Half Way

I apologize for not writing on this very much. City life and public transportation have started to take their toll on me! Throughout this past month, we have met so many new people and continued on with our summer ministries.

We were getting such a positive response from the prayer station that we decided to add another block of time there each week! On Wednesday and Friday afternoons, we set up near a major intersection in the Bronx and offer prayer to that community. Some days, more than fifteen people have stopped to write down their prayers and talk to us about God. Again, I thought I wouldn't like this type of ministry very much, but I love it! People here are so open about their faith, and also about the issues that they face daily....

Bobby, Margie, Kim, and Maria have expressed an interest in Bronx Fellowship. They met us at the prayer station sometime within this past month, each expressing that they needed a Christian community and wanted to pursue a new relationship with Christ. In this, I'm learning the kind of tough part about ministry. Times when you think a person will follow through and continue to show interest in the church, and then does not. It's tough to know when to stop trying to contact them, and when to keep trying. Please be in prayer for the people that we meet each week through this ministry, especially the four listed above.

Last week, I started meeting with several women for Conversational English. We meet one on one each week to study simple phrases and passages from the bible to help develop their english skills, as well as learn a little about God and his application in our lives. (We are using the Friendspeak curriculum, which is a form of the Let's Start Talking material.) I meet with Zenida and Basilisa on Wednesdays, and Olga on Friday mornings. These women have been so gracious to invite me into their homes and let me meet their families. We also are thinking of adding an hour onto each lesson to focus on practicing english with their children.... School just ended and several of the kids won't be able to practice english for the entire summer! Hopefully we can get that started soon as well.

I've learned a lot from house church thus far. I've learned that even though it is a much smaller body than I'm used to, they still face the struggles and hardships of other types of churches, as well as experiencing positive times. My house church meets on Sunday mornings in the apartment I'm living for the summer. We discuss the scriptures together, have time of singing and worship and prayer, share communion, and then eat lunch together. It's been a great experience so far.

I have enjoyed hanging out with the teens through wednesday night bible study at my house and the "Call to Arms" (CTA) devotional time at Melissa's house (another church member). It's been interesting for me to notice the different styles of communication here in the Bronx. Be in prayer for the CTA ministry being lead by George, Melissa's younger brother who is also a Bronx Fellowship member. Teens have been less consist with this ministry which is discouraging for him.

I am very excited to say that my parents and Heath's family will be here in less than one week!! I'm glad to show them around the Bronx and let them meet the people we're interacting with all summer. And it's also wonderful because our families never get to see each other since we live in Tennessee, and they live in Texas! Good times.

I'll try to post pictures as soon as I can figure out how. (We were able to go to Brooklyn last night to watch the fireworks. Our view overlooked the NYC skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge! yes, it was amazing.) In the mean time, if you want to look at Heath's blog to gain another perspective of the summer, his website is heathnewton.blogspot.com.

Again, sorry for the delay in posts.... I will do much better for the rest of the summer. Smile! Pray for us.

Katie Claire