busy week - surprise surprise

Lets see....Wednesday night (community night) my housemates and I went to watch a movie in a park on a big screen, about half way through the movie lightening was too close so they had to shut down - it was a good experience though. Last night I went to see Wicked on Broadway, it was really good. It had a lot of important underlying themes that I didn't really expect - but to put it simply, it showed why it is such a bad idea to judge people because, for the most part, we don't know their backgrounds or experiences that have made them the way they are. There were also many other important ideas woven into the script, but too much to think about at 1:30 in the morning. Tonight I (along with Father Placid) took a group of the kids to Times Square Church for a youth service - it was a really good service and I feel like it dealt with a lot of the issues that our kids are facing daily. We took 12 kids and many of them commented on how much they liked it and asking when we could go again - whenever people are anxious about going to church its a plus in my book. I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend - I don't have one thing on the agenda, so we'll see what ends up happening. Peace.

what a weekend

My family came to see me this weekend, and what a weekend it was. Here's some of the things we did: visited the world trade center site, walked through battery park, ate in little italy, saw mama mia (on broadway, not the movie), went to the bronx zoo, ate pizza in central park, watched a movie, went to church at the brooklyn tabernacle (a church of nearly 10,000 according to their website, and i believe it), and went swimming in the atlantic ocean at coney island. Amidst all this fun, there were a couple of mishaps: at the theatre friday night, i was pick-pocketed, but luckily they just took the cash and threw my wallet down, so when i went to look for it all of my credit cards, insurance cards, ID, etc were still there - a blessing in a very weird disguise i guess - i was so relieved about it that i really didn't feel that bad about the whole situation. then on sunday we were driving to the beach when a woman decided to stop in the middle of the road and back into our car - an unfortunate occurrence, yes - even more so when the cops came and the woman told them that we ran into her. so since it was their word against ours, nothing could really be resolved. not the best way to end my family's visit - but i think the weekend as a whole was positive just because we got to see each other (although i don't know if dad will feel that way when he gets the bill for the car). they are now home safely and i am back to work. Exciting things coming up this week: I'm seeing Wicked (a broadway show about the wizard of oz's witches growing up, and why one of them turned good and one turned evil - should be a good time) and on friday I'm taking some of the kids to a service at times square church specifically for youth - another good time. Peace.

birthday

Yesterday was my birthday - and it was a good one. I started off with a productive day at the shelter, I got a lot of good stuff done. I got off work at 5, then met the rest of the people I lived with at 7. It was community night the night's objective was service, so we decided to make and serve dinner at another shelter in the city. The shelter was called Sylvia's Place. It was much smaller than ours and the facilities were not as good, or very clean. The residents there basically come in at night and find a place on the floor to sleep. They keep their belongings in plastic bins, but they could upgrade to a shelf if they lived there long enough. They were very happy to have a nice meal - we had prepared lasagna, salad, some type of apple dessert, and cookies. They were also very appreciative. It was a good time.
When we got home, my housemates had prepared a cake and brownies and icecream for us to enjoy - and we did. Then we proceeded to play a pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game except it involved paper ducks substituting for the tail and a painting of saint francis substituting for the donkey. It was fun.
Today will be a long day. I'm on my lunch break now, and I get off work at five. At that time I will be going with one of my housemates to "rumble on the river", an amateur boxing event in southeast Manhattan. Then we will hang out in the city until 11, when we are meeting some of our other housemates to get in line with our tickets for good seats to the 12:01 showing of Batman. I'm pumped. Peace!

hiking

Today, I helped lead some of our kids on a hike in New Jersey. We took 19 kids, almost twice as many as have ever volunteered to go before. I must say, it was very interesting to see these "tough" kids outside of their element. When encountering different aspects of nature almost all of them were uncomfortable and a few were scared, even terrified. At the end of the day, though, the trip was a huge success. Each of the kids conquered the mountain, and each will have stories to tell their friends. A great experience for both them and myself. Peace!

a good week

These are a few pictures I took at the Metropolitan Museum of art yesterday - pretty cool place all in all.

As always, I've been staying busy. Wednesday was our "community night" - all of my housemates get together Wednesday night for either business, social activities, etc. This week happened to be a social-type night. We walked the Brooklyn bridge which gave us a great view of the city at night. Then we stopped in at city hall park where we had our prayer/reflection time in the middle of a sidewalk - and where Clint, a housemate, decided to take a dip in the public fountain (for which he was verbally reprimanded by a security guard. Then we went downtown to have pastries/deserts - it was wonderful.

Thursday night I went to a comedy play called Boeing Boeing. It was very funny, and I stuck around afterwards to get autographs so that was cool.

Friday at the crisis center we had a youth group from Katy (outside of Houston) Texas come in to share. They had about 10-15 kids, and 10-15 of our kids showed up as well so it was a pretty good turnout. We basically just opened up for people to share their story. A girl from Texas told her story first, and another girl from Texas finished up. In the hour between those two, our Covenant House kids shared. It was very moving, and powerful as they they told us about abusive, drug-addicted parents, about addictions and gangs, and about their faith journeys. A Texas girl summed it up well when she said "its amazing that you guys have been through so much, and you still believe".

Its been a good week. I'm looking forward to another good one -hopefully a hiking trip with some of the kids will be a part of it. Also, my family is coming to see me next weekend - so I can show off how well I know the city to them! Peace.

im selfish

I was at the Covenant House Crisis Center and I had opened the chapel for use by the kids. As I explored a bit I found a prayer book - in this book the kids can write prayers or prayer requests for Father Placid (or whoever else) to pray over. As I flipped through the book, here are some things that I read from various writers:
- I want to make it in life
- Please help me get my kids back
- Please help me. I'm lost and would like to be found
- Please pray for my family, we are in need of a home
- I'm lost and scared. I can't find myself. I don't know who I am any more. Everything is lies. Help me find myself please.
- Please Lord help me. I cry to you for help because I need help. Please hear my cries please.

As I read about the things these kids are going through and the types of things they were prayin for, I could only think one thing....I'm selfish.

other recent things

I keep remembering other things that have happened in the last couple of days that I haven't mentioned. First is 4th of July and fireworks. We watched the fireworks from our roof and it was awesome. There were at least 10 sets of fireworks going off at any given time around us. The Macy's fireworks (64,000 pounds worth) were huge, but lacked much of a grand finale. Most of the shows were a long ways off except for the guys that were setting off their own right down our street (illegally, of course). I've decided that I like being close-up at fireworks show, like at home in Ohio - I believe the Orrville fireworks are my running favorites. I like "feeling" the booms.
Today I went to church at the Times Square Church. It was a very large church, and I was kinda sceptical at first with the music and such - the whole thing was very TV-like. I was wondering how authentic the service would be. Then came the message - and it was a great one. The minister preached about "Knowing the Mind of Christ". The first part of the sermon was about how to go about finding God's will for your life and the types of things people do that keep themselves from hearing God's voice in their life. The second part of the sermon focused on using God's calling and sharing it with others. I think that I shouldn't judge churches on their size, or denomination, or anything else for that matter. I think that's where I, along with a lot of other people, get into trouble I think. At any rate its something to think about.
Also, today I saw a man on the sidewalk. This man was walking with his cat standing/sitting on his head. The cat seemed to enjoy it, because it was wagging its tail. I was impressed, but wasn't close enough to get a picture. Sorry. Peace!