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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