Trip to Boston

Last weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Boston. There is a church there that we are partners with. Camille and I left New York on Thursday on the Fung Wah Bus. This is the cheapest way to travel between the two cities. It was $30 round trip. It was quite the experience. While in Boston we were able to walk the Freedom Trail. This is a trail that covers all of the historic places in Boston to see. We saw Harvard, Bunker Hill Monument, Old North Church, and visited some cemeteries where our founding fathers lay buried.

The church that we worked with was Reunion Christian Church. They were started about 9 months after Forefront. The church is mostly composed of young families and college students. It was great to expereience a different church, but one that was still doing ministry in an urban environment. Here are some of my pictures from the weekend.

Boston Skyline

Bunker Hill Monument

Paul Revere's Tomb

Samuel Adams Tomb

USS Constitituion--Old Ironsides

Statue of Paul Revere outside of Old North Church

Old North Church

Getting Back To The Basics

This past week has been full of lessons from God. They are some of the simplest lessons to learn. I have been reading the book by Brennan Manning called The Rafamuffin Gospel. In this book Brennan writes to encourage Christians to realize the true meaning of God's grace and love. He writes all about how Jesus ate and entertained with the least of these, and we too are the least of these. We cannot earn anything from God, but rather he has chosen to lavish his love on us.

When I was reading this book, God really worked on my heart. He taught me that I am his child and nothing can take me away from his love. Here is an excerpt that really taught me a lot.

"The question which the gospel of grace puts to us is simply this: Who shall separate you from the love of Christ? What are you afraid of?
Are you afraid that your weakness could separate you from the love of Christ? It can’t.
Are you afraid that your inadequacies could separate you from the love of Christ? They can’t.
Are you afraid that your inner poverty could separate you from the love of Christ? It can’t.
Difficult marriage, loneliness, anxiety over the children’s future? They can’t.
Economic hardship, racial hatred, street crime? They can’t.
Rejection by loved ones or the suffering of loved ones? They can’t.
Persecution by authorities, going to jail? They can’t.
Nuclear war? It can’t.
Mistakes, fears, uncertainties? They can’t.
The gospel of grace calls out: Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord. You must be convinced of this, trust it, and never forget to remember. Everything else will pass away, but the love of Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Faith will become vision, hope will become possession, but the love of Jesus Christ that is stronger than death endures forever. In the end, it is the one thing you hang onto."

This really struck a cord with me. I have always heard this truth, but it really sunk in when I read it. Paul talks about this same thing in Romans 8:28-29. Paul writes "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Brennan was right on with calling us to realize that nothing can separate us from the love and grace and mercy of God. God loves just how we are. We don't have to worry about pleasing other people or living up to anyone's standards except God's.

This sounds so simple and probably have all heard it a hundred times before. But sometimes we just need to get back to the basics of our faith to truly find God's grace. We need to get rid of everything that hinders us--our fears, our desires, the traditions of the church, and our selves. Once we get back to the basics, we will find God's grace and love.

Fourth of July

These were some pictures that I took during the fireworks display. They were kind of a let down, but it was also because it was rainy and nasty outside, but I really do think that I saw better ones back home in Wichita!

God's Lessons

My summer is almost half over and God is teaching a lot of things. I know that I have already mentioned how Mark 6:34 is being driven into my life. I am slowly learning to see people how Jesus saw them, to see them with compassion. Being in New York just the little time that I have, I have caught myself getting caught up in the business of the city and the materialism of the city. There are times that I find myself just ignoring those around me because I just want to get to where I am going. It is sad but it is true. But at the same time, I see my heart for compassion growing. I have helped a man eat dinner one night and was able to be a light to him, even if it was just for a few moments. I have started thinking of ways that I can help back in Joplin and even Wichita, of ways that I can live out my life in a more full way.

It gives new meaning to what Jesus said to his disciples in John 10:10. He says "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Jesus was in a discussion with them describing who he was; describing to him that he was the Good Shepherd and the Gatekeeper. We are his sheep that he keeps his watches over. Only when we know that Jesus came to give us life and that we know that he holds us in his hands, will we have life to full. We must live out our faith if we are going to live a full life.

Heavenly Father, I pray that you continue to mold me and shape into the person that you want me to be. I am learning a lot here in the city and I ask that you continue to teach me throughout whatever way you wish. I ask that you help me to live out my life fully and let others know that I follow you. Please continue to give me the courage to reach out to those I see and to take the opportunities that you give me. Amen.

Human Trafficking, Africa, and God's Creation

I just got done reading a book called The Natashas. It is a book that is about the human sex traffic in Eastern Europe. The book was a great read and was very informative for both the good and the bad. No detail was spared, and nothing was left untouched. Even criticizing America for our lack of discipline on those who traffic woman for the sex trade. One of the most important lessons that I learned was the my lack of compassion for the girls that I see that work in bars and clubs. I always assumed that this was something that they wanted to do, and sometimes it is, but there are a lot of times that the girls are forced into prostitution--they are slaves. The book talked about situations that happened here in New York City, which made me sick to my stomach. The place I am living, working and doing ministry is a place where girls are forced in to the sex trade. It disgusts me.

Today I was talking to one of my friends from West Africa. He just finished his freshman year at Ghana Christian College. He really wants to be a pastor and serve God's people. We were just talking about school and he said his freshman year was a little rough due to peer pressure. I asked him what kind and he said pressure to sleep with girls. I was couldn't believe this. He said that he knew better so he hasn't, but the pressure was there. This just really saddened. I never would have thought that this attitude of sex would have reached a W. Africa. It breaks my heart, especially to know that this attitude toward girls is pushed by those of us in the wester world (Europe and United States). These people would not have had these desires if it was not for our wanting to colonize them and make them like us. I commended him for remaining strong and assured him that God will reward him for his faithfulness.

I just couldn't believe what he told me. We in the USA are so proud of our culture, or values and ethics even though they are really nothing to proud of. Hollywood glamourizes sex and relationships and everyone in the world sees this as the attitude of all of America. People no longer care about the covenant of marriage or serving God faithfully by following his ethics and values (I know that there are exceptions to this, but that is how America is perceived by the world). What makes this even worse is that people associate these attitudes with Christianity.

I wish that we could press rewind and see where we went wrong, but we can't. So what are we to do?

God, please be with all of those in the world that have been forced in the sex trade. Let them know that you are not disgusted with them, that you still love them as your creation. Let the women know that you have turned away from them. And Father please be with those men who are studying to go into ministry in W. Africa. Please move their hearts closer to yours. May they not see women as something to get, but as people whom you love. Please be my friend as he continues to study. Help him remain faithful to this call on his life. Amen.

A Few Random Things...

So I am finding out that New York has some very funny and odd laws, so I though I would take a moment to share them with you.

1. No sidewalk chalk here. It is considered vandalism. I have even heard a story of two 8 year old kids playing with chalk, and the neighbors calling the cops on them.
2. No honking your car horn. If you get caught honking your horn in certain neighborhood you could be issued a traffic violation from a police officer and have to pay a $350 fine.
3. You have to have a permit for everything. For instance, you can not go to a park and set up a table to do art or anything unless you have a permit
4. Please pick up after your dog. New Yorkers like their pets, but when they go to bathroom they must use the sidewalk. You can receive a fine, upwards of $1000 in certain areas of the city if you do not clean up after your pet.

These are just a few of the crazy things that I am learning about life in the city.

Art Camp

I never thought I would be involved in helping pull off an Art Camp, but this week I have the opportunity to do so. Crossroads Christian Church in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn asked us to help them in running the camp this week. It is kind of crazy, but should be a lot of fun. The camp will not have any real direct connection to the church, but it will be connected to the church's community art center, called The Storefront. The Storefront is a place that is used for artists in the community to come together and form community, improve their skills, and find other artists in the community. They know that it is ran by a church, but they are okay with that. The Storefront has been a connection point for a lot of people and God is definitely using it to benefit his Kingdom.

The week's goal is to get the kids interested in art and how art can affect the community and humanity. So each day we a different theme. The four themes are Community, Diversity, Compassion and Awareness. The challenge of the week is that we cannot completely talk about God or Christianity, so using these themes without mentioning our worldview is hard. The kids will be mostly Jewish, Muslim or Catholic. So it will be quit diverse.

Pictures...

Here are some pictures from the UN Building

This is across from the UN. It quotes Isaiah 2:4, which says "They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation nor will they train for war anymore."

These pictures were taken on Wall St.

This is the New York Stock Exchange

It was here, on Wall St. where our first National Capital Building was. This is a statue of George Washington on the spot where he was inaugurated as our first President.

Mission Team a Success

Our first mission team was a huge success. The team was only three people but they were great. They were real troopers and did better than we could have ever imagined. Starting from the first day they were revved and ready to go. Mostly we did servant evangelism, which went awesome. We had a few people start conversations with us about what we were doing and why. God was and is at work here in the city. He is really using the servant evangelism to advance his kingdom.

One of the greatest highlights of the week was working with a soup kitchen called Father's Heart. It is based out of a church and serves the poor and homeless every Saturday by giving them a warm meal and access to a food pantry. We served 457 homeless in an hour and a half. It gives new meaning to organized chaos. It felt so good to truly be serving to people who need the extra love and smile. What amazed me the most was the diversity that we saw there. There were a lot of first generation Asians, a lot of African Americans and Caucasians. Serving here reminded me of what one of my goals is for the summer--to develop a heart of compassion like Jesus (Mark 6:34). It really challenged me in this area. These people are no different you or I, and everyone falls on hard times, they deserve the opportunity to be loved to and to be smothered with compassion. I challenged our team with this goal and especially to take this compassion back home with them.

This week we are back in the office getting things ready for next week. Next week we will be working with Crossroads Christian Church in Brooklyn. They have asked us to help them with a week long Arts Camp that they are putting on for children of all ages. It should be a great week, learning how to do church in a different community and getting to know the staff there. I will keep you posted.

First Mission Team!

Tomorrow our first mission team arrives. It is a small team, but it will be a good first team to have. Please be in prayer that we will be able to have a meaningful impact on the lives of those who we come in contact with as we do our evangelism and outreach events. We are all getting excited because we finally get to start doing what we came here to do--to lead groups around the city. It should be awesome!

Hearts and Hammers and a BBQ

On Saturday, Forefront volunteered alongside of Hearts and Hammers to do a service project in the Bronx. We had about 25 volunteers show up from the church and then we got assigned what our project was. We ended up going to an elderly woman's house who is unable to take care of the house upkeep. We repaired the chain link fence, did yard work and painted the whole inside which was two stories. We also gutted her kitchens and bathrooms and gave them knew appliances. It was a hot day but it was a great day to serve someone who needed just a little help. She definitely appreciated it.

Hearts and Hammers is not a Christian organization, but a lot of churches help with volunteers or sponsor the program. As the day went a long we were not only able to show Christ love to the home owner, but also to those who we worked with who were not Christians. It was a great day of service.

Later on in the day, the house I am living in this summer had a BBQ and worship night. It started at 3 and didn't really end until 10. We started with prayer and praise for two hours. It was a great time of fellowship and worship. I was able to meet most of the people who live in my house and many other guests. This was definitely something that I needed. It felt like being at home hanging out with friends and family.

During the BBQ, I met a girl named a Allissa who lives at the other Radical Living house in Brooklyn. It was definitely a God thing that we met. She is leaving for Cambodia today and we started talking. I was telling her that I had friends that just got back from Cambodia and that I knew of a team that was there right now. It was cool because she got the inspiration for what she is doing there from Rapha House, which is who the teams that are there are working with. I gave her the email addresses of those there so hopefully she will be able to meet up and help each other's ministries.

My Address!

I thought I would let you guys know my address for the summer. I would love to receive mail from you. Here it is

Matthew Berry
32 Hart St.
Brooklyn, NY 11206

My Apartment (or should I say my closet)!

A lot of people have been wondering what my living conditions are like so I have taken a few pictures of my room so that you can see where I am living. (I don't have pictures of the rest of my house yet, but soon I will). I live in a small room that is connected to a master bedroom. There is another room off the kitchen. So I have two other roommates, Greg and Matthew. We all share a bathroom, and the kitchen. It is not a bad situation. Here are the pics.

This is my room from the doorway looking in, as you can see,
I don't have curtains, but my shirts will work

This is my closet!! I have all my clothes here or in the night stand.

This is where I sleep! So tiny, but it works.

On a more serious note...

So my last few posts have been mainly about the touristy activities that I have done since I have been here, but I want to let you know more about the ministry here and what else we have done. We really got thrown into the life of the church fast. Last week, on three different occasions we went out and did Servant Evangelism projects, which Saturday was our biggest day. We had a service day with the church so about 15 people were there to help us distribute 2500 fliers and granola bars to people. For the most part people were very glad and willing to take it. Some were more reluctant and would give us the flier back but that was ok. They still had a chance to see that there is a church out there that cares for them.

A common misconception for New Yorkers is that they are rude and unfriendly people. I do want to say that it easy to see that perception, but really the people here are friendly. It is just that no one wants to break the barrier of silence. Whenever I go into a store or even on my block I will try to say hello to everyone. In stores I will most always ask how they are doing and how their day is going. You can tell that it really brings a smile to their face. Some people here can go an entire day with ever having someone smile at them--crazy! So I will try to smile at people. Sometimes that is all it takes. No words are necessary.

Jacob, the pastor that is in charge of the internship program gave us all a challenge for the summer. He wanted us to find a verse in the Bible that would act as our theme verse for the summer. This is a verse for us to fall on when times get rough or when we lose focus. I chose Mark 6:34, which says

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things."

This is what I want my heart to molded to be like. Jesus was a man of compassion, who saw people as image-bearers of God and loved them all, no matter what economical status they were, or what religion, or what social status they belonged too. Jesus loved them all. He had compassion on them. He wanted them to have shepherd to guide them and to help lead them from not going astray. This is who I want to become this summer. Someone who sees people all the same, no matter their status. I want to have compassion and show love to everyone I meet. I want to have my heart broken for those who are helpless and without a shepherd.

Central Park is Huge!!

Hey everyone hope you enjoyed the pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge. The other day I think I walked more than I have ever before. All of us interns walked through Central Park. It made for a great walk but it was long. Central Park is an amazing place. There were so many people, but it was a great time. Here a few pictures...








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I'm Made It!

Hi everyone. I know that it has been a while, sorry for that. These past few days have been crazy busy. I arrived on Tuesday, May 27th, I get settled in my apartment, and met the staff that I will be working with. Just from that first impression I know that it is going to be a great summer. I will be working with two other interns this summer, Camille Conely and Rebekah Stewart. They are great teammates.

Wednesday, the staff put us right to work. We had some orientation and got more details about what we will exactly be doing this summer and what jobs we will be assigned to accomplish. One of these tasks is putting together an event called Love NYC Day. This is a time when churches from all over the Northeast come to NY and partner with Forefront to be a part of a huge servant evangelism project (I will give more details about this as they happen). This is set for Aug. 2nd. That afternoon, we had our first of orientation--we had to go to Union Square and pass out free granola bars as wells as a little card with the information of the church and just telling them that we care about them and we wanted to show them by this small, free gift. We all had to pass out 100 and go to separate parts of the park. It was a great time. Something people sometimes say about servant evangelism is that it is only marketing the church, getting the name out there, which is a part of it. But more importantly it is about showing the people that we are a church who care for them. About half of the baptisms at Forefront have been from projects like this.

Thursday, we did another project like this, only this time we went to other strategic corners of the city. It was a great day. After work, we went to dinner in East Village and then we went to the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a lot of fun, though it was a long walk. Here are a few pictures.

One Week Left...

I can't believe that in one week I will be in New York. I have most of my support raised. I still need a little more but I know that God is faithful and he will provide for me. My plane tickets are bought and I have a place to stay. The place I am staying is called Radical Living. It a place where Christians live together and serve in their community. I am stoked to be living there. It is a God thing. I was worried about being lonely, but knowing that I will be living with other Christians really helps me know that God is taking care of me. I have two other roommates, of whom I have not met, but that is okay--it will be great.

Yesterday my younger brother graduated from High School. It is crazy to see how fast time flies. Just three years ago I graduated and now I am about to start my Senior year of school at Ozark. Now that is crazy. Time goes so fast. I am not ready to be a true adult, and yet at the same time I am. No matter what, I know that God is in control. I really have no idea what I want to do once I graduate or where I will end up serving, but I know that God's hand is in my life and he will direct my path. I can trust Him in that. It is always a hard lesson to learn, but once we can grasp it, or even see the faintest glow of God's direction, it makes life so much easier. We just have to let go of our wants and let God's take over.

I was reminded of this last summer in Africa and even throughout this school year. I like to read through the Proverbs, such great wisdom, anyways, throughout the book Solomon writes a lot about man's ways compared to God's and how God always wins. Here are a few examples.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight"--Proverbs 3:5-6

"All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans shall succeed. The Lord works out everything for his own ends."--Proverbs 16:2-4a

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."--Proverbs 16:9

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."--Proverbs 19:21

You see, Solomon had it write. Man has plans, but only God really knows our steps in the matter and even if we do have our plans, we need to turn them over the God and let him do what he wants. We cannot let our own agendas get in the way. It is my prayer that through out my internship this summer that I will continue to learn this lesson and that my faith in God will be stretched.

Prayer Card

Here is my prayer card for this summer!!!

God is Good!!!

Just the other day, I was getting a little weary of the bills that I had to pay and different obligations that I had. I just didn't know how or where the money was going to come from. I went to my mail box today and I got my paycheck. Well it turns out that the Hospital owed me back pay, so I had an extra $400 on my paycheck. Now I can not worry and know that I will be able to hold up to by obligations.

I always knew God would provide but sometimes it is hard to really trust Him in that promise. Matthew 6:31-34 says "So do not worry, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." God provides for his children. We can't worry about things in life for we know that no matter what God is on our side. He will be there and he will be our provider. This has been a hard lesson for me to learn, but I am slowly learning it. God is faithful. He has had my every need taken care of, even when I didn't think he did. So thank you God for being my provision. May I always remember that you provide for your people even in ways that we might not recognize.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in the world, without you none of us would be where we are today. Mother's have always played an integral role in the raising of children, of instilling morals and ethics, and demonstrating to us God's love and mercy. Thank you for all you have done. The message at College Heights today was a great message on mother's and more specifically women in general. Randy talked about how the culture is trying to blur the lines of male and female, of what it means to be a woman and a man. His main question was "What are women for? Why did God create them? What is their role?"

17 Days!!!!

I only have 17 more days before I step off a plane and start my internship in the most influential city in the world--New York City. I can't wait. While there, I will be working with Forefront Church doing outreach for them throughout the city. It will be my responsibility to lead groups of supporters through out the city to do servant evangelism and prayer walks and such. It should be a great summer.