urban outreach. They love Jesus so much, and are so ready to share everything they have with anyone they can.
Pastor Jonathan was so interesting as he shared how the congregation was (and I hope I have this right) Scandinavian, and then Italian, and now Spanish/Salvadoran, and how many Chinese are now moving into Sunset Park (the neighborhood the church resides in). It is an ever-changing landscape of nationalities and languages.
Some of the scriptures left with us this weekend:
Luke 6:27-28, 31 - "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Do to others as you would have them do to you."
John 14:27 - "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
The youth were, once again, very respectful and so willing to give up a weekend to help others...so thankful for them & the witness of Jesus they are to those they come in contact with!
Please feel welcome to chat with any of the youth or Richard & Jennifer or Darrin about their thoughts/experiences from the weekend since this is really only my reflections on our time.
In the meantime, here are a few photos from the weekend (I took my old camera so they're not as clear):
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