We're Home!! Part one of reflections!

This trip was such an amazing experience and I'm so incredibly thankful that I had the opportunity to participate. At the Bowery Mission, not only were we able to serve God through working in the kitchen, serving meals, leading worship etc., but we also learned so much while we were there, getting to know the people we were serving and creating relationships. Personally, one of the things that stuck with me most was that you can't make assumptions about people and their situations. For example, we were serving people that I assumed were all homeless, but very often, that was not the case. People had different reasons for coming to get meals, and you never know what's going on in a person's life until you actually connect with them on a personal level. On top of meeting new people and hearing their stories and their inspirational journeys with God, I was able to hear amazing testimonies and stories from my fellow BCRC members (both youth and adult) and I got to serve God in a new and beautiful city. Overall, this trip was a lot fun and very educational for me and I'm glad I was given the chance to go. A big thanks to everyone who made it possible!
        -Mariel

"God is good all the time, and all the time God is good."

This phrase was used in nearly every chapel service I attended. At first I didn't think about it much, but now that I stop to consider it, what an amazing testimony when its spoken by a hundred men and women who have gone through very hard times and now don't have enough money to buy food for themselves or their family! Throughout the week, I was amazed to hear so many stories of people who had a good career and suddenly lost everything due to gambling, fire, or become caught up in various addictions. However, what was even more amazing was to hear so many of those people say "...but I am so thankful to God because He saved me." It was so beautiful to hear people praise God from a situation that I can't even imagine living through.

As this was my last high school missions trip, another big thing that hit me this year is how important friendship is. I have been so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful group of girls and adults. I'm thankful for their mentorship and support. I will definitely miss everyone next year. Throughout our time serving at the Bowery Mission, we were all stretched in many ways. I thought it was amazing how we also made friendships with the men in the Mission Program. Not only did we support each other and have each others backs within the group, but the men were always looking out for us. They urged us to go out to see and enjoy "their beautiful city," but they also cautioned us (on multiple occasions) to be extremely careful and safe in Times Square and other areas. Many people told us to never walk anywhere alone and, while we weren't planning on going anywhere by ourselves, it was neat to realize that these men were just as interested in serving us as we were in serving them. Some of my favorite memories from the trip include talking to Travis about Seattle, joking around with Declan at Outreach and before chapels, and seeing LeRoy pour his all into every song we sang together in chapel. I'm so thankful for the friendships we made while in NY, even if I know its unlikely I'll ever see any of them again.

Another thing that struck me about this trip was how God always provides. The first day that we were at the mission (it was maybe 15 minutes before chapel when we arrived) they weren't sure if their chapel speaker was going to show up. They asked if we could lead worship to fill the beginning of chapel while they waited to see if the speaker would show up. In that case, we were the backup God provided to the Bowery. The fact that the service went pretty well despite the fact we hadn't practices or planned anything was Him providing for us. Another example of His provision is the amount of food that is donated every single day. Every morning there would be more food to unload and sort through. The massive amounts of bread alone each morning was crazy.

Overall, I'm thankful for the memories. Every missions trip I've gone on has been wonderful in different ways. Though this was definitely the most physically exhausting trip I've been on, I also had the opportunity to get to know the people we were serving better than any other trip. I'm grateful to be going home to rainy Washington, but I will continue to pray for the people we served in NY.

         -Rachel

Way back when we only started talking about this trip, I had lots of doubts. I had my heart quite set on returning to Bellflower or doing another Serve, and the fact that this was going to be intergenerational made it even worse! Nothing against the adults in our church, I just considered mission trips strictly for the youth group. I enjoyed meeting throughout the year, but I was still a little wary about the trip itself. I didn't know what to expect. But boy, was i proven wrong! This trip has been amazing, in many ways. The people, the city, the worship, everything. The Bowery Mission is a wonderful operation. God has clearly been working there a long tome. I like that on this mission trip, it was more of just a trip to the Mission. We didn't come to build a school or change their lives. We certainly weren't the first group to be there. We came to give them a hand, to fill in where needed. We accomplished a lot, bit thats all in a day's work. The employees and students work hard all day to keep the mission running, providing foe peoples physical & spiritual needs. They are impressive and inspiring- never complaining, always working hard. Every aspect of the Bowery Mission has been thought out intentionally and is fulfilled as a duty. God works many wonders in that place, and continues to provide. I loved being a part of that, and experiencing his love and power in new ways. 

We made connections this week. We helped alongside with the operation, and even if we didn't make a grand change, I think we made an impact. And the Bowery made a huge impact on us! Inspired and challenged, we will take this back with us and hopefully be different because of it. God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good. 

            -Mara

Such an amazing and God filled and blessed trip we had to New York and the Bowery Mission. We not only served but were served and blessed by the men and women at the mission. Worshiping, cooking, cleaning, sorting, handing out clothes and many other tasks were enjoyed.
What stood out most to me was the positive attitude and desire for some of the men and women to find jobs, get a paycheck, and be able to get back on their feet. One gentleman I spoke with, we had given him a new pair of boots. He had just gotten a job as a dishwasher and needed boots that he could wear while working in the kitchen. He felt so blessed to be getting a paycheck and having the ability to get an apartment where he could have a bed and keep his personal belongings. He knew he would not have many things in his apartment and he would likely still be coming to the mission for meals, but he would be off the street and working towards improving his future. His positive attitude and trust in God showed as we talked and he knew that everything was in God's control.
The other thing that really stood out to me was the attitude and work ethic of every person on the trip. In particular the young ladies. The eagerness and willingness to jump right in and help anywhere they could was awesome to see. They often worked for long periods of time doing hard and thankless tasks. They all stepped up with positive servant hearts and did what was asked and also things they were not asked to do but saw needed done. I never heard any complaint, questioning why, or if we were done. All I heard was sure I can do that and what's next once finished with the task at hand. Truly a remarkable group of young ladies willing and wanting to show God's love by serving others.

           -Derek

When we first left for New York City, I had no idea what I was going to do, where I was going to sleep or who I was going to meet. I was excited (but a little scared) about how God was going to use this experience to mold my faith. Every day I learned something new about myself and my faith. The topic of God's power and his mighty hand came up a lot. I also learned from a very enthusiastic Christian, Leroy Mace, that nothing matters in life except for the love of Jesus Christ. I also had the opportunity to share why I believe in God in front of the group we were serving, a very scary yet needed step in my faith.
My favorite part of this week was when all of us climbed to the roof of our five story building during our evening reflection time and sang a few songs. It was such an amazing and moving experience. Being able to get out of the crowds and all the sounds (and smells) and literally singing on the rooftops was nice and well needed break.
This has been such an amazing experience. To be able to grow in faith, build relationships and ultimately serve and worship with Gods people. I am so thankful for all of these experiences and the people I got to share them with.

         -Allison