The good stories

New York Part II- The good stories

The story of the superVBS - Upon our arrival in Manhattan, Season and I met Jonathan Chaine, a summer missionary to Hispanic churches in Queens.  Right away, we traveled with him to Iglesia Bautista Canaan, in Queens.  There, we witnessed some exciting plans being made.  The pastor said they have planned to do a week of VBS.  The kids get out of school in July, and sometimes there are government programs for kids in the summer, but not this summer. A mother asked the pastor if they could do a month of VBS, because otherwise the kids would have no where to go.  Then I realized that this was not a normal "VBS." It's really more of a day camp, lasting from 8am to 4. The main obstacle was feeding the kids breakfast and lunch for a month, an estimated $5,000.  The MNYBA will send volunteer groups from out of state to the church to help with the super VBS.

Isaiah 44:8
"Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are my witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock? I know of none."

The story of the man in the park - Well my job here in the MNYBA is mainly to do office work and host volunteer groups. I have a burden for finding ways to be a missionary to the hundreds of strangers I pass every day.  After a day in Brooklyn and contemplating this problem, I took a walk to Central Park.  There a young man asked me a question.  "Which way is 72nd St?" So I told him, but luckily, I live on 72nd street as well.  I asked him what he did in the city and told him I was a summer intern.  I told him I had taught two classes in Ethiopian Church and Indonesian Church last Sunday.  Then I told him that God isn't interested in how many times we go to church; He wants a relationship with us all the days.  The man told me that was very wise and asked what was the best thing I had learned from the Bible. So I told him the gospel. He said he didn't exactly understand how that worked, Christ taking our debt. So I told it to him again, and then we got to his building. I'm just so glad that he asked me for directions, because I'm not very bold.

Ephesians 6:19-20
"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." -Paul