Mission NYC 2008 Daily Devotions

You are invited to follow our Daily Devotions (written by a team of students and adults going to NYC) Our theme follows VBS Power Lab and is meant to be both a way for our students to connect with what they are teaching and leading in Harlem adn to give them a change to process within our personal experience in NYC. The following questions are adapted from our devotional to better fit your role as support.

Saturday, July 12 - Looking Ahead
Bible Verse: Matthew 5:13-16

• How can you shine this week?
• What/Who is the light that shines in you?
• How can the salt metaphor apply to you as a parent/family member left back at home?

Sunday, July 13 - Thankfulness
Bible Verse: Colossians 3:12-17

• Where in your life can you give thanks?
• How do you show your thankfulness?
• What specific gifts do you bring to your family?
• With all the gifts in 1 family, what can you accomplish?
• How can the love between family members reflect God's love for the world?

Monday, July 14 - Helping Others
Bible Verse: Romans 12: 11-21

• How do you typically act when you are mistreated?
• What does Paul offer the Romans as a different action?
• How can an outpouring of kindness affect the unkindness of the world?

Tuesday, July 15 - Bravery
Bible Verse: Psalm 23

• What do you fear? How do you overcome these fears?
• How does your faith in God help to calm your fears?
• Do you need to believe in God, or can other higher powers work for calming fears?
• How can you make the message of Psalm 23 available and relevant to everyone you meet (co-workers, classmates, neighbors), regardless of their Christian background?

Wednesday, July 16 - Living Forever
Bible Verse: John 14: 19-21

• How does this passage make you feel?
• What does this passage mean for your own faith? For your family?
• What does "to live" mean for the gospel writer of John?
• How can "to live" be translated for other faith cultures and backgrounds?

Thursday, July 17 - Telling Others
Bible Verse: Mark 16

• How can your family share Jesus Christ with those outside the church walls?
• What hesitations might hold you back from doing this?
• Do you have a faith story that you can easily share?
• Where does the Easter story become your story? 

Friday, July 18 - A Witness
Bible Verse: Isaiah 43:9-13

• What do you hear in these verses?
• Is it necessary to believe in one specific God, or is this message applicable to any faith tradition?
• How can you be a witness of Christ's love across the barriers of tradition, culture and socio-economic differences?

Saturday, July 19 - Acceptance
Bible Verse: Acts 10

"The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarusliberty
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land,
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A might woman with a torch, whos flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your learning shore.
Send these, the homeless, the tempst-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" 

• What would happen if we as a culture and a church family didn't accept people who were new and different?
• How does the story of Cornelius in Acts and poem about the Staute of Liberty embody acceptance and connectedness between differences?
• How can your family welcome diversity and be accepting?

Sunday, July 20 - Do Not Be Ashamed
Bible Verse: 2 Timothy 1:6-14

• How has your life been blessed by Christ?
• How do you share those blessings?
• Has the Word of God ever been mistreated? In what ways?
• Does shame ever keep you from sharing the love of Christ?
• As a family, what can you do to help your daughter/son share her/his story upon the return from NYC?
• How can you help your child not be ashamed of their Christian witness?

Monday, July 21 - Better Together
Bible Verse: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

• As parents/family, what can you do to help your child share his/her story upon the return from NYC?
• As a family, what can you do to keep the spirit of NYC Mission 2008 alive? What ways can your family continue to reach out in Christian witness? 

Our Week At A Glance

NYC Schedule

What is Mission Trip NYC

What is Mission Trip New York City?

76 High School students and 15 adults went to New York City. In the course of 10 days, this mission group shared Jesus Christ with kids in Harlem and throughout the various neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Teams of 12-25 led Vacation Bible School at the following complexes: Martin Luther King Towers, James Weldon Johnson Houses, DeHostos Community Center and Robert A. Taft Houses.

Each housing project varied in size from 6-10 buildings, 9-19 stories high. Following VBS week, they helped turn East Harlem into a State Fair, with food, games and rides, artwork, giveaways/drawings, bands, petting zoo and old fashion fun! Who better to host a Fair than 91 Midwesterners?

In preparation for NYC, 60 of our 91 participated in Bethlehem's VBS, <em>Power Lab: Discovering Jesus' Miraculous Power</em>. In addition to the 4 VBS sites, 1 team was stationed at Red Hook Pentecostal Holiness Church in Brooklyn. There they painted and helped to restore a much utilized church in the heart of Red Hook Houses.

We were housed at 4 different churches throughout Brooklyn, Sunset Park Community Church, New Baptist Temple, Red Hook Pentecostal and Trinity Lutheran. In exchange for the hospitality and a safe place to rest, we did small projects at each church.

In between our ministry and outreach, we took in the sights of the Big Apple: Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Ground Zero Tour, Central Park, China Town, Times Square, Broadway and a Mets' game.

We are blessed to be traveling across country and blessed to share our blessings with others.