Day 1 :: July 11, 2008

So today is the first of 8 days on Mission Trip to Farmingdale, NY. Our team of 11 (7 students, 4 adults) met and departed Houston in the wee hours of the morning (read 5am meeting, 8am flight - way before i suggest waking up). The timing worked out great and we arrived, checked our bags, and boarded the plane. No waiting, no long lines, no complaints here. The 3 hour flight was fairly uneventful, sans some slight turbulence, and we arrived on time.

Sterling met us at the train station, and we were quickly reminded that we were in a very different place. While waiting for the train to arrive, we made a quick run to McDonalds (located a block from the station). THIS was the New York I remember. Queens, NY. People everywhere. A mass of chaos that somehow flows all together.

As I sit here and think about that scene in my head, I also am reminded of my seatmate from the plane. We could not have been any more different, yet the Lord saw fit for us to share an armrest. Pratt (assumed spelling) is a 30 something computer/server technician for Microsoft. Now, that seems fairly bland, but the cool part is he is from India. Yes, I said India, not Indiana. I was blessed to share a conversation with him about why he was in Houston, and in turn, why we were headed to NYC. Though there was no profession of faith, or extreme radical conversion, I believe a seed was planted. In the little conversing we did, I shared with him about our mission and why we cared so much about helping this church.

Sterling (lead pastor at Crossroads Church of Long Island) shared with us tonight that it is exactly these seeds that God has been using to bless their ministry here. Just when you think "how can God use me? in this situation?" he shows up and blows us away.

My prayer for this week is that we would live out Habakkuk 1:5. Please join me in praying this for our students, the staff and members at Crossroads, and the many visitors who will be here this week.

"Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.

For I am going to do something in your days

that you would not believe,

even if you were told.

~Habakkuk 1:5

--Bryan