Wonder Voyage 2009 Summer Blog

Wednesday morning began not with the buzz of an alarm clock and the  familiar scent of burning Pop-tarts, but with a grunt and an assembly  line. The food pantry at Father’s Heart was receiving an early  morning shipment of dried and canned goods, and it was up to our team  to sort through roughly 600 lbs of food and pack up bags of goods for  those in the community who regularly visited the mission. We formed a line, much like worker ants, and passed boxes of fruit juice, rice,  canned yams, and spaghetti up into the community room; here, a team of  students sorted perishables into gift bags. We managed to accomplished a day and a half of work – roughly 450 bags of goods – in only 2  hours! What a blessing!

​Tony and the ninth grade boys had a task of a different sort that  morning – cleaning out an old basement storeroom that had been  recently flooded with sewage run-off. The guys spent the morning ankle- deep in tar, smelly water, and old lumber (or was it decayed  furniture?), clearing the room out so that Father’s Heart could use  it once more. The guys got filthy, and possibly stared a tar fight with each other, but cleaned the room out in record time.

​After a subway ride across the city (we only got lost once –  stupid Orange line hieroglyphics), we arrived at Coney Island for an  afternoon of fun. The team chowed down on some chili dogs at Famous  Nathan’s and burned off steam horsing around at the beach. No serious  injuries, other than a massive handprint on Jordan’s back and some  rashes due to the infamous “let’s put sand down the back of all the  guys’ swim trunks” game. The rain clouds held off long enough for  our team to ride the Coney Island Cyclone and Ferris wheel together,  as well as pay a visit to the headless woman and Bessie, the cow with  two noses.

​Wednesday’s dinner could not technically be called food, seeing as  how the 9th and 10th grade boys were in charge of Stone Soup for the  evening. They attempted to create an evening of romance and Frito  Chili Pie, but apparently, misunderstood that CINNAMON is not on the  list of ingredients. One bowl full of soggy chips, uncooked beans, and  
dark grey meat with a curious flavor later, our whole team was dying  from laughter. Brent, one of the Wonder Voyage staffers, later  referred to the evening as a “noble failure” while eating a turkey  sandwich we bought him, to help wash the taste out of his mouth.

​The evening ended with a deeply stirring time of sharing and  repentance. Eric took the students on a walk to the park and invited  them to jot down a burden they no longer wished to carry upon a black  card. Upon returning to Father’s Heart, students were invited to cast  their burden/card into a pot and publicly share with the other  students the hurt or shame they were giving over to Christ; it was as  moving as it was painful, with many of our students baring their  hearts and exposing their insecurities to one another. After sharing, we took communion together as a group and took part in a foot washing  ceremony. What began as a time of pain and tears ended with  reconciliation, hugs, and a lesson on how to cook ground beef in the  boys’ common room.

Poverty and homelessness abound in this city and trying to grasp their plight and understand their life is not easy.  But, we are here to serve them so we began our first day challenging our team to, in a sense, walk a mile in “their shoes.”  So, today that is exactly what we did.  Each student prepared the night before by sleeping in their work clothes.  We began this morning early – with a challenge to accomplish three tasks.  1.) Find something useful on the streets that could assist the homeless person, raise a minimum of $5.00 USD (to donate later), and meet + build relationship with someone living without a home.  Each team was bold and successful in their own unique way and blessed a “new friend” with a great lunch, conversation and a small financial gift.  The students were really challenged with this assignment.  Many had no idea what it was like to wander, to depend solely on self, and feel the brunt of rejection from a society who often judges a book by its cover.  They were challenged when they sat down to eat and listen to the stories of the homeless – to HEAR their story and learn from their life.  They realized that many of their new friends actually had something (a bit of wisdom) to give to them.  They may have been physically poor but rich in other ways.  It was a transformative morning and this team came through with flying colors.    

After lunch we headed to Plymouth Church in Brooklyn and had a great tour from the church historian.  She told us about the churches first pastor Henry Ward Beecher – an abolitionist who single handedly inspired a large congregation to participate in freeing slaves throughout the 1800’s.  This church was a significant stop in the Underground Railroad and was integral in raising money and support to purchase adults and children from slavery and send them to freedom.  Abraham Lincoln worshiped twice at Plymouth as did Martin Luther King Jr.  One of the largest churches of its day – it is a testament of how one man can actually change the world.  The students were inspired by the stories and took some time in the courtyard to reflect on what “cause” God might be calling them to stand up for in our world today.  Finally, we came back home via the Brooklyn Bridge – one of the most famous bridges in the world to enjoy our “Stone Soup.”  The team ended the evening with discussion in their small groups about how this day’s events impacted and inspired them. 

We were ready.  Ready and waiting I should say.  With the Fellowship Bible Church leaders prepared and Wonder Voyage ready to go…weather delayed our team’s flight.  Finally, three hours later our team arrived.  Funny – I thought they would be worn out and tired.  Tired – a bit!  Worn out – not even close.  When this team arrived they were ready and roaring to GO. 

We welcomed them into their new house which is situated in the historical East Village of NYC.  We greeted them with open arms and famous Ray’s pizza.  With a warm welcome and good food we had Juan Galloway with New York City Relief speak to our team and lay the foundation for our week of selflessly serving urban youth, the poor and food insecure.  With 20 years of experience NYC Relief is one of the premier providers of food and service to the poor and needy among in New York City.  One thing our team learned right away from our experience with NYC Relief and Father’s Heart Ministry – it is not just the homeless that are struggling.   With the global recession in full swing the homeless, “rent poor”, and elderly are all requiring assistance from NYC charities.  We realized quickly – there is plenty of work to be done.  

After a great beginning to our week in NYC we took the team to Times Square where we introduced them to the city that never sleeps.  The students had a great time exploring Times Square and the unique culture that encompasses the area.  In addition – they had a great time getting used to riding the subway.  Finally, we returned to Fathers Heart and a short rest before the week begins in earnest. 

Yesterday we got the opportunity to watch a documentary about the firefighters in the Ladder 1 firehouse which was the fire station to respond to the World Trade Centers on September 11, 2001. All but one of the firefighters from Ladder 1 were in the building when the first tower collapsed and all of them survived. We had a time of small silence as we traveled to Ground Zero. I was amazed at how large the area was where the towers once stood.

After viewing Ground Zero we got to explore New York City with our small groups! This was a very fun time shopping and people watching. Dinner, as most events are with Wonder Voyage was a surprise. We ate at Stardust Diner, a restaurant where all of the waiters are aspiring broadway stars.  As you can imagine, this a very fun place where we got to dance and just have fun after a long week of working and serving.

Last night, we each shared our moment of transformation/reconciliation. This was an incredible moment in which God’s presence was evident to everyone This week has been an incredible growing experience for me. I have been learning how God wants to use me for His works and what my spiritual destiny is.

We had our most eventful day yet yesterday. We began early taking the train out to the largest food pantry in Queens serving 1,000 families weekly After reorganizing their storage closest we enjoyed pizza and some crucial A/C.

Next we headed to the great St. Thomas church home of 95ft gothic ceilings and divinely inspiring organ. From there we traveled by shoe down 5 Ave to the great Central Park home of the famous street performer Thoth. Words fail me, but I promise you this may be the most impressionable moment of the trip. We returned home awe inspired and excited.

Imagine a world lost in the throws of protest and drug addiction. Such was the world surrounding Father’s Heart ministries until the early 90’s In that world until today pastors Chuck and Carol Vendral have been the hands and feet of Jesus revealing the heart of God to Alphabet City Through feeding programs, outreach to children, classes and more FM has been a stalwort of the gospel message here.

Tuesday we had the opportunity to hear their story as well as serve them through the reorganization of several closets. Yesterday we were allowed to partner with them by helping restock their food pantry.

We continued the day with a trip to Coney Island and a delectable visit to famous Nathan’s Hot Dog We finished the evening with a moving encounter time. It has been a filling couple of days discussing ministry and asking what spiritual destiny God may be calling us to. Our verse has been Galatians 2:20.

Hello families back in Dallas. This is Kelsey writing after yesterday’s adventure in the “big city.

We started off our day in shoes none of us have ever imagined being in- the homeless. Asking for money proved to be a harder task than we thought as we tried to live the life that so many homeless people actually live. The story of a homeless man named Sam changed my perspective forever as he told me and a few others his story of his bad luck (thus binging him to the streets) with an attitude of thankfulness to the Lord.

We spent our afternoon at a church formed in the 1800’s called Plymouth not just listening to the story of a freed slave, but putting ourselves in her situation. The experience of the day was indescribable.God is so good at using others to reveal Himself.All there is left to say is “Until you see people, you will not care about injustice.” 

The life of the city didn’t fail as after 9 hours of traveling our group couldn’t wait to hit the streets of NYC. We kicked off the trip with walking tour of the Lower Eastside with the added bonus of a fullscale thunderstorm. We grabbed dinner at Rays and it was off to the glory of Times Square, which if you have never seen does not disappoint. All this ended with a subway ride home and cupcakes celebrating Paul’s birthday.

Our guide Eric challenged us to be looking for the signs. Not just for our safety, but what signs may God be using to speak to us or capture our hearts