"Two Cool White Guys" (and the Three Wise Men)

I have been home from my journey to NYC with one of my best friend's, Nate Smith, for over a month.

In that month, I have spent a lot of time processing and praying through what God did in NYC while we were there and what He is continuing to do in my life.  In addition, Nate, our friend David Lane, and I have been e-mailing our friend from the Bowery, the Bermudan Danny Glover, Howard back and forth.

Have you heard of Howard, yet?

In one of my earlier blog posts, I described Howard like this:

"There's Howard, the Bermudan Danny Glover.  Howard showed Nate and I how to work the desk the first day and has been on of our best friends ever since.  He loves Peanut M&Ms and used to sleep under the Williamsburg Bridge.  He doesn't have his front teeth but that doesn't mean he can't smile.  His smile is beautiful and when chased by his hearty laughter is a loud proclamation of his love for God and transformation."

I just finished reading a book called, Righteous Dopefiend, which was a picturesque ethnographic study on homeless heroin addicts in San Francisco.  In this book, Philippe Bourgois and Jeff Schonberg interviewed, photographed, and lived life with a group of homeless heroin addicts on Edgewater Boulevard in San Francisco for twenty years.  Jeff is a white photographer who spent time with these people, sleeping, and living life with them.  All of Jeff's field notes from the book, reminded me of Nate and I's relationship with Howard.

Jeff was accepted into the Edgewater homeless community because he didn't judge them, he cared for them.  Nate and I genuinely care for Howard and he told us, "we are two cool white guys."  The only interaction Howard had with white people was Bermudan tourists and what he had seen on t.v.  His favorite white person was Phil Collins but now he has a soft spot in his heart for us as well hahaha.

When our friend David Lane joined us for a few days, Howard called us, "The Three Wise Men."

Howard came from Bermuda to enter the Bowery program and get his life straight and now he is the fifth floor leader and going home to Bermuda for a trial period in a few weeks.  He continues to e-mail us and we respond.  Our relationship crosses distance just like God's love and the Gospel crosses all distances and all superficial racial lines that can be drawn.

I boldly believe and proclaim that our God is bigger than racism.  God is bigger than George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin.  God is bigger than slavery.  God's love is partnered with his justice in such a way that it trumps all.

Praise the Lord that He loves all the little children, "red, yellow, black, and white," and we are called to do the same.

10 Seconds of Rain

If you didn't catch my last post, I mentioned that Nate, David, and I slept on the streets for two nights but I only told you about one.  The second one was last night and God totally was watching and smiling upon us the whole time.  He sent some rain.

On my way to NYC, I started to read a book called The Circle Maker.  This book is all about the power of prayer and opens with the story of an Israelite prayer warrior named Honi who prayed for rain.  Israel was experiencing a drought and Honi drew a circle on the ground with his staff and asked God for rain.  God sent rain.  He sent rain that flooded the valley.  Honi prayed that God would send rain that would favor God and the rain began to lighten up and became a vital source of life and saved the people.  Honi drew his circle and prayed- God provided.

Nate, David, and I did not literally draw a circle but before we started on our two-night journey we huddled in a circle and prayed.  We asked God for His favor, for His provision, for His love, for His sight, for His Kingdom to come, for His mercy, for His compassion, for His heart.  We prayed because we know that God answers prayer.  Last night when we slept outside, God sent rain.

We went to sleep near a construction site.  The construction site?  The Brooklyn Bridge.  We asked some construction workers if we could sleep there and they said yeah that they didn't care, they said it might be loud.  Little did they know... we slept next to a highway the night before.  We went to sleep peacefully and a light drizzle rain kept us cool.  At 3am, God sent rain.

The three of us sat straight up and started packing our bags.  We didn't say a word.  The rain had picked up and we started moving simultaneously.  As we were leaving our area, a NYPD Security Guard was walking up from behind the fence that was to our back.  We don't know for sure what would have taken place but we do know that he was coming to get rid of us.  In NYC, is a homeless person doesn't have their ID with them they go to prison.  Nate and David didn't have their IDs with them so chances are we might have got locked up.  God sent rain ahead of the officer to wake us up and get us on the move to stay away from a troubling situation.  It had lightly rained all night but God chose ten seconds of heavy rain to wake us and put us on the move, all we had to do was respond.

Several lessons about God's character can be gleaned from this experience and we are praying through it and thanking God for His provision.

Pray for Rain, When God Provides, Move.

Cardboard is Pretty Great

The last two nights, I slept outside in the streets.  When I told Nate that I would go to NYC with him this summer, I told him that I was, "All in," and I joined in his vision.  When our friend David Lane shared with Nate his vision about experiencing homelessness by sleeping on the streets, we went all in and joined in David's vision.  We told him that we would be the hands and feet of Jesus together and that is what we have done.

On Sunday, David got dropped off in front of the Bowery.  After picking up some snacks, we popped popcorn and drank soda with some guys in the Bowery and watched Brazil shut out Spain to win the Confederation Cup.  Then we went to Hillsong NYC for their last service at 9pm.  During the service they have "Four Minutes of Fellowship" and Nate met a guy in front of us named Brendan who had given his life to the Lord and actually worked at MontLawn last summer so he was pumped to hear that we had just come from there.  Church was good but after the service was better.  Brendan wanted to bless us after hearing our story.  He said, "I have $20 in my bank account but I want to take you all to get frozen yogurt."  That's when we met Andrew outside.

Andrew had two bags of food in his hand that he had gotten from Starbucks and asked us, "Do you want to go pass out this food in the parks with me?" Little did he know that we were about to spend the night under the Williamsburg Bridge.  We told him yes.  He ended up leaving the food with Brendan, his friends Mikayla & Michelle, and Nate, David, and I and we all passed out together.  We met Sophie and Daniel.  We all parted ways after getting Slurpees and continued on towards our night.

Heading towards the bridge, we picked up some cardboard and walked towards the bridge.  We found a spot under a cat walk and laid down our cardboard.  Our air conditioning was the cars going 60mph next to our heads and our alarm clock was the people who jogged by in the early morning, our nightlight was the street light, our mattress was cardboard, and our Yankee Candle air freshner was our sweat and BO.  We gave up our comforts to experience what it felt like to be homeless.  We didn't do it to tell people and show off, we did it because it is a reality for a large majority of people in the City and around the world.

The only difference between these people and us is we have homes to go back to and we were in a group of friends.  When we woke up in the morning we talked about how lonely we would have been without one another and I realized that loneliness is an aspect of homelessness that we usually don't realize or think about.  Just because they are all out there doesn't mean they are altogether.

In the morning we sat by the bay and enjoyed the peaceful cool morning and knew in our hearts that this was only the beginning of the experience and we had only scratched the surface of many's reality.

We will never look at cardboard the same.

Beauty in the Renewal

My last post spoke to some of the ways Nate and I's journey has been an illustration of the Gospel and I made the statement that, "True beauty is found in our renewal in Jesus Christ."  Every since God put those words on my heart I have had it on my heart to tell some of the beautiful stories- testimonies of transformation.

There's Kenneth, the first person we met.  When Nate and I first rolled into the Bowery, before we even got inside, Kenneth watched our bikes and sent us inside for lunch and gave us one of his freezee pops.  He is a bigger guy because his heart is so big.  He is full of love and is on the road to finding his identity.  He's 49 but  we are in similar places.  He prays with us at night.  He is trying to find his way and he is depending on Jesus to lead the way.

There's Howard, the Bermudan Danny Glover.  Howard showed Nate and I how to work the desk the first day and has been on of our best friends ever since.  He loves Peanut M&Ms and used to sleep under the Williamsburg Bridge.  He doesn't have his front teeth but that doesn't mean he can't smile.  His smile is beautiful and when chased by his hearty laughter is a loud proclamation of his love for God and transformation.

There's Jason, the gentle in spirit.  Jason got married in Manassas and knows about Virginia.  Everytime Jason sees us he smiles and says hello.  Everytime.  Jason used to have an addiction.  Now he is addicted to spreading joy and love.  He wants to listen and he cares.  His transformation in Jesus is beautiful and you can see it when you look at him.

There's John and Rich, the hooligans.  They are from Brooklyn and Queens.  When Nate and I went to work at MontLawn Camp for a couple of days they went with us and now they are our brothers.  John cuts his apples to eat them because he doesn't have teeth.  When he talks, get ready to laugh, everything he says is gold.  Six months ago, John couldn't stop drinking until he gave Jesus a chance and now he has been sober for the longest time that he can remember, by the grace and strength of the Holy Spirit.  Rich talks out of the side of his mouth, every conversation's end goal is ice cream and every sentence ends in, "Buddy!"  Rich has been to jail six times for the same offense and now he is starting over.  He wants to work at the Bowery as long as they will have him because it has changed his life.  The only time Rich is silent is when he is asleep but it doesn't bother me.  They both wear hats and banter back and forth and are brothers in transformation and their stories are as beautiful as the brotherhood that we now share with them.

The Bowery is open 24/7 365 and is always at work.  It is a mission that operates by God's standards.  We never stop because God never stops.  He has been working longer than anyone else and will continue to do so for eternity.  His ways are mysterious but His ways are beautiful.

These stories are only snapshots and fragments of the beauty of the transformative power of Jesus Christ and the Cross.  These guys are our family now because they have shared their stories with us and now they are part of our story.

Part of the Beauty in the Renewal is that we are never alone in doing work for the Kingdom:

 God's family is big and we are all beautiful.

Gospel Lived Out

Nate and I have now been in NYC for two whole days.  Two whole days that seem like four years.  Not to mention the five days that it took to get us here that seemed like an eternity.  The truth of all is that God is in perfect control of all that we have done and all of what we will do.

I'm pressed for time to write this blog post so I cannot begin to express all that I want to or include some of the great pictures that I have taken so far of what we have been up to in the city.

What I want to express is the beauty of what has been happening.  From every revolution of the bicycle wheels and every mile I drove in my car, we have been living out the Gospel and that is what each and everyone of us has been called to do.

Creation: This was when God created the heavens and the earth and everything was perfect.  On our way to NYC I experienced God's Creation in a new way as we traveled on the road less traveled and took back roads and paths to end here.  God's intention for Creation is beautiful and to see and experience even a fraction of that beauty is breathtaking.  While waiting on Nate in Maryland I wrote in my journal, "The beauty of the landscape makes it look like poverty had never touched it."  It gave me a taste of pure.  It gave me a taste of God's Creation in a new way and was beautiful.

Fall:  This was when man sinned against God and calamity and oppression entered the world.  Creation was defiled.  Our travels and God's hand has led us to NYC and oppression and calamity is visible.  Yes graffiti and broken buildings are terrible but it is in no comparison to the brokenness of the people.  People are what truly matter and can experience God's love.  We are living in the shadow of the Fall but there is light in Jesus and what He has done for each and every one of us.

Redemption:  Nate and I are working at the Bowery which is a six-month to a year Christian-based program for men to get back on their feet, to turn from their way and run towards the Lord.  It provides basic needs to the men that enter the program, "the Students", but the Bowery also meets the needs of everyone outside, "the Community".  Nate and I have been working the front desk and have been the bridge between everyone.  Firsthand, we have seen men enter the program and have heard their stories of how they have met Jesus and been redeemed of their old ways and have received new life and love.  In no way has it been easy for any of them but it is beautiful and it is love and it is the Gospel.

Renewal:  This is the most beautiful part of the Gospel, this is the process of sanctification and the process in which we are each becoming more and more like Christ.  Since, I am in this process myself I definitely can identify with how I have seen it being played out in our short time at the Bowery.  The stories of each and every person who has entered the program and received Christ and where they are with the Lord now is the Gospel in its purest and most raw form and the Spirit of the Lord shines in the face of each man in their renewal.  Renewal also leads to giving back and living out the Gospel.  Its what the staff here does daily and it is what Nate and I are doing and want to do with our lives.  We didn't choose ministry, God has chosen us.

True beauty isn't from the success stories of the homeless, it's from their stories of renewal and the way that Jesus Christ has washed them clean and set them free and that is the most beautiful part of each and every Christian's story.

I wish I had more time to write and post pictures but the computer lab is about to have a class.  For the next couple of days, Nate and I will be working at MontLawn City Camp in the kitchen where we are needed and then will be back at the Bowery.  Please keep praying!  I love you all and the support and way the Body of Christ has formed around Nate and I has been amazing.

Big shout-outs to Susan Andrews & Rev. Rick, Josh Lowe & family, and Justin Graves & family for letting us stay with you on our journey and helping us be the hands and feet of Jesus!

"True beauty is from our renewal in Jesus and what we do with the Gospel."

It's Okay to Be Scared

Tomorrow morning, Nate and I are leaving DC to bike towards NYC.  Over six months worth of commissioning, praying, and preparing has culminated into the moment we pedal out in the morning.  That is going to be the moment it becomes real.  I am kind of freaking out. Honestly, I'm scared.

I left Harrisonburg on Tuesday and got to Nate's house in Springfield (Northern VA). I hadn't been to NoVa before except for DC really so over the past two days I have got a good dose of life up here.  It's pretty sweet!  So many of my friends from JMU are from NoVa that I'm glad I got to come check it out for myself and see what all the hype was about.  I like it here.

Tuesday night, we went to REI (first in store experience for me) and got some supplies that we had left to buy.  Nate's parents blessed us with some sick riding jerseys and I got some spare tubes for my bike. For a wake up call and in complete irony Nate had a flat tire on his bike when we got home haha.

Today has been a day with all my favorites.  We started with time with the Lord, worked out, helped out family, went shopping, had dinner, watched hockey, took a nap, and had ice cream... today has been great! But everyone who has been reading blog posts and updates really deserves this post and I'm stoked to end my night by writing it.

Since God told me He would give me a bike, I have had zero doubt about going on this trip and God's provision but now I am scared.  Being scared is okay.

Jesus tells us all in Luke 9:23, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."  When Jesus said this, no where did it say it would be easy.  The cross is death.  Jesus is commanding us to die to ourselves to follow Him.  That is pretty scary but that death isn't the end of it.  The best part about the story of the cross is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, rose again in three days and offers eternal life to all who repent and believe.  He radically transforms our lives.  Radical transformation is change and change is scary.

When I return I will be different.  My beard will be back but that's not the change I am talking about.  The reason I am scared is that I know that this trip is going to radically transform my life. The Message gives Luke 9:23-27 in a little bit of a different way, "Don't run from suffering; embrace it.  Follow me and I'll show you how.  Self-help is no help at all.  Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self."  This version of what Jesus is saying in this passage is exactly why I am going to NYC tomorrow, to surrender to Him and find myself, my true self.

The reason I am so humbled by the way people are praying and supporting me is because they aren't just giving money to the homeless of NYC but they are making investments in my life in the biggest way possible and I promise you it's priceless and I will never forget your words, prayers, and support.

Ultimately, I want you to know that it is okay to be scared.  We are all called in the Great Commission to, "Go and make disciples of all nations."  We are all called to have a global view on making disciples.  God designed each and everyone of us to be passionate and have specific dreams.  It is okay to be scared but don't let fear stop you from doing God's Will.  Don't let fear stop you from finding your true self.

Don't let fear of death stop you friends, 

we have the greatest victory of all, 

ETERNAL LIFE.

Why are you going biking?! (13 Days Away)

Some people say that the number thirteen is unlucky.  I'm not really worried about it. 
As many of you know, in thirteen days I will be leaving with one of my best friends Nate Smith on a bike trek to spread the Gospel to New York City.  
Today is the first day since God told me that He would give me a bike that I have felt assurance about going and absolute peace.

In my support letter I didn't have the space to really explain how and why the bike trip developed but it is a pretty sweet story.  In December a large part of my life changed and a long-term relationship that I was in ended.  This was a strange time for me and sometimes it's still weird.  My relationship ended because we were trying to make one another into what each other wanted and were missing out on the awesome individuals that God had designed us to be.  The majority of my identity was wrapped up in my relationship and my identity wasn't 100% in Christ alone.  The end of this relationship opened the door to a journey of self-discovery.

When I was driving home from Harrisonburg right after this all had happened, I gave Nate a call.  As
usual he answered and talked to me and it was just another phone call.  However, he told me that InterVarsity was looking for more people (and guys in particular) to go on the NYCUP Spring Break trip so I called the leader and applied and thats how that happened haha.

I came back to Harrisonburg to start Spring Semester and Nate called me to hang out.  I had got hired at Campus Cookies, delivering cookies around Harrisonburg at this time, so we drove around and I studied the city more and where the different apartments were and all that.  We ended up at Nate's house and talked about the summer and New York and biking.

For a long time, I had known about this trip being on Nate's heart.  He even got some camping gear for Christmas for the trip.  Nate told me that he had told some friends from home about the trip and asked them to go and they said he was crazy and told him no.

Since then, some people have told me I am crazy so I know the feeling.  In high school I read a book called, Under the Overpass, which was the story about two college guys who left school for a year and lived homeless in five major US cities and shared the Gospel.  The book changed my life and my heart towards missions in a big way.  


Nate's vision and calling for this trip wasn't crazy because the same feelings he had were part of what makes up my identity in Christ and my calling.  It made perfect sense to me.  If we are crazy, then we are crazy together.  

After telling me about his attempts of gaining members for his trek, half-jokingly semi-seriously Nate said, "Soooo... if youuuu want to gggggooooo letttt meee knowwwww..." and I looked up at him and said, "I think I do want to go."  I told him that I would pray and think about it and let him know.  To be honest... I think he was a little surprised ;) 

The next morning in worship at Cross-link, during worship God told me very clearly, "Eric, I will give you a bike."  I texted Nate in church and told him, "I'm going." He texted back, "To NYC this summer with me?!?!?!" And I said, "Yes."

Ultimately, God has known about this trip way before me and I have just taken steps to answer His call.  I wasn't telling Nate, "yes," I was telling the God of the Universe...

"YES, LORD, I AM ALL IN AND I WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES."

NYC Summer 2013 Support Letter!

Dear Friends and Family,

A few weeks ago, I finished my second year at James Madison University and time is flying by.  As many of you know, I was blessed with the opportunity to go on a mission trip to New York City with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship this past Spring Break.  Today I am writing to tell you of an opportunity that God has blessed me with for the summer.

On June 20^th, 2013, one of my best friends, Nate Smith, and I will be leaving Northern Virginia and bicycling to New York City to share the Gospel in the City and throughout the entire journey.  We are planning on bicycling to the City and camping along the way and when we reach the City we will then stay in the same building that we stayed with NYCUP in during Spring Break.  In NYC, we will be working with homeless people by feeding them, giving haircuts, and sharing the Gospel with them.

Nate and I aren’t going on this trip through a particular organization or with a specific timetable.   This trip is completely dependent on our willingness to listen to the Holy Spirit and follow Him.

I want to tell you about the trip for a couple of reasons.  My biggest reason is that you are a part of my support network.  The only reason I have been able to do some of the most rewarding things I have in the past four years is by your willingness to pray for and support me.  This trip is going to be physically as well as spiritually challenging and I need your prayers in preparation and for my heart to be softened towards NYC.  Please pray for me, I need it.

Since Nate and I are not going on this trip through a specific organization, the cost is significantly low.  However, we still need financial help to supplement our journey.  This will help us with food for the trip, emergency bike supplies, and two one-week subway tickets when we arrive in the City.  My goal is to raise $500 for this trip.  Being close to departure, I know raising this amount will be difficult but seeing God’s provision in the past, I know He will do it again.  Whatever money is leftover at the end of the trip will be donated towards New York City Urban Project (NYCUP) who we are being 

                                                                                      housed by in NYC and worked with during Spring Break.

Any and all help for this journey will be greatly cherished and appreciated.  It’s so meaningful to have the amazing support network of friends and family that I have and the way you have blessed me over the years is incredible.   If you wish to give monetarily please make out and mail checks to:

Eric Kennedy

562 S. High Street

Harrisonburg, VA 22801                                                  

Please call, e-mail, or text me with any questions, concerns, encouragement, and love!

With all His Love, EK

NYCUP Spring Break 2013!

March 13, 2013

Dear Friends and Family,

I am back in Harrisonburg after a week in New York City!  When we were entering the City, our bus driver announced, “New York, New York, Big City, Big Dreams!”  This statement was completely true yet; my team and I quickly witnessed the brokenness that has put even the smallest of dreams to death in the Big Apple.

On night one, my Small Group and I were on a prayer walk in Harlem and witnessed an act of domestic violence right outside of our building.  When the police arrived, the girl being beaten said, “It’s okay, he is my boyfriend,” and the boyfriend said, “It’s okay, I’m her boyfriend.”  That exchange confirmed the brokenness of the status quo and it became very clear exactly where God had placed us and why.

NYCUP added to my education of human trafficking and how we can pray big and bold for the freedom of the 27 million around the world (United States included) who are still enslaved through this practice.  In addition, NYCUP has started a program called LOGOFF (LOcal Organic Green Fair Trade & Slave Free).  LOGOFF speaks to industries and asks, “What it would like for God to be the center of their business?”

We stayed in the future site of the Bowery Mission’s Men’s Program.  After morning Bible Study, we would take steps towards completing the building.  Half of our team would go to a day camp for kids and the rest of us would stay and paint.  We were able to see God transform the walls in the building to provide peace and comfort for the future residents as they seek the Lord and find rest in Him.

The United States utilizes 50% of the world’s resources.  We are consumers.  While praying about sex trafficking and LOGOFF, it became clear just how much I have perpetuated brokenness.  There is good news though!  God’s grace is for all!   

In Isaiah 6, the prophet Isaiah encounters the Lord and states, “My destruction is sealed, for I am a sinful man and a member of a sinful race.  Yet I have seen the King, the Lord Almighty!” God then sends an angel to Isaiah who places a coal from the altar to his lips and Isaiah’s sins are forgiven.  When the Lord asks, “Whom should I send as a messenger to my people?  Who will go for us?”  Isaiah answers, “Lord, I’ll go!  Send me.”

No matter what we have done, when we encounter the Lord and ask for His forgiveness, He makes us clean and then uses us as a light to the darkness of this world and an instrument for His peace! 

NYC, or wherever, I have already told God to send me- thank you for making it possible for me to go!

With all His Love,

EK