"Start Spreadin' the News...I'm Leavin' Today..."

...I Wanna Be a Part of It, New York, New York," Frank croons. And I wanna'd it too. :)

I knew that my trip to NYC was going to be hopping from the get-go. On the Atlanta-NY leg flying in I sat next to a Manhattan couple, maybe in their late 50s or early 60s. They were coming from Florida, where they were about to move to in coming weeks. The woman and I spoke for a good part of the trip and she was good-natured and informative, great to talk to. Eventually we came to what I was doing going to New York.

"We're with a big group," I said. "We'll be doing some free sports camps, vacation Bible schools at the Brooklyn Tabernacle and elsewhere. And then I'll be on one of many teams that's going to be talking to and praying with people in parks and on busy street corners."

She quickly informed me, "Well, that will be the part that won't go so well."

"Really. Tell me why."

"Every day there's someone handing out stuff on the corner, passing out their literature or whatever. They all have some cause that they want money for or something."

Well, I really appreciated this woman's honesty. I should say that it got much deeper after this as we talked about why anyone would feel compelled to try and "make someone else believe what they do." And this is really the religion of our day, isn't it? And you know what? I would absolutely go along with all that "live and let live" stuff IF I didn't know beyond the shadow of a doubt that Jesus was who he said he was, the Christ, the Messiah, God incarnate. If he hadn't moved into my heart and invaded my life so that I knew that he was the One True God, then I'd be the first one to become a member of the Church of There Is No Truth- popping up on most corners near you. We hear more and more anger at people who suggest there is such a thing as one way, one truth. Even this weekend I went to a community event where the woman leading asked everyone at the gathering to pray to whatever spiritual entity they believed in to start things off. She went on to say that she believed in Christ Jesus, and I was thankful for that in a way, but what in the world would Jesus have said about that? He won't apologize for who he is! He's the King of Kings, and he will not share his glory with any other. We shouldn't either. (You can read a lot about what God had his people do with false gods and idols in the Old Testament. Allowing them to hang around and encouraging others to pray to them was not one of the plausible options.)

This encounter on the flight in sharpened me, though, for the trip. Was I sure this was the best way to share Christ? Would we be seen as psycho fanatics like so many other groups who were selling a line to whoever would listen? Would God really move? Would anyone even stop to talk to me? And it came down to this question, which one of our speakers brought to light on Sunday morning. What do we have to offer? Brian, the Pastor of Evangelism at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, came and spoke to us and reminded us that the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers don't need a 3-point sermon. They don't need trite answers from some white middle-class girl from the midwest whose life has scarcely encountered suffering. What they need is change in their lives brought about by an encounter with Christ. And what they need to see in me is someone who is having "continual living encounters" with Him, spending time in His presence regularly.

Every day of the trip (18-24 July) we started out with a worship service in the morning, which was a big highlight. During the week, my cord (group of about 12) was stationed in a different place each day. We went to Central Park on Sunday, then a couple intersections in Brooklyn, then an underground subway hub at Atlantic St. another. Imagine masses of people rushing by you as you stand on a city street. A pvc pipe rectangular structure with a red cloth "Prayer Station" sign in the distance clues people in to what you're doing. "Hi. We're just praying for people today. Is there anything you'd like prayer for?" I must have said this a thousand times. Most people just passed by, of course, in a hurry to get where they were going, which I would expect. Some said, "no thanks." No one was beligerant. Many Christians approached us to encourage us or ask for prayer for any number of needs. Things I prayed for with people over the days included jobs needed (for many!), broken marriages, homes in foreclosure (and all kinds of other financial needs), impending court dates, depression, homelessness, protection, prodigal children, addiction to drugs. I had the opportunity to have a more in-depth conversation with about 40 people in all. With these, I had the chance to share the Good News that God's perfect world was corrupted by the sin of Adam and Eve, and that God has been in the business of restoring humanity to that perfection ever since. God's plan for bringing us back to him came through the perfect sacrifice of Christ, who conquered death by being raised up on the third day. Sometimes, conversations would go a half hour or more and there was more time to give the bigger, fuller picture. You could just tell how God had prepared the hearts of some to hear, and that was the case with one woman and one little girl that I shared with.

Lois was on her way to a 2 pm meeting where it would be decided whether she could avoid foreclosure on her home. But it was just so clear that this Good News was pretty new to her, and she was just ready to accept Christ and His forgiveness and new life. Daniya was a seven year old girl I spoke with and gave one of the gospel bracelets to. She was fully understanding the story I was telling, as far as I could tell, and she expressed a desire to ask Jesus into her life and prayed to accept him. It was beautiful. Eternity in their hearts.

Thank you so much for reading all this and for supporting me on this trip. Please pray for God to use these seeds that were planted. Most people I talked to didn't make a decision at the time, but pray that God would bring His Word to each one's mind over the next days, weeks, and years. Thanks so much. Make sure to check out the photos and recap video (even the final seconds) at http://www.nycm.org/ or http://www.spreadtruth.com/ and just look for the '09 Trip Recap video. Also look there at the interactive resource about The Story, which we used on the trip. It's great. This stuff will give you a better picture of my time there.

till all have heard,

Susan