The Day it All Blew Up!

Yup, it official hit the fan today. Yesterday was a rousing success as we had extra help painting, which allowed us to put more people outside to clear the future garden. 3 feet deep of wet dirt and gravel spread over 100+ square feet is a lot of work… a lot of back-breaking work. However, 2 days in and a crew of hardworking kids left us a bit deflated with a number of question marks as the day closed.

That is when a bomb fell on Mt. Vernon Alliance Church. First thing in the morning, the old, overfilled dumpster was hauled away and replaced by a fresh dumpster ready to be filled with all matter of brush and rock and dirt. Again we had a number of adults from Bedford come down, including the Esselborn’s and Claudia (who single-handedly turned the filthiest looking fridge you have ever seen into a more than suitable storage facility of refrigerated goods).

Also, Kirsten called in a favor with her old man who owns a construction company. Around 11 in rolled a fleet of vans, a back hoe and a dump truck to haul it all away. It truly changed the face of what we expected to do this week.

In a matter of a couple hours the dirt and gravel that would have taken us the rest of the week, and the rest of our backs, to clear was gone and hauled away. Leaving us with just enough gravel to lay a base for the garden. It was absolutely tremendous watching the machinery and men roll in and take care of business like they did this afternoon. God is BIG! With all that cleared we could continue right on sifting gravel to lay and turn more attention to the chaos of painting ensuing inside. Harold Bruschi brought down his painting expertise and in a few hours, expertly trimmed walls and ceiling, allowing us to completely finish 2 different areas of painting as well as start on the floor.

Another crew of men, assisted by Mr. Esselborn, installed carpet in one of the rooms downstairs.

Orlando officially declared it suitable for a child, quite the milestone for a church that 2 days ago didn’t have a room suitable for children, quite the obstacle for a church looking to bring in more families. Throughout the day a host of women came and occupied the kitchen, fixing a mouth-watering, stomach satisfying dinner of homemade meatball sandwiches.

While it certainly wasn’t all smooth and calculated (is it ever really), it was truly humbling and just mind-blowing to watch a bomb drop on a church and literally transform not just a day or a week but and entire church in a day’s time. Finally, as we wore into the afternoon we changed pace a bit and headed off to Hartley park (about .5 mile away) where about 20 of us descended armed with trash bags and gloves to clean up the garbage that so prominently dotted the landscape. After only a couple short hours and maybe 7 full trash bags, the park was far more suitable for the people and families that inhabit it during than the day. We wrapped up the day with the food that had tantalized us all day and then a prayer service held here this evening.

That is where, despite some resistance on my part, God dropped a bomb and me. He really just knocked me over as he dropped the perspective of a few hard days work can have on the hope and plan for a church and city in such dire straights. He overall reminded me that this is where I’m supposed to be and what I’m supposed to be doing. He reminded me that while I’m so lost and weak on my own, that He has such great and prosperous plans for me; He is in control and He will bring about far more in me and through me than I could even imagine. Filled with both the humbleness of God’s great goodness and the impact a handful (or 2) of kids and some adults can have on a church and community. While this week may be starting to run short, it is not without great impact and significance for both us and this community. This week (thus far) has truly been a demonstration of the power of prayer, hope and vision for a people, a church and a community. So here’s to praying for more bombs.

-Eric Urschel

rain rain go away…and sleep please come instead!

Our trip is half way completed and we have already exceeded all expectations.  the projects the church gave us to do (and hoped we would finish by the end of the week) were completed by Tuesday thanks to our hard-working team of students and individuals from BCC.  We are now moving on to new projects that church has a vision for.

We will show pictures of the completed works hopefully during our mission service weekend.

Each afternoon we break from manual work to go into the streets and local parks and bless the community.  We will be feeding parking meters with hand-made signs saying “Time extended by Mount Vernon Alliance Church”  We will also be running kids clubs in a local park by the projects and doing two park clean ups with signs reading “Trash Picked up by your friends at Mount Vernon Alliance Church”. We are expecting over 30 large trash bags to be filled.

We will also be finishing up removing 3-4 yards of gravel (by hand!) and getting new dirt delivered for the urban garden project.

Of course all of this potential ministry and service depends on the weather.

I have been completed amazed at how hard and efficient our teams are working all week.  Unlike previous trips, we do not have project supervisors or crew bosses showing us what or how to do these projects.  It is all on us.  This is very much a self-starter type of trip and our teens are taking full ownership and responsibility and do an amazing job.

We have also been blessed by the number of BCC members coming down each day to help with the work.  We would not have accomplished this much thus far without their helping hands.

Please pray for strength and endurance.  This has been one of the most physically intensive trips we have done and our teems (and their youth pastor) are extremely fatigued.  Even with trying to get to bed early (which for teens means sometime before 1am) we have early mornings at 7:30 am and start working right at 9 with minimum breaks.    Our students are so motivated to go above all expectations and really bless this church it inspires me.

Thanks again for all your support and prayers.  I hope to write once more as a final recap towards the end of the week.

Dan Haugh

Pastor of Student Ministries

Great Start

We have been here in Mount Vernon half a day and it feels so much longer. We have already participated in two sets of ministry activities, one set inside the church building with 4 teams working at different assignments and the next in two neighboring parks. We separated into groups to go these parks, giving away free water bottles, playing sports and inviting middle and high schoolers to tomorrow’s teen club. Members of my group played soccer and basketball with neighborhood kids. Others went through the neighborhood, distributing free water bottles while passing invitations to teen club.

We are grateful for the Esselborns who drove down here to prepare a delicious dinner for us. We hope for a restful night’s sleep despite the heat and will worship with our new friends and family tomorrow.

Ralph Adrien (Youth Leader)

Fresh perspective from Haiti

David Stradling      Hillside Church

Being in a third-world country provides a fresh perspective on life.  It gives a completely new view on what really matters and how it is that life is meant to be lived out.   Although I had previously been in Haiti, there was something different for me during this trip.  Maybe it was the fact that I hadn’t witnessed poverty first-hand for a few years, or maybe it was the relationships I formed with people this time around; but no matter what, I walked away from that week a different person.  The biggest takeaways for me that one week in January were:

• I need to be involved in the lives of the poor on a regular basis. Seriously – it had been way too long since I had gotten my hands dirty and stepped into the world of those who have far less than me.  Living in comfort makes me indifferent to the plight of the poor, unappreciative of what I do have, and always wanting more.
• Community trumps programs. We had church in Haiti every night, but it wasn’t the type of church service you would expect.  Sharing dinner with over 40 people a night brought many laughs, great conversations, and a sense of community that I rarely experience.  I believe that’s what the church is meant to look like – not a bunch of programs put together, but the reality of sharing life together. And if you’ve never experienced a birthday celebration in Haiti, you’re totally missing out.
• VISION!  VISION!  VISION! Just about every day, I would stand in the back of our truck for the ride home and talk with some good friends about vision.  The vision for their life, for my life, for our future in Haiti.  AND IT WAS AWESOME! Those are the conversations I need to be having all the time.  It excites, challenges, and encourages me.
• ADOPT. Yes, that’s right adopt.  I fell in love with this little girl at the orphanage, and if it wasn’t for a little thing called a passport, I would have thrown her in my bag and taken her home (I don’t plan on being the next American missionary caught smuggling kids over the border).  I think as Christians, we need to do a better job taking care of the orphans.  Whether it’s physically adopting orphans into your home, or supporting orphanages where children can receive real love and attention, the church needs to STEP IT UP.  One day, I hope to have one or two orphans running around my home with big smiles on their faces, having been given a fresh start on life.  Hey, it’s what Jesus did for us.

What is going on at Outlet (Middle School).

Hello all, my name is Pelly I am Dan’s intern, and for the past 3 years I have been working with the High School (Fusion).  But recently I am going to graduate from Nyack in December with a youth ministry degree, and unfortunately I needed to take a class this semester in order to graduate, which i was then unable to keep going to Fusion.  I miss the high schoolers so much, and from the bottom of my heart (if any of you are reading this) i love you all.

On the flip side, because i was unable to attend and help out with Fusion, this opened the door to Outlet.  Dan has asked me to take charge of the Outlet Youth Ministry, and i gladly accepted.  It only took one night to realize that i was going to love this semester, with the middle schoolers.  There is something about running the Outlet youth ministry that i cant explain, but i love.  These kids really know how to have fun.  I look forward to Thursday nights, because it is the one time a week, that i have no worriers, and i can just be myself.  And if any of you know me “myself” likes to have fun, and be a goof ball.  But also on the other side, Outlet really knows how to get serious, and listen.  It’s one of my greatest joys, to see kids wheels turn in their brains, when i say something about the bible, or Jesus. Thats what i see with these kids, i see a group of kids, who just want to learn.  Thats what i love.

I really look forward to the rest of the semester, i have really gotten the sense to go through the basics  with this group through the semester.  So far it has been awesome.  The week before last week, we talked about prayer, and we broke it down, and really saw that prayer, is thanking God, asking for what we need, asking for forgiveness, and praying for protection.  But i really wanted to kids to understand, that prayer first and for most, is not for ourselves.  The week after prayer we talked about Samson, and we talked about our relationship with God, and if we want the great things God has, we need to have a relationship with Him.  This up and coming week we will look at our language, and my question is from when Jesus said; “for the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.”  So my question is if Jesus lives in our hearts, why are our mouths so dirty?  With language, and gossip, it will be interesting to hear what the students will say.

BCC Youth Group

Young Life visit

Tonight 3 adult leaders and 6 student leaders from John Jay High School visited a Young Life Club in Ridgefield, CT.

Young Life \”Club\”- Ridgefield, CT

We were expecting to see a large group of students, but when we arrived we were shocked by the huge crowd that had already gathered, waiting for the doors to open.  When the doors finally opened, the students poured into a room that could barely contain everyone.  There was no mistaking the excitement and enthusiasm in the students, despite this being the first meeting of the year.  Loud pop music played as everyone found a seat on the floor.  Then the band began playing and singing popular songs by The All American Rejects, Journey, Neil Diamond, etc and the students sang along without hesitation.

In between songs, the leaders called several teens forward and played a variation of musical chairs called, “Girls Fight For Guys.”  When Tim got up to speak, he made it very clear that everyone was welcome, you didn’t have to be a member or a certain type of person to come to Young Life.  Then he shared from his own experience a little bit of what God is not, and of what God is.  After the meeting, the students crammed into their cars and drove down the street to a diner called Dimitri’s to hang out some more.  

So what can we learn from Young Life’s ministry?

As I mentioned, there was definitely great excitement among the students.  They were obviously very comfortable in the environment.  Young Life certainly seems to understand how to make the unchurched or “nonChristian” students feel like they belong.  The music, the games, and the language used was familiar to the students.  It was fun and upbeat, and the message was basic enough for anyone to understand.

As I attempt to relate to and influence students in our youth group who may or may not attend church, I can definitely take some tips from this experience that will help me to do that better.

~~Alyssa Glick- Director of Children’s Ministry and volunteer Middle school youth leader.

Here is another perspective from one of our youth leaders:

On Tuesday night, we visited the Ridgefield, CT chapter of Club Young Life for High Schoolers.  A similar program is being contemplated for implementation in Westchester County with Katonah-Lewisboro (John Jay) being the first targeted school district. I was amazed to see the excitement of all these teenagers arriving at the site.  The clubbers start arriving at 7:45 and have some time to hangout.  The hour long event starts at 8.  This was their first club meet for the new school year.  Therefore, I do not know if it was a typical day or if things change as the school year progresses.

Here are some of my observations:

*They started the meeting with songs, but all songs were secular songs, kinda classic, hand ‘clappable,’ decently ‘lyricized,’ ‘kareokeable,’ band or solo artists hits.

*They seem to be well staffed with very energetic leaders

*They know their kids by name, as demonstrated during their game/skit time.

*The lesson was delivered with acknowledgement of the fact that the audience includes a wide-spectrum of kids from earnest searcher to indifferent unbelievers, to blatant agnostic.

*At no time, the audience acceptance of God was taken for granted.  Nonetheless, I feel that the “God of the Bible” was presented to them clearly, with clear reference from the Bible and with no compromise.

*This ministry seems to be a ministry of relationship, patient seed planting and perfect reliance on God’s providence and the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of these materially privileged and otherwise under evangelized demographic segment.

~~Ralph Adrien, middle school youth leader

For more info about Young Life in Fairfield County contact Tim Vickers at 417-4186 or ylridgefield@aol.com

To learn more about Young Life, click on the link below

Young Life