NYC 2011 | Blog 10.

Trips can induce some of the funniest feelings. For instance, each day of this trip felt like a week. On Saturday, when we were celebrating Bri's birthday by going to a Mexican place, I said something like, "We've sat at different tables ever since we've gotten here - let's all sit at a big table tonight." Then I realized we had "gotten here" the night before. I guess what I'm trying to convey is that each day was packed so much that Williamsburg felt like a different lifetime. This was all true until Wednesday, when we were getting closer to our departure. Then the feelings flipped: it felt like we'd only been in New York City for a day or two, and that Thursday morning was coming at us at 1,000 miles a minute. So to look over the entire week and tell you about it is a very odd reality to me right now.

Wednesday night we found ourselves driving through NYC looking to and fro in search of people making their beds on the streets. We were able to meet about forty homeless people that night, providing prayer, blankets, water, PB&Js, some clothing, and toiletry packs to anyone who wanted them. At one stop Carrie, Ericken, and I spotted some guys setting up cardboard box living quarters in the cold rain. This would be their place for the night. That reality in itself was humbling. After a few minutes, Carrie and I got to meet and talk with a guy named Moses. When we asked if there was anything he would like for us to pray for him he said very honestly, "food." As soon as he said this I thought of the line from "The Lord's Prayer" saying, "give us today our daily bread." When people prayed that in Jesus's time they probably meant it literally. When Moses essentially asked us to pray this, he meant it literally. I was so humbled by this man's request. I had never prayed for myself or any other person that food would be available for the eating. Talking to and praying for Moses (among others) really shoved in my face the reminder that these were people out here, people whose dreams have been shattered, whose passions have probably been stifled nearly to death. This too was humbling.

People. I feel that the value in and of people is what God was really speaking to me all week long. Whether it was regarding busy New Yorkers, the homeless, the kids we met at the Jamaica House, or my team members, I was constantly impressed with the greatness that is in people. On the note of my team members, I really have left this trip feeling like it was the best week of my life. And it has been. I have absolutely loved being around Mr. Aman, Holly, Josh, Ericken, Will, Mishi, Briana, and Carrie for an approximate collective time period of 100 hours. Sure, some edges were rubbed, we were all offended at some point, and all appropriately corrected too, but I feel that community is where the growth is. A lot of us probably grew so much more regarding how we treat people in this one week than we did listening to fifty messages from services. Not because the messages weren't effective, but because becoming a part of something with other people is a conduit of God's transformation. I am so thankful for God's way of doing things. They're so much better than our ways.

As I've been writing this I keep thinking of something C.S. Lewis said in his book The Four Loves.

"The truly wide taste in humanity will similarly find something to appreciate in the cross-section of humanity whom one has to meet every day. In my experience it is affection that creates this taste, teaching us first to notice, then to endure, then to smile at, then to enjoy, and finally to appreciate, the people who ‘happen to be there’. Made for us? Thank God, no. They are themselves, odder than you could have believed and worth far more than we guessed."

Everyone's valuable. Everyone's made with gifting, talent, humor, and quirks. I guess it's our job to look at people with appreciation- not condemnation, judgment, nit-picking, and our own boastfulness. I am really challenged in this. I've loved New York. I didn't buy the T-Shirt, but I literally got to love on some New Yorkers. Now I'm back home. Now is the true though part. Now is where the rubber meets the road. Anyone can go far away, get uncomfortable, write blogs about it, and feel good about what went down. But it's so much tougher to follow Jesus and love people with our everyday lives sometimes, isn't it? I'd say so.

Please be praying for our team as we are back in our own City and are possibly facing the temptation of normalness. We so thank you for reading our accounts and praying for us all along the way! We have been blessed beyond our imaginations. Come along side us as we seek to love Williamsburg.

- Ashley Loveless

NYC 2011 | Blog 9.

I had planned on blogging earlier this week, but as many of you know, I picked up some kind of stomach bug in New York City. For a day and a half (Tuesday through Thursday morning), I was cooped up in my room, looking forward to being well again. Every time the gang came back from either a church service, ministry site, or prayer walk, Will and Ericken reported to my room making me laugh, telling me funny stories of things my Dad did or Holly wouldn't do. Each time they filled me with joy and laughter. Even though it probably meant the littlest to them, it meant a lot to me. I am so blessed to have them as friends.

-Joshua Aman

NYC 2011 | Blog 8.

I have always held this well-formed idea in my mind that a soup kitchen serves...well, soup. This morning I learned otherwise as our team served hearty meals to roughly 100 men and women at Bethel Gospel Assembly in Harlem. Aside from the ridiculous amount of fun our team had serving together, as we have the entire trip, Jesus really continued to magnify some of the many things He's been showing me while being His hands and feet in the city this week.

Something I came into this trip expecting to happen, but nowhere near to the level that it has happened, is the forming and growing of relationships within our team. It has truly been crazy how much I have come to know these people of character. While before I may never have said anything beyond small talk to a couple of the guys, now we share hours of laughing for no legit reason until our stomachs hurt, inside jokes, some new vocabulary (reference the "legit" I just used), and most of all memories made while serving the One who brought us all together to begin with. God has the greatest ideas sometimes.

Another thing that God has kept at the forefront of my mind this week is learning what it means to value people. Not valuing them because they like what I like, believe like I do, or appeal to me for some reason; but because Jesus loves them with an unimaginable depth and fervor. And how can I claim to be in an intimate relationship with Jesus if I don't love what He loves the most- His people? I find it ironic that we (maybe it's just me, but I get the feeling I'm not alone) so often revolve our mindset around the people who make us look good, while Jesus (you know, that guy in the Bible we want to be like) was more concerned with those who offer Him nothing whatsoever and could "dirty" His reputation.

To expand on a quote from Horton Hears a Who - People are people, no matter how small, poor, rich, smart, disgusting, or downright mean they are. God doesn't love us because we are lovable, for we are anything but; yet He loves us because He is Love itself, love incarnate, love moving and living and breathing. I cannot look at a person the same way again. There is a Jesus-crafted life inside of that individual, even if it is entirely dead and waiting to be awakened to a reality of inexplicable purpose and fulfillment, it is there none the less. There's no skirting around it- loving God and loving people are directly proportional.

God is working on me so much on this trip, and I know He is in the rest of the team as well. I could go on for hours just delving into it all. Gosh Jesus is faithful. He really is good, all the time.

-Carrie Haufler

NYC 2011 | Blog 7.

After a prayer walk across the Brooklyn Bridge that turned very cold and wet, we went to Saint Paul’s Cathedral. In case you do not know, Saint Paul’s served thousands of people during the events that came with September 11th. They served firefighters, bloody and exhausted; they served victims, traumatized and hurt; and they served anyone else in need of food, a cot to rest on, a massage, or any medical attention. Saint Paul’s was seen as a refuge and a safe place; they offered hope to people in a great time of need. As we walked around the cathedral and looked at the different memorials and reminders of what took place on September 11th and the few months that followed, I came across this quote (a firefighter said this to a reporter about Saint Paul’s):

“When I come in that door, I’m covered with blood, sometimes, and they hug me. They love me, they take care of me, they treat me as a real human being. And then they feed me, and they massage me, and they give me adjustments. These are my people. This is my place. This is where I come to be with God.”

Isn’t that what the church is supposed to be? A safe place. A refuge for the hurting. A place where people are treated as humans no matter what they walk in carrying. A place where people are loved, accepted, and taken care of. I love that people taking care of this man led him to God. What began with people ended with God. How beautiful that we, the church, can be that for people - a way to the almighty and loving God. What an opportunity. What a responsibility.

-Holly Aman

NYC 2011 | Blog 6.

Well, we went to the Jamaica Shelter (a family shelter in Jamaica, Queens) to teach and play with less fortunate children.  We were in the CLC van coming up with a game plan of what to do and say, really having no idea what we were going to run into. We got there safely and the atmosphere was actually really relaxed and fun, a vibe we were not expecting. We did all sorts of games and activities which were really entertaining to watch our team complete. We really reached out to the children and got to know them on a personal level. Also, Ashley shared our love for Jesus with a fun Bible story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, and at the end our team prayed for the kids' lives and futures. In all, we had a great time and got these kids to know God's love.

-Ericken Moore

NYC 2011 | Blog 5.

Team at the CP Center.  Jason, our tour-guide, in the front in the Mets hat.

Today we started doing ministry work. We heard this awesome word this morning by Pastor Peter about how we have to touch the unclean to bless them, and also about what Jesus does in cities. The first thing Pastor Peter said is that Jesus went into the city, secondly he shows compassion, and thirdly he brings a level of confrontation. As we follow Jesus's example in these things we are invading the darkness just like he did. Soon after our session with him we met our guide Mr. John who assisted us in our trip to the New York Cerebral Palsy Center. There we met Jason, our funny guide who is also a patient at NYCPC.  During our time there we got to sing, meet, and talk with the patients. After the tour we met the Vice President of the organization, who gave us a history about the center and told us about the new building and location they are moving into this September. The whole experience was a blast and I just felt like God was really grabbing my heart regarding keeping our hearts open and staying away from complaining. There are people who are not like us but still worship him. To him we are all made to minster to different people. God loves us, we love him, and we are called to love people.

-Mishi Bryant

NYC 2011 | Blog 4.

Team waiting for the Subway.

Ashley on the Subway.

A day of two's ... Two church services, two meals out, two subway excursions, two lost kids (ah, gottcha ... We only lost one!).  Our day commenced with a few on the team deciding to sleep in and forego the pancakes.  But with fiber and power bars available - no one went hungry for long.  We started with an 11 am service at the Hillsong NYC Church after a subway ride and some walking (in NY, 11 is the early service!)  Worship was as one would expect worship to be led by Hillsong United ... WOW to say the least.  The church was friendly with a capital "F" ... Very open to visitors, engaging, and even handed out PopTarts and water after worship.  Of course no Panera .... but POPTARTS!  A great word was shared out of Judges 16 and we witnessed at least a dozen people making a commitment to Jesus!  Our next decision was about transportation and lunch ... And we opted to walk the 40 blocks uptown getting a NY Deli Sandwich on the way and then attending the Times Square Church's 3:00 service.  TSC is an established church founded by Bruce Wilkerson in the mid 80's.  They own a beautiful theatre right on Times Square and there is no doubt about their influence.  The service was packed!  Worship and word are more traditional, however, no less spirit filled.  The word was preached about prayer and how prayer shows us God's heart, not the reverse as one often expects.  It was a great opportunity to see the breadth of variety in worship, word, and fellowship and while both were Jesus centered, on point and relevant - there is clearly no competition between the two (those comfortable in one or the other will absolutely prefer that one).  While Caviar was not served at TSC, let's just leave that as a comparison ... poptarts or caviar?  Finally, we rode the subway back to our temporary home ... while the subway experience is still fresh, it is clear that the game playing on board is not getting old (except for the other passengers around us who undoubtedly wish we would have boarded another car).  But at least a few around also undoubtedly smile at something we do as the gentle love and team spirit is no doubt evident.  The team is coming together and I personally can not wait to be stretched and to see the team stretched during the next three days of up close & hands on ministry.   We miss you all and wish you could be here with us.

-Bob Aman

NYC 2011 | Blog 3.

Birthday Girl! Bri's sweet 16 in New York City!

Our team in Times Square.

Wow, what a day! Today was our day off and a day full of site-seeing, shopping, hanging out with friends, doing nothing but enjoying each others' company. Truly amazing, today was filled with excitement and fellowship. I've never been to New York in depth like I've done today. We saw incredible sights, rode the subway all around town and of course went to Time Square! Truly breath taking events! Plus having a birthday in New York, and having over thirty people who you don't know sing "Happy Birthday" to you is something that I know I'll never forget.  Ha, life changing experience. Overall, today was a perfect way to spend our day off and I can't wait to see what else New York had to offer us!

P.S. Today was also my first lesson in bargaining! Got a price down by ten bucks! Wow, it was such a rush. It was legit the most amazing experience :)

-Briana Royster

NYC 2011 | Blog 2.

Tonight we got our first real New York experience: the subway. Now, we not only got our first ride in the subway (and for Will, he also got a first-time ride on an escalator), but we got to get involved in the lives of a few New Yorkers. I really believe that connecting to people is where Jesus is at. That is how Jesus's ministry operated. So tonight as we sang songs that were out of tune, and asked people to tell us about a "good restaurant" amidst the thousands of thousands in the city, I was really overcome with new compassion for who people are. I guess you could call it a new depth of perspective. I began to view what we were doing out of the eyes of people who think entirely differently than we do. People exist, people have pasts, people are loved by a God whose love they could never figure out, and that God has more thoughts towards them than they could ever imagine. I am just so amazed by God's love for the world, and his love for sleepy New Yorkers on the subways.

I just pray we would continue to allow our thinking to be worked and challenged as we seek to be Jesus in this city, and that we would carry that deepening perspective with us back to Williamsburg.

-Ashley Loveless

NYC 2011 | Blog 1.

Well we have survived our super long car ride: Ericken, Josh, and I have literally gone insane. As we drove across the bridge we could see the Statue of Liberty and we were all filled with excitement, but also when we crossed the bridge all I could say is GOD is gonna do a lot of work though us, I just know. And with the help of N.Y.S.U.M. our team is gonna turn some lives around.

-Will Mihansky

Off to New York City!

After much fundraising, praying, expecting, and planning, the Generation Church High School Mission Team has finally left for the Big Apple. The high school mission team is made up of: Ashley Loveless, Briana Royster, Carrie Haufler, Holly Aman, Mishi Bryant, Bob Aman, Ericken Moore, Joshua Aman, and Will Mihansky. Throughout the week they will be giving themselves to serving the homeless, street evangelism, leading worship on subways, loving people, encouraging ministries, and so many other things.

Over the next week this blog will be filled with updates, pictures, and thoughts from the students. Please stay tuned into what God is doing!