Day 3 of our mission trip to the Big Apple is in the books. Today was a VERY labor intensive day. Our team spent the day working in a park clearing brush and walking paths. The park is located near the water on the south southeastern shore of Brooklyn. The park reminded me of Tom Lee Park in Memphis. It was located just off the shore of the East River and consisted of a jogging/walking path as well as a baseball field, flag football field and large open field. Overlooking the park on a "bluff" is a sidewalk. Along this sidewalk are benches that are positioned so that passersby may relax and look out over the park to the river. Over time the bushes and trees have grown up creating obstructed views of the park. A portion of our team spent the day clearing brush and trimming trees and bushes to open up the views. Let me tell you, this was no easy task.
Early in the day we were fortunate to have a city garbage truck at our disposal. We were able to dispose of brush and tree limbs by just throwing them in the back of the truck. When it got full, they would just compact the brush to make room for more. A lot of the brush we disposed of was actually cut back in July by another mission team, however, the city was just now coming to pick it up. I am not quite sure how the parks and recreation department works around here. I guess I should watch the show on NBC to find out. HA!! While one group was clearing and piling up brush, another group was up top cleaning and clearing the sidewalks. Grass had grown up through the sidewalk pavers and dirt had settled and packed over some parts of the sidewalk. Some spent the day cutting the weeds and clearing the sidewalk.
One interesting event today involved a homeless man. In one of the areas we were clearing, a man had made it his home. Some of our team members saw some bags of clothes and other items that appeared to belong to someone. The Parks people don't tolerate the homeless living in the park so our team members were told to throw the items away. Acting out of obedience, they threw the items away....then the homeless guy came home. All of his stuff was gone, so you can imagine his surprise. A couple of our guys took the guy to talk to Nathan about the situation. Long story short, Cornerstone Church is going to replace his clothes with new clothes. The guy seemed to be understanding. Nathan is going to meet up with him on Sunday. I am curious to see how this turns out.
It was tough to interact with very many people today because most people didn't' come where we were working. This was discouraging, but it was refreshing to know that we were able to demonstrate God's love by working unselfishly to make the park more enjoyable for others in Bay Ridge. Just like yesterday, many people asked what we were doing so it did give us an opportunity to share with some.
In addition to working in the park, some of our girls went to Nathan and Leslie's apartment to give it a cleaning for them. One of the girls watched their daughter and we encouraged Nathan and Leslie to go out and spend some time together alone. It has been over a year since they have been able to have a "date" so needless to say, they were very appreciative of this opportunity. We were once again blessed because we were able to see them receive the love of God through us.
When work came to a close, we made the trek back to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner. We met at 5:00 pm to visit and pray over Nathan and Leslie. It has been a blessing to be able to work with them these last two days. Our prayer for them is that God will continue to use them in the Bay Ridge area through Cornerstone Church. Thank you Nathan and Leslie for allowing us to come and work with you!
During our free time tonight I was given the task of leading a group of 11 into Manhattan. We split into two groups and then ventured out into the city. My group was fortunate enough to see many sights. We got to see the Ed Sullivan Theatre where they shoot "The Late Show with David Letterman," Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, NBC Studios, Fox News Studios and MTV Studios. We also spent some time shopping for some souvenirs for our friends and family. We all had a great time together. It has been good for our choir family to get to spend so much time together and get to know each other even better. I know I have enjoyed getting to know some of my fellow choir members even more this week.
It has been a long day, but a good one. We hope that God was pleased with our efforts. Tomorrow we embark on the second half of our journey. We will be attending a music conference at the Brooklyn Tabernacle tomorrow and Saturday. We will rehearse with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir tomorrow evening and will be singing with them on Sunday morning. We are very excited for this opportunity.
God has been very good to us thus far. We are very thankful to be here and can't wait to see what else he has in store for us!
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