After returning home from GenSend in New York City this past summer, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to get back to the city as soon as possible. During my spring break, I was blessed with the opportunity to get to do that at Mosaic Baptist Church with 10 incredible people from Troy University’s Baptist Campus Ministries (BCM) and WOW, let me tell you. It was absolutely incredible. The week before the trip, I knew this was going to be something big. I am a firm believer that when the enemy sees the potential in someone or something like a mission trip, he does everything in his power to shut it down. The week before the trip was the hardest week I have had since being in college and possibly even the hardest week I have ever had. I was dealing with the death of my dog (which in comparison to many other things is not a bid deal, but she was my pal and it was still hard), a couple very personal hardships and relationships, and the death of my grandfather. During this time, I found myself praying many times that God would find me faithful in the midst of these trials, even when it didn’t make sense and when I all I really wanted to do was drive home and be with my family. I knew that in order to be faithful to the Lord’s prompting, it was time to pack up and get ready to go back to New York.
We left very early on Friday morning and took a bus to Atlanta to catch our flight to NYC. Several people on our team had never flown so it was super cool to get to experience their first flight with them. We arrived in New York City that afternoon and braved the metro system with all our luggage. We arrived at our hotel and got settled in and then took a subway downtown for dinner. After we finished eating, we took a quick trip to Brooklyn Bridge Park to see the Manhattan skyline. When we came out of the subway, I caught a glimpse of my favorite view in the whole world and my heart felt at home. The night was insanely cold and we definitely were not dressed warm enough, so we cut our time short and headed back to the hotel to prepare for the next day.
We got up early the next morning and headed to Meme’s, a local coffee shop, to meet Pastor Stephen and do a quick orientation before getting to work. When we finished our coffee, we packed up and walked across the street to a theater called “The Black Lady Theater.” Mosaic Baptist Church was hosting a parenting conference there that day consisting of speakers on subjects ranging from nutrition, to helping your child with homework, to Biblical parenting and everything in between. Before the conference, our team helped set up the room, put together gift bags for the families, and greet guests as they arrived. Once the conference started, our team was in charge of child care. Let me set this scene for you…we were in a small square room. We had 6 or 7 kids and 11 adults in that space, the room was empty, and the only thing we had to entertain the kids was a Bluetooth speaker, a few crayons, and one coloring sheet. There was not a lot to work with, and we had to get super creative in order to keep the kids occupied for 5 hours. Thankfully, there were many people on our team who are very passionate for children’s ministry and handled the task like champs. For the first little bit, we played duck-duck-goose, London bridges, ring-a-round-the-rosie, and just ran in very small circles a couple times. (Why do kids like doing that???) When the adults were nice and out of breath, we sat down for a time of Bible Study. We walked through the resurrection of Jesus and how he was not in the tomb when the women arrived there. On a whim, our team started acting out the story as it was read to the children, and they were so engaged and attentive. In the curriculum we were teaching from, it said to have the kids play hide and seek and then relate it to Jesus coming out from being “hidden.” Hide and go seek in a small empty room sounded impossible, but we gave it a shot anyways. I was shocked, but it turned out to be a huge success. We would let the kids hide behind us, under our jackets, or under a sheet that was found in the room and they went along with it and acted like it was the hardest game of hide and seek they had ever played! The game ended up lasting 30-45 minutes or so. After the kids had lunch, we ended the day with some more games and hooked up one of our teammates laptops and watched a few episodes of Veggie Tales. We sent the kids home nice and tired, (you’re welcome, parents) and helped the church pack everything up.
After leaving the theater, we went back to the hotel for a much-needed time of rest. That evening, we headed to Times Square for a night of exploring. We walked around as a group for a little bit, and then the guys split off to go get New York Pizza and the girls headed to treat ourselves to a nice meal at Planet Hollywood.
After leaving the theater, we went back to the hotel for a much-needed time of rest. That evening, we headed to Times Square for a night of exploring. We walked around as a group for a little bit, and then the guys split off to go get New York Pizza and the girls headed to treat ourselves to a nice meal at Planet Hollywood.
Sunday morning, we got to sleep in for a little bit, and then we got ready and walked to Brower Park. On our way, we stopped in Kennedy’s restaurant (I believe that is what it was called) for lunch. We got our food to go, and ate it in the park. The plan was to go prayer walking with Pastor Stephen and for him to give us an orientation to the community and the neighborhood before heading to church. However, our plans had to change when we got a call that Pastor Stephen had to catch a flight to Atlanta to be with his family as his father was expected to pass away. I was very proud of my teammates and how they remained flexible as we reworked our plans. We decided to head back to our hotel for a time of prayer for Pastor Stephen and his family and a Bible Study. After this, we headed to the church to help set up for service. Mosaic does not have their own building, so each week they must come in, take everything down that is not theirs, set up all their equipment and prepare for service. During service, we walked through Psalm 90 and discussed the mortality of man and making our day’s count. It was an awesome service, and it was incredibly encouraging to see how the members of the church came together in a time of hardship, and filled in for Pastor Stephen. As the service was coming to a close, we had a time of prayer for Pastor Stephen’s family and for other members of the church who were dealing with different hardships. It was an incredibly special time for everyone in attendance. After church, we caught the subway and headed to Chinatown and Little Italy for dinner. Half of the team ate at an authentic Chinese restaurant, and then the other half of us ate at an authentic Italian restaurant called Puglia. It was incredibly delicious! When we finished dinner, we met back up as a team and went to the Staten Island Ferry. We rode the ferry and enjoyed the awesome view of The Statue of Liberty and Manhattan.
Monday morning came quickly and we got up and walked to Dunkin Donuts to meet Salome, who was kind enough to step in and fill Pastor Stephen’s role in leading our team. We bought two large things of coffee and then walked to her apartment where there was a second mission team waiting to do orientation with us and then do ministry with us. After hearing from Salome all about the community of Crown Heights and what to expect for the day, we hit the streets with coffee, hot chocolate, invitation cards to the church and hearts ready to share the good news of Jesus. We understood the challenges of ministry in a fast-paced city but we were more than ready to give it our all. We gave out many cups of hot chocolate and coffee as well as the invitation cards to the church. We also got to have several meaningful conversations with people. I personally got to talk to a man named Roy. Roy had never even heard the name Jesus before which was both shocking, as well as heartbreaking to me. It was an honor for me to be the first person to ever share the gospel with him. He was a little bit confused and did not understand how the things I was sharing with him could be true. He expressed that he was lonely and looking for companionship. I shared Mosaic’s information with him and let him know that there are many people there who will love him and be a friend to him, but we believe Jesus is the ultimate companion and friend. We continued having awesome conversations with people throughout the day as we continued to serve. Later in the day, a sweet old lady came walking by with tears in her eyes. I offered her the coffee and hot chocolate but quickly realized she needed something more than that. I asked her if she was okay and if I could help her in any way. She told me she was looking for a doctor and could not find it. She handed me his card, and I pulled up his office on my phone. It ended up only being about a block away so I offered to walk her there. On the way, we shared many laughs and got to have a nice conversation together. When we got to the doctor’s office, I asked her name and if I could pray for her. Her name was Miss Carmen. She did not want me to pray for her at the time, but I still pray for her, and I hope you will too. Through this experience, I learned the importance of meeting people’s needs. If we meet tangible needs of others, they will be more open to hear what we have to say and will willingly trust us. Our actions should be a picture of Jesus as we prepare to verbalize what he has done for us. After lunch, we went on a prayer walk around the community. It was crazy to see how going just one street over could completely change the dynamic of the community. It was definitely evident that Crown Heights is dealing with a lot of racial and economic division and it made our team realize just how desperately these people need the gospel and the unity that Christ brings.
God definitely used us as His vessel on Monday, and we got to share the gospel with several people and plant seeds with dozens of others. When we were done with ministry for the day, we decided to stay in for the night and rest. Later on, we walked a couple blocks down and the majority of the team had dinner at an authentic Mexican restaurant called Chavela’s while the rest of us opted for coffee and smoothies at Duncan Donuts. The rest was much needed and the bonding time was a great way to prepare for our next two days of ministry.
Tuesday morning, we got up and braved the snow and made our way back to Salome’s apartment to get our instructions for the day. (Side note, every member of Mosaic was always so welcoming and willing to have us in their homes. Such wonderful people.) Tuesday was going to be a lot like Monday in that we would be serving coffee and hot chocolate and trying to start gospel conversations. However, this time we would only spend a few hours on Nostrand (the street we were on the day before) and then we would move to Franklin Avenue. Franklin avenue is the hipster side of Crown Heights. Everything is very fancy and pricy. Franklin is also the gentrified area of town. The proper definition of gentrification is the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste. Basically, what is happening is middle class people are coming in to take advantage of low housing rates. This in turn raises the prices of housing and displaces lower class people. Because of this, there is a lot of tension in the community and in this area. The people on Franklin are typically not as open to have conversations and are not as friendly as residents in other areas of Crown Heights. We were nervous and skeptical as we made our way to Franklin, but we were willing to follow the Holy Spirit’s prompting and open to speak as we felt led. That day was very hard. The snow kept a lot of people inside for the day, and our location made things harder. However, we were still able to have several conversations with people and invite them to church. It was hard not to feel a little bit discouraged as we left, but we know that God can multiply our efforts and continue to stir the hearts of the people we came in contact with.
Tuesday night, we had the wonderful opportunity to join in with one of Mosaic’s small groups. We had dinner together and then sat down for a time of Bible study. That night, we worked our way through Psalm 90 once again. As we were reading, one verse really fell heavily on my heart. In verse 12 it says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” In life, it is so easy to live looking forward to the next “thing.” In the fall, I am waiting for Thanksgiving and Christmas, in the spring I am looking forward to summer. I seem to always be counting down and waiting for something. But what about all the days between? How many opportunities am I missing out on to point people to Jesus because I am waiting for another day? What if I don’t make it to that day? What if the number of my days is only one? I need to learn to just live for today. I need to learn to see each day as a big day simply because His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23) and I have the opportunity to live for Christ and to be His vessel. In my Bible, I wrote myself a quick note. “Don’t waste your life, kid.” I pray that I would see each and every day as a gift and that I would daily seek opportunities to know my Jesus more, and to make Him known to others. Our time together that night was the sweetest time we had together the whole week. Such an encouragement and challenge.
Wednesday was gardening day. Since people in New York City all live in apartments and do not have their own land, parks are essential to them. Brower Park is a special place for the residents of Crown Heights. By meeting tangible needs in the park, and serving the people by handling the gardening and grounds keeping, people begin to trust us and respect us. This led to opportunities to tell people that we were serving as part of Mosaic, but ultimately to point them to Jesus and the gospel. That day we moved mulch and spread it around the trees, turned the compost pile, and helped clean out the butterfly garden in preparation for the monarchs to return when spring comes. As we were working, we met people who were walking around in the park, as well as some people who were skateboarding and playing basketball. We got to have conversations with several of them and invite them to church. We were also joined by Jasmine, who is now a member of the church, but was invited by a missions team like us while she was there playing basketball. It was such an encouragement to have her there, knowing that the effort we were putting in was not pointless. The gardener’s name was Miss Robin. She is not a Christian, but she has a great relationship with several members of Mosaic, including Pastor Stephen. She has even participated in several events put on by the church. Our prayer is that by helping Miss Robin with her responsibilities, we will exemplify the love of Christ and one day she will know Him personally. It was a very physically demanding and tiring day, but it was awesome to have the opportunity to meet the needs of the community.
Wednesday evening, we headed to downtown Brooklyn and walked the Brooklyn Bridge. We walked somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of the bridge, and then turned around to go back to the metro station. We hopped on the subway, and went a couple stops down to Juniors Restaurant. We enjoyed some delicious Juniors cheesecake, and then took a walk down to DUMBO for a gorgeous view of the Manhattan skyline and a peaceful waterfront park. I truly believe that spot is only of the prettiest places on earth.
The next day was our off day and we spent it exploring Manhattan. In a few hours’ time, we saw the 911 Memorial, Trinity Church, the Wall Street Charging Bull, Grand Central Station, Macy’s, the Empire State Building, and Grand Central Park. We enjoyed just being all together and growing closer to one another. Even though we were technically not doing ministry that day, we went with the understanding that we are to live our lives on a mission, number our days, and not waste any opportunities. Because of this mindset, we still had a few conversations with people we met. After exploring, we headed back to the hotel to pack up our things and spend some quality time as a team. It was sad to pack up, but also very encouraging knowing that we had come, holding back nothing, and put all we had into serving the community of Crown Heights and New York City as a whole.
Friday morning, it was sadly time to leave. While it may have been the end of that trip, I firmly believe it was not the end of my time in New York City, and it was definitely not the end of ministry for any of us. I am so thankful that I did not give in to the hardships I was experiencing the week before the trip and make a decision to stay home. God used that week to teach me, mold me, and grow me in incredible ways.
3 weeks after our trip, Mosaic had their Easter Sunday service. While we were there doing our coffee and hot chocolate ministry, we handed out invites to this service. We got an update from Salome that they had 10 visitors in attendance that Sunday as well as a few visitors who had come in the previous weeks. What a blessing and answer to prayer! Please continue to pray for Pastor Stephen and his family, Miss Robin, Miss Carmen, Roy, and Mosaic Baptist as they continue to serve their community and faithfully share the gospel with them.
“Here I am, send me!” Today, tomorrow, and every day. Let’s live our lives on a mission for Jesus!
-Amy
