Photo Journey: February & March

This post is a photo journey of some highlights during February & March. Enjoy!

Donna: This is my friend Donna. She affectionately calls me her "China daughter." I've known her since I first served with SLM. She's been off the streets and clean for some time now. I'm so proud of her and so thankful to see God keep her all these years! She's battled homelessness and alcoholism since she was young. I am thankful for the miracle and the fruition of many prayers for her life. Please keep praying because I know the struggle is real but I believe she's got purpose and won't give up on her.

Maria: being able to connect and pray with Maria has been one of my favorite things that happen recently. Maria’s been a part of our family at Tompkins Square Park for a few months but we’ve never been able to connect on a deeper level. This past week we had a long conversation where Maria shared some of her past and life. We were able to relate with each other as I shared my testimony where God changed and transformed me from my rebellious days. I love how God is bringing that connection, she even said “I feel like you and I are very similar.” I am thankful to have her trust and friendship.

Don’t Walk By: Another successful year of outreach with the NYC Rescue Alliance. This year my job was to dispatch and send vans to pick up the homeless and bring them to the anchor church for a hot meal and resources. Statistics from this year's outreach: - We had nearly 1,200 volunteers - Over 700 homeless men and women were engaged on the streets - 136 of these received medical assistance  -68 were transported from the anchor church to stay two nights at the New York City Rescue Mission.

The King's Fellowship: every Sunday 5pm-8pm we gather to have a time of fellowship and prayer. For us, it's the invitation to continually connect with those we meet on the streets and for local believers to receive training and grow in their walk with God. Recently, we had two visitors, a father and son join us. We met them at our Flushing Prayer Station and they came speaking with little-no English. I had the privilege/challenge of sitting with them during our meal times and being stretched in conversational Chinese. I thank God that I am much more comfortable speaking Chinese than I used to be and for opportunities to serve despite my own limitations. Through the years God has taken me on a journey with accepting my ethnicity and I can victorious say that I no longer reject/despise it and thank God for it! (If you're wondering what's it been like, feel free to ask! I'd love to tell you!)

Mission Teams: Ohio in the house! As always it’s amazing to see people step out of their comfort zones and take the plunge with sharing their faith with total strangers. Some of my favorite quotes from the week: “I didn’t realize how much I had until I saw people who had less than me. [Referencing our homeless outreach]” “This week God showed me how much more I need to study His Word, I met people who had more knowledge of scriptures than I did.” “I prayed that God would help me step out of my comfort zone and He did that and much more.”

Sharing the Gospel: I’ve been so blessed with opportunities to tell the story of Jesus to people from various backgrounds and religions. Earlier in February   and in March I had the privilege to share with a women from China who was here on vacation and another man from Sheikh background. Below is a picture of me sharing how Jesus changed and transformed my life and how he longs for relationship with His creations during our Corona outreach.

Thanks again for making this happen! It’s through your prayers and support that is reaching those on the streets of New York City!

I Just Want a Cup of Soup

“Sir, what are you doing?” I approached a man who was trying to steal our broom from the truck.
“What do you mean?”
“That’s our broom” I replied.
“Oh, I just want a hot cup of soup, this is yours? Oh I’m sorry… why are you so nice to me?”
I slowly walked him over to our Mobile Resource Center, where we were serving soup. “What’s your name?” “Andy.” Confused why I was being so nice to him, he again asked me why I was there. This opened the door to a conversation where I explained how we were there to pray for people and show them God’s love. He smirked as I mentioned God and then began sharing how he knew God cares about him and has kept him on this earth even when he tried to kill himself. He shared how he had planned to jump onto the subway tracks but something kept him back, he knew that God was after his life. As he was sharing this, something inside of me got excited because I knew that Andy was the one I was to meet that night!

Our Truck on the Corner of 36th & 8th Ave

“Well, Andy… you want to know something? On our way here, we were praying for those we will meet… and my friend and I specifically felt that we were going to meet someone who was suicidal and needed hope. We prayed for you and God has us here on this corner to meet you.” Of course, this made Andy mad because he was trying hard to run away from God. Throughout the night, Andy shared little bits and pieces of his life story and would intersperse it with comments about how good our soup was or joke about how he wanted our broom so he could use it for drum sticks.

At one point, Andy let me pray with him about his anger because he feared he was going to hurt someone. This opened the door to another conversation as I felt God show me a picture of his childhood and something that he had gone through. I asked him about the picture and he confirmed that it was true and that when he would share it with others they did not believe him. Of course, at this point, I am amazed to see the length that God would go to show Andy how much He cares and began speaking truth over Andy. As I started sharing what I felt were “core lies” he had received from his childhood, you could see the struggle to believe it. Deep down Andy knew it was true but did not want to turn his back on those who caused him this pain. Our conversation eventually led elsewhere and after three cups of soup, Andy was ready to leave but right before he left we were able to give him a new pair of gloves and I encouraged Andy, letting him know how much God cares about him and that I will be praying.

Even though nothing visibly changed about Andy, I want to believe that he will remember this conversation and someday find healing in God’s relentless love. I am amazed to see the way God cares so deeply about someone and wants to share His heart with us. Please pray for Andy and the many others like Andy who we meet on the streets who are broken and hurting but running away from the One true source of Life.

View from the Truck: Me Sitting with Andy

Meeting Paula & Year In Review

Meeting Paula

“What’s that over there?” Paula asked as she saw something strange on the table. “Painters tape, would you like some?” I replied. “Yes! I was just starting to paint my apartment, this is perfect.” Paula came to our table looking for something warm for the winter months. That day, when she saw the tape, she thanked God for His perfect provision because she rarely comes to Tomkins Square Park. The tape opened up a conversation about the battles she’s had to keep her apartment and the legal issues with the landlord.

She shared her fears and struggles to find security in life. She opened up about her past and how she’s fought bitterness and unforgiveness due to abuse. As we continued talking, I shared some of my testimony and what’s happened since I’ve learned to forgive those who hurt me. I encouraged Paula that just like He continues to heal me, He wants to bring healing to her pain. She agreed and expressed a desire for that as well. Towards the end of our conversation, she thanked me for listening and was glad she could relate because of our pasts.

                As I look back on that encounter, I am humbled to see how an entire conversation began just because we provided something tangible.  I love seeing how God used my struggles and turned them into a testimony; it was an exciting start to being 26 (as we happened to go to TSP on my birthday). I thank God that He desires to set captives free and what He has done in my life. I look forward to many more opportunities to share His freedom with others.

Highlights & Updates from 2015

Having fun with some of our
Beautiful One Team

• Serving a team from South Africa and connecting with one of the ladies. During the final night debrief, we were praying and I felt led to share something very specific with her. Personally, it was scary because I didn’t want to share something out of line, but it was correct and we both saw the power of God in how He loves to speak to us! This really built my faith and desire to hear His voice more!
• Seeing the Beautiful One team grow and how God is pursuing the ladies we minister to. 
• One word: Freedom. The year began with moments of facing some tough challenges and being confronted with areas of growth. At times, it wasn’t easy but its lead me down this path of seeing God as the faithful one who never gives up or quits. In the midst of transition and uncertainty, He’s taught me that He is the one thing that matters. More than what I do or the ministry, it always has and always will be about Him. This bought much freedom, joy and hope to continue surrendering and laying down my life for His. I am committed to serving New York City for the long run. Now more than ever, I believe in the calling of my life for social work and missions and I will be serving with Street LIFE Ministries for the foreseeable future.
• Getting my license! Not many of you know this but it took me over two years and facing my fears to finally schedule a road test. Seems silly but after getting into a minor accident a few years ago, I was pretty shaken and hesitant to try. However after getting fed up of being afraid, I knew it was time to face my fears and I am thankful I did because I got my license on the first try (a huge testimony of God’s grace because you know hard it came be!)
• Being the Maid of Honor for my friend Mary Anna, who has been a co-worker, roommate, mentor and sister. I am thankful to be a part of her special day.

Thank you so much for making this another amazing year through your support & prayers!

Clarence Gets an ID!

As a social worker, one of my greatest joys is being able to connect someone with a resource that can help them transition off the streets. This process is different for everybody. Some people need a detox, some a job referral, and others an agency that will advocate for their housing needs. It’s just a matter of pointing people in the right direction.

I first met Clarence when he came to the Mobile Resource Center  looking for a job referral. He wanted to start taking the next steps in establishing a new life. He had been using drugs and living in a shelter for years, but recently he hit rock bottom  and that was when he surrendered his life to God. This is what gave him the strength to change and become serious about sobriety. One of Clarence’s immediate needs was getting an ID. He lost his while in the shelter and did not know how to get a new one. I set up an appointment for him at one of the nearby social service agencies.  Since our first conversation, Clarence has received his ID and continues to come by every so often to meet with us.

Since our first encounter, our conversations have been about him getting back on his
feet and getting around a good community. Since Clarence has some knowledge of the Bible and God, we've talked about his need to find a good church and be around other believers. He recognizes his need for a good support system and continues to thank God that he was lead to come to our truck. Please continue praying for Clarence, I know his heart is in the right place, but sometimes it takes years to let go. We're all on a journey and I am thankful that he's allowed us to be part of his walk to encourage him along the way towards freedom.

God's Provision!

Recent story from Tompkins Square Park:
"We had two nice pairs of pants on the clothing table that different ladies kept looking at, but they were not the right size. Later on after most of the clothing was given out, a lady came by looking for pants and they were exactly her size! She lit up when she saw them and immediately praised God for His perfect provision. Personally, it was a really sweet experience because I felt God had set them aside just for her! It amazes me to see how God cares about the 'little' and big details of our lives and cares so intimately about us!"

Ask Me for the Nations

“Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.” – Psalm 2:8

New York City is the "City of Nations". In our own backyard there are many who have never heard the Gospel. Here at Street LIFE Ministries it is our constant prayer that God would open up opportunities to share with people from different ethnic groups. During Worship Warfare Week, an elderly Chinese lady came up to the Prayer Station asking for a book of prayer. She shared that her grandson had been going to church after school and was coming home praying. She inquired why we ended our prayers with “Amen” and wanted to understand how to pray. Through my broken Chinese and Google translate, I was able to explain how prayer is our way of communicating to God and how as Christians we end our prayers with “amen” because it meant we're in agreement. I gave her a Gospel of John in Chinese and was able to point her to the prayer for salvation in front of the book, explaining that she could read the tract and if she wanted to she could pray that for herself. She thanked me for the explanation and shared how grateful she was to understand and be able to explain that to her grandson. Personally, I came away from that encounter encouraged, believing that God is hearing our prayers for the nations and giving them as our inheritance (Psalm 2:8).  Please continue praying that we would have more encounters like this!

Latest Update

Hello everyone!

Moore Park, Elmhurst

Hope this update finds you well. Today marks the beginning of an outreach that is as old as me (25 years in case you didn’t know my age), the annual outreach “Worship Warfare Week”. For those of you that do not know what it is, it’s a jammed packed week of worship and evangelism inside the parks of NYC. We bring dramas, prayer stations, children’s games and worship out on the streets into some of the most diverse neighborhoods. The amazing part is in each of the parks, we see different populations (homeless, immigrant families, childrens etc) and ethnic groups represented. It’s one of my favorite outreaches here and I am always excited to see how God moves! I also love being able to publicly worship and this year I’ll be playing a part in the drama. Please join me in prayer as I believe that we will see more fruit and God show up in ways we haven’t seen before! Pray for those we meet (especially the kids and families) and share the love of Jesus with them. If any of you are free and have some time, do come out! The dates & locations are listed on our website: http://streetlife.org/ww.html

In other exiting news… some of you have heard this already, a co-worker of mine Weslea, was recently healed after being bedridden for 7 months. She had a virus that she contracted from a mosquito in Haiti, in which doctors said there was no cure for… but of course we serve a God of miracles and He healed her just in time for the end of summer and this outreach! If you want to hear more, here is a video she posted of how it happened: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fse-NO8JCCU&feature=youtu.be Its testimonies like this that increases my faith to believe that God has more for me and this city!  

Also, at the end of this month I will be traveling to Florida for a few weeks to visit some friends and get some rest. I do not know what to expect other than knowing God specifically spoke not to work at the US Open this year and that I was to receive instead of working. Thanks again for reading this update! I hope you are well and praying God’s blessing for you as you keep pursuing Him!

In Christ,

Amy