We Need You, Lord (NYC Mission Trip- Week Five)

Last week, I got the awesome opportunity to go on a mission trip with Calvary Cross-Link to New York City.  It was my first time in the city and while I wouldn't want to live there, I still loved NY and even got the t-shirt to prove it hahaha.  Lives were definitely touched and shaped by the Holy Spirit.

Our team was made up of people from all ages.  We had James, who just finished Kindergarten, all the way up to Dave and Harvey who were older gentlemen that were on fire for the Lord more than ever!  Missions is for all ages, backgrounds, and denominations, it is our call- The Great Commission

NYC Mission Trip's Background
Before Pastor John came to Calvary Cross-Link, he did full-time evangelism.  Two of the products of that ministry were an annual youth camp (Foundation Camp) and a mission trip to New York City (Staten Island).  When Pastor John came to Calvary Cross-Link, he brought the youth camp and mission trip with him. The church has been participating ever since!

Why NYC?
"In 2004, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association found that only 1.5 percent of the population of Staten Island 'claimed' to be born again!  We feel this is a mission field ready to be harvested.  We will be focusing on both servant-hood projects and street evangelism while assisting Salem Church to reach their community with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ."- Excerpt from my Support Letter, May 21, 2012.

Shout-out to the Support Network!
Even though I started raising support for this trip really late, God totally blessed me!  It was a an awesome testament to the support network of family and friends that I have.  The majority of people that gave were ones who had just given a couple of months ago for my trip to Guatemala! I am so thankful for have each and every one of you in my life. (If you have been reading my blog you are a  super encouraging blessing to me as well!)

What happend on the trip?
We arrived in New York on Tuesday and went over to the Brooklyn Tab (Brooklyn Tabernacle) for their prayer night.  It really set the tone for the trip and was the first time I was in a congregation whose volume of worship overpowered the microphones of the worship team.  It was beautiful.  

Wednesday and Thursday morning I was part of a group that went to CEF NY (Child Evangelism Fellowship).  Wednesday morning we primed the walls of a room there and Thursday we painted and put the room back together.  In the afternoons, we canvassed.  This means that our team split into groups and hit the streets!  Salem Church (our partner for the trip) was hosting this outreach block party on Saturday to connect with the community.  Our job was to advertise and evangelize.  Our main goal was to go door-to-door and invite people to the party but when the opportunity to share the Gospel arose, we definitely took it.  

Friday was our free day in Manhattan! Crazyyyy! If you haven't been before you should definitely go!  We came over on the ferry as a group and saw Trinity Church, Ground Zero (the event takes on a whole new meaning when you see the site where it happend in person), then we went to Wall Street, Tiffany and Co., and all met up for lunch at John's Pizza (Pastor John's favorite place and where he ate before he proposed to his wife).  Then, Lavain's in Harlem for the world's best chocolate chip cookie, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Apple store, FAO Schwarz (where the piano from "Big" is on sale for $250,000), Trump Towers, the NHL store, a sketch place called the Yotel for a bathroom break, and back to Times Square Toys R Us to meet up with the group! 

Saturday was game day!  We set the block party up and then a group of us went to the park to hand out bottles of water and more cards for the block party.  By meeting peoples' physical need in giving them free bottles of water, the door opened for us to invite them to the block party and share the Gospel with them.  I got to share the Gospel with a group of kids using a tool called an Evange-cube which is like a Rubik's cube that tells the story of salvation!  

After breaking down the party, a group of us went back into the city and ate at Katz' Deli which was in the movie, 'Harry Met Sally', and featured on the Food Network and has, "the Best Pastrami in the City."  
I had never really had pastrami so I can't tell you what bad pastrami tastes like, therefore, don't know what good tastes like haha.  Essentially, you have to know what bad is like to get the full effect of what makes something good.  Nonetheless, I got a reuben with pastrami!  It's tastiness became my new friend but punched my wallet in the face!  

Sunday, we went to Salem Church where an awesome guy named Enrique Lopez, Head of Anchor House (a drug rehab place), shared his testimony and the the message with us.  It was great to partner and fellowship with Salem Church all week.  It wasn't about what church you are a part of and where you attend, but rather, that we are all one in the Body of Christ!  (1 Corinthians 12)

Back in the 'Burg!  
I'm not tired, rather, more refreshed than ever and stoked for the rest of the week, and summer!  Friends are coming in town and big things are happening at Cross-Link! God has His hands on this place and especially on me.  Undoubtedly, we are all "engraved upon His hands"- Isaiah 49:16.
**The title of this post comes from the song, Lord, I Need You, which has been stuck in my head and been on my heart since my return.  In this video link, Matt Maher and Kristian Stanfill discuss the song and play it.

Comforts of Home (Week Three)

"Eric?! What are you doing here?! Ahhhhh!!! Shutup! You jerk! So dumb!" Hahaha these were some of the exclamations as a result of my surprise early-return home Sunday, May 27th.  Everyone was happy, except, Hunter.

Hunter who is my arch-nemesis.  He and I have been competing for Gabby's love for the past two years or so and she calls him, "Her Little Boyfriend," haha.  So when I walked into the Hearn's backyard (family from Gabby's church, where she was at when I got back to town), he was livid!  The surprise was a success on all accounts!

After having dinner at Charles and Denise's (the Hearn's) house, Gabby and I went to my house to surprise my mom and had a fun night of Scattergories with her and Kevin (my step-dad).  Everyone was happy :)  The next day (Monday), my mom and I went to the mall to do some shopping.  I got my outfit for the wedding of the year (Emma and Caleb Knighten's!!)

Then we surprised Gabby AGAIN! by eating at Chick-Fil-A Suffolk where she is working for the summer.  When she got off work, we went with her dad and Evan (her brother) to North Carolina to see her Aunt, Uncle, Granny, and Grandpa.  It was a really fun time (as always).

Tuesday, I had a dentist appoint.

((Sidenote:  The dentist had almost spoiled my surprise because I made the appointment and then they called my house to confirm my appointment for Tuesday (everyone thought I was coming home Thursday) and so my mom called me and was like, "You better get it changed," so I made her believe that I was but I kept it on Tuesday obviously haha.))

I had a cavity which sucked but was no big deal.

Gabby was off work that day and my mom and Kevin were watching Scarlet (my step-niece) so Gabby and I both spent the day at the house with them baby-sitting and chilling.  Spaghetti for dinner, good times!

Tuesday night, I did my first blog post and have loved hearing everyone's responses ever since.  It helps me know that I'm not writing to myself but that people are actually reading it and following along on my journey.  Thank you!

Wednesday, my Grammy and I grabbed lunch at Chick-Fil-A and surprised Gabby on-the-job (again).  My Gastrointestinal Doctor appointment had been moved to that afternoon so I sped over to Harborview for that in the rain and made it in plenty of time!  No changes, I still have Acid Reflux and need my medicine everyday, no big deal.

I went over to Gabby's when she got off work and we both went to youth group together which we hadn't been able to do since last summer.  David Pace (pastor living in Wilroy Baptist's parsonage looking for work) gave an awesome message on a breakdown of the Gospels and compared it to New York (totally a God-wink considering how I'm going there next week on mission) and it got me really stoked about reading the Gospels more and thinking about his illustration.

He talked about how each apostle was, "standing on a different building" and different foci.  For example, Matthew was watching the entire parade of Jesus' life on earth but focused more on His birth and lineage (Matthew 1) or, "the beginning of the parade", and how in the Macy's parade, when Snoopy stops in front of Macy's and is the big deal, Calvary is the big deal, but the parade wasn't over.  In three days time, Jesus rose again- the parade continued!

Thursday, my mom left for the Outer Banks with her friends so I spent the next four days staying at my Grammy and Papa's house.  I had dinner with Papa that night who is a beast at cooking and Gabby came over for awhile.

Friday, my Grammy, Taylor, and I all went to Game 1 of the AHL Calder Cup Finals at Scope (the Norfolk Admirals are in a best-of-7 series to win the championship).  On the way, we stopped at Chick-Fil-A and surprised Gabby again!  ;) At the game, a fight broke out right in front of us (not in the rink as you would think- but in the crowd!) the two guys got escorted out and the game continued!  The Admirals won 3-1 and we high-tailed it out of there to beat the traffic.

Saturday, was the weddingggggggg!!!!! Gabby. Ericka (a girl in Gabby's Small Group, SBL), and myself all drove four hours to Martinsville to see Emma Dollings (one of Gabby's housemates) become Mrs. Caleb Knighten.  It was a really awesome ceremony and reception.

Gabby and I accidentally interrupted one of Emma and Caleb's first dates on Reddish Knob.  This past semester, I got to watch "Say Yes to the Dress" with Emma and Caleb and they made me dinner one time (Easter weekend when all of my friends were gone and I was waiting for Gabby to get off work haha).  Basically, they are great!

Sunday, was my Grammy's birthday and my dad, aunt, and uncle all came for breakfast.  I got to spend some time with my dad putting together a generator.  Then, I went to church with Gabby, lunch with our friends Jake and Beth, and to Thomas Westfall's Eagle Court of Honor!

Thomas and I were tent mates on my 130-mile canoe trek at the Northern Tier High Adventure Base in Canada, summer after my ninth grade year and he was the Master of Ceremonies (MC) at my Court of Honor and he asked me to be the same for his.  It was great!  I got to see a lot of my Scout friends and was honored to be such a big part of the ceremony.

Monday, Gabby had off work and we were either going to go canoeing (inspired from the previous days events) or to the beach (she loves the beach).  We were all set to go canoeing and then she found out that her Harrisonburg Chick-Fil-A friends were at Virginia Beach so we went there instead and spent the day. I went home after that and had a good night hanging out with my mom who filled my gas tank and helped me pack some to leave Tuesday.

Tuesday (yesterday) I packed the rest of my things and headed for Gabby's house.  I made her French Toast for breakfast and when she left for work, I left for Harrisonburg!

It was an awesome week and God was totally with me every step of the way.  He is growing me right now for sure and it is crazy how much He has done so in only a few short weeks.  I'm getting ready to face many decisions- more academic decisions, church memberships, etc. and am seeking His path for me every step of the way!


Jeremiah 1:5

New International Version (NIV)

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew^[a] you,
    before you were born I set you apart; 
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. ”

Fried Oreo's, iPhone, Homeward Bound! (Week Two)

Week Two was packed!  Big news of the week though:  GOT MY iPHONE!!

Here's what being part of the ministry looked like that week:

MONDAY:

Pastor John stays home with his family on Mondays so, I set up shop in his office and worked at his desk pretending to be him and looking into my possible future ;).  This included transcribing the recording of the last Pastor Counsel's meeting.  I used to transcribe all the time when I worked for my Papa so I really enjoyed applying my experience and getting to hear how the church approaches making decisions. 

Then, I made a sandwich, summed up the transcription, and e-mailed it to Pastor John.  I also mailed out my support letters for the upcoming mission trip to New York with Calvary Cross-Link (June 12th-17th).  After mailing my letters, I got even more excited about the trip!

TUESDAY:

Pastor John wanted me to start working on putting together a message that I could present to either youth or the entire congregation, so I got some verses together and am probably going to talk about Ephesians 6:12, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms," but I'm still working on it. 

Then, Pastor John and I went to lunch and ran some errands.  I can't really remember what else we did that day but it was great and I got to make cookies at work! (Who else can say that?! Hahaha).  I treated myself to CiCi's pizza that night which definitely wasn't the same without Gabby (we went like once a week together the last month or so of the semester).  Needless to say, I made sure to eat for her AND me!

WEDNESDAY:

I did a couple of different things. First, Pastor John and I ran a couple of errands.  When we got back I made more cookies and set up for a meeting we were having that night (no table cloths this time but definitely lots of mints, pens, and water!).  I was able to sit in on the meeting.  

Afterwords, I talked to the Youth Leader, Danielle, for the first time.  She told me about this new setup they are going to implement where the youth group is broken down into "mini-ministry" teams (music, dance, etc.).  It is going to be really awesome and I'm excited to be able to be a part of it!

THURSDAY:  

I got to church and helped the Children's Ministry Director, Cher, put some tables in her car to take home and then I played with her son, Joe, who is around 4ish.  We hunted flies together until the staff meeting haha.  After the meeting, Pastor John and I went to Subway before our meeting at a trailer park to discuss throwing a block party for their residents.  

Last year, the church put together school supply 

backpacks for all of the kids who lived there.  Pastor John told me a funny story about how, last year, when he would go to the park trying to setup the backpack event, the ladies would ignore him.  Always the innovator, he brought donuts to every meeting after that and they have paid attention ever since!  (I made a mental note about that for sure hahaha.)  He invited me to dinner at his house that night and I was like, "Absolutely!," because my money was dwindling fast, and I had a free Redbox rental so I brought over, "We Bought a Zoo".

FRIDAY:

I woke up at 6am for Pastor John's accountability group meeting at Chick-Fil-A and it is totally worth it to wake up that early!  Later in the day, the worship leader, Scott, got back from Canada where he was visiting his family and Pastor John, Scott, and I all went to Jack Brown's where I had my second fried oreo (it was even better than my first)!  

After work, I went straight to the Verizon store!! I got my iPhone, went back to my house, and started blowing it up with apps! Then I had dinner with some of my housemates, Simon and Jon, which was another answered prayer because now that I was adjusting more at work, I  wanted to plug in more at Cornerstone (my house for the summer). 

SATURDAY: 

I tried to sleep in but my room was really hot and my biological clock was set to wake me up at 8am.  I went to the bank, Costco, and Jimmy John's, came back home, and chilled the rest of the day.

SUNDAY:

After church, I went to Taco Bell to eat, then straight to Suffolk! Pastor John and his wife, Ashley, were going on a cruise for their anniversary and would be gone for a week and some change, so I was able to go home!  I couldn't put anything about this on my blog until now because I was surprising Gabby and my mom!  It was a total success!  I got Gabby to believe I was going to see the movie, "Battleship", with my friend, Alton, which bought me tons of drive time.  After I surprised her, we both went to my house and surprised my mom :) 

That was basically it for the week!  I was home, safe and sound, on mini-vacation :)