By: Timothy, The Rope Contributor
Last time I posted, I was talking about the worries I had about my then-upcoming NYC trip. I am now back from said trip and wanted to update you all on what happened.
Overall, it was really fantastic. The church I worked with was full of fantastic people, our hosts were beyond generous and lived in a gorgeous 14th floor apartment with a beautiful view of downtown Manhattan, the food was incredible and all of my preconceived notions about NYC were pretty much wrong.
About halfway through the trip, I was talking to one of my teammates about our experiences so far. He dubbed the emotions we were feeling “lack of culture-shock shock.” It was so weird to not once feel out of place or overwhelmed by the differences between Birmingham, Ala., and NYC. I never felt like the city was vast and overwhelming — I only felt unsafe on the subway once (and later found out there were police officers in the next car waiting to arrest the man who was making us feel unsafe).
The church we worked with was full of diverse folks who love the Lord. It was such a blessing to see a multi-ethnic congregation worshipping together and being a clear picture of the Kingdom of God. Our team was able to learn a ton about pastoral ministry from Stephen, the pastor, during our 2 weeks there that will be incredibly helpful as we all begin our own ministries in the next few years.
When I first got to NYC, I told my wife I could never see myself living there. By day 3, I was thinking to myself, “I can see why people become infatuated with this city.” Now that I’m home, I’m ready to move there permanently.
