God Has Blessed NYC

This week, the college ministry I'm involved in went to New York City for Spring Break.  Throughout the week, we traveled around the city in our assigned groups, participating in a prayer tour and serving across the city.  Even though it's only halfway over, I lost my pen and was inspired to make my journal entry for today a blog post.  I've learned a few things that I feel are extremely life changing when it comes to living a missional lifestyle. Now, I don't know about you, but for me, every time I heard someone tell me to live missionally (before this trip), I had the hardest time with it.  I have a really hard time talking to people anyway, so being around people all day and having to converse intentionally was extremely overwhelming.  But here's what I learned, mostly from the staff here guiding our trip: God is already in New York.  He's everywhere.  So if I just stay in His presence at all times and act as His hands and feet in whatever situation I'm in, it doesn't matter if I forget to say something I feel is necessary or am afraid to ride the subway (which I was, but after 30 times, the fear really does have to subside). He's going to accomplish what He has planned regardless of us.  We are simply here with an important job: to serve as loving messengers of His truth.  Another thing I've learned is from Jeremiah 29, which my group leader recommended.  Basically, it's a letter to exiles, encouraging them to stay in the city they have been exiled to and live, love, and help the city flourish.  Eventually they will return home, but they must stay where they are and follow God devoutly.  Now, what I got from this passage really connects to a verse I read the other day. I have it mostly memorized, so I'll just type what I remember, but it's in Psalms if you want to find it.  Anyway, it essentially encourages believers to stay strong and courageous and keep their hope in the Lord.  It's one of the first verses I've ever memorized, and it's really kept me strong through the crazy amounts of walking and new experiences I've had this week. It connects to the other verse because in a way, all of us on this trip have been exiled from our home, where it's comfortable and safe, to a city that's new and different.  In fact, it's so different that one of the staff here said it's like the international mission trip you don't have to go out of the country for.  Anyway, while we're here, we have to serve with love and pour into the city.  We must help it to flourish, because the future of our brothers and sisters in Heaven depends on it. Soon, we will get to return home, but we must be strong and courageous while we aren't there.  That's what I've grown to understand while I'm here.  So, to live missionally is to humbly be God's hands and feet wherever He has us and to be strong and courageous.  Even when we are just grabbing a coffee on campus.