Poconos, Prayer, and Pizza

It's been a while since my last update, and there have been lots of great things going on that I could share with you. So many, in fact, that this post would be a short novel if I did, so I've chosen three things that kind of sum up this past week.

Poconos
Last weekend, we went on a camping/paintball trip with the youth group in the Poconos Mountains, which are in Pennsylvania. This was quite the experience! Some of the teens were excited about camping, but mostly, they couldn't wait to light each other up with paint. But first, we camped. When we arrived, we promptly assembled our tents and left to explore. We found a lake where Heath taught everyone to skip rocks, and returned to camp where a fire was ready to roast hot dogs for dinner. Yum! After dinner we had a devotion and a time of prayer around the fire. Some of these teens don't know God, or are just starting to find their way towards Him, and it was such a beautiful experience to stand hand-in-hand with them as they offered up some of their first prayers. They were simple, and humble, and so much more than the long-winded, superfluous prayers that some of us "mature" Christians sometimes resort to when we feel the need to impress God, or rather, to impress each other. I felt like I was witnessing a birth, only without all of the terrifying noises and gooey mess!

The next day, we went paintballing at Skirmish, which has been voted the best field in America. They have over 50 fields, with 700+ acres. Of course to me this only meant "How long will that take?!?!" I'd never been paintballing before. Each time I've discussed the possibility with various friends throughout the years, it always ended with them showing me their latest welps and bruises, and me saying, "Maybe some other time." But I went! And it was really scary at first. But I got hit once in the bicep, and decided it wasn't so bad. I started to get into it. I felt like Rambo, with my camo suit, helmet, and gun in hand. And I am pleased to say that my team won almost every game that day! There was lots of winning to be done, by the way. We played for 8 hours ... I know!! Crazy.

Prayer
Here in the Bronx, a large part of our job as interns is all about prayer. We've been doing a great deal of prayer walking, which has been good, but twice now, we've set up a "prayer station" on one of the busiest streets in New York. The first time, myself and two others prayer walked the area while the other two interns manned the station. The second time, though, I volunteered to hang out at the station. This was pretty far outside my comfort zone. I'm comfortable praying. Praying alone, silently, out loud, with friends, or even just with people I "kind of" know, but with complete strangers? I've never really done this before. And the fact that we were just standing on a street corner with this big sign ... I was doubtful that people would stop.

But they did! So many stopped. We set up a white board for people to write their prayers on, and offered to pray for them on the spot. Some took us up on this offer, and others didn't. Some came over to share with us about how God was blessing their lives, and others came over to mourn. Some were old, and some were young. No matter the case, though, it was clear that God was at work. And not because of anything we had done, and especially not because of anything I had done. I felt so foolish for being doubtful! I learned so much about God's power, the people He has created, and prayer. I can't wait till we do it again (Friday, 1 pm, at Fordham and Grand Concourse, just in case you're in the area!).

Pizza
This past Tuesday was our first official day off. We slept in a bit before heading towards Manhattan. The plan: explore the Metropolitan Museum of Art, eat some good food, and stay out of the heat. The heat has been nearly intolerable these past few days. On Monday and Tuesday, the highs were in the upper 90s, with the heat index over 100. And many apartments and establishments do not have AC. Yikes! So we were hoping to stay cool inside the museum for most of the day, which we did. We meandered through the Met for about 6 hours. This was almost enough to see everything. It's monstrous. And beautiful. I would try to explain the experience beyond that, but I can't. Just try it for yourself. Pop in your headphones and listen to whatever gives you good vibes (I recommend the Weepies), and stare at the most moving piece you can find.

So after that, we came back to the Bronx and ate dinner at Joe and John's Pizzeria... or was it John and Joe's? They've been there for 26 years, and it was the best atmosphere. John, or maybe it was Joe, invited us behind the counter, offered us an apron, and joked with us about soda prices, the heat, and the pizza oven. It was the first time I felt like I was experiencing the quintessential New York experience. While we stood at the counter, a little boy came up and ordered, handing over a $5 bill, which wasn't enough to cover the price of his order, and John/Joe gracefully made up the difference. Tell me, where else does that happen?! Anyways, I'm pretty confident that we will become regulars there.

Good times!