People, places, and things

By people, I'm referring to "our new friends." The story continues...

By places, I'm talking about the gorgeous Ft. Tryon Park in upper Manhattan on the west side, home to the Cloisters.

By things, I'm talking food. Good food. Really, really good food.

So, first things first- an update on our new friends. A great big, heartfelt thanks to those who commented on the previous post with such sweet and encouraging words. We certainly don't take credit for any good that may (or may not...) come out of this situation, and in hindsight there is much we coulda/shoulda/woulda done differently, but your comments were incredibly appreciated none-the-less. God has shown to be so faithful and in control throughout this past week, and He continues to lift weight off of our shoulders and into His hands.

We've found out much more about the situation as we've gotten to know this couple and the web grows more tangled. However, we felt very positive when we left them last Wednesday night at a hostel in Union Square, after they joined us for a fun evening at our place with our community group. There was good discussion about the sermon, yummy pizza and cookies, and we were able to help them on their resumes and had some work prospects set up.

Then, we didn't hear from them.

For days.

We left messages on Thursday, and then again on Saturday- nothing.

We had to admit, the break was probably needed. We were both feeling overwhelmed- the thought of finding them jobs, housing, food, clothing, etc was starting to consume us. And we figured maybe they needed a break from us, too. Some time to organize their thoughts, make a game plan...

OR...

Sunday afternoon, after lunch with our community group friends, we were approaching the intersection where we first met our new friends last Friday night, and as I was pointing out the exact spot, there she was. Steve and I went up to her and gasped at the pink, swollen, left side of her face and eye. When we first met, she mentioned abscesses underneath her arm, and she now had them on her face. It was terrible. And, they had lost their phone.

We couldn't believe it and weren't (and still aren't) sure what to do next. We got her some more food and a phone card and told her to please call us using the phone card and we'll go from there if they still can't find their phone. The phone is crucial- they can't get jobs if they can't be gotten a hold of, etc, etc, etc... :(

We're still waiting to hear from them.

So again, please pray for our new friends, and please pray for Steve and I as we continue to just try and lean on our awesome God and look to Him for guidance and wisdom. Thank you!

And on a lighter note~

We recently enjoyed doing two more of my "Thirty" things:

On Saturday, we took a leisurely, gorgeous walk through Ft. Tryon Park with Jay and Desiree (and precious baby James!) where I could

"See the Cloisters in Washington Heights"



and Tuesday night, we ate a delicious dinner at One if by Land, Two if by Sea so that I could

"Finally take advantage of Restaurant Week"




YUMMMMO! I had rock shrimp with linguine and snap peas as the first course and Steve had dive sea scallops with melon; for the main course, I had cobia fish over heirloom tomatoes in a light peach sauce and Steve had an amazing steak with ginger, onions, and potatoes; and for dessert I had a decadent chocolate cake with melted chocolate inside and coconut mousse on the side and Steve had a watermelon salad with sangria sorbet.

Delicious!

We had a fabulous time doing each, and hope to take advantage of restaurant week each time it comes around from here on out, and we plan on seeing the Cloisters in Washington Heights on many more occasions as well!

Our new friends

"Share a meal with a homeless person."

I'd like to reiterate that when I created my "Thirty by 30" list, it was not to have the intention of crossing things off, like "OK, that's been accomplished. Done." My hope and goal is that many of these items will encourage and inspire me to do them more, and that I can be molded into a better person as a result. Of course, there are some items on my list that are more lighthearted than others ("avoid petting the cat for a day", for example:), but on the whole, I take many pretty seriously.

Living in this city has changed my perspective on the homeless and the way we should see them and treat them. Attending our church and listening to the inspiring sermons from JR and Kenny (and Kristian!) have only furthered the desire in me to help these people.

Often times, Steve and I will hand them a $5 McDonald's card, a HFNY resource card, or offer to buy them a meal. We're occasionally turned down, but the majority of our experiences have been positive; those we've helped truly seemed grateful, but we always wonder what more we can do, and I get pretty overwhelemd when I can't help someone. We know we can't help everyone, but sometimes I wonder if my excuses are just that- excuses.

What's all this leading up to? Well, Steve and I have a story to tell.

While running errands up around 86th and Lex this past Fri night, we passed a young woman sitting on the sidewalk with a small cardboard sign that read "homeless- please help." We were pretty loaded down but didn't have any good excuse (there's that word again...) not to stop. I asked her if I could get her something to eat and she smiled and said "Sure, that would be great!" and I let her know I'd be right back with some pizza. I dropped Steve off at Petco with our bags in a shopping cart and went across the street to a pizza joint to get her a slice and a bottle of water.

When I returned, we talked for a little while about her situation and how she got there. Turns out she's married, had a baby several months back and got a severe blood clot as a result, and her husband lost his job while he was caring for her and the baby (in FL at the time). When they moved to her husband's family (in NJ), they were in essence "kicked out" and forced to try their luck on the streets of Philly, leaving their son with his family. After several harrowing experiences there, they decided to catch a bus to NYC and for the past couple of months they've been camping out in an abandoned house in the Bronx, below a few bridges, and behind some bushes they've found.

I told her I'd be back with Steve and some more pizza for her husband, and when we returned we met her husband and spoke with them some more. We told them about our chuch and invited them to come on Sunday; we left them with Steve's "diaconate" card with his number and our church's address, and then couldn't get them out of our minds.

Well, God is good. They showed up Sunday morning, with their pillow case full of their few belongings and were enthusiastic over the service. They sang, took communion, prayed- we were inpressed on Fri night when we met them that they kept bringing up Jesus, and their desire to get back into a church, etc. We never actually told them we were Christian, they just assumed when we mentioned church, that it was that kind of church. Not sure why, but I thought that was pretty cool. We were also impressed that to them, their biggest need right now was to find a job- housing was secondary. We knew they were serious about changing their situation.

It's amazing how the few people we told responded when hearing their story. JR and Kenny immediately offered the churchs' services in finding them a place to stay for the next couple of nights and getting them set up with an unlimited metro card. So our afternoon yesterday was spent getting them set up with metro cards, taking them to a hostel on the UWS and getting them settled there, stocking up on some toiletries and basic needs at a Rite-Aid, and sharing lunch with them.

I envisioned No. 16 on my list quite differently than what we experienced yesterday. There we all were enjoying combo meals at a Subway- four people who you probably would've guessed were just old friends. Much of our conversation was over their experiences as being homeless (days without food, having to pick through trash, getting mugged, being turned down at shelters, etc), but a lot of it was just plain talking- about our likes/dislikes, funny stories, etc.

Well, looks like this post has turned into another one of my very wordy ones, but I could just go on and on and don't really know where to stop- so much to say! Steve and I are feeling so much right now, and we know that we've made a commitment to this couple and that we must be willing to leverage our own lives now (our comforts, our resources, our time) to help them. We left them yesterday in a youth hostel with an air-conditioned room, clean sheets, and a shower for them for two nights, along with a packet full of resources from HFNY; from there, we're hoping to get them set up in another hostel or the "Y" while we (and AC) help them in looking for jobs, etc.

It's such a comfort and blessing to have our awesome church behind us, and all that they have already done to help. We'll hopefully be in touch with them tonight (someone bought them a phone the other day- how cool is that???) to see how they're doing, and we're hoping they'll join our Community Group this week.

Pray for our new friends. We pray that they will find a job to start them on their way of getting back on their feet; we pray that they will find affordable housing; we pray that they will experience God's love and provision through this time. Please also pray for Steve and I- that we will know how best to minister to them, and also have wisdom in discerning which ways we're unable to help.

There will certainly be more on this new chapter of our lives, and thanks for taking the time to read this ...

Four thumbs, two ticks, and a wedding

What a trip! We have returned from our tour down the east coast, and all in all, it was a good time. Never got to see anybody for a very long period of time, but we had nice visits with both sets of parents and my awesome friend, Cindy.

One of the most memorable portions of our trip, oddly enough, happened to be during our bus ride down from NYC to DC. In less than a four hour span, we watched quite possibly the worst movie we had ever seen (shown on screens throughout the bus), followed by one of the sweetest and cutest movies we've ever seen (on the laptop).

"The Eye of the Beholder"

Steer clear of this one! We actually burst out into hysterical laughter when the movie ended, in disbelief at what we had just wasted an hour and 1/2 of our time on. I can't even describe it... it was just bad. But we kept thinking it had to turn around, or there had to be some sort of twist, something to make it worth sticking through! But, sigh, never happened. Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd couldn't save this one. Steve and I both give it two thumbs way down!!!

"Lars and the Real Girl"

Now this is a movie to see. I won't spoil anything for you, but if you want a feel good movie that makes you think, wondering "what would I do?" and "what would happen if...?," AND has you cracking up with stitches in your side, then this is for you. It was both one of the funniest and most heartwarming movies I've seen in some time, and as it followed one of the most wretched I'd seen in a while, that made it all the better. In fairness though, we did watch "Lars" again with my parents later in the week and loved it just as much the second time through, if not more. So this one gets two thumbs way up from us!!!

Otherwise, not too much else exciting happened on the trip, except that I had a tick on/in me- AAAHHH!!! While we were in NC visiting Steve's folks, we went to a beautiful wooded area so Steve and his dad could do some photography together, and lo and behold after we get home, who's the lucky winner of a tick embedded abdomen? You guessed it. Ick, not fun. Luckily, Steve's mom is a pro at removing them from the head and it wasn't the kind that carries Lyme Disease- whew! Gross none-the-less. Steve found one crawling on his arm on the car ride home and flung it out the window, so I'm not completely convinced it didn't come right back in and burrow into my flesh. Hehe, just kidding, love. I'm sure it was a different one...

Anyhow, at least there were some great pictures out of the whole thing and below is one my favorites from the bunch.

And here we are at the wedding reception with my Cinders (pals since 4th grade!!!) and her husband, Tim.

It ended up being a nice trip, but it's good to be back. :)

A Thousand Words

Don't be alarmed by the title- I'm still sticking to my goal of being less wordy. So below are some pictures that reflect the happenings of the Masons as of late, most of which were mentioned in last week's entry. They're in reverse order of what I had hoped, cause I can't figure out how to move them around once they're uploaded... anyhow, here goes:

Our new table!

Desiree's surprise 30th birthday party at the Gin Mill last Monday- fun times!

Our community group: Steve and I with Jay and Desiree Sholes,

Heather and Pete Little.

Last weekend at the mexican Fiesta party- Gasch Bash 08!

Yes, it does appear that I'm winking at the camera... such a flirt.

In Central Park last Saturday celebrating sweet, baby Kate's 1-year birthday!!!

Kate wasn't too sure what to think about Gracie... she was a good dog though last week; thanks Mom and Dad, for letting us enjoy her!

We also had a wonderful 4th of July celebration at the Sullivan's awesome new digs; we grilled out on their fabulous patio with Shawna's cool parents and our fun friends, Kristian and Katy Rose and The Dunbars- Jeff, Sarah, Jackson, and Chase.

And coming up this week... our tour of the Eastern seaboard! On Monday, we take a bus down to DC and stay the night with my parents in Alexandria, VA; we leave Tuesday morning for a visit to Steve's parents in Wake Forest, NC; Thursday morning we head back up to VA; then Friday afternoon, it's off to Westminster, MD for the rehearsal dinner and Saturday wedding of my dear friend, Cindy's, sister, Lisa. After staying one last night on Saturday with my folks, it's a bus back up to NYC on Sunday. Whew! Wish us luck... :)