Day One (NYC) - Travel, Ground Zero, Times Square...

Well, it has been a hectic, busy, challenging, and thrilling day one. We made Andrew webb famous at the Nashville airport, saw a man painted head to toe in gold, got emotional at the WTC site and realized the sauna that is Park Slope Community church!

The day started with a frenzy as we tried to get all 42 of the people on the first flight checked in and onto the plane. We got Andrew in as the last one just a few minutes before take off (thus the notoriety). When the group got to me in newark at 9 or so, they looked wiped. We waited around until the second plane (19 of us) arrived.

We took a Charter Bus and a rental van from Newark to Brooklyn. Our teens witnessed the insanity of NY traffic as Howard (our driver from Hong Kong) navigated the busy streets. We crossed over the beautiful Verrazano bridge and everyone was excited to see the Statue of Liberty greeting us in the distance. We were introduced to New York with a vision of Lady Liberty, like so many travelers have before. Our ace team of adult grocery shoppers met and greeted us at park slope, having spent half our days allotment on fans!!

We quickly dropped off our stuff, oriented ourselves a bit and headed into the city...

The World Trade Center site was a very emotional scene. It is nine years later and you can still tell the damage that was done. We visited a memorial and a fire station nearby, as well as St. Paul's - a church across the street that suffered barely a scrape during 9/11, which seems unfathomable. They are in the process of rebuilding. These plans include two fountain memorials at the base of the original towers, and new towers that are planned to be even taller than the originals! It was neat to see those plans, yet still see the destruction caused. I'm certain that in 20 years, we'll all brag that we were there to see those massive towers being rebuilt!! It was an emotional reminder of that day. There were some tears. And we took the time to sit and talk about what that day meant and what it symbolizes. We talked about how changing NY changes the world. And we have the chance to do that for the sake of the gospel! What a blessing!

After the heart wrenching couple hours at Ground Zero, we went uptown to Times Square. We got a group photo and then everyone split into smaller groups for dinner and exploration. Our teens enjoyed the M&M store, Forever 21, and definitely Toys R Us (which has a ferris wheek inside, a lifesize Barbie House, a huge T-Rex, some massive Lego structures and much more.

We left before anyone wanted to and survived Joey deciding to jump the group off a Subway last minute :)

Back at the church, Rick Comacho spoke to our group about how MissionNYC got started and what they do. They were just normal, everyday congregants who were asked to help out in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Groups just kept on coming and nine years later they have served hundreds of thousands in the name of Christ in various ministries around the city. We had a quick devotional with some worship music, which was brief, but also had a real palpable sense of significance. We talked next day logistics, got our beds set up, showered, and were ready for lights out by 11:45 - not too bad for day one.

Pray for us as we begin service projects tomorrow. People are already tired. It was so great to hear some encouragement from Rick. I feel that our group is ready and that God is going to move tomorrow. We'd love to know you are there thinking of us. It is quite a sacrifice these teens and adults are making to serve God this week, but the fellowship alone has been worth it. We focus on service tomorrow. There is no doubt in my mind we will have some great stories for you tomorrow night.

For now, goodnight from the city that never sleeps...

(pictures by Hayley Collinsworth and Dana Holtgraewe)

Thanks and God bless,

Joey