Basketball
Last Thursday I played some ball before a Bible study I had in the area. So what was my first experience playing ball in the Bronx? Well you better believe a 12 year old challenged me to one-on-one! I was slightly amused and then slightly terrified that he might beat me and all my credibility would be gone forever.
But, I prevailed! Ha, he was most definitely a good little player, but I had about a foot on him, so the challenge was too great! The older guys saw me and saw that I was pretty tall and I guess that got them interested enough to ask me to play with them. They were all legit, but I was just happy they invited me into their game! Their skills though mostly consist of the ability to jump higher, make moves quicker, and play stronger than me . . . but you better believe I have old man bball skills that are taken for granted. Practically no one knows how to shoot a ball there, which means my high arching jump shot proves that I am from another planet, which is cool . . . I think.
All this to say, once they invited me on the court I never left because I was either picked up for every game or won. That was pretty exciting to be accepted to that community so quickly. I still have not figured out the system because not everyone gets to play. Someone calls next game, but then they pick the best players available not the ones who have been waiting the longest. Anyways, basketball is fun, I'm glad it exists.
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On Wednesdays and Fridays the interns do a prayer station on the busy intersection in the Bronx. The commute over there takes 40 minutes so I usually take that time to prepare myself and focus. Today, it seemed like God took off with a head start that I was not ready for, but proved once again that God is on a completely different time table than I am, which is wonderful and definitely makes things more exciting and dramatic. As I was sitting on the bus (probably looking tired and uninteresting) a guy asked if I had a free Bibles in the box I was carrying. I mistook him for a prophet, before I saw that "Street Ministry" was written along the side of the box, although it was still a pretty good educated guess. Alfonso has been reading the Bible intently for the past couple of weeks and he has been having trouble because he has the King James version, but sometimes cannot understand it completely, because . . . well it is the King James version. He was excited that I had the NIV and that the words were bigger so he could read more easily. He then proceeded to teach ME about Bible stories he had been reading about.
This discussion sparked another one from the lady sitting next to me named Margie. Margie wanted to know about the church we were working with because she felt like it was time to make a change so she could grow more in her spiritual life. She described needing a Bible based presence in the church and close relationships where she did not just show up Sunday morning and then leave without talking to anyone. It sounds like Margie will pretty much soak up what the Bronx Fellowship is about and we both were really excited about what may be a God orchestrated connection. She lives like half a block from the house church Katie goes to, which was another cool natural connection.
This began another conversation with a man who had been working with a prison ministry who was interested in what we had been doing and he shared his vision of street ministry that he felt God was calling him to.
. . . . . . . . .
My night ended on an encouraging note, I had a Bible study with a man named Solomon. He's a great guy and loves learning. Hopefully I will get the chance to tell you more about him as the summer goes on, but his is another name you can be praying for!
But, I prevailed! Ha, he was most definitely a good little player, but I had about a foot on him, so the challenge was too great! The older guys saw me and saw that I was pretty tall and I guess that got them interested enough to ask me to play with them. They were all legit, but I was just happy they invited me into their game! Their skills though mostly consist of the ability to jump higher, make moves quicker, and play stronger than me . . . but you better believe I have old man bball skills that are taken for granted. Practically no one knows how to shoot a ball there, which means my high arching jump shot proves that I am from another planet, which is cool . . . I think.
All this to say, once they invited me on the court I never left because I was either picked up for every game or won. That was pretty exciting to be accepted to that community so quickly. I still have not figured out the system because not everyone gets to play. Someone calls next game, but then they pick the best players available not the ones who have been waiting the longest. Anyways, basketball is fun, I'm glad it exists.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
On Wednesdays and Fridays the interns do a prayer station on the busy intersection in the Bronx. The commute over there takes 40 minutes so I usually take that time to prepare myself and focus. Today, it seemed like God took off with a head start that I was not ready for, but proved once again that God is on a completely different time table than I am, which is wonderful and definitely makes things more exciting and dramatic. As I was sitting on the bus (probably looking tired and uninteresting) a guy asked if I had a free Bibles in the box I was carrying. I mistook him for a prophet, before I saw that "Street Ministry" was written along the side of the box, although it was still a pretty good educated guess. Alfonso has been reading the Bible intently for the past couple of weeks and he has been having trouble because he has the King James version, but sometimes cannot understand it completely, because . . . well it is the King James version. He was excited that I had the NIV and that the words were bigger so he could read more easily. He then proceeded to teach ME about Bible stories he had been reading about.
This discussion sparked another one from the lady sitting next to me named Margie. Margie wanted to know about the church we were working with because she felt like it was time to make a change so she could grow more in her spiritual life. She described needing a Bible based presence in the church and close relationships where she did not just show up Sunday morning and then leave without talking to anyone. It sounds like Margie will pretty much soak up what the Bronx Fellowship is about and we both were really excited about what may be a God orchestrated connection. She lives like half a block from the house church Katie goes to, which was another cool natural connection.
This began another conversation with a man who had been working with a prison ministry who was interested in what we had been doing and he shared his vision of street ministry that he felt God was calling him to.
. . . . . . . . .
My night ended on an encouraging note, I had a Bible study with a man named Solomon. He's a great guy and loves learning. Hopefully I will get the chance to tell you more about him as the summer goes on, but his is another name you can be praying for!
posted by Heath at 7:14 PM
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