December 29 & 30, 2001 Sermon

December 29 & 30, 2001

"By Another Road"

Andy Hein
(Youth Sharing
N.Y. Missions
Experiences)

Matthew 2:12
12: And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Kim: In a moment we are going to hear from the teens in our congregation that went to New York City and hear about their adventures. Annie Wainscott is sitting next to me and she is one of the teens who traveled to NYC three weeks ago challenged by Andy and the other adults to "face your own ground zero and ask how the Light that came at Christmas could shine through you." Annie, I know that one of your gifts was to connect to people in amazing ways one-on-one throughout the trip. I heard that there was one particular experience that you could share with us that was particularly life-changing for you.
Annie: Let me set the backdrop for you. Within the first hour that we were actually driving in the bus to NYC, I had my first challenge. It was from Andy. He shared an opportunity that he had missed when he was younger to minister to a person that God had ordained. It was like a divine appointment and he missed it. He shared the pain that accompanied it, and I knew from that moment I didn't want the same thing to happen on this trip. That was a focus for me. If God told me to do something, I was going to follow. When we arrived the next morning, we went out to a park and we were going to serve the homeless. When we got to the line there was really nothing for me to do. Everything had been taken care of. I was just feeling like 'lets get used to the culture a little.' As I was walking through the park there was the cutest old guy sitting on a bench. I went to Andy and said, "That is the cutest old man I have ever seen." Andy said, "I'll bet he'll talk to you." So I went over to talk to him and we were just chatting. It was really fun, like he was my grandpa. About a minute into the conversation he shared with me that he had AIDS. That was a personal ground zero for me. It's different. You hear about AIDS but then when you meet someone with AIDS, wow, that's a person. It was so emotional. I had actually been on an emotional low on the way to New York - I couldn't feel things. Then we got there and I met this man. I was so blown away by him. As I was told I had to leave, I didn't want to miss an opportunity again, so I asked the man if I could pray with him. He said okay and as we prayed for him I just started crying my eyes out. It was horrible. I was so upset and didn't want to leave him. I couldn't imagine that this man would be leaving the world soon. We finished praying and I gave him a hug and told him I loved him and he said, "I love you, too. No one's cried for me in 20 years because I've had AIDS for so long." I wanted to go to New York and I wanted it to be different when I came back. I knew at that moment and my very first experience there, it wouldn't be the same because God had given me the opportunity to pray for this man and to cry with him. That's when I saw the face of Christ and I think he saw the face of Christ too. It was special.
Andy: We are here tonight to share with you some of the faces we saw in New York. We saw the face of Christ in a lot of the faces, and as a result of seeing Christ in these people we really encountered what Mike has called the Everlasting Light these last few weeks. Encountering that Everlasting Light in New York through the homeless people that we served, these students represent some of the team that went, came back by another road. The students and the leaders that went to New York came back different. You'll hear that repeated as a theme, that when you encounter the Living God, your road changes. You can't walk the same way. You don't go home the same way. The wise men went by another way and that has played out true in our lives in returning from New York and meeting the Lord there. I pray that as you hear these stories they wouldn't be just stories to you - that you would find a way that they would apply to your own life and how God is at work in your life. And seeing how God has worked in these students' lives and these leaders' lives that that would be an encouragement to you to find that other road where God would be leading you and be encouraged by that. And maybe even gather some insight as to what the year 2002 might hold for you. So we're glad that you're here. We invite you in to our little family-room reunion of the New York trip.
New York was new to me. This was a project that I had no experience in at least from a Ginghamsburg Church standpoint. The student ministry has been going for a number of years and so I relied heavily on the leaders from the past for direction and to figure out what to do on the trip. One of those leaders was Clark Miller. We ate breakfast early one morning and talked about the trip and I thought Clark came up with a brilliant idea and I wanted him to share that with you.
Clark: I'd like to take all the credit but several leaders talked about it the year before. This was my fourth trip and during the third trip the leaders were talking about how we always separated ministry from sightseeing. We did ministry at The Bowery; we went with The Bowery men out to some of the parks and we fed some of the homeless there; but then, later in the day, we'd go out sightseeing. It was almost as if we separated the two. We got the idea that maybe this year while going out sightseeing to go out in ministry teams. Then on the spur of the moment, the leader would say you have a minute, and they would prepare and do their acts of ministry whatever their ministry was. So we divided the teens into ministry groups. We had a ministry-of-music group and we had a group that actually made balloons and did chalk drawings. We had a drama group that did some miming. We had an act-of-kindness group. We divided them into their talents and arts and the ways that they could minister. It was kind of neat. One of the teens, while we were feeding the homeless at one of the parks, got the idea to go back to a florist shop that we had passed and buy a couple dozen roses and hand them out as well. It was so neat when I handed one to an Asian woman that must have been 60 or 70 years old. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "No one has ever given me a flower." I told her, "This is a reminder of God's beauty and how much He cares for you." It was a real significant moment for me.
Andy: So the idea was combining ministry and touring, kind of a ministry-touring concept of New York.
Clark: That's a good way to put it.
Andy: We arrived at a place called The Bowery. The Bowery is a mission that was founded over a 150 years ago. It is not just a homeless shelter that provides shelter, food, and a roof over their heads. It is an ongoing nine-month program that takes people who are committed to changing and getting off the streets, getting jobs and being able to support themselves and their families. It's a pretty big commitment. Not only do they have the homeless from the streets on a regular basis through The Bowery but they also have what they call disciples. A disciple is one of the persons enrolled in the nine-month program. We had a wide variety of people that we encountered at The Bowery. Annie, you started off sharing with Kim your experiences in the park that one day. How did that take you home by another road? What would you say were the changes that have occurred in you?
Annie: When we went to New York I had a goal that I was not going as a tourist. I was going to feel the culture and I didn't feel the culture was in the buildings and the skyscrapers and the touristy attractions. I felt the culture was in the people. Every person I saw was someone I wanted to talk to - and I talked to so many people, in subways, in parks, and just when we were walking places. That was my goal - and through that was my experience. I don't even really remember some things like walking across the Brooklyn Bridge as much as I remember sitting in the park or sitting on the subway and meeting people. I still remember all their names and the special things about them. I realized that this could go with me anywhere I wanted. There are people everywhere. Now that I'm back, I don't just go to Kroger to buy my contact solution anymore. I go into Kroger spotting my divine appointments and talking to people and finding out about their lives. Just recently, I was buying a Christmas present for my little brother in Toys R Us. As soon as I got into line to pay, the line stopped. It doesn't matter where I am - it always just stops. I mentioned it to the lady in front of me and she said, "Uh uh, honey, it's me. It always stops with me." We got into a big discussion about her son and Power Rangers. It wasn't really spiritual, but it was the whole idea of fellowship. I would have been so frustrated being in that line alone, because we were there for about 15 minutes, but it was the experience of New York that taught me to go and enjoy the people no matter where I am. That has brought a lot of rewards to me, just like I enjoyed waiting in line at Toys R Us instead of getting frustrated.
Andy: So you're not a tourist through life anymore.
Annie: I'm no longer a tourist, I'm on a mission.
Andy: Good for you. That's great. Our next student I'd like to introduce to you by way of video.
Kristi: I am 18 years old and I go to Vandalia Butler High School. School is a very big part of my life. I go to every sporting event that's possible - football games, basketball games, wrestling meets, anything that has to do with school, I'm normally there. When I would walk the halls of school I didn't really see people, I would be in my own world and concentrating on where I'm going and not really paying attention to the people who were passing me. In my art class, I sit across from this one girl and I thought that I knew her, but it turns out that I didn't really know her at all. One time in art class we were supposed to paint something to do with feelings and she drew something with a whole lot of black in it. Whenever she would start to draw she would have a tear in her eye, and every picture she drew with feelings or family, was black and brown and the dull colors. I didn't really think about asking her about God or if she went to church or if she knew that there is Somebody out there that really cared about her enough that she didn't need to feel alone. But then came New York.
Andy: Then came New York. Now, Kristi (in person), this was not your first mission project to New York. You went last year, is that correct?
Kristi: Right.
Andy: What was significant about the first year you traveled to New York?
Kristi: The first year that I went, within ten minutes of getting there, there was a guy standing at the front door and he had this light about him that drew me instantly to him. His name was Louie. We connected immediately and started talking at every meal there. At the parties he was always at my side and it seemed like we talked forever. I think I know more about him than I know about some of my best friends at school. I found out that he was in a gang called the Latin Kings and that their goal is to kill people they don't like. He had personally killed two people with his hands, without any weapons. He had been wounded himself and had been in and out of the hospital many times. He had lived the most rotten life I had ever heard of. When we met him, he was on his third weekend at The Bowery. He was getting really discouraged because he wanted to go back to the drugs and to his gang and to the killing and to his mom and to everything that was on the streets before he came to The Bowery. He told me how he was getting so discouraged with himself that he didn't think he could make it through. I kept talking to him and telling him he could get through and that we were going to be with him, praying for him. He just looked at me and we started to pray and we prayed a lot from then on. When we were leaving at about 6:00 in the morning, Louie came bouncing over on the steps and gave me a hug and whispered, "I'm going to get through this because I want you to be proud of me." Then he started crying and I started crying. Then I had to leave. That was very hard.
Andy: What was the big surprise this year as you went to New York?
Kristi: When we got to The Bowery this year we were upstairs unloading our luggage. Sarah and I were at the top of the steps and we heard a squeal. We looked down and there was Louie. He came running up the stairs and told us he had actually graduated the nine months. He said that our encouragement and our prayers for him were the only things that made him get through. He wanted these teens from Vandalia, Ohio, to be proud of this gangster-druggie that lived in The Bowery. He now has a full time job at the YMCA, he has a girlfriend, and he is on full-time staff at The Bowery. He is helping people every day of his life.
Andy: That's great! Mission trips can have powerful influence in your life because you get connected to God in a way that is sometimes difficult here at home. Tell me about that. How is it that God changed you in New York as a result of your going there?
Kristi: Before I went to New York, I would walk through the halls of my school and do the whole high school thing - go to parties and go out with my friends and just talk about meaningless stuff, not really getting to know the person sitting next to me in my math class or the girl across from me in the art class. The girl in the art class was a sad person. I knew it but I never really wanted to talk to her about it because I don't think I wanted to come to terms with the fact that there is so much hurt in my school. I didn't want to know that my friend was so depressed that numerous times she thought about ending her life. The first day I was back, we were in art class painting. She was looking particularly sad that day. In a rush of boldness I asked, "Why are you so sad?" She looked up and that started our three-week conversation. I told her about God and how He is going to help her. I told her how there are people out there who have it worse than she does and no matter what she thinks there is always Someone out there who is going to help her get through - that she's never alone. I actually saw her at the Christmas Celebration the other night and I was so excited.
Andy: Great. God is doing a work in New York and here at your home through you. That's great. Praise the Lord.
Tyler Melton is a junior at Butler High School. Tyler was on my team and was my New York guide because I'd get lost going around the corner and he just had this sense of direction about him. Whenever the kids would look at me for direction as to where they were going, I'd look at Tyler and ask him. He seemed to always know where home was. Tyler had some interesting experiences in New York as well.
Tyler: The thing that sticks out most about the trip was the Saturday morning before we left when we were doing outreach at one of the parks. We were handing out food to the homeless. I handed out food for a while and then I noticed that 'animals' were being made from all the balloons. I decided I'd be kind and go help them out. I really didn't know what I was doing so I just started blowing up balloons and twisting them this way and that way. Then I noticed that the ladies - mainly short, little, Chinese ladies - that wanted the balloon animals. Even though I was trying to make something that looked absolutely like nothing, they still enjoyed it. They were going to take them home to their grandkids or just have one for themselves.
Andy: What happened with these ladies?
Tyler: I first noticed that the food line died down and the balloon animal line was probably three times as long. The next thing I knew these ladies were starting to fight about who got the blue dog over the red dog. They were pretty serious about it. They wanted these little dogs like there was no tomorrow. I sat there still blowing up the balloons and then I saw a man from The Bowery, one of the disciples, standing there. He was warding off these two little Chinese ladies, trying to keep them from hitting us. Kristi and I were standing there trying to figure what was going on. These ladies were yelling at each other. We couldn't understand them, but they were throwing fits.
Andy: Were you scared?
Tyler: Yeah, but we didn't have much time to think about it at all. The main goal was to get out of there safely. They were getting irate over the balloon animals and the roses so the whole mission group was trying to get out of there quickly. The disciples were saying they were never going to take us back because we were creating such a ruckus.
Andy: Who would have thought you'd go to New York and your greatest fear was to be attacked by little old ladies. You obviously made it out of there safely. On the bus ride home you shared with me something significant that God brought to light.
Tyler: It was on the bus ride home that I began to think about what I have in life, and how much I really do have. If I was in restaurant and saw a clown making balloon animals I would think, "No big deal." I wouldn't worry about trying to get a balloon animal. These ladies were so intense about getting one - to the point of throwing fits - that it made me think about what is in my life that I take so much for granted. I came to the realization that I really do take a lot for granted in life. I don't have to fight over these things because they're always handed to me. For instance, I'll go out with friends and I'll tell my mom, "I'll be home whenever. I don't know where I'm going. I'll see ya." I'm not out doing bad things, it's just that she never knows where I am. After the trip I still go out with my friends a lot but I say, "I'm going to church for a while, then we're going to head to the movies. I should be back around 12:30 or 1:00." Now, I'm respecting a lot more that I have so much in life. I really need to stop taking things for granted. I'm starting to respect the fact that things are great in my life. I need to start living the plan God has for me, and using what I have to help other people.
Andy: That's great. So the moral of that story is - parents, if you want to know where your child is, send him to New York.
Brittany Willis is a junior at Troy High School. She was also a part of the balloon ministry team. What was it about New York that was so significant to you?
Brittany: Actually the significant point happened pretty soon after I got there and I wasn't expecting it. We went to lunch and we were supposed to sit with men from The Bowery at lunch. I sat at a table beside two men. I tried to talk to them but they didn't really respond. They avoided me, but there was a man across from me who seemed eager to talk. He started telling me about his life and how he used to live on the streets. He had these problems that he wasn't proud of it. He said he didn't understand why God would accept him or love him because he has done so many things that he's not proud of. I thought I should reassure him so I started telling him, "Of course God loves you! God has a plan for you and he wants you." He started shaking and sweating to the point that he had to get a handkerchief to wipe off his face because sweat was just pouring down. I realized that he probably had an addiction of some sort. I was just shocked because I didn't know how to deal with this situation. I didn't know what to say to this man. He had been through so much and so I was trying to reassure him. He told me he didn't know if he could do it. I said, "Of course you can. Just ask God for forgiveness. He'll forgive you because he loves you and he always will." Then I had to leave because my group was leaving and I asked if I would see him again. I wanted to continue this conversation. He said yes, he'd be at lunch the next day. I looked for him the next day and I didn't see him. I was sort of taken aback because I really wanted to finish the conversation. I didn't know what to do, but I've prayed for him since, and I hope that a seed was planted and he can understand why God would want him and love him.
Andy: Well, someday we may know and hopefully that seed that you planted will return with fruit and someday in heaven you'll find out. What ways have you felt impacted in your life here at home as a result of what God did in your life in New York?
Brittany: I think the trip really put things in perspective - like what things are important and what things aren't so important. Like if someone says something to me at school, I think, "That's really bad," and I worry about it a lot. Normally that's on my mind. But after going on the trip I realized that there are so many bigger problems out there and there is so much more I can do that I shouldn't let petty things get to me.
Andy: You're focus has changed and you're much more proactive in seeking after God's will. That's awesome.
Justin, you had been on a New York missions project before as well and so no doubt you went with some expectations of how it might be. Is that true?
Justin: Right. Not only did I have expectations, but it was a whole outline of how the trip was going to go. I was going to say this and this is how people were going to respond. This is what we are going to do and this is where we are going to go. That wasn't quite how God saw it. I had a huge challenge last year on how I could affect people and how I could share my faith. Toward the end of the trip, I was real comfortable with how I was doing that. I went into this trip expecting no challenge at all. That was not what it was at all. Everything was totally different. I was faced with different people who responded differently to what I said. It just showed me you just have to be flexible when it comes to God.
Andy: God messed up your plans?
Justin: Seriously. I was just going to have fun. I was doing the exact same thing but, amazingly, my gifts and talents were being used this time as compared to last time.
Andy: What was one of the biggest surprises to you?
Justin: The surprise was just that I looked ahead to the trip and said I know exactly what's going to happen but that wasn't at all what happened.
Andy: You saw that everyone was doing different things. You mentioned to me that at one point you looked around and realized that something was going on. Tell me about that.
Justin: I looked around the street when we were all serving the food and it was amazing that everyone was doing something different. Some people were talking, some people were making balloon animals, and some people were miming, yet they were all doing the exact same thing at the same time. It was sort of confusing at first but I started looking around and saw these people all sharing their faith in totally different ways. They were using their own gifts and their own talents.
Andy: What's been the greatest different road for you since you've returned?
Justin: That's easy. Looking at my life and the day-to-day mundane things, I was just cruising through the week and then Sunday was God's time. Now I don't look at any situation without seeing an opportunity to share my faith. It's just awesome to go through a day like that and just say, "How can I affect other people? How can I share the truth of Jesus Christ?"
Andy: So you're not looking at your routine anymore as just a routine but maybe through God's eyes as a journeyer or an adventurer, what does God have for me this day? What a great way to live.
This next student I'd also like to introduce to you by way of video.
Sarah: I'm a junior at Troy High School. I started playing the piano when I was really young, but then I got interested in the violin. I started playing the violin in fifth grade. It was a couple of hours a week in class. My dad always wanted me to play out in the open and he'd say, "Do you want to play the violin?" I'd say, "I don't," but he'd bring forth the violin and I would have to play. Sometimes he'd say, "I'll take you out for dinner if you play just one song for Grandpa." I used to have to practice forty minutes a week. I would sit in front of the television and do a technique called pizzicato - that's basically playing it like the guitar. I would play songs but it really wasn't practicing. I just did it so I could get it over with. I was not enjoying it like I should have been. The first time I played in the coffee shop was the coolest thing ever. I had never experienced anything like that before. But as time went on it became less fulfilling. There was just an element that was not there at all. Playing the violin was God's gift to me and I was using it to please crowds sitting around drinking coffee. And then came New York.
Andy: And then came New York. What was so powerful about New York that had something to do with your violin playing?
Sarah: New York was the first time I got to use my gifts in the way I should have been using them the entire time; playing to people and ministering to them. It was just amazing because I got to use music to bridge a gap between different ages and races and walks of life.
Andy: What was one of the highlights of that experience for you?
Sarah: The very last day we spent walking around the city and sightseeing. It was really cold and rainy and I had lugged my violin with me all day. My arms were sore and I was getting kind of grumpy. I prayed to God, please let there be a reason why I have this violin with me. Then there was my answer. We came across some rappers that were in the subway and they were getting ready for a dance. They saw Annie and me with my violin and they invited us to come up and join them. So we played Michael Jackson and they danced.
Andy: With the violin?
Sarah: With the violin.
Andy: I'm not sure how you play Michael Jackson on a violin but what happened?
Sarah: Needless to say, it was the most interesting experience of my life. We finished the song and I was thinking that I needed to thank these guys somehow because they had given me an awesome opportunity. So I went up to them and said, "God bless you." I didn't know how they were going to react to that. These were guys I wouldn't normally approach or say "God bless you" to, but they gave me this huge hug and it was so awesome. We took pictures with them and they thanked us for playing with them. It was so exciting and yet it taught me such a huge lesson about God. It was definitely a God moment.
Andy: Did you have any other significant opportunities with your music?
Sarah: Later on that night we came across a firehouse. We went in and met the men. They had just lost five of their twenty men in the World Trade Center attack. We played patriotic songs and Amazing Grace for these men as they cried. This is the first time the World Trade Center impacted me. Seeing it at home I was numb to what had happened, but seeing actual lives that were impacted by this was unbelievable.
Andy: The drama team shared a story with me about an experience they had at Times Square Church. Sarah, what was going on there?
Sarah: We went to the Times Square Church to a prayer service. After we went to the service, we girls went to the bathroom to get ready for our mime act. Erica and Chris were with me. Chris had to wait 15 to 20 minutes for us to get ready.
Andy: Chris, what happened to you out in the lobby while you were waiting for these girls to get their mime makeup on?
Chris: I was waiting and this guy came down the hallway. He walked up to me and gave me a hug and said, "God loves you." I was just was so taken aback that I didn't know what to do. Strangers don't hug people. Here I was in New York and this guy I didn't know, even though I was in a church, walked up and hugged me. I was just shocked! I let him walk away because I was waiting for the girls.
Andy: Eventually you guys got ready for your ministry and came out of the bathroom. What happened next?
Sarah: The guy that hugged Chris walked right up to us, looked us right in the eyes and just started talking to us. Through the conversation we realized he was struggling with his family. His family had rejected him because of some things he had done. But he has changed and he really loves God. Throughout the whole thing we were praying for him. He was kind of slow in his speech. After we prayed for him, he said, "This is unfair. I want to pray for you." So he laid his hands on us and started praying. Instead of slow speech coming out of his mouth, his words were fluent and every word he said made sense. We knew it was from God because it was all truth and that was amazing.
Andy: To me that is a story that really summarizes the New York experience. You've heard from students who gave what they had to the Lord. They used it to minister to people and yet here was a person that was totally unknown to any of us, who had a speech impediment and stuttered. Yet when he prayed in his weakness, God's strength was glorified and they experienced that.
We have, as a team, had lots of challenges. Any time you encounter God's light in a powerful way, the days ahead are very important in walking out what God has taught you. My prayer is that as we have encountered the Everlasting Light in the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, this past Christmas, we would go forth in that light and walk in that light to discover what God has for us. I invite you to pray with me. Father, I thank you for giving us this time together. Lord, I know that as we've shared these stories from New York, not all of us were in New York. But, Lord, all of us have access to you. And, God, it wasn't New York that changed us, it was your Spirit. It was the Spirit that we sensed and felt and that changed us in New York and is here now. God we want that Spirit to change us together. Amen.