Ministry has gone well. Our ministry team (5 students and 2 staff) evaluated today and realized that we had over 30 spiritual conversations in our first 2 days on campus and we were able to share the gospel with over half of those people. Last week 2 students accepted Christ. One of them at NYU Poly and the other at Brooklyn college. Today, 2 more students gave their lives to the Lord as other ministry teams spread out across Brooklyn and hit the campus.
Some of us came across the first believers we have met on campuses here New York during our time today. Many people ascribe to atheism, agnosticism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and others. We have even stumbled across religious beliefs that we have never heard of before such as Jainism, and Sikhism (religions connected to Eastern Beliefs). One day in our first couple weeks here I passed a man who was lying prostrate on a cardboard box as he took a break from working his hotdog stand and bowed repeatedly toward Mecca. It has been a learning experience for us all. Many of our students are developing a deep love for Asian students as we have the priveledge of having conversations about spiritual things, which many of them have never heard or considered. This afternoon a student and I shared the gospel with a women from East Asia. It was the first time anyone had clearly explained it to her. It is an amazing thing to see Christ through new eyes. I have heard it my whole life. I loved sharing with her and hearing her thought and questions as she finally understood. Please pray that she recognizes a need for God in her life.
Our students are hitting their first wall since arriving. Moral was low on campus as we encountered many obsticles with talking to people, getting into the buildings on campus, rain and long subway rides. It was a wonderful time to pray together and remember how God works through our weakness. I was so proud to see our students persevere without complaint. One of the girls even comented on how she sees no excuse to not share when she goes back to her campus because she has 9 months of opportunities and freedom to come and go on campus. Pray for spiritual, emotional, and physical renewal. I am also feeling under the weather and had to leave our weekly meeting early because of dizzyness and other flu like symptoms. There is much ahead this week included celebrating a friends wedding in another city this weekend. As the maid of honor I can't afford to get sick. :)
Thank you for your continued prayers. I can sense God moving through them.
Abigail
"These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth..." ~ Hebrews 11:13
Monday, June 22, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Steps of Faith
Thank you for your prayers! God is moving in the hearts of students on our team and in New York. The following is an update that one of the girls I am discipling during the project wrote and posted for her friend on facebook about her first week here. She did such a great job explaining, I thought you would enjoy it as well.
"Greetings from the Big Apple!
The past week has been a whirlwind! Our team of 19 students and 9 staff has been doing so much since we arrived in NYC last Tuesday. The first several days, we focused on training for campus evangelism, getting acclimated to city life (especially learning to navigate the subway system!), building community with the other students on project, and PRAYING! Last weekend, we got to explore the city and do some sight-seeing, including the Statue of Liberty, the Museum of Modern Art, the Rockefeller Center, Coney Island, and Time Square. This place is bigger and busier than I ever imagined possible! The people in the city are unbelievably diverse and I’m just beginning to realize what its like to be so far from the Bible belt!
On Sunday afternoon, we hosted a party for international students from nearby colleges, and had about 30 students show up. We had a great time helping them practice their English, and we were paired up with an “International Buddy” who we will be meeting and hanging out with every Friday for rest of project. They love to have American friends who can help them learn more about our national culture, and they also love that for once they know more about this city than someone else and can show US around! Some of these students are Christians, others are not. I’m not sure what my “Buddy” believes, but I am excited to spend quality time with her and build a relationship with her this summer!
On Monday, we visited campuses for the first time. We had been trained on how to “decode” a campus: find key people, places, and resources on campus that would help us get to know the subculture and spiritual atmosphere of a campus so that we can know what kind of approach to ministry will be most effective. My Ministry Team of four other students and 2 staff went to Brooklyn College, where we will be spending every Monday and Wednesday. It was an adventurous day! We actually had to sneak through the front gates of campus, since we didn’t have student ID cards to show the security guard…but he didn’t stop us (all looking occupied on cell phones!), so getting in was the first answer to prayer!
We spent the first hour that morning Prayer Walking: getting to know the layout of the campus, visiting buildings that were open, and praying for specific requests for the campus as we went. I was prayer-walking with my friend, Katie, and we prayed for 3 specific things: that the Lord would send us a faculty member who could tell us more about campus life and be a good resource for us in the future; that we could get our hands on media materials like a map of campus, brochures on academic programs, a list of student organizations, a student newspaper, or anything else that would be an authentic way to get to know Brooklyn College; and finally, that God would connect us with at least one Christian student there who could come alongside us to reach his/her campus for Christ. God answered all of these!!! We got connected with the advisor of all of the school’s student leadership programs and clubs, who gave us an enormous stack of all the media materials we could want—after he gave us a personal tour of the student center and talked with us for over an hour about what life is like at Brooklyn. Finally, two guys on my team met a girl wearing a “Got God?” t-shirt who was a sincere follower of Christ and gave them her contact information so that she could re-connect with us in the future! Wow, God!
On Tuesday, my ministry team went to St. Francis College in Brooklyn. We didn’t have any luck getting past the security at the front desk of the main building, so we walked around the block several times, praying for future opportunities to get in, and praying for ways to reach students from the outside. We ended up having some really great conversations with students sitting right outside on benches during their breaks between classes. We even got to share the gospel through conversation with one lady, but then she had to leave quickly. We learned a lot about the school just through talking to people, and we also got contact information for someone who may be able to give us a tour when we return next week.
On Wednesday, we went back to Brooklyn College and spent the day sharing one of Campus Crusade’s best evangelistic resources, the Quest Survey. This 6-question survey asks students questions about what their religious background was like and how they felt about it, how they now describe themselves spiritually, and finally asks them to rate on a scale of 1-10 their desire to know God more. My partner, Becca, and I talked to one girl, who is an atheist and was not terribly open to even an idea of a Creator God, but she shared a lot with us and we went through a booklet on the Four Spiritual Laws of the gospel with her. We left it with her “as a future resource on what the Bible says is true about God.” We are praying that the scripture and message of Christ in that booklet may be something she will look through again and continue to think about. A male student from Turkey then sat down on the bench beside us and struck up a conversation, so we ended up going through the survey with him. He comes from a strict Muslim background, but is completely open to new perspectives on religion. He says he is currently seeking Truth and knows that there is a God who must care something about us. We went through the booklet with him, too, and he was pretty open to the Gospel message. He didn’t agree that Jesus was the Son of God, but he did enjoy discussing with us what we believe and why. Last, we talked to a student who told us her husband is a practicing Jew, but she currently does not believe in a god. As we asked her questions about her claims on evolution, she said in bewildered laughter that she “can’t explain where the algae came from!” We share the gospel booklet with her too, and as she was leaving, she thanked us for our questions—she realized that she gets angry when people believe things without being about to explain why, but she does the very same thing! She said she really wants to explore evolution more and the concept of a Creator. We were blown away.
Please be praying for all of these people we have met and talked to, for the ones who have now heard the gospel and may be ready to believe it, or may just be considering the possibility of a God for the first time—that’s huge too! The other 18 students here on project have many similar stories; one group even led a Taiwanese student at Polytech to accept Christ today!
While God is renewing our hearts “day by day” ( 2 Corinthians 4:16), our bodies are getting quite tired…we do a lot of walking and not much sleeping. I have been feeling a little bit sick today, so please pray that we all will be able to stay healthy and physically energized for the busyness of each day! Pray also for the continued peace among the community of Christians here. It has been an indescribable blessing. I am learning so much about life and ministry from the staff and students here. And also, please pray for God to go ahead of us to prepare the hearts of students to be receptive to hearing about His love and grace!
I so appreciate your prayers! I have been praying for you all too, update me on YOUR lives!!!
I love each of you with the love of Christ,
Sammi Quave"
P.S. The student that prayed to receive Christ was at my ministry teams "home" campus. During our subway ride to the campus I asked our team what it looked like to take a step of faith in evangelism today. The two students who shared with our new Taiwanese brother were acting out of their commitment to take their steps of faith and God honored it through bringing a new child to Him. Friday Alex, one of the students who shared with him will be meeting for the first follow up. Please pray for protection from spiritual attack now that he has accepted Christ. Pray that we will be able to reconnect with him and connect him with believing students at his school.
"Greetings from the Big Apple!
The past week has been a whirlwind! Our team of 19 students and 9 staff has been doing so much since we arrived in NYC last Tuesday. The first several days, we focused on training for campus evangelism, getting acclimated to city life (especially learning to navigate the subway system!), building community with the other students on project, and PRAYING! Last weekend, we got to explore the city and do some sight-seeing, including the Statue of Liberty, the Museum of Modern Art, the Rockefeller Center, Coney Island, and Time Square. This place is bigger and busier than I ever imagined possible! The people in the city are unbelievably diverse and I’m just beginning to realize what its like to be so far from the Bible belt!
On Sunday afternoon, we hosted a party for international students from nearby colleges, and had about 30 students show up. We had a great time helping them practice their English, and we were paired up with an “International Buddy” who we will be meeting and hanging out with every Friday for rest of project. They love to have American friends who can help them learn more about our national culture, and they also love that for once they know more about this city than someone else and can show US around! Some of these students are Christians, others are not. I’m not sure what my “Buddy” believes, but I am excited to spend quality time with her and build a relationship with her this summer!
On Monday, we visited campuses for the first time. We had been trained on how to “decode” a campus: find key people, places, and resources on campus that would help us get to know the subculture and spiritual atmosphere of a campus so that we can know what kind of approach to ministry will be most effective. My Ministry Team of four other students and 2 staff went to Brooklyn College, where we will be spending every Monday and Wednesday. It was an adventurous day! We actually had to sneak through the front gates of campus, since we didn’t have student ID cards to show the security guard…but he didn’t stop us (all looking occupied on cell phones!), so getting in was the first answer to prayer!
We spent the first hour that morning Prayer Walking: getting to know the layout of the campus, visiting buildings that were open, and praying for specific requests for the campus as we went. I was prayer-walking with my friend, Katie, and we prayed for 3 specific things: that the Lord would send us a faculty member who could tell us more about campus life and be a good resource for us in the future; that we could get our hands on media materials like a map of campus, brochures on academic programs, a list of student organizations, a student newspaper, or anything else that would be an authentic way to get to know Brooklyn College; and finally, that God would connect us with at least one Christian student there who could come alongside us to reach his/her campus for Christ. God answered all of these!!! We got connected with the advisor of all of the school’s student leadership programs and clubs, who gave us an enormous stack of all the media materials we could want—after he gave us a personal tour of the student center and talked with us for over an hour about what life is like at Brooklyn. Finally, two guys on my team met a girl wearing a “Got God?” t-shirt who was a sincere follower of Christ and gave them her contact information so that she could re-connect with us in the future! Wow, God!
On Tuesday, my ministry team went to St. Francis College in Brooklyn. We didn’t have any luck getting past the security at the front desk of the main building, so we walked around the block several times, praying for future opportunities to get in, and praying for ways to reach students from the outside. We ended up having some really great conversations with students sitting right outside on benches during their breaks between classes. We even got to share the gospel through conversation with one lady, but then she had to leave quickly. We learned a lot about the school just through talking to people, and we also got contact information for someone who may be able to give us a tour when we return next week.
On Wednesday, we went back to Brooklyn College and spent the day sharing one of Campus Crusade’s best evangelistic resources, the Quest Survey. This 6-question survey asks students questions about what their religious background was like and how they felt about it, how they now describe themselves spiritually, and finally asks them to rate on a scale of 1-10 their desire to know God more. My partner, Becca, and I talked to one girl, who is an atheist and was not terribly open to even an idea of a Creator God, but she shared a lot with us and we went through a booklet on the Four Spiritual Laws of the gospel with her. We left it with her “as a future resource on what the Bible says is true about God.” We are praying that the scripture and message of Christ in that booklet may be something she will look through again and continue to think about. A male student from Turkey then sat down on the bench beside us and struck up a conversation, so we ended up going through the survey with him. He comes from a strict Muslim background, but is completely open to new perspectives on religion. He says he is currently seeking Truth and knows that there is a God who must care something about us. We went through the booklet with him, too, and he was pretty open to the Gospel message. He didn’t agree that Jesus was the Son of God, but he did enjoy discussing with us what we believe and why. Last, we talked to a student who told us her husband is a practicing Jew, but she currently does not believe in a god. As we asked her questions about her claims on evolution, she said in bewildered laughter that she “can’t explain where the algae came from!” We share the gospel booklet with her too, and as she was leaving, she thanked us for our questions—she realized that she gets angry when people believe things without being about to explain why, but she does the very same thing! She said she really wants to explore evolution more and the concept of a Creator. We were blown away.
Please be praying for all of these people we have met and talked to, for the ones who have now heard the gospel and may be ready to believe it, or may just be considering the possibility of a God for the first time—that’s huge too! The other 18 students here on project have many similar stories; one group even led a Taiwanese student at Polytech to accept Christ today!
While God is renewing our hearts “day by day” ( 2 Corinthians 4:16), our bodies are getting quite tired…we do a lot of walking and not much sleeping. I have been feeling a little bit sick today, so please pray that we all will be able to stay healthy and physically energized for the busyness of each day! Pray also for the continued peace among the community of Christians here. It has been an indescribable blessing. I am learning so much about life and ministry from the staff and students here. And also, please pray for God to go ahead of us to prepare the hearts of students to be receptive to hearing about His love and grace!
I so appreciate your prayers! I have been praying for you all too, update me on YOUR lives!!!
I love each of you with the love of Christ,
Sammi Quave"
P.S. The student that prayed to receive Christ was at my ministry teams "home" campus. During our subway ride to the campus I asked our team what it looked like to take a step of faith in evangelism today. The two students who shared with our new Taiwanese brother were acting out of their commitment to take their steps of faith and God honored it through bringing a new child to Him. Friday Alex, one of the students who shared with him will be meeting for the first follow up. Please pray for protection from spiritual attack now that he has accepted Christ. Pray that we will be able to reconnect with him and connect him with believing students at his school.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Shopping trips, international friends, and other adventures
I forgot to mention yesterday how different it is to get groceries in the city. My teammate Rebekah and I left Coney Island and ventured to "Trader Joes" to pick up food for a party we hosted this afternoon. Our apartments are only close to a small market that has a limited food selection and costs a lot. As a result we rode the subway to Trader Joes and brave the croweds of a couple hundres people crammed into a tiny space. Once we picked out our items we then stood in a line of 50 or so people before we could go through the check out line. It actually moved quickly despite the crowds and we picked up our duel layer brown bags and walked to the subway and then from the subway to our apartments and up the elevator to the 12th floor. It was quite an endeavor.
This afternoon we came back after church and picked up the bags again to walk 20 minutes through the Puerto Rican parade (it is one of the largest parades in New York City every year) to the Campus Crusade office where the party was located.
The Lord truly blessed our efforts. We had 15 to 20 students studying at PolyTech University come to hang out with us for 2 1/2 hours. During that time we posted stickers on a map to demonstrate where each of us are from and so they could show us their hometown. We played several games and taught them the electric and Cha Cha Slide. Students her for our project then lead discussion groups where we shared about ourselves. It was a lot of fun. Everyone who came signed up to participate in activities we will have every Friday.
I was most excted to meet up with "Jenny". She came 2 hours on the train to be there and then road 2 hours back tonight to be at her summer job. Before she came I prayed that the Lord would build connections with other Polytech students there so that she might return to activities in the fall. To my surprise and delight, Jenny told me when she arrived that she asked friends to come with her to the party and they had already been invited. God is already building those bridges! :)She seemed to really enjoy our time together and got phone numbers of other students at Polytech so that she can meet up with them again.
It was encouraging to see our students dive into taking steps of faith. I am excited to see how they will grow this summer and how God will use them in the process.
Tomorrow we go to Brooklyn for our first full day on campus. Pray that the Lord goes before us and that we make good connections with the people we meet. In the past they have had some trouble getting on campus. Pray that we find people to allow us to come on campus freely. In the evening we will be leading the first weekly meeting for all the students here to do ministry this summer. The theme our students chose is "Worship". Please pray that we have a refreshing time of meeting with the Lord.
Thank you so much. I can see how God is going before you as you lift us up to Him.
Blessings,
Abigail
This afternoon we came back after church and picked up the bags again to walk 20 minutes through the Puerto Rican parade (it is one of the largest parades in New York City every year) to the Campus Crusade office where the party was located.
The Lord truly blessed our efforts. We had 15 to 20 students studying at PolyTech University come to hang out with us for 2 1/2 hours. During that time we posted stickers on a map to demonstrate where each of us are from and so they could show us their hometown. We played several games and taught them the electric and Cha Cha Slide. Students her for our project then lead discussion groups where we shared about ourselves. It was a lot of fun. Everyone who came signed up to participate in activities we will have every Friday.
I was most excted to meet up with "Jenny". She came 2 hours on the train to be there and then road 2 hours back tonight to be at her summer job. Before she came I prayed that the Lord would build connections with other Polytech students there so that she might return to activities in the fall. To my surprise and delight, Jenny told me when she arrived that she asked friends to come with her to the party and they had already been invited. God is already building those bridges! :)She seemed to really enjoy our time together and got phone numbers of other students at Polytech so that she can meet up with them again.
It was encouraging to see our students dive into taking steps of faith. I am excited to see how they will grow this summer and how God will use them in the process.
Tomorrow we go to Brooklyn for our first full day on campus. Pray that the Lord goes before us and that we make good connections with the people we meet. In the past they have had some trouble getting on campus. Pray that we find people to allow us to come on campus freely. In the evening we will be leading the first weekly meeting for all the students here to do ministry this summer. The theme our students chose is "Worship". Please pray that we have a refreshing time of meeting with the Lord.
Thank you so much. I can see how God is going before you as you lift us up to Him.
Blessings,
Abigail
Saturday, June 13, 2009
The talk I gave went well. Thank you so much for your prayers. I was able to be calm and speak clearly. People seemed encouraged and several of the staff asked for my notes to use for the future. I enjoyed being able to share how God is working in the lives of people and how God can use the students to bring people to Him.
Our team has been doing a lot to get to know the culture of the city. Tomorrow we get to engage with some of the students on a campus in Brooklyn for the first time. International students studying at Polytech University will be joining us for a party. I was able to get in touch with "Jenny", the student I mentioned before who transfored to Polytech. She asked her supervisor to have the day off and will be coming to meet us and bringing her friends! Some of these students will be meeting their "international" buddy that they get to hang out with for the rest of the summer. Please pray that we will connect with them well.
All of the staff hit a wall yesterday and today. We are feeling tired after trying to keep up with the pace of NYC and the energy that come with project students arrival. Pray that we are able to spend time connecting with the Lord and being recharged by Him.
I know many things are going on in your families as well. Please let me know how I can be praying for you.
Blessings,
Abigail
Our team has been doing a lot to get to know the culture of the city. Tomorrow we get to engage with some of the students on a campus in Brooklyn for the first time. International students studying at Polytech University will be joining us for a party. I was able to get in touch with "Jenny", the student I mentioned before who transfored to Polytech. She asked her supervisor to have the day off and will be coming to meet us and bringing her friends! Some of these students will be meeting their "international" buddy that they get to hang out with for the rest of the summer. Please pray that we will connect with them well.
All of the staff hit a wall yesterday and today. We are feeling tired after trying to keep up with the pace of NYC and the energy that come with project students arrival. Pray that we are able to spend time connecting with the Lord and being recharged by Him.
I know many things are going on in your families as well. Please let me know how I can be praying for you.
Blessings,
Abigail
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
We had a lovely day today, cool outside but good. I might share more later. I was asked today to give a talk tomorrow morning. Please be praying as I lead the 120 or so students and staff. I get to encourage them in why and how we can share our faith with others. Pray that our time ignites a fire in them to share the gospel with those they meet. Please pray that it is effective and that the students leave feeling more equipped. Pray that I am sensitive to the Spirit as I teach, and that my nerves are minimum.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The picture above is of me with the two girls I will be discipling this summer. Sammi (Samantha) is the one on the right. She is a student at Lenoir-Rhyne, a Lutherine school outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. Taylor is on the left and she is studying Chemistry at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
My friend asked for address today. If any of you want to send something in the mail you can post it to this address:
Abigail Bennett
c/o Campus Crusade for Christ
Tribeca Summer Project
144 E. 44th Street, #710
New York, NY 10017
I leave New York on July 15, so please send whatever mail by July 7 so that it makes it in time for me to get it.
Today was a wonderful day with the students. They all arrived safely, although many of them are a bit exhausted from numerous flight delays and overwhelmed by the city. It is fun though because they are so eager to get started in their relationships with each other and ministry. I can't wait to get to know them more.
My phone couldn't be revived when I took it to the store. I was able to get a new one so I am able to communicate again. Unfortunately all the numbers I had are lost, so if you try to call please let me know who it is so I can resave it. I realized during the 24 hours without my phone how much I depend on it. Here in the city, my biggest thought is safety. It has been safe here. I realized though that I feel much of my freedom to branch out because I can always get a hold of someone if I am in trouble. Fear I hadn't experienced before came up when I didn't have it. The Lord is good and His protection doesn't change even if I am without a phone. It is funny how much the culture changes. 20 years ago a cell phone wouldn't have even been an option. :)
Tomorrow we get to introduce the students to the city! They will have a bit of orientation and a lesson on using the subway. Then we get to set them loose to explore some of the sights and cuisines around us. We will get back together at the Rockefeller Center to overlook New York. Then they will gather in groups from all the tracks (arts, campus, Epic, and inner-city) to have dinner and go shopping for things they still need.
Talk to you soon.
Abigail
Students arrive today!
Woke up to a stormy New York morning. Students arrive throughout the day. Please pray for them as they travel. There are delays in all the airports and a hour and a half ground delay at LaGuardia.
Also, pray for my cell phone. :) I carry a water bottle in my bag or purse because we walk everywhere all day. Last night it poured out and flooded my purse. I had hope my cell phone would dry out and work, but as of right now it is really dead. I have to find a store today and see if I can get a new phone. Please pray I can recover the numbers I had stored in it.
One of the things I do to relax and rejuvinate me during the year is to take ballroom dancing lessons. I found out just before I left that my studio has studios in New York that will allow me to participate in classes while here. Last night I went to a studio that is only a mile away and took my first class. It was great! Many of the instructors here are professional dancers. It was a little intimidating, but just what I needed before the students arrive. Sometimes you just need to get away.
Thank you for your continued prayers. We had a student who needed a significant amount of money on Sunday in order to be able to come. We prayed as a team and the Lord raised $1600 overnight with more on the way! Another of my girls saw over $600 come in last minute. We believe they are to be here with us and are so excited to see the Lord provide for them. Please continue to pray for them and others as they seek the last amount of their support to come in.
Also, pray for my cell phone. :) I carry a water bottle in my bag or purse because we walk everywhere all day. Last night it poured out and flooded my purse. I had hope my cell phone would dry out and work, but as of right now it is really dead. I have to find a store today and see if I can get a new phone. Please pray I can recover the numbers I had stored in it.
One of the things I do to relax and rejuvinate me during the year is to take ballroom dancing lessons. I found out just before I left that my studio has studios in New York that will allow me to participate in classes while here. Last night I went to a studio that is only a mile away and took my first class. It was great! Many of the instructors here are professional dancers. It was a little intimidating, but just what I needed before the students arrive. Sometimes you just need to get away.
Thank you for your continued prayers. We had a student who needed a significant amount of money on Sunday in order to be able to come. We prayed as a team and the Lord raised $1600 overnight with more on the way! Another of my girls saw over $600 come in last minute. We believe they are to be here with us and are so excited to see the Lord provide for them. Please continue to pray for them and others as they seek the last amount of their support to come in.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Day 4: Morning with the Lord and Praying for students
Today was so encouraging! We were given the morning to spend with the Lord. I went to a little park nearby (Bryant Park for those of you who know the city) for two hours. It was less then a five minute walk and a perfect place to meet with Jesus. It was fun to watch the city wake up. Being there helped make me feel more at home in this busy place, rather then just a visitor.
Our team came together in the afternoon to share "Life-Maps" or, the story of how God has been working in our lives. We each had 15 minutes to talk about our heritage, heros, hard times, high times, and hand of God experiences. The members of our team work on many different campuses during the year so it was fun to get to know one another on a deeper level. After this we were given the names of the students we will be discipling. I have 2 girls. One is a freshman from UNC Wilmington, and the other is a Junior from Lenoir-Rhyn (a school in the Charlotte, NC area). I was able to get to know them through their applications, pray for them, and plan our time together. Then I gave each of them a call. One of the girls has had her bags packed for a week and a half! She was bubbling over with excitement about joining us for project. It is evident that God has his fingerprints on this summer and I am eager to see how each of these girls will grow and be used of Him as we are together.
After the phone calls, we began planning Bible studies. I will be co-leading a study with another staff women and the girls we each disciple will all be in the group together (4 in all). Very soon (on Tuesday!) 19 students from all over the country will be flying in for project. Please pray for them as they continue to raise support and pray for their safety as they travel here.
Brandon and Ansley are our team leaders. They have been living and doing ministry in Brooklyn all year so they invited us for dinner at their home. It was fun to see the neighborhood side of the city. It was a really fun area. We ended it with Italian ice and a 45 minute Subway ride back to Manhattan. It was a wonderful day.
Tomorrow we will be heading to Redeemer (a Presbyterian church in Manhattan pastored by Tim Keller). He is the one I quoted in my letter about New York and I am excited to hear from him in person. We also have more work in store for tomorrow and then are going to try to go the red carpet at the Tony awards. If you are watching them at home look for us! :)
Blessings,
Abigail
Our team came together in the afternoon to share "Life-Maps" or, the story of how God has been working in our lives. We each had 15 minutes to talk about our heritage, heros, hard times, high times, and hand of God experiences. The members of our team work on many different campuses during the year so it was fun to get to know one another on a deeper level. After this we were given the names of the students we will be discipling. I have 2 girls. One is a freshman from UNC Wilmington, and the other is a Junior from Lenoir-Rhyn (a school in the Charlotte, NC area). I was able to get to know them through their applications, pray for them, and plan our time together. Then I gave each of them a call. One of the girls has had her bags packed for a week and a half! She was bubbling over with excitement about joining us for project. It is evident that God has his fingerprints on this summer and I am eager to see how each of these girls will grow and be used of Him as we are together.
After the phone calls, we began planning Bible studies. I will be co-leading a study with another staff women and the girls we each disciple will all be in the group together (4 in all). Very soon (on Tuesday!) 19 students from all over the country will be flying in for project. Please pray for them as they continue to raise support and pray for their safety as they travel here.
Brandon and Ansley are our team leaders. They have been living and doing ministry in Brooklyn all year so they invited us for dinner at their home. It was fun to see the neighborhood side of the city. It was a really fun area. We ended it with Italian ice and a 45 minute Subway ride back to Manhattan. It was a wonderful day.
Tomorrow we will be heading to Redeemer (a Presbyterian church in Manhattan pastored by Tim Keller). He is the one I quoted in my letter about New York and I am excited to hear from him in person. We also have more work in store for tomorrow and then are going to try to go the red carpet at the Tony awards. If you are watching them at home look for us! :)
Blessings,
Abigail
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Day 2: Building connections with the city and my fellow staff
I spent much of today trying to let it sink in that I will be living in New York for the next 6 weeks. The staff here are so passionate about the people knowing Christ. This morning the staff for each team met in a Campus Crusade office in Manhattan. Many ministries are located here and share a floor in the same building. It was exciting to be surrounded by Christian Embassy (an organization working with diplomats, Models for Christ (works with the modeling industry), Student Venture (works with high school kids), Priority Associates (a ministry for busyness professionals), The campus ministry, and a Neighborhood ministry that trains churches for ministry and shows the Jesus films outside in ethnic neighborhoods around the 5 boroughs. While we were there an English class was being held for diplomats wives in the next room.
The staff for the project are diverse too. There are 4 tracks that students could choose from this summer: Campus, Arts, Inner City, Epic (a contextualized ministry to reach Asian Americans). Next Tuesday around 115 students will be arriving to join us in each of these ministries. Our God is a God of color and creativity, in New York you can see a lot of the expression of this characteristic! We were reminded this morning that each person we see is an image barer of Christ. He loves each individual and died so that they might know Him.
As we heard the history of the city and it's development, explored some of the neighborhoods this afternoon, spent time getting to know the other staff, and went shopping to get things for our apartment at Kmart off Time's Square, I was increasingly impressed that the Lord has something special in store for this summer. There are many reasons I ended up here, but the real reason is still untapped. I believe that God is going to show me a broader view of Him then I have ever seen and I am beginning to feel like Moses at the burning bush. I pray that when I leave my apartment that my face glows in a way that brings light and a reflection of Christ to all we meet.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
First Day in NYC!
I left for New York today! My flight left Louisville at 6:15am and I arrived at LaGuardia at 11am. From there I met a couple girls from my summer team and we tooke a taxi to our apartments in Manhattan. Staff will train and prepare this week, and students will join us at the start of the weekend.
God has so evidently gone before me! Last Thursday I had lunch with a Chinese student that I have been hosting through a university program during the last 2 years. She told me that one of her friends recently transferred to Polytech University in Brooklyn. Polytech is one of the universities that I will be going to each week in order to meet students. There is a big international student community there and my teammates have seen students show a lot of interest in God and some of them have even accepted Christ in their first year of bringing Campus Crusade to campus.
The student who transferred (I will call her Jenny), hung out with me in February when several of my international friends and I had dinner and I taught the girls to ice-skate. I was able to get her phone number and look forward to getting in touch with her when I arrive in New York. My team leaders said that we will have several socials for international students throughout the summer including a 4th of July party. Please pray that Jenny and I are able to connect and that our time together this summer helps her plug into the ministry on Polytechs campus this fall.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers. Here are some ways that you can continue to pray as ministry in New York begins.
- Pray for my vision. My eyes freeked out a little before I left, so I now have eye drops and have to wear my glasses for a week or so.
- Pray for safety as all of the staff and students arrive
- Pray for the Lord to continue to provide for the financial needs of our staff and students. I still need $1500 for the summer and our students are still ontinuing to raise support until the day they get here.
- Pray for Unity and Fellowship among our team and the other tracks here for the summer
- Pray that I am able to connect with Jenny and help her meet other staff who will be ministering here year round.
- Pray we will be able to get on the campuses to do ministry. Last year the campus team had to be creative in order to even walk on campuses and meet students. Pray the the Lord will open doors for us here.
Thank you so much! I am so excited to be your ambassador here. As I write I am in my apartment. We are 2 blocks from the Empire State Building and Macy's. Time's Square is just around the corner. And our apartment has access to the roof where you can see everything lit up! I am so blessed to be so near to the people God has brought us here to minister to. I cannot wait to share all the stories of how the Lord is at work.
Blessings,
Abigail
God has so evidently gone before me! Last Thursday I had lunch with a Chinese student that I have been hosting through a university program during the last 2 years. She told me that one of her friends recently transferred to Polytech University in Brooklyn. Polytech is one of the universities that I will be going to each week in order to meet students. There is a big international student community there and my teammates have seen students show a lot of interest in God and some of them have even accepted Christ in their first year of bringing Campus Crusade to campus.
The student who transferred (I will call her Jenny), hung out with me in February when several of my international friends and I had dinner and I taught the girls to ice-skate. I was able to get her phone number and look forward to getting in touch with her when I arrive in New York. My team leaders said that we will have several socials for international students throughout the summer including a 4th of July party. Please pray that Jenny and I are able to connect and that our time together this summer helps her plug into the ministry on Polytechs campus this fall.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers. Here are some ways that you can continue to pray as ministry in New York begins.
- Pray for my vision. My eyes freeked out a little before I left, so I now have eye drops and have to wear my glasses for a week or so.
- Pray for safety as all of the staff and students arrive
- Pray for the Lord to continue to provide for the financial needs of our staff and students. I still need $1500 for the summer and our students are still ontinuing to raise support until the day they get here.
- Pray for Unity and Fellowship among our team and the other tracks here for the summer
- Pray that I am able to connect with Jenny and help her meet other staff who will be ministering here year round.
- Pray we will be able to get on the campuses to do ministry. Last year the campus team had to be creative in order to even walk on campuses and meet students. Pray the the Lord will open doors for us here.
Thank you so much! I am so excited to be your ambassador here. As I write I am in my apartment. We are 2 blocks from the Empire State Building and Macy's. Time's Square is just around the corner. And our apartment has access to the roof where you can see everything lit up! I am so blessed to be so near to the people God has brought us here to minister to. I cannot wait to share all the stories of how the Lord is at work.
Blessings,
Abigail
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