City Touring

We toured the city the last two days by bus. Lots of fun - we saw a lot of things that we hadn't seen on our previous two visits. Despite a bad forecast the weather was beautiful and several of the team got sunburnt sitting upstairs on the open-top double decker. 

Central Park is a haven from the noise of the city! 
The Bethesda Fountain, situated beside a lake in Central Park, was stunning. 
The bridges in the city are a site to behold. 
We took the Staten Island Ferry, a free 30 minute boat ride, which gave amazing views of the city. 

The team getting blown away on the boat!!

Some highlights were: 

-seeing Harlem for the first time. We drove past the Apollo Theatre where the Jackson Five debuted. Today, being the day after Michael's death, there was a very large crowd gathered to pay tribute to him.

-being able to see Union Theological seminary, home to the most liberal theology in Protestanism today. It is also home to Riverside Church where Hilary Clinton attends when in town.

-seeing the mosque set up by Muhammad Ali and a place which he frequents to this day for prayer.

-seeing many outwardly homosexual people on the streets. This is Gay Pride week which culminates in the Gay Pride Parade on Sunday of all days. 

We say these were highlights for the simple reason that they all serve as a timely reminder that whilst the city is beautiful beyond words, there abounds much sin and darkness. God has blessed the city and this country in days gone by, but actions played out on these streets today fly in the face of His blessings, mercy and grace. May we never forget that the fields are white unto harvest and that we, as God's people, need to take the stand that is much needed in these days and be pro-active in doing our part to fulfill His great Commission.  

Street Preaching

Today we really got stuck into a day full of ministry. In the morning we went seeking recruits for VBS at Faith Baptist Church. Then it was back to the church for lunch after which we were joined by a group from Baptist College of Ministry. They are travelling all over the North Eastern States singing together.

After getting acquainted with each other we headed over to an area in Queens called Richmond Hills. This is an area which is predominately Muslim and Hindu. It was a really good experience and the Lord blessed as several thousand people passed the venue for the open air - there were 3 major bus stops and the end of a subway line located right beside our chosen venue.

The weather stayed pretty good apart from one 15 min shower. We prayed hard during this time as to hold the open air with PA equipment we had purchased a $45 permit. God answered and we were able to continue with the meeting which lasted almost two hours in total.

Praise the Lord that we can testify of one soul coming to trust the Lord as his Savior. Please pray that he will join himself with a local church and continue to grow in the Lord.

Tomorrow we head off on our 2 day sight-seeing trip in Manhattan and the surrounding areas. After a week of orientation it will be a welcome relief. Being the only major sight-seeing days planned for the summer we look forward to 2 days of a relaxed mood and good 'craic' as we say at home. Pray for us that the weather will stay good and the Lord will prepare both our hearts to minister for Him in Yonkers as we head there first thing on Saturday morning.

Jonny street preaching

The NYSET team with the group from Baptist College of Ministry

Art Work Training

Today we have been training in street art. We will use this to gather crowds during street meetings as well as teach the story to children during meetings in the park etc. The men also had the opportunity to street preach which was a blessing. Below are some pictures of the team attempting the art work.


Jessica and the story of blind Bartimaeus.

Yesterday evening we visited the World Fair Park in Queens. Here we saw a large globe constructed to celebrate the event as well as the stadium which is the venue for the US Open (Tennis). Below are some pictures of the park as well as team pictures.

From Left to Right: Mr and Mrs Lowery, Jimmy Noreau (Crown College), Jonny Ormerod, Paul Hudson (BJU) and Mr and Mrs Dan Klaus ( Assistant Director of NYSET)

From left to right: Jessica Ormerod, Jessica Lane (Crown College), Rachel Moline (Northland Baptist College), Mrs Lowery and Maggie Klaus.

The Venue for the US Open (Tennis)

Yesterday was our first Sunday in NYC and we spent it worshipping at Faith Baptist Church in Corona, Queens which is our base for this first week of orientation. The church here is multi-national as well as having services for Spanish and Bangledeshi speaking people. Pastor Sawyer is the pastor here and the church is filled with many friendly and welcoming people. During the service each team member shared a word of testimony and the group sang together for the first time! We really enjoyed our time here and we thank the Lord for His blessings.

Getting to the Big Apple

We set out at 4.30am on Thursday 18th June and arrived in New York around 6pm.The weather was excellent until we got about 60 miles outside of the city and very heavy rain came on. Jonny however managed to plough through and we arrived safely. We entertained ourselves along the way by seeing how many licence plates we could see from different states. We only covered 37! Our partner for the journey, Jessica Lane, was able to list all of the states for us so it was a learning experience. We settled in quickly to our first 'home' for the summer, Faith Baptist Church, Corona, Queens and look forward to commencing ministry here.