It was a Stretching time, It was the best of times!

Just ending the day (Wednesday) here in NYC. In awe of God's goodness and faithfulness, and how he is using these students.

A summary of the different ministry and work that we completed today......

VBS..- Day two. This day we were more prepared, knowing the age range better. The students did amazing and they served in puppets (Emily, Erik, Andre), giving the lesson (Dayna), teaching the craft (Victoria), and helping with the craft and game times, (Davey, Cierra, Taylor, Major). One quick story is on day one there was a boy, who was completely out of control. We tried to love him, and at one point Casey took him aside to talk with him. It didn't seem to affect him. When we had reflection time on Wed. night, we shared how bad this little boy was (I think his name was jayln). When new students served today, a couple of them were looking for jayln to reach out to him. But didn't notice any boys mis behaving. They said today he was so good, that he totally blended in with everyone else! Its amazing what God's love can do!

P.O.T.S. Soup Kitchen....(Part of the Solution)....the other team in the morning served at a small soup kitchen for homeless or anyone who wanted to come. It was this little tiny eating area for the people, with six small tables. The tables only sat 22 people in total. It was very fast moving, and we fed 150 people in the first hour, and 275 total. The Students worked really hard (harder than I would ever expect!) and it was a great time giving to those who have nothing. Loving them, smiling at them, serving them food, pouring their drinks, treating them special. Alot of them really appreciated it and I could tell it made a difference!

In the evening (After dinner) one group went to another cerebral Palsy home. This home only had 5 guys and 1 girl, and there was 14 of us. It was a great time to sing with them, dance with them, play games, and just love them. These people get no attention, and as we were singing "your love is deep" doing silly hand motions, I was really amazed how much God loves these 6 people who the world forgets. The students each took turns to share what Jesus meant to them and it was an honor to do that!

The other group got to go to Times Square....but not how you would expect. They dressed up as clowns, and walked around time square allowing people to take pictures of them, and interacting with the people. They had bibles, tracks, and lots of love. They also had to ride the subway in NY in clown gear. Yes, going to Costa Rica is a cultural experience, but this was a time where they faced their fears in clown outfits. Again, God gave them strength, passed out lots of bibles, and had some really great times to talk with people in NYC.

Tomorrow, the two groups are going to flip in the morning, one again at VBS for day 3 and one again in the soup kitchen. Then we are all going to go out and reach more homeless tomorrow night.

We need prayer for....

• Strength, as we will be out late tomorrow night
• Protection as we minister tomorrow night
• Divine encounters with the people God wants us to encounter.
• Hearts of compassion....For the people that we serve. That we would keep our eyes on the needs, and not ourself!

Thats it for now. I better get some sleep as 5:30 comes quick..

In Love,

P. Devin