Bright lights, big city, it’s gotta be New York City!  The RAD Team spent a total of three days in the Bronx following the Lord’s call.  Rob managed to squeeze our 35-foot RV into the tiny driveway of NYCUP, New York City Urban Plunge.  NYCUP is a mission’s house for teams wishing to get involved in missions in NYC.  Harve, Robin, and daughter Rachel (founders of NYCUP) helped us feel right at home by inviting us to the events at the house and helping us find our way around one of the most densely populated areas of New York City. 

We spent our first day site seeing and meeting up with one of Kara’s family friends, Brock.  Brock blessed out team immensely.  He first took us to the Rockefeller Center; one of the tallest towers in the city.  After a lunch in the mammoth sized building, Brock bought us tickets to the top of the Rock.  The view from the skyscraper was incredible.  We could see all the way to the Statue of Liberty!  After walking around other parts of the skyscraper, we decided to tour other hot spots in the city.  Ground Zero was next on the list followed by Time Square and China Town.  The sites were all amazing and I was so glad I got to the opportunity to experience them. 

Day two was dedicated to ministry, but the morning started off a bit rocky.  Both Justin and I were feeling a bit down and unprepared to minister from a tormented spirit.  Rob made the executive decision to send Kara and Paul out to minister and keep Justin and I back for a bit of “Rob-Time.”  Rob is incredibly wise and helped me to work through feelings of inadequacy, doubt, self-condemnation, and “head-over-heart” dilemmas.  It was a very rejuvenating time for me as I felt the power of the Father help me to break a painful cycle that was hardly recognizable to me. 

By day three, the weather began to take a turn.  Our clear skies became filled with clouds as the temperature dropped with each passing minute.  As Paul, Kara, and I walked down 170th street in the Bronx, a man Paul had met and helped the day before stopped us.  Mike kindly pointed out that we were the only white people walking around the area (as if we hadn’t noticed).  The Lord guided the conversation and allowed us to pray for Mike, who had recently had a death in his family.  Mike invited us to stop by his apartment if we needed anything at all. 

After a rather chilly lunch in the park, Paul, Kara, and I headed back to the RV to pray about what the Lord would have us do on this blustery day.  We all felt a small voice telling us to go visit Mike.  So we did.  Feeling a bit skeptical and silly, we rang the buzzer of apartment 4B.  A very busy Mike answered the door.  We explained we were there to help with whatever needed to be done.  A bit skeptical, the man asked what it would cost him.  He couldn’t believe God would send us to him without expecting something in return.  Soon enough, however, we were moving furniture and clothing from the apartment of Mike’s deceased brother to the basement for storage.  In the hours we spent with Mike and the complex superintendent, Santos, our small group was able to be “Jesus with skin on” and a rare light in a dark city.  That little light shone brighter than time square at night, and will last longer too…