A full and exciting Day 1 in NYC!

Today was adventure, as it always in when you are in missions. But God is amazing, heart for people and compassion for people is so much greater than ours. We are just his vessel of what he wants to do.

Durning the Day, our group of 28 people split into 2 teams. Team 1 went to a VBS, and team 2 went to the United Nations to join a prayer meeting that they were having.

The VBS required lots of flexibility, since we were ready to do a program for 7-11 year old kids, and instead had 3-7 year old kids. So everything we had planned had to be restructured to that age group. Our students did great, and so did Pastor Josh and Dave Biddle. As Pastor Josh kept the kids attention, Dave Biddle was coming up with idea's for the kids of that age, and was giving it to our students and Pastor Josh! The Church members were really touched by us going out and serving, and we are really looking forward to 2 more days of VBS.

The other group who went to the UN had a surprise too. They were expecting a big prayer gathering, huge hall, lots of flags, etc. Instead they were led into a tiny room to pray with only 10 people. They prayed with them for about a hour and left. But encourage that they could be an encouragement to some of the UN employees.

In our debriefing time, the students were sharing how its so "God" that he takes what we think is going to be a huge trip to Costa Rica, and the shrinks it down to NYC. And then takes the huge thing of going to the "UN" down to a little room and just a few people. And the students shared how they think God is trying to teach us that it is in the small things that Gods works the greatest. I really felt that it was a divine revelation for the kids!

We all got back around 3ish, relaxed till dinner, and then split up again. One team went to Ceribal Palsy apartments to minister to those less fortunate. We Sang them songs, talked with them, and just showed them love. Each person with Ceribal Palsy had a mind of a 4-6 year old. So we sang songs with hand motions, got the puppets out, and sang a couple of our church favorites for them. We came back around 8pm, and the other team was still out, so we took some time to pray for them as they were serving.

Team 2 went to a homeless shelter to pass out food, and talk with people. It was really amazing to see the kids when they came in, and how they were effected after not only seeing homeless people, but talking with them, listening to them, and praying for them. it was truely touching, and we knew God really worked through them. I attached a short clip of one of the kids testimonies via video, but read 2 others testimonies first

Tonight we went to the homeless shelter and I believe that all of us were touched and moved. The men and women were on different paths of life than we were. If things have worked out a lot better in their paths of life, they wouldn’t have chosen the drugs, alcohol, and intense sadness that came upon their lives. We saw many people who were in need of many things. All I could think about was what I personally wanted to give to them. I noticed that Pastor Barry was just standing looking at all the men and women, and in the corner of my eye I saw a middle aged man walk up to him. I turned my head and I heard that man ask Pastor Barry for his bible. Pastor Barry looked at his bible and gracefully said “yes”. He had such an amazing look on his face when that one book of words reached his own hands. It was just amazing to see all of these people being helped and having our blessings. I truly believe that we encouraged them to pursue God and make something true and big about their life. - Taylor Bagley

Today we participated in a VBS with pre-k kids, It was exciting to play with the kids. All of the kids where having fun and participating with the activities that we presented. The children enjoyed the puppet show that we put on. Once we began to pack up the teacher asked the children to grace us with a song. The four of the children stood up in front of the class and began to sing, It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Later that day our group went to a homeless shelter, when we first got there the group was timid and shy. Once we pulled out the sandwiches, waters, and hygiene products people began to crowd around us. Most of the people just wanted what we brought with us, but others were pulled to us with a deeper desire. We began to pray for the people who came to us, I was touched by the way the people opened up to us. When we came back to the NYSUM facility we all shared our god sightings, today was a touching day for me and I’m looking forward to the rest of the week. - Andre Scotland

Thanks so much for your prayers. PLEASE KEEP THEM COMMING! We NEED THEM. We need prayers for....Wisdom, Strength, Boldness, Safety, Power, Love, Compassion, and focus! Tomorrow we are at a Soup Kitchen and VBS in the AM. In the evening we aren't quite sure what we are doing. Please pray for us! Thanks.

I just want to thank Andrew Lemon, Christian Simanca, Pheobe & Angela Wurst, Eric, Steve, and all the others who held REMIX without us there! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

In his Grace, and by his Grace,

Pastor Devin