Fulfilling My Purpose

Most people leave NYC on Friday, but we had planned to leave a day early to get back to the kiddos a little sooner. On Thursday we stayed back at the hotel to pray for the teams instead of going out to minister. It was a privilege to intercede for our fellow missionaries as they were on the streets sharing the gospel. We prayed all morning and then left the hotel to catch our train after lunch.

As I wrap up my thoughts on NYC, I wanted to share a few things that were said during our worship times at the hotel:

1. Vision and passion come from time in prayer.

2. Don’t go to God with your list and ask Him to bless it. Ask God what His burden is–what He is sorrowful over. Then ask Him to give you the same burden.

3. Even being rejected is good because it sows a seed. Just your presence on the street in NYC is a testimony. You are willing to stand up and tell people about Christ. Lost people will see you and their thoughts might turn to God or religion.

4. When we get to Heaven we will all share our stories of seeds we have sown. We will see how God sent other people to water and grow and harvest those seeds. It’s going to be amazing. If you don’t share the gospel, you won’t have any stories to share in Heaven.

5. Having a burden for the lost is about seeing people as God sees them. It’s not about being focused on working but being focused on seeing as God sees and then acting on that burden.

Okay, I’m back from my long sabbatical. I was working on two scrapbooks and then got busy with birthday parties, Christmas, house guests…well, you understand! I’m determined to finish my posts on NYC before moving on to other subjects.

On Wednesday our team went to Atlantic Avenue. Our cord leader warned us it would be a difficult day because Atlantic Avenue is the location of a Muslim mosque. I was not looking forward to this challenging post. Our leader told us last year some Muslims spat on some of the people from our ministry. I just reasoned that there are far worse things in life than being spat upon, and that helped me move forward.

Fortunately, our team broke up into two groups, and my group moved a little farther away from the mosque. There was one woman on our team who got into a heated discussion with a Muslim, but everything remained under control, and our teammate handled it well.

Overall, it was an okay day for me. Again, it was a very loud and busy intersection, so it was difficult to communicate with people. I prayed with seven people and shared the gospel three times. There were two significant encounters. I talked to two teenage girls. I think they said they were going into the tenth or eleventh grade. They listened to the gospel, but one seemed more interested than the other. When I asked them if they wanted to receive Jesus as their Savior, the one lit up and almost said yes, but she turned to the other girl and asked if she wanted to do it. The other one wasn’t sure. Unfortunately, the one who was interested didn’t continue because her friend wasn’t as interested.

The other memorable encounter was with an unmarried couple. The man was strung out on drugs, but the woman seemed coherent. As the woman talked I could tell they had very little knowledge of Jesus. They seemed like they just wanted a quick fix for all their problems, and they didn’t seem to have the time or mental capacity for a deep conversation. It was a little eerie to look at the man and see his eyes rolling back into his head. When I prayed with them, I held their hands, and the man’s hand was cold and clammy. That was a sad situation. Did I mention we use a lot of hand sanitizer in NYC!?!

That evening Kevin and I went back to Times Square and ate at Bubba Gump’s Shrimp. It’s a restaurant devoted totally to Forrest Gump. I’m not a fan of the movie, but the food was good, and it was interesting reading about how most of the movie was filmed in South Carolina.

After dinner we went to Toys R Us to get souvenirs for the kiddos. That place is a kid’s dream come true! Three stories of toys, and there is even a huge Ferris wheel inside the store that you can ride on. The Lego section was pretty cool too because there were huge Lego structures of the Empire State Building, complete with King Kong, and the Statue of Liberty.

Finally, we went to the Amsterdam Theatre to see the Mary Poppins play. When we were buying our tickets months before our trip, we wanted to see the Lion King, but it was sold out, so we had to choose between Mary Poppins and The Little Mermaid. I left it up to Kevin, and he chose the lesser of two evils in his mind. I always loved watching Mary Poppins on TV growing up, but it is quite a long movie with some very slow parts, so I wasn’t really excited about going to see the play, but this production blew me away. It was 20 times better than the movie–much shorter, some different songs, and the singing and dancing were fantastic. I would go see it again in a heartbeat. The most amazing thing was when Mary flew right over the audience at the end of the show. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Kevin warned me that I would have good days and bad days, and he was right. Monday was not a good day for me. I only prayed with two people and shared the gospel with three people. We were on Fulton Street again but farther down away from the shops. We were at a busy intersection, and it was very noisy. People were in more of a rush because it was a work day, so that also made it more challenging. We had to be very aggressive in approaching people, and I just wasn’t very aggressive that day.

Beside Satan, I think my worst enemy was my attitude. I let the heat, noise, and hours on my feet get me discouraged. Had I chosen a more positive attitude in the midst of the negative elements, I know I would have had a better day. I learned an important lesson: your attitude can make or break you on a mission trip (or anytime for that matter!).

Sightseeing on Monday night:

We did a lot of walking and saw a lot of cool stuff on Monday night. We took the subway to Grand Central Station, which was cool. It looked like it was completely marble–very pretty. Then we got back on the subway and went to Times Square.

We walked several blocks and found the famous Carnegie Deli, which first opened in 1937. Kevin had been there once but only had the cheesecake. He wanted to go back to have one of their deli sandwiches. You definitely go there for the experience and not the atmosphere. It is a hole in the wall! People were packed in there, and it looked like not much had changed since 1937. There was an air conditioner above us that was dripping water on me!

We both got basic deli sandwiches. I had no idea how basic “basic” was! It was literally two pieces of bread with a huge slab of meat–for $14 each mind you! And they didn’t even have mayo on them! I honestly think our waitress could have been one of the original waitresses. She had to be in her seventies.

I’m sure they have really good food there, but we didn’t do our homework, so we had no idea what to order. The cheesecake redeemed the meal though. I forget the name, but it was a combo of chocolate mousse and cheesecake. Delicious.

After the deli, we walked to Central Park and walked along the bottom edge of it. It was starting to get dark, so we didn’t go in, but what we did see was pretty. Then we walked down 5th Avenue. Beside all the famous stores, I was surprised by three beautiful stone cathedrals on 5th Avenue. They were amazing. Next we went inside Trump Tower and saw Radio City Music Hall. On our way back to the subway we saw Rockefeller Center, FAO Schwartz, and all the big news studios.

Sunday was our first day of ministering, and it was a shortened day to help people ease into the schedule. We were only out from about 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

As you can imagine, I was nervous that first day. We set up our prayer station just a few blocks from our hotel, which was nice because we didn’t have to take the subway. We were on Fulton Mall, which is a street with all sorts of stores. I liked the location because the traffic wasn’t too loud, and the people were just leisurely shopping and more willing to stop and talk.

I only approached women. I didn’t feel comfortable approaching men. Only a couple men came up to me, and they were harmless. Early in the day, I approached one woman and asked her if I could pray with her. She said her kids were with their father, and he had taken them to a water fun park for the day. She was worried about them. I prayed for her, and tears started streaming down her face. I had a sense that God really used me to minister to her. She said she knew she shouldn’t worry, and she believed God put me in her path to help her not worry about her kids.

I prayed with eight people that day, and I shared the gospel with six people. I wasn’t feeling very encouraged about the day as a whole. It was difficult for me to be aggressive in approaching people, and none of the people were very receptive to the gospel. Then, at the end of the day, a woman approached me. She asked what we were doing. I told her we were praying for people, and I asked if she had anything she would like me to pray about. She said, “Where do I start!?!” Ann began telling me about the trials in her life, and she said she didn’t know where to turn. She said, “I think I need to have faith in God.” Wow! She was practically begging for the gospel! I started sharing the gospel with her, and at one point, she asked me if I was a Christian. I said yes, and she said, “Are you born again? I’m not a religious person. I don’t know anything about religion.” I told her I was born again, and I continued to share God’s truth with her. (There are so many people in our own country who have never heard about God!)

She was having a hard time understanding some of the concepts of the gospel, but yet she was so hungry for God. After talking to her for about 15 minutes, my team started packing up to go back to the hotel, but I didn’t want to stop talking to her! I told her that I needed to go, and I got a Bible for her just as the team was walking away. Kevin stayed back with me, and I prayed with Ann. I could have talked to her all afternoon, and I wish that I had. She was so close to being saved. I knew without a doubt that was a divine appointment set up by God. I was so excited, I think I could have floated back to the hotel!

Being a rookie, I thought when the team packed up, it was time to go, but Kevin and I could have stayed there longer. I wish I had known that! I also forgot to get Ann’s contact information. I thought we were only supposed to get info from those who actually accepted Christ. I was kicking myself for not getting her address and phone number! The enemy started messing with me and discouraging me about not getting her contact info, but I just keep praying for Ann, and I know that God will send other believers in her path to water and harvest those seeds I planted.

After I talked to Ann, I felt like I had fulfilled my purpose in NYC. Ann needed someone to direct her to God, and God put me there on the street to talk to her and share the truth. I really don’t know of anything more exciting than to be used by God for His purposes on earth and to make an eternal difference in someone’s life.

8:00-9:15 a.m. Praise and worship in the hotel ballroom. We sing a few songs and then have a special speaker, testimonies, and announcements.

9:15 a.m. Meet with your cord group (about 12 people), and get any necessary items from your room before heading out.

10:00 a.m. Walk/subway to your prayer station site.

10:30 a.m. Set up the prayer station and start sowing seed.

12:00-1:00 p.m. Break for lunch (A few people go at a time in shifts, so the prayer station stays open all the time.)

4:00 p.m. Pack up the prayer station and go back to the hotel.

4:30-11:00 p.m. Free time to explore the city. Fun!