Mr. Glidden, Music Teacher

Wednesday, eight days before the beginning of school. I hand in two unsolicited resumes to the office at Manhattan Christian Academy (MCA) and tell them that both Bethany and I would like to be added to the substitute list. They are thrilled, especially when I tell them we could do middle school. Apparently it's harder to find subs for middle school.

Friday evening, 6 days before the first day of school. The assistant principal calls to tell me that the music teacher had to resign unexpectedly because her apartment building was sold and she had to vacate within the week and had decided to move back to Florida. Would I consider either being a long-term sub for the position, or even to take the full-time job?

Wait, what now?

I have a teaching degree and experience, though the experience came over a decade ago. I have general knowledge of music theory and have led worship countless times informally and for a year and a half on staff at my church. But a music teacher I am not.

My classroom, arranged for a review game

Until I was. Bethany and I prayed about it and sought counsel from a few people close to us, and I told the assistant principal Saturday night that I would long-term sub until they hired a full-time teacher. We believe that, as Andy Stanley would say, this was "the wise thing to do." More on that in a moment.

The first day I can get into the school to begin to prepare formally is Tuesday (Monday was Labor Day). I feel wholly unprepared, overwhelmed, and nauseated. Everyone we tell about it responds with encouraging, optimistic messages and prayers, for which I am extremely grateful, though they do little to help me get a full night's sleep.

I set a goal simply to get through the first two days of classes, and then to worry about the following week. The music teacher at MCA instructs every student in the school, from pre-school (3 year-olds) to 8th grade, so there are 10 different levels. There are far too many students for me to learn more than a few the first couple of days. I cover basic rules and expectations and try to implement some standard procedures. Friday afternoon arrives. I come home and collapse on the couch, exhausted.

No one knew how long this position would last. I figured it would be at a minimum two weeks, and at most it could take half the year or more. My biggest hang-up for going all-in was the two large concerts that the music teacher coordinates, one before Christmas and one in the Spring. In addition, pre-K and Kindergarten have their own concerts, also orchestrated by the music teacher. The concerts are big deals, and parents and family pack out the building each time. I really had no interest in being in charge of such large events, and the assistant principal knew of my concerns. I told her after each of the first two days to continue interviewing applicants. Many of the faculty and staff at the school expressed to me, some subtly and some less so, that they thought I should come on staff full-time. I was flattered but steadfast in my conviction.

Classes varied. Some were trickier than others (middle school is an interesting time in one's life whether you live in New York City or rural Pennsylvania), and my lessons succeeded to various degrees (that's a euphemism for "sometimes I wanted to bash my head against the wall"). Some of the kids were enthusiastic participants, some were overly talkative, a few were occasionally defiant, and many waved and yelled my name when they passed me outside of class.

The school hired a permanent music teacher before the start of the third full week of school. I was relieved.

I found this in a filing cabinet in the classroom
and put it on the bulletin board. I had to add the
glasses, but otherwise it might as well be a
photo of me.

I knew I would miss getting to know the kids at the school, though I confess to still not knowing many of their names. I enjoyed not having to worry about where our van was parked each day, because the school worked out an agreement with a nearby grocery store so we could use their lot. And I certainly enjoyed the extra paycheck. It was an enormous help. I also enjoyed being much more of a part of the works of the school, being an insider, if only for a month.

However, the challenge of managing a classroom is one I did not miss -- not even a tiny bit --  from my first days as a high school teacher. Also, lesson planning is tough for me. It always was. That's one reason it was wise for me to hand off the job to someone with a direct calling and passion for the position.

Another reason has to do with my own calling. Holding a full-time job would certainly make working for Priority 1 more difficult. Perhaps not impossible, but certainly more complex. If God leads me to a full-time job (outside of Priority 1, that is) in the future, then so be it. But it simply was not right, not wise, for me to jump into this position at this time.

I learned a lot, and it was a wonderful experience. At the very least, I know the staff at the school much better than I ever would have otherwise, and many of the kids run over to me and give me a hug when they see me. I also earned enough to cover more than a month and a half of the girls' tuition.

We continue to watch for opportunities, for open doors. We prayed for God to provide when our bank account was running lean, and He did. To Him be the glory forever, and may we never forget that He is worth trusting.

Free Bread and a Wad of Cash

During the summer, traditionally, Wednesdays are "Manna Day." Manna of Life,

The Spring BIC team, donning their hairnets 

a ministry we partner with, does an outreach every Saturday: they make soup and sandwiches, gather juice and fruit, then visit three different sites to serve both day workers and people who are homeless. Since our summer teams aren't in the city on weekends, we do the same outreach ourselves on Wednesday mornings.

The route we take is the same each time: first a gas station at Westchester Square; then the Living Room, a homeless shelter in Hunts Point; then another gas station not far away down Bruckner Boulevard. We know what time we need to start making sandwiches in the morning, what time we have to leave, and what are the best times to get to each site. We've done this many times before. That's not to say that it's always the same, but we know basically what to expect.

Today was different.

We had the youth group from The Spring BIC in Chambersburg, PA. At the first

gas station I saw a man over at the corner of the building, slumped to the ground, unkempt and disheveled, drinking a can of beer, several bags next to him. He looked pretty obviously homeless, though you can't know that for sure unless you talk to him. I grabbed one of the guys from the team and went to ask the man if he would like a couple sandwiches, some juice, and a banana.

He cautiously accepted the food, and I asked him his name. Jimmy, he told me. As soon as I got near him I noticed the dog tags around his neck, and I mentioned them to him and thanked him for his service to our country. We talked for a little while, and we were able to give him a Bible and pray for him. I also told him that there are programs specifically for homeless veterans, but that he needed to take the initiative to seek them out; they won't know he's out here unless he tells them.

This was the first time I had met a homeless person at this gas station. Normally all we encounter is a group of day workers, men who wait around for someone to drive by and offer them work for the day. Sometimes there are fewer guys there, sometimes more. When we meet only a handful of them at a given site, we hope that they're gone because they found work.

I stepped away from Jimmy and walked over to where the rest of our group was. As I did, a couple of them were saying something to the driver of a white SUV that had pulled up right in front of us. They offered the man a banana -- the items we bring are for anyone who wants them -- and I heard him ask what we were doing. We told him, and he seemed impressed, saying he thought it was great that we were doing it. He said that he doesn't go to church as much as he should, but identified himself with a church not far from there. Then he grabbed something from inside his vehicle and handed it to me: a folded wad of cash more than an inch thick. He said he wanted to bless us because we were blessing other people. I thanked him earnestly and told him that the money would go right to this, to what we were doing here. He drove off, and I don't remember if we ever got his name.

He had handed us $346 in cash. I don't know what that money was or where it came from, but I know that it will be used to meet the needs of even more people now. I don’t know all what was in that man's heart, but I believe that the Holy Spirit had moved him to do what he did.

Later in the day, at the second gas station where we fed the day workers, a white delivery van pulled up to our group. He called through his window to some of the team members, who spoke to him and then waved to me to come over. Apparently the man had extra bread. He had an order of rolls canceled at the last minute, after he had already made them, so he was driving around to different restaurants and offering the bread. He saw us and offered two good-sized boxes if we wanted them. Since we were near the end of our time, I only took one box. 

Bread from heaven!

We were able to hand out the entire box to the day workers at that gas station, offering basically as much as they wanted. It was a big blessing to be able to offer those guys more, because often we run out of things at the last gas station. Today, we had more than enough.

I told The Spring's youth group that people back home must be praying for them. We've had people donate to us before, people who have seen us around the city and applauded what we were doing (though we know and always say that the glory should go to God), but never have we gotten two out-of-the-blue contributions like these. God is good.

I could talk about the power of prayer, about how God blesses us even when we don't deserve it, about how we simply need to walk in obedience and see where God takes us, about how He will provide in remarkable ways. Instead I will simply praise God from whom all blessings flow.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." -- James 1:17

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." --Ephesians 3:20-1

14 Recommendations for Visiting New York City

This was originally going to be another "Things We Have Learned Since Moving to NYC" post, but I decided to go a different way with it this time. Not only do we have lots of teams coming to the city to serve, we have also had a number of visitors, who either specifically came to see us, or who came to the city with a tour or for business and we meet up with them for lunch or something. We have some recommendations for what to do and not do, to see and not see for all of them.

The Freedom Tower
at twilight

1. Don't bother with Times Square. It's a glorified intersection. Everything is purely for tourists and is wildly overpriced. Native New Yorkers avoid the area like it's got bed bugs. If you've never been to the city before, go ahead and take a look around, but be forewarned.
2. Do see the World Trade Center. You can pay to go up the tower or just walk around the Memorial, which is free. Either way, it is definitely worth it.
3. Don't freak out about taking the subway. You won't get mugged, you won't contract cholera. You might get lost, though, if you don't follow the directions we give you or pay attention to the signs. Always pay attention to the signs.
4. Also concerning the subway: Riding 30 or 45 minutes on the subway is nothing. It's an easy trip. Some people feel bad for us when we say it takes that long to get downtown from our apartment. Really, it's no big deal at all.
5. Be prepared to walk. Possibly quite a lot. Wear good shoes.
6. Be prepared to take stairs. Especially if you take the subway

   

   Kids love the subway

   anywhere. Sometimes to get down to the platform from street level you must descend 4, 5, or 6 flights.
7. When out and about, carry a couple of granola bars with you to give to the homeless or anyone you encounter who asks for money or help. It's an easy way to contribute.
8. If you're driving in, practice your parallel parking beforehand.
9. Don't be shy about asking questions or speaking to people in public. Long gone are the days of "Don't look a New Yorker in the eye." The vast majority of New Yorkers will be happy to help you if they can.
10. Try your best to see something outside of Manhattan. Yes, there are lots of cool things to see and do there, but the outer boroughs (and even way uptown Manhattan) is what we  call "real New York," where most of the people live. Brooklyn is the trendiest, Queens is the most diverse, the Bronx has some major attractions, and Staten Island is also there. (We're partial to the Bronx, of course.)
11. Central Park is a big park. It's got trees and grass. Sure, it's pretty, but at the end of the day, it's just a park. We chuckle a bit when our friends from rural and suburban Pennsylvania want to see Central Park, because where they live is easily as beautiful as anything Central Park can offer.
12. Travel tip: "Uptown" generally means north, "Downtown" generally

    

    Read the signs!

    means south. The Bronx, though is above uptown. Avenues run north/south and numbered streets run east/west (more or less).
13. New York City ain't cheap. Want to see a Broadway show, go to the Statue of Liberty, look out the top of One World Trade Center? All good things. You're looking at $40 per person at least for each one of those things, and very likely a lot more. Fancy restaurant? Hundred bucks, easy. And it all adds up even more quickly if you've got a family.
14. Perhaps above all: Come to terms with the fact that you will not be able to do everything you'd like to do. The city is just too big and too awesome. We've lived here now over a year and a half, and we've barely scratched the surface of what there is to see and do.

The above list contains some best practices. However, if you come visit us and simply must see Times Square and cannot live without strolling through Central Park, then we'll be happy to oblige. People are far more important than sights and landmarks.

Oh, and if you stay with us, there's a good chance you'll be sleeping on the couch. :) 

We Don't Need Your Help

I bunked with Jake Shenk one night.

Jake and the spider he found

Now, Jake has been a missionary for decades, most of his life I think, and has seen it all. He's pastored churches, served as bishop and overseer, mentored countless leaders, literally written the book on Ndebele, the language of western Zimbabwe (and I do mean literally -- his book is even used in universities), managed farms, successfully talked himself out of speeding tickets, spotted wildlife from miles away, and handled spiders as big as his hand with a boyish smile on his face. He reminds me a little bit of Jack Palance in City Slickers.

I had the opportunity to meet Jake and his wife Nancy in September of 2015 on a short-term trip with Priority 1 Ministries serving at Ekuphileni Bible Institute in Mtshabezi, Zimbabwe. At the end of the week, Jake took our group to Hwange National Park because, as he put it, "You can't come to Zimbabwe and not see an elephant." We stayed at the Park one night, and I ended up sharing a room with Jake.

I was pleased with how it all worked out, because I had hoped for an opportunity to chat with Jake and ask him something. Now I had the perfect opportunity. I wanted to hear his opinion on short-term teams in general, and in his setting in particular. Is it actually worth it to bring foreigners like me all the way to Zimbabwe? In financial terms, the cost of plane tickets alone could supply construction materials for multiple church buildings, and could potentially pay the salaries of a dozen national workers. Basically, I asked him, do you actually need short-term teams?

Why did I ask this question? I work in short-term missions. I have studied them formally. So I'm very aware of both their benefits and their drawbacks. Short-term missions have become a rite of passage for teens in churches in North America today, they are so ubiquitous. Any youth leader worth his/her salt will plan at least one missions trip per year, sometimes more. I know how beneficial short-term trips can be, but I also know that they have weaknesses that many churches, organizations, and leaders fail to address. Short-term groups can bring more hassle than help, if they are done poorly. After the goodbyes, thankyous, and return flights, does anyone truly benefit?

He answered quickly. Yes, he said, the groups are worth it. He told me that the Zimbabweans are beyond flattered that these (mostly) Americans would give up their time and money to come to help them out. They are thrilled and encouraged by it.

OK, great. Then, what kind of teams would be most helpful to you and to the church in Zimbabwe? I asked.

Work teams, he said. He told me all about a system they had going for a number of years through which a Zimbabwean congregation would commit to putting up the church building itself, and the denomination would construct the roof, usually by means of a North American missions team. It worked well, he said. Everyone had ownership of the project, and the nationals loved having the teams come. It was mutually beneficial, and Jake would love to get something like that going again.

Hey, if that's what you need, I told him, then we will do our best to make that happen.

In answering my question, though, Jake said something I may never forget:

"We don't need teams to do evangelism. The locals are pretty good at that."

Wow.

I kept thinking about that statement. How humbling. But isn't missions evangelism? Isn't that our ultimate goal in traveling so far, in going through so much preparation, in raising all that money? I kept thinking how inverted it was compared to the US: We've got beautiful buildings full of people who are lousy at evangelism. Not everyone, of course, but that's the general pattern.

Is it possible that the whole thing is backwards?

Perhaps what we need is this: After our American construction team builds that church roof, you send a team from one of those rural Zimbabwean churches to the US, where they can help us with evangelism.

Because we don't need teams to do construction. The locals are pretty good at that.

A Simple Update

[Note: This is the text of an email we sent out to everyone on our list just yesterday. If you got that email, there's nothing new here. If you don't get our emails, why not sign up?]

Hi everyone! We've just about survived our second New York City winter. So far this one hasn't been that bad compared to last year, when it felt as though there was snow on the ground for two straight months. This year we had one record-setting blizzard (27.6 inches officially) and one super cold weekend (wind chills as low as -25 degrees), but other than those brief extremes, it hasn't been terrible. 

But enough about the weather. We've been steadily busy so far in 2016, and we're grateful for that. Ideally, I'd like an average pace of a group every other weekend. There are peak seasons during the year, as well as valleys, and some times are busier than others. Summer is, naturally, our busiest time of year, when youth groups come back to back for 5 or 6 weeks to run Bible Clubs. We usually also have smaller rushes during the spring and fall, though winter can bring groups as well. We have back-to-back groups at the beginning of April, as well, so there's that to look forward to.

Of the groups we've had this year, the most unique was the most recent one. This particular team included 7 kids who were age 10 or younger. Having children on a team is something of a first for Priority 1, and one that we went into carefully. We were hesitant but hopeful. You may have heard us talk in the past about our desire to host groups composed of families with small children. It is too often true that families get to church and immediately disperse, that there is little opportunity for them to worship, learn, and serve together. Even less are the opportunities for families to serve together in missions. Indeed, as we were planning this trip, we kept bonking into closed doors: many ministries and organizations have age requirements that preclude anyone under 16, or 13, from participating, and often for good reason: city or state law sets the limits, and they risk fines if they don't comply. We certainly can't blame them for following the law, but we still had trouble finding things that the whole team of 15 could do together. Why is this so hard?

We tried a nursing home at a nearby hospital, but they declined us because they couldn't guarantee we'd all been vaccinated against the flu. Many of our normal partner ministries have age requirements because volunteers handle food. Ultimately, we had the team do a prayer walk downtown (during the coldest day of the year -- that's a whole story unto itself), had them visit a nearby private nursing facility, and worked at the World Vision Storehouse, whose staff are also open to the possibility of having more groups with children volunteer. And because there were kids on the team we had to have more for them to do during the "down time." Because it was Valentine's weekend, we had them make a bunch of Valentines for the residents of the nursing home, as well as learn a song in Spanish they could sing for the them.

They were troopers, and we are thankful for them. It was great to see kids and parents doing things together, side by side. We're still looking for service opportunities. In fact, we always keep our eyes open for new possibilities, new partners, new fields. 

Speaking of which, tomorrow night I (Greg) will help a gentleman from Manhattan Bible Church to register students for an English class he offers for free twice a week. Before we even moved to the city, we wondered if we would end up teaching English in some capacity. Of course, this is simply the beginning, but God has opened doors for this, and we're hopeful about where it could go.

Thanks for reading this far. We continue to ask for your prayers and your support, both of which are necessary for us to keep doing what we're doing.