Hard to believe that another week has gone by. It has been so fun to be here in the city, having amazing conversations with people of all different ethnicities and nationalities, and learning so much about other cultures. While we haven’t had the privilege of seeing anyone place their faith in Christ, we recognize that we are ministering on hard soil and planting seeds, none the less. It has been exciting to share with some people about the name of Jesus for the very first time. Everyone here has had significant conversations and we have seen the students grow by leaps and bounds in their walks with the Lord and in sharing their faith. At the end of last week, we counted that we have had over 75 gospel conversations (where the Gospel was clearly communicated) on 8 different campuses in the city. In my eyes, that constitutes a successful project thus far. Here are some highlights from this week:
Jubilee (one of our students from Campbell University) and a guy student are doing Solarium (a picture survey we use to engage in spiritual conversation) with a group of students.
Garrett (another of our students who goes to school at Wake Tech Community College) is sharing his testimony (faith story) during our Dinner and Discussion time.
Our ethnic dinner this week was at a Senegalese restaurant. Ed was so excited to introduce us to the food he came to love last year in Senegal and honestly, it was really good! The girls even ate it! It was also fun to hear from the owner about how he came to America, why he opened a restaurant, and how many Senegalese people live in the city.
This is how New York City does the World Cup – under the Manhattan Bridge with a huge screen and big speakers!
On Tuesday night, we went as a project to see Wicked. It was so fun to get dressed up and see this awesome play! Even better? Getting to meet the lady who plays Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West).
Ed and I also got to go on a late anniversary date. We had dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant, went to this really cool local store, toured Chelsea Market, saw this amazing view (below) of the Hudson, and visited the famous Kleinfields.
This weekend, we also got to take the girls to American Girl doll store, FAO Schwartz, and Coney Island. They loved it all – from playing on the big piano, to seeing all the dolls and outfits, to eating Nathan’s Original Hot Dogs, to riding rides, to seeing the beach. Emerson is, so far, our adventurous, dare-devil kid. Kinsley could take or leave some rides while Emerson wanted to do them all. See the picture below of the girls and Ed riding the swing ride? Lets just say, we thought Kinsley was going to lose her dinner while Emerson was all smiles. It was a great weekend – but man, are we tired today!
This is our last full week of project. Please pray that we will stay engaged, students will stay engaged, God will allow us to have significant conversations that will make an eternal difference, and that we would get rest as we are trying to fit everything in. Thanks for your prayers and supports – God is working in this city!