This summer, I went on a mission trip to New York with my
youth group from church. We were part of group called BUMP, which stands
for Bridging Urban Mission Project. We left on a Friday night, and
came back the next Sunday. We traveled by train and the trip was 30 hours
there, and 27 hours back. The ride itself
was a little boring, but overall, it was a really cool experience.
While I was in New York, I worked at a VBS (vacation bible
school) with first graders. Most of the children
were Chinese, and many of them didn’t speak English. I was also part of the
praise band, and we were in charge of the worship music for the children each
day. During my time there, I was able to
interact with lots of great kids. One child in particular really touched me. She really just tried to love on me, which I thought was sweet. She would hold my hand, walk with me, and sit with me during recess.
A usual day for us was waking up at 6:45 a.m., cleaning up our area, doing our daily
devotionals,and having breakfast at 7:30. At 8 o’clock, we would start walking the kids to the church where the VBS was held. We worked there until 2:30 p.m. when we would walk the kids back. On most days, right after that, we would go next door for the best ice cream I’ve ever had, and it was only $2. We would have a 30 minute break, and then walk a mile to have dinner with two other BUMP groups. We would stay there until about 8 p.m., then walk the mile back to where we were staying.
devotionals,and having breakfast at 7:30. At 8 o’clock, we would start walking the kids to the church where the VBS was held. We worked there until 2:30 p.m. when we would walk the kids back. On most days, right after that, we would go next door for the best ice cream I’ve ever had, and it was only $2. We would have a 30 minute break, and then walk a mile to have dinner with two other BUMP groups. We would stay there until about 8 p.m., then walk the mile back to where we were staying.
Wednesday and Thursday afternoons were exceptions to this
schedule. On those days, we went sightseeing. On Wednesday, we took a
ferry ride past the Statue of Liberty, then I bought a six dollar ice cream which
wasn’t near as good as the two dollar ice cream! We also rode the subway to Wall Street and saw
the famous bull, Trinity Church (which was filmed in the movie National Treasure),
Times Square all lit up at night, and, we tried to see the 9-11 memorial, but it
was closed. On Thursday, we went to
Coney Island. We walked on the sand, got
ice cream, and others got Nathan’s hot dogs.
Friday night, everyone in our band (including me!) led the worship
service. It was a wonderful night full of worship and prayer. Afterwards,
people talked about how they have grown on this trip.
Saturday morning we woke up at five a.m. and took a bus tour
of New York. At eleven, we boarded a
train for Tampa. Although it was an exhausting week, I had lots of fun, grew in
my faith, and I hope I’ll be able to go on another trip with my youth group.
