Tuesday!

Hello everyone! Rachel here. Yesterday (Tuesday) started out with Amy waking us all up at 5:30AM... We then plunged into cooking breakfast, unloading and sorting through food donations, scraping decals off of ceilings, helping with the shower program, giving out clothes, and prepping for worship. There's always a lot to do and they keep us on our toes!

Yesterday a handful of us (me, Amy, Emily, Mariel, Lauren, and Janelle) had the opportunity to participate in an Outreach program that the Bowery does every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. They load up a very large van with soup, bread, and other food pantry items and travel to different places in NY. We went to Tompkins Square Park which is about 3 miles away from the Bowery Mission. One of the helpers from the Bowery, Declan, organized the soup line with me and Mariel. He told us a lot about his story and his dreams to be on Iron Chef and Hell's Kitchen and then open his own Youth Ministry in the city after he finishes the Bowery Recovery Program. I was amazed to hear his story of the transformation he's experienced and his testimony to the grace of God. Throughout the day we heard many stories God's blessings.

The Bowery also has a worship service followed by a meal three times a day. One of my main jobs for the week is planning the worship music whenever we're assigned to lead the service before a meal. It's really interesting to see different people participate in different ways (or not at all). Some of the people sleep and ignore the message and music, but others sit or stand and listen quietly. A handful of men and women join with us in singing, and there are one or two people who constantly shout their praise with "Amen! Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!" and join in with their own hand motions to the songs. It's very interesting to see the variety of reactions to sitting through a worship service as a prerequisite for receiving their meal. It has been an amazing experience to loudly proclaim the sovereignty and power of God so many times a day in a place where, to so many eyes, God seems absent. This week we have been singing the song Angel Armies (among others). The other night we were singing it and I thought I'd share a few of the lyrics that really capture the atmosphere of the Bowery better than I can explain:

You hear me when I call.
You are my morning song.
Though darkness fills the night, it cannot hide the light.
Whom shall I fear?
You crush the enemy underneath my feet.
You are my sword and shield, though troubles linger still.
Whom shall I fear?
I know who goes before me, I know who stands behind:
The God of angel armies is always by my side!
The One who reigns forever, He is a friend of mine.
The God of angel armies is always by my side!