Our last ministry site was in Brooklyn and it was called Power Up Fellowship and Faith (Puff ministries). It is in Brownsville, which is considered one of the most dangerous parts of Brooklyn—this was proved further when on one of our days the Bishop took us to the police precinct for that area. It was eye-opening to hear the stats for the violent crimes in that area. At first, it was a little scary to know the reality, but then I reminded myself that I had not once felt unsafe in that area. The Bishop had always made me feel safe with my team and as well, I knew that God had plans for us there. Usually, the Bishop from this ministry works with gangs to defuse violence. At the time we were working with the ministry we were focusing on other things. During the time we were at Power Up, our team helped clean up the church, pull weeds, pick up trash, play with the Bishop’s grandchildren, and set up a table filled with donations for community members to come by and take. A couple of my team members went to stores nearby to ask for donations and one store gave some items to put on the tables. The Bishop had such a joy about serving in that area and before we left he asked us what we learned and how we thought they could better serve the community. I thought it was very humble of him to do such and I appreciated that he would ask us. The Bishop and his wife, the Pastor were two very wonderful people to work with and I enjoyed serving their ministry. In August, they will be having a health and education fair so please pray that they are equipped with the resources to best serve the community. During the week of our last ministry site we had our usual meetings—Monday nights for the whole track, Tuesday night we had dinner at one of the staff’s apartments and discussed compassion, and Wednesday was a free night. On the night of Thursday the 15th we had a progressive dinner. There are a few staff people that live on a certain part of the city and so our whole track split into three (“Action group” which is like a bible study group) and took turns going to different staff apartments. After going to three different apartments and discussing staff life in the city- the whole track reconvened in a community center for dessert and track debrief. Debrief was a time for our track director to encourage us to continue to grow in what we learned on project and in our faith in Christ. It gave all the participants time to share stories from experiences throughout project. I was really empowered by the stories that the people on my track shared because they not only shared what had happened to them, but were also very honest and glorified God through their speaking. The night was a little bittersweet because it was one of our last nights together as a complete track.
On Friday, a few of the girls and I went to China Town to pick up souvenirs for people. We had to be fast about it because we had to meet the rest of the track back at our residence at 1. We were having one last (complete) track time because our director and some other staff were leaving for home on Sunday. I enjoyed exploring China Town with the girls. Our track went to Governor’s Island which we had to take a ferry to (I think it was pretty hot that day). The plan was to either ride bikes around the island (“free Fridays”) or to just walk around. Most of our track explored on foot, however a couple staff families rode a family bike/cart. There were a bunch of beautiful buildings and just open space there (no one resides on Governor’s Island). A group of us just walked around…I eventually got a chicken pita (that eventually squirted on me!) and then icecream. We stopped at a playground and swung. Time went really quickly and we went back to meet one another as a whole track. We took time to pray as teams and as a track before taking the ferry back to Manhattan. We thanked God for experiences and the work he had done in us and through us. It was prayed that He would continue those things. We had to say goodbye to some staff and the realization that project would be ending soon set in.
After returning from Governor’s Island a group of us got ready to go the Art Installation that the Art track had been preparing for all summer. It was ah-mazing. I’m already such an art lover, but it was even greater to see artists who wanted to incorporate their faith with their art. There were seven pieces: some were installations, some were photos, one was a performance, and another was a short film. It was all introspective and included themes. It gave me a lot to think about and to appreciate as well.
Afterwards the group of us that went to the installation went to dinner in Chelsea. We went to this restaurant called RUB (Righteous Urban Barbeque) where we got a meat plate and some sides. The six of us ate most of it (it was delicious!) and then saved the rest to give away. Once finishing dinner we split in half and I and two other women walked around Chelsea. First, we stopped in a random dollar store and then we ended up at Hudson River Park. It was beautiful at night. We explored further and then went back home. Before we went back, we had a chance to pray for a homeless man and give him our leftovers. He had some difficulties with his wife and it was our prayer that he would turn to something other than alcohol to relieve his pain. It was a full and memorable last Friday.
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