You may be wondering why I am only a picture on the phone right now, but I have my reasons. You're only 2 years old and you won't understand what's happening in the world right now and you probably won't remember this time next year. For the next few weeks, the world has stopped and I'm not with you to tell you about it. Here's why.
Taylor and I made a commitment to go on a mission trip with our church to New York City. Taylor raised money by only asking for money for Christmas. He gave up trying out for basketball at school, so he could go on the trip. We wrote letters to friends and family asking for prayers and donations. About a week before the trip, we were able to pay for our parts in full, which was a blessing in itself.
Reports on the news kept saying that New York City was a hotbed for the COVID-19 or the Coronavirus as it's commonly called. Pictures of people wearing masks and gloves bombarded us every time we turned on the news. I asked Taylor on a daily basis if he still wanted to go on the mission trip. He would always say yes. I gave him one more chance to step out gracefully the day before the trip, but the response I got was, "Mom, I'm not afraid! Let's go!" accompanied by a teenage eye roll and some Kansas City Chiefs Superbowl Champion flair.
So, last Saturday morning your brother and I headed out to New York with 13 other of our friends in Christ. We spent all day traveling and made it to our final destination around 6:30 New York time that evening.
In a city that never sleeps, it seemed a bit concerning. I had prepped Taylor for a busy time. Streets would be full, taxis and cars would honk a lot and public transportation would be standing room only. The sidewalks would be packed and the restaurants and other tourist attractions would be busy. That wasn't the case.
New York felt like a ghost town in more ways than one. I had only been there once before, but it was nothing like I remembered at all. On our first day of sight seeing, we didn't really get to see much of anything. The places where we wanted to look around were empty. The Freedom Tower was chained off with signs.
We could only see things from a distance and had to keep our distance from everyone else.
Wall Street was even empty except for one corner souvenir shop.
Later that day, we ended up in Times Square after a brief walk in Central Park. That could have been the perfect opportunity to share Jesus with so many people, but there was no one to be seen. Even Broadway was dark and that broke my heart since I'm a big fan of theater, music and the arts. Taylor didn't seem to mind, though.
We ended up eating at a place called Junior's which is famous for cheesecake. We all sat around the empty restaurant laughing and talking and having a good time with the servers who were there and smiling, trying to keep spirits up for a little bit longer until they had to shut their doors to the public the next day. I remembered going to Junior's on my trip before and having to wait to get a seat. We walked right in and were taken straight to a table. This kind of service was unheard of in such a popular place like this.
The best part of my day was a sermon that we heard in the morning at a smaller church. It didn't matter that size of the church, the message was clear and it was about missions. We cannot fear what we do not now. We were called to serve even in tough times and we are meant to share the love of Jesus with everyone. The overall message in my opinion was "God's got this." When I walked out the doors that afternoon, I was ready to serve in any way that I could.
So, the next day we all got up and went on our first mission: Going to Jackson Heights to teach English as a Second Language and help the community in any way we could. The subway and the bus we took were pretty much empty except for our team, but that didn't stop us. We went into the community center, got our assignments and were ready and waiting for anyone that showed up to learn English. I was fortunate enough to be placed in a classroom with six ladies in a citizenship class. Teaching is my thing, Mr. Aslan, so I felt right at home helping these ladies learn what they needed. The men that went with us were not as fortunate to get to hang out with our new friends, but they(including Taylor) did an excellent job cleaning and sanitizing the center for anyone who was going to come in that day.
We spent the rest of the day walking around the community, going on a scavenger hunt, cleaning the park in the community, and taking a prayer walk.
Your brother had no problems going up to someone who didn't even speak his language to try to ask for help with scavenger hunt items. He had no fear in that category. He also had no fear when people came into the community center that evening and talked to whoever he could despite the language barrier.
The plan was to stay in New York for 5 days, but due to the city shutting down everywhere( as well as at home), it was decided that we take a flight home the next day.
Our mission team agreed that it was the safest and reasonable thing to do, although most of us thought that our work in New York City wasn't done, yet.
Looking back, I was one of those people on my team. I didn't get the chance to share with anyone while I was in New York, but this is what I'm coming back with. In the short time that we were in New York City, I did get the chance to fellowship with fellow believers. We talked, we laughed, we shared with each other. Some of us ate cheesecake. Others of us ordered food we couldn't find anywhere in our small town of Kearney, MO.We even played a crazy card game together.
Most of all, Aslan, I saw who your brother is. In between bathing in hand sanitizer ever 2 minutes, your brother is fearless. He has no problems talking with anyone, anytime, or any place. Even before we got on our first plane on our way to New York, he was talking to the lady in baggage claim who was from Jordan. He talked with the leader of Urban Nations, he talked with complete strangers in the church we attended. He showed grace to everyone he came into contact with, but at a social distance of 6 feet or more, of course. You may not get to see how fearless he is everyday since he's a lot older than you, and is on his own mission to leave home after he graduates high school, but it is one of his best qualities.
Through all of our trip this verse ran through my mind on a daily basis: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of self-control (2 Timothy 1:7).
So, remember that even though you're a few more miles away from us than I want you to be, we are staying away to protect our family. I get daily updates and phone calls with Facetime and Zoom. We'll be together again, soon, little lion cub.
I just want to you to know that your brother and I were trying our best to show the love of Jesus to people in an area that fear has seemed to seep into their daily lives at this time in our country.
Keep smiling and we'll see each other in a few more days.
Love,
Mama
P.S. We all did learn a valuable lesson from our friend, Amanda. Just because you are behind a New Yorker, don't follow her everywhere. Find a laugh everywhere you go.
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