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.