No, I’m not dead. I have been really busy though the last few months. Also, to be completely honest, I really didn’t feel like I had a whole lot to write about. It’s not that I didn’t want to write, but every time I thought about writing a blog post, I just didn’t have the interest, or the material. But when I sat down today to work on a client’s site design, I just randomly decided I felt like writing.

Also, I’ve been a little thin on social media for the last few months. I think that has come around because of my new job. Due to their policies, I can’t access Twitter at work, and so I’ve gotten out of the habit of tweeting and commenting on what others say, and by the time I get home, I don’t remember to hit up Twitter on my phone.

So, what have I been doing this summer? Truthfully, mostly working. Because of the new job, I haven’t had any vacation time to speak of. I’ve done some golf tournaments, and saw my sister graduate from law school.(If any of you are looking to hire a really good lawyer, let me know ) BUT, I also managed to negotiate in a trip to New York in late June with a bunch of students from our Vertical high school ministry. I can honestly say this was an amazing experience, for a wide variety of reasons. (one being me driving a 15 passenger van in NY streets and traffic!)

After driving out to New York, and spending the next day visiting a local church and sightseeing, we began the week with two days worth of work at the New York City Clothing Bank. I thought this was a great way to get our kids acclimated to New York and the people of NYC. The Clothing Bank was originally started by mayor Ed Koch as a way to collect and distribute clothes and school supplies to adults and children that couldn’t afford it. It has since been turned into a non-profit and is run by a local priest. One thing this has meant is that there are a lot fewer workers because the city is no longer paying the bill. Wanda and Raymond, who run the Clothing Bank, were incredibly grateful to have us and another group from Texas helping out there for part of the week.

The kids had a blast I think were truly sad to leave Wanda, Raymond, and the others when it came to the end of the second day. In talking with the kids since then, a handful of them still say one of the people they remember most was Wanda.

For day three, we were working at The Father’s Heart Ministry Center. Father’s Heart is basically a mission located in the East Village who’s primary goal is to serve the people of the area through meals, education, and any other needs that can be fulfilled. I think it’s safe to say that this was the day that the students worked the hardest. Our primary goal was to get about 13 pallets of all different types of food into the basement of the building. This wasn’t a situation where we just loaded a bunch of pallets into an elevator and took it downstairs. Each individual item came off a stack and was passed hand by hand into the basement.

Perry and Marion have been there leading the effort at Father’s Heart for many years, and I know our students had a great time with a lot of the other guys that were volunteering there that day. It was a LOT of hard work, but definitely a blast!

Then came day four. We were going to Harlem with the understanding that we were doing a prayer walk. For those who aren’t familiar with that, like myself, you walk through the neighborhood praying for whatever comes to mind and for those living and working in the neighborhood. When we got to 125th and Lexington though, we found out that instead we were going to be doing a prayer station. Basically, handing out fliers on the closest street corners and directing people to the prayer station if they wanted to pray. Had some of our students known this is what we were going to be doing, I don’t think they would have been as excited. A few of them had never even prayed aloud or for other people before. We came across people with mental illnesses, high on drugs, drunk, homeless, and just hurting. I think it was amazing how many people stopped and asked our students to pray for them right there rather than taking time to go over the the actual prayer station.

In talking with our students on the way back to Nyack College, where we were staying, after the day was done, it was great to hear from some of them how they felt. Those that hadn’t ever prayed with anyone before or were uncomfortable with it seemed to be energized and have an increased confidence in their own abilities. For most of our students, and myself included, this was the most impacting day. I’ve had this desire to really help others since I was little, and in the last few years, that push has been increasing within me, I think to a point where I’m going to need to do something about it, and so I left a little piece of my heart at 125th and Lexington that day.

People have asked me a variety of questions since I’ve been back about the trip. One of the most common was would it have been better to partner with a church and work the same thing all week. To be brutally honest, I think that would be a terrible idea for a trip to New York. Sure, it would work and be great, I have no doubt. But I think our students got an exposure to a much wider slice of both life in general and life in New York by working at different places, and different areas of the city, all week. I thought it was amazing how the week progressed to a more “spiritual” focus by the end of the week. I think that unintended plan allowed the prayer station at the end of the week to have an event more important impact and lasting impression on our students than if we had done that all week. The ability of students to spend a couple of days at the Clothing Bank and learn how the city is trying to take care of it’s own, outside of ministry circles, wouldn’t have happened. I truly wouldn’t want it any other way.

I’m already planning how to spend my vacation time for next year so that I can go on the trip again. I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world. It’s easily been the highlight of my summer.
What’s been the highlight of your summer?