Pre Field Training

Dear Friends,

In order to help you pray for us during our stay in New York City Tricia and I will keep a daily journal of our adventures.  


The purpose of MTW's Pre-field Training is to help prepare us for the real changes in culture we'll surely experience as we immerse ourselves into our new country (Mexico).  In addition to this, as American's with American views of business, politics, religion, family, and so many other things, we have to be careful not to confuse American with Biblical.  In light of this, some of our preconceived ideas about foreign culture and ministry are the result of prejudice and need to be challenged and changed for the glory of Christ and His kingdom.  


So please pray that during this time the Holy Spirit would be faithful to expose these prejudices and would completely, though mercifully rid them from us.


I hope you'll check here regularly to find out how things are going. Please also remember our children.  Amber and Jacob are required to participate in PFT as well and it should expose some issues in their hearts as well.  Also pray for Hannah

Jul 4, 2008 11:53 PM

July 12

Times Square at Night

l-times-square-at-night

Apple Store on 5th Ave

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The store is actually below ground.  The glass structure is only the entrance.

It's Saturday morning, and I feel like I've been in a blender for two weeks.  We spent the past week developing language acquisition skills (PILAT).  The material is excellent. Although to watch from a distance you'd think we were learning to speak to babies.  We sounded like the old Police tune,  do,do,do,dah,dah,dah.  Tricia keeps reminding me to "Keep *  the * Coca * Cola * in the * Cold * Can."  It's been great fun. However, to go from 8:30 in the morning till 5:30 in the afternoon really wears you out.  Add to that the fact that we're are working several days a week in our assigned church plants around the city, along with the additional requirements to journal, do cultural interviews and ethnographic observations weekly.  There's hardly time to relax.


But last night the four of us hoped on the R to Times Square.  Wonder is the best word I can use to describe my being when we popped out of the subway station on Broadway in the middle of Times Square.  There were throngs of people everywhere, going in every direction.  Giant LED billboards mounted to the facades of every building, glistening in brilliant hues of cherry red, cobalt blue and emerald green.  The cacophony of sounds; of cabs honking their horns and of the sirens from ambulances. It really is very, very cool! 


The kids wanted to get a few t-shirts, so we stopped at the MTV store.  Not my favorite, but the shirts they selected were in good taste.   We then headed east toward 5th Ave. and stopped at a pizza joint for some refueling.  After that, we headed up 5th toward the famous glass Apple store (see photo of the store above).  As we were approaching the store, there again were throngs of people around the entrance .  It wasn't to be this night.  The new 3G iphone debuted Friday, and there were thousands of people waiting in line to get in.  We'll have to return another day.  


A brisk hike back to the R and in less than a half an hour we were back in Astoria.  Back home.  I fixed the Choralier website for my friend Jay Forrest.  And then, quite tired from the days activities, fell asleep. 


We'll be working on team building this coming week.  Continue to pray that God will expose the hardness and idolatry in our hearts, but be gracious and merciful to us as He does so.


In Christ,

Michael

Jul 12, 2008 10:47 AM

Alan the Painter

We met a really neat guy today, Alan.  Friday was a day off from PFT as it is for the next two minutes Independence Day.  Everyone involved in PFT was invited down to Central Park for a Lunch Picnic.  The Sandwiches (catered) were excellent.  So we hopped on the R to Manhattan and switched over to the #6 heading north at Lexington Ave.  A couple blocks from the Subway and presto, we're in front of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA).  The MOMA is on the east side of Central Park right at 81 St.  So, as we're heading into the park, all the art vendors are lined up outside the art museum peddling their wares.  As we walk by this one guy (Alan) he hands Amber (our artist) a post card.  So I stopped and asked, "How'd he know she was the artist."  He didn't of course, but that allowed us to strike up a conversation.


Wow! I feel so sheltered.  Alan is Albanian and has lived in NYC since he was 19 y.o.  I asked how it was that he came to NY.  He told me that when he was 19 he escaped from communist Albania.  He had traveled to the border and then late one night snuck upto the border fence and cut through the fence to get into Yugoslovia.  He was accepted as a political refugee and moved to the US.  He's been here ever since.


He wanted to know where we were from and what were we doing in NYC.  I told him that I'm the Assoc. Pastor at BPC and a missionary to Mexico.  He said that back in Albania that he hadn't attended church.  That Christianity, as well as Islam was against the law.  Further, he explained that at that time the communist either occupied or destroyed are the religious buildings in Albania.  So he didn't know a lot about those kind of things.  However, he did attend St. James Church down on 71 St.  And he did believe in Jesus.  He added that he'd been attending SJ for less than four years.  But what was so amazing is that he instantly invited me and the family to worship.  


There is nothing quite like our mystical union with Christ which unites all believers everywhere, the true catholic church.  This young Christian but middle-aged man from Albania blessed me in such a tremendous way today.  I forgot to mention that personally, he was quite meek.  But that didn't prevent him from inviting us to his church.  What boldness.  


Pray the all of us would have that kind of humble boldness.


In Christ,

Michael


Jul 4, 2008 11:57 PM

The Serbian Boys

Dear Friends,


On Weds. night we had the opportunity to sit and talk with two young men from Serbia.  Amber and I were sitting out on the steps of our Apt when this young man went into our bldg.  We exchanged niceties as he passed.  He came back out a few minutes later, and I used this as an opportunity to introduce myself and Amber.  His name is Mirza.  I asked where he was from.  And he replied that he was from Serbia.  I found out that he is university student in Serbia studying Sports Management, and that he would like to manage a football team (soccer).  A few minutes later another young man came up.  I have to confess that I never quite got his name.  I believe I said it one time accurately because he seemed impressed that I had said it.  But alas I just cannot recall it at the moment.  

We sat there on those steps on a beautifully cool Summer evening talking about all kinds of things.  The second young man, I’ll call him Lemonious or Lem for short was very fascinating.  His father owns a grocery supply business in Belgrade and when he completes his studies in Finance, he plans to take over the business.  Another very interesting thing about Lem is that he know quite a bit about every US President. We laughed quite a lot as we asked him question after question.  He didn’t miss one!  Adams, Mckinley, Cleveland, Truman, Nixon it was amazing.  Oh, and by the way… He was wearing a “Vote for Obama” t-shirt.  Of course I couldn’t resist.  So we began talking presidential politics.  He was very well informed; not only about the two current candidates, but the entire process.  A very impressive young man.

Mirza on the otherhand seemed more about wanting to have a good time, and he winked at my daughter Amber quite a few times.  Although she said he was cute, she wasn’t impressed with an older guy hitting on a teenager.

We’ll we were sitting there waiting for our pizza.  The delivery guy had come and gone and the pizza was getting cold.  So we bid farewell.  I did offer to have a beer with them at some point and they seemed genuinely interested.  I’m sure we’ll see them again.  I’ll keep you posted.

In Christ,

Michael L.

Jul 4, 2008 11:54 PM
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