NYC – Week 1 Part 2

Dinner and discussion Wednesday night went well…we had one new guy there and are making flyers to hand out on campus this week in hopes we will have more in the future.  We also got to hear the testimonies from 2 of our students (all of the students are being trained and are crafting their testimonies to give them at some point) which was neat to hear their stories and how the Lord has worked and is working in their lives.

Thursday, Ed and another staff guy went with the students to do rebuilding work for Hurricane Sandy.  Almost 1.5 years later, work is still being done and help is still needed.  They spent all day priming and painting an entire house.

Then, as soon as they got back, we headed with our staff team for a social at the Chocolate Room in Brooklyn.  We have heard people rave about this place, so of course we had to try it out for ourselves.  We got the fondue pot and while it was good, it was real rich and real chocolatey.  Probably not a place I would say everyone needs to go, but it was fun to kick back with our staff team and have some good laughs.

Friday, while the students spent extended time with the Lord, we had staff meeting.  That afternoon, everyone went to the Museum of Natural History for a scavenger hunt, Central Park, and then headed to the Top of the Rock observation tower to see the city.  Because one of the other moms and I had stayed behind with the kids for naps, we met the dads in the city to eat dinner and then head to Top of the Rock.  This was one of the most crowded subway rides we had ever taken to date and the kids hung in there but started breaking down.  I kept thinking, as everyone kept piling in, they can’t all fit, can they?  Uh yes, they did.  We ate at the Shake Shack which all New Yorkers rave about.  I have to say, it was really good.  The shakes weren’t anything abnormal but the burgers were really, really good. They have a special sauce they put on it that seriously makes it.

When we arrived at the Top of the Rock, we went first by the Today Show studio to show Kinsley where it is filmed.  I love The Today Show and while Ed and I have been before on the patio while they were filming, it was fun to see it remodeled and to show Kinsley.  We even got to see the Orange Room through the windows.  I also got to stop and buy a Today Show mug so I can drink my coffee in it while I watch the show 🙂

Here are some pictures of us on Top of the Rock.  The group picture is a picture of us and all our students that came from Eastern NC.

 

On the way home, we stopped off at Magnolia’s Bakery for cupcakes (everyone raves about this place but it was only so-so in my opinion) and I had my first celebrity sighting!  We saw the girl who plays Nicky (the daughter of the single mom) on Blue Bloods.  Ed saw her first and didn’t think anything of it until he heard her speak and then it all clicked.  He made sure to get my attention since I made sure everyone knew it was a project norm to alert me when a celeb is around 🙂  Seriously, it was fun to see her in person!

Saturday, we had the day off so we headed to Times Square to visit Toys R Us, the M&M store, and the Disney Store.  We had planned on buying the girls the Anna doll from Frozen but they literally had hardly any Frozen merchandise, didn’t know when they would get it in, and couldn’t tell us if they did know because of security purposes (crazy right?!?).  The girls enjoyed all these places – from getting M&Ms, to the magic mirror at the Disney Store where Ariel appeared when you waved a Magic Wand, to seeing the big ferris wheel in Toys R Us (it was broken so we didn’t get to ride it :(, to the lanterns hung over the escalator at the Disney store which makes it look like part of Tangled.  The adults enjoyed it too!

We spent the rest of Saturday resting and grocery shopping.  Then, today, the students arrived at church early to help serve.  Today is also a day off, and then tomorrow resumes the week of going to campuses and sharing the Gospel.  Because the weeks are so heavy with Bible study, going to campus, and sharing the Gospel, it is nice to have a few days to recharge and see the city :).

Enjoy this photo of one of our staff and one of our students exploring and meeting students at Columbia University.  Pray that the Lord draws students to Himself and allows us to be a part of it!

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