My alarm went off at 5am and to my disappointment, I was not at all feeling any better, but worse. I called my trip leader and we decided it was best that I stay in and rest. I was crying. I just spent the last 5 months preparing for this trip and here I am on what is supposed to be my first day serving in NYC and I was horribly sick, not able to go and help the needy. I was truly heartbroken. My awesome roommate, Tracie, seen how upset I was and prayed over me. I was so grateful to have such a caring roommate who has been putting up with all my coughing and sickness and didn't complain one bit about having to share a very small room with a sick gal like me. I also had my daily card from Scott to read with a personal message from him. That encouraging card and message from home also helped brighten up my spirits some :) So I spent the day in my room resting and sleeping.
Speaking of our hotel...we stayed at the Seafarers & International House in Union Square. It is a residence for seafarers and international personnel, church-related staff, and other visitors. Our rooms were the size of a small college dorm. We had a small sink and mirror in our room, and there were 2 showers and 2 toilets that the floor shared. Most rooms were meant for 1 bed, but ours also had a cot for the 2nd person to sleep on.
By late afternoon, my roommate Tracie was back from serving with the team for the day. Herself and our trip leader Alex talked me into getting some fresh air for a bit before dinner. So we hung out in Union Square for a bit and I did some people-watching. My team then went to a Small Group meeting at Dave & Michelle's house. Dave and Michelle were part of the original group of folks who moved out to NYC with Craig Mayes to help start up Communitas in NYC. Can you imagine leaving everything you've ever known...the town you live in, your friends/family, your job, your comfort zone...to move to a state you've never lived in to start a new life all because of a calling from God? These people define the meaning of being a follower of Jesus! Anyway, we read and discussed part of Chapter 3 from "Secrets of the Secret Place" by Bob Sorge. We heard amazing testimonials from the local small group members about the power of listening to God and obeying His call. It was a very touching and emotional evening.
Afterwards, we met up with the rest of the team at our hotel for a team debrief of the days events (our group was split into 2 teams all week). I know this is selfish, but I'm just being honest...For a few moments, it was kind of hard to listen to others share their experiences, knowing that I had missed out on experiencing it myself, but I was so glad to hear my team have such a rewarding first day of serving. I quickly got over it and shared in their excitement! The other team worked at a soup kitchen and a senior senior. They shared some good stories about connecting with some of the seniors. My team was headed there on Tuesday, so I was looking forward to the opportunity! My team had visited St. Paul's House where they prepared and served breakfast to the homeless and they also did "Meals on Heals" as they call it in NYC because you deliver meals by foot rather than car! Also during our debriefing, we had a "Paper Plate Award Ceremony". My leader passed out a bunch of paper plates, and we were to make-up and write an award for anyone on the team for anything they had done...whether it was something rewarding or something funny. Even though I was out sick and missed the day of serving, I had received a few awards like "Super Trooper", "Cherry Cough Drop Award", and "Most Likely to Die without me knowing award". The last one was from my leader Alex because for as horrible I had been feeling since our arrival in NYC, I had not complained one bit about being sick...I mean how could I...I knew I had a bed to sleep in, food to eat, medicine to help me, and so much more than the people we were serving did not have. So what that I'm sick, I have so much to be thankful for.
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