Friday, Saturday, Sunday......

Ok, I wanna scream now!!!  I had the blog update post done for the last three days done, and pictures posted, and my computer randomly decided to eat the post and tell me the link was broken.  LAME!  Yet, even in this, I will rejoice!  I guess this means I get to give ya'll an even better run down of the last three days, right.  Yes, let's go with that. 

Friday night was my first of many Fridays to come in Staten Island and New York City with the VanBuren youth kids.  Oh, the VanBuren name comes from the name of the street the house is located on that the kids meet at.  Pretty clever!  Eight kids showed up originally, but only four of them went to the city with us.  Two kids didn't want to go, and two were in trouble with their parents and couldn't go.  One of the boys, Jake, and one other boy showed up to the house quite stoned to start out the night.  Jake ended up going with us, the other guy didn't.  Ray told me that Jake is a saved kid, and that before he gave his heart to Christ, he stayed away from marijuana, but as soon as he accepted Christ, he started to struggle with it.  Ray said that happens to a lot of the kids who accept Christ.  With in a short time of them accepting Christ, the enemy attacks them in a big way.  Ray said he has seen this in almost every kid that has come to Christ through this ministry over the years.  Some kids navigate it and get back on track and a few have stayed on the wrong path.  PRAY FOR JAKE!!!  Once Jake's high wore off, he was a ton of fun.  He is a light-hearted kid considering his background and home life.  I asked him why he smokes pot and he told me that it makes life easier to deal with.  He was really honest with me, and when I talked to him, I could see a vacancy in his eyes and a deep sadness.  Back on track here.....We circled the waggons, and got the kids that wanted to go to Times Square Church: Jake, Sabrina, Emily and Jordan.  Jake was the only guy other than Ray.  Sarah (ray's other adult helper) and me were the other females and we took off.  It takes about an hour from the house, plus the ferry ride to the city and the subway ride, and walk to get to the church.  We caught the majority of the sermon and the worship time at the end.  After the service, the kids asked Ray if they could be my "official" city tour guides, and he grinned that goofy grin of his, and said, "Yeah!" with that east coast tone that I'm not sure yet if I like or not.  So, we walked all over Times Square.  I was in a Toys R Us that was 4 stories tall with a Farris Wheel inside the store.  True story~and it had it's own ice cream shop.  It had a Lego Statue of Liberty that was probably 10' tall, and Empire State Building that was 15' or so tall with King Kong on the side of it.  It was cool.  We left the city about midnight to make our journey back.  On the ferry home, Jordan really opened up to me.  We had about 30 minutes of one on one time, and she got down right vulnerable.  Ray has really asked me to take this young lady under my wing as much as I can, and this was an answer to my prayers for an opportunity to get to make an initial contact with her.  Jordan is a saved young lady, but is battling not becoming a product of her environment.  She lives in a rough home, Ray refers to it as a train wreck.  For the sake of her trust in me, I won't go into detail, but I will ask you to cover this girl in prayer.  She needs you to pray for her heart and mind.  Pray that she be motivated and that God would give her a vision for her future!

All of these kids struggle with seeing a future for themselves outside of the poverty of this city.  They were born here, in poverty.  They live in poverty, and that's what awaits them.  So, it's hard to help them catch a vision for a future outside of what they see, and outside of what their parents have.  It's hard to communicate to them, even the saved ones, that with Jesus, nothing is impossible.  So, pray about how God would use me to communicate that message to them in a tangible way where they are....and how Ray would communicate that to them.  We were just discussing how to do that (Ray and I), and we are really struggling.  If you have wisdom about that, SPEAK UP!!!!  Ray dropped me on the doorstep of the home I was staying at around 2:30 Saturday morning, and I was back up at 7:45!!!  Harsh! 

I drove back to Staten Island Saturday because there was someone interested in viewing the apartment Ray has for rent there, and the gal decided, after I got there, she wasn't going to show up.  So, I drove around the island praying for about an hour or so.  I left feeling like I had just run a marathon.  It was exhausting!  I definitely felt like I was doing battle.  That city is oppressed.  It's hard to explain it to you, so you'll have to take my word for it.  It needs some serious intervention!  Ray was telling me that at one point, it was the city with the second highest murder rate in the state of New York.  (Mom and Nancy, pretend you didn't read that!)  This is not a friendly town!  So, pray protection over these kids, their minds and hearts.  Pray that Satan and his work be bound!  We have the authority as believers to do that, so DO IT!!!  Pray for Ray and I as we are down there in the trenches.  It's hard work.  Harder than anything I have ever done, and I'm not even a week in yet.  This IS war.  I understand now why prayer is so crucial for us to engage in.  God moves because of the prayers of his people.  It's the most amazing and effective and useful thing we can do for our brothers and sisters in the faith.  I understand why the Apostle Paul said to pray without ceasing.  I get it.  Maybe really, for the first time.  And I am asking you to pray with a sense of urgency!

Thank you for your commitment to support me and to pray for this ministry.  You are encouraging me and you are encouraging Ray.  You can pray for these kids by name.  Brianna, Jake, Jordan, Emily, Tyrone, Tyrell, Sabrina, Alan, and Daysha.  There are more, and I will update the list.  I love you guys and thanks again!!!