Reflections on the New York City Short Term Mission

Heather Holstein, 11th grade
The New York City mission trip was an interesting yet very rewarding and fulfilling experience. I had my doubts, but in the end I was extremely happy with my decision to attend. Living in such close quarters was also an interesting experience, which tested our patience and anger control, which everybody pretty much handled well. In the end this really was a wonderful trip.

Sarah Johnston, graduate student
Though there were many memorable aspects of our trip to New York, our fleeting encounter with a man named David sticks out most in my mind. We met David as we were walking down the street carrying a plate of leftovers from a Fourth of July dinner we cooked for the residents of Moravian Open Door. David was huddled against a brick wall looking down and trying to blend in with the scenery. We stopped and asked David if he wanted some of our food. He excitedly took our plate of sandwiches. Our interaction with David was short, but he told us his name and I shook his hand. He also took a short booklet I had explaining the Gospel and God’s love. Though we spent no more than two minutes with David, I have thought about him a great deal since. Had David been sitting on a street in Columbus, would I have stopped and noticed him? Would I have asked his name? After meeting David our team agreed there was something about David… something that reminded us of Jesus. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat…” How many times have I walked past Jesus because I was too preoccupied to turn my head and notice… too uncertain to stop and say hello… too afraid to just reach out my hand?

Henry Smith, adult team member, retiree
The thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians reminds me that if I give all I possess to the poor but have not love, I gain nothing. It also reminds me that love is patient, kind, protects, is not rude, perseveres, and always hopes. On this trip I served the poor and homeless. Hopefully I served with love. Sometimes it was difficult not to be rude and to be patient, but I could hear God’s voice saying, “Persevere and be hopeful.” God’s hand was visible to me as each team member ministered. Comfort zones were stretched. I grew in experiencing God’s abounding love for me as I served and loved my neighbor in New York City.

Corinne Marlow, 9th grade
I felt like God did a lot of great things on our mission trip to New York City. I really enjoyed my trip, but I also felt in danger — in danger of terror attacks and reckless driving. I mean the driving that gets people hurt if we were to get in an accident. I really enjoyed working with Youth Service Opportunities Project (YSOP) because it taught me a lot of great things about ways to help out in the community. I really felt that God worked with our group in a lot of great ways. One great thing God did was helping us meet Philip (Lythcott), who became a very handy person for touring. I also learned that even when I did feel unsafe I could just pray silently or look on the bright side of things, and nothing happened. I am very thankful that this trip went so smoothly!

Darryl Bell, pastor of The Promise
We can’t serve others without benefiting ourselves. That was reinforced for me as I participated with this team. I saw servant hearts in the whole team. They slept in very cramped quarters… on the floor, and I didn’t hear any complaining. They did un-glamorous hard work, even scrubbing floors on hands and knees, and they did it eagerly and willingly. (Moms back home would probably not believe it!) They shared food with the homeless. They helped one another in all kinds of ways. And in the process these givers were blessed.

We began to see homelessness in new ways too. There are 38,000 homeless people in municipal shelters every night in New York City (not counting those outside the shelters). That’s more than the total population in our entire community! And about half of those homeless people are children. I trust we will have greater awareness and compassion for homelessness at home now as a result of our experience on this trip.

Nathan Coyle, young adult, auto mechanic
One way that I saw God working on this trip was when I saw my new friend Shana give up a piece of food that she had waited all week to buy in China Town. After waiting all that time, when a homeless woman was begging for food on the subway, she freely gave the woman the pastry she had bought. She showed true humility and kindness more than the woman who received the food would ever know.

Marcia Johnston, adult team member, administrative assistant at The Promise
There were so many places where God was visible: six men and six women living in an area that was no bigger than my driveway — being patient and kind with each other, young people mingling with the residents at the Moravian Open Door — chit-chatting and playing games, young adults sharing food with the homeless, no major transportation issues, no one got lost. There are so many moments and ways.

But what I really want to hold on to, are three particular instances. In each instance the main character is someone who society has deemed “untouchable.” (a hungry, probably homeless, deaf man; a homeless, probably schizophrenic woman; and an obviously sick, hungry, street person named Dave). People avoided contact of any sort with these three people. They passed Dave on the street totally ignoring him. As we sat on the subway, captive to the moving train and the closed door, people would turn their bodies away from the woman and again from the deaf man, never looking at either of them. I could just imagine their thoughts “O God, get me out of here fast!” And that is exactly what hit me, I wonder/wondered how many people walking along the street passed Dave or those sitting on the subway would consider themselves Christian? Dave, the man, and the woman, have a face. They have a heart. They have a mommy and a daddy. They were created by God.

I “do” things because I sincerely want to serve the Lord. I wonder, how often do I miss — all the “small” opportunities that no one would ever see and therefore acknowledge because I am “doing” things to “serve” the Lord? Jesus reminded me that when I let the “untouchables” into my life, I am letting him in also. They have a face. They have a mommy and daddy who named them. They were created by God.

Linda Smith, adult team member
When we first left for New York, Darryl handed each team member a notebook. We were told we could use them for any purpose with the understanding that at the end of the week we would write a paragraph about our experience. On our way home he reminded us about the paragraphs and suggested writing our thoughts about the trip, or maybe how we had seen God at work throughout the week. I thought about it and wondered… Had I seen God at work?

I thought about the residents we had shared living space with during the week at Moravian Open Door. I thought of some of the ones that had barely spoken throughout the week, or the ones that didn’t meet your eyes when you spoke to them, or even the ones who had never come out of their apartments while we were there. Then I thought about the ones who smiled and greeted us every day and the ones who played chess or card games with the team members and the ones who on the last night hugged me and said, “Thanks for the sunshine you all brought to this place the last couple of days!”

I thought about the stifling heat of the subway stations and the smell of the ever-growing piles of trash we passed on the streets each day. Then I thought of just five or six of us standing on the roof with a cool breeze blowing, on the Fourth of July while fireworks lit up the sky, and the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building were shining close by.

I thought about several sleepless nights on a thin sleeping bag on top of a really hard floor. Then I remembered the special talk I shared with my father-in-law because neither of us could sleep. I remembered learning tolerance and patience as my teammates loved me even if I snapped at them because I was hot and tired.

I thought about the homeless men we saw sleeping in the doorway on our first night in the city, or the one sitting outside the door of Burger King in the morning, or the one falling asleep on the bench in the park. Then I remembered the many times members of our team willingly and graciously gave away their own food to homeless people they encountered.

I remembered the grief and pain I experienced at Ground Zero. I remembered being in tears as I saw so many fresh flowers being left by people still grieving the tragic loss of loved ones. Then I looked at my son and saw so much caring and compassion on his face as he read the plaques at the site retelling the horrifying circumstances of 9/11.

I thought about the question again… Did I see God at work? You bet I did, just about everywhere I looked.