New Jersey has received us with a safe trip and plenty of food. We arrived a few hours later than estimated and missed the entire super bowl, but I was ok with that. When we arrived around 11 pm we were welcomed into a home bursting with life as we dodged the children excitedly running around. The house bursting with hospitality and they happily greeted us, then guided us to a table then placed plates full of food in front of us. It was like being back in the Middle East again. We were swept in with swarm of introductions and then personally escorted by one of our contacts, Ali, to the homes we’d be staying in about 20 minutes away from where we’d just had dinner. Ali lives an hour from where our team was staying and could have easily just given us the address, but we chose to take us there himself.
We three girls stayed at the home of a Puerto Rican couple, Jamie and Nancy. They were asleep by the time we arrived, but we were able to meet Jamie in the morning. We were only there for two nights, but each morning they had breakfast set out for us, and Nancy went out at 5:30 am the morning before we left to bring back bagels for our team before we hit the road. We are just being blessed by people left and right. God is so good. A small Korean church we attended the day we left Boston took an offering for us the day we left and sent us on our way with $130 in cash, the exact amount we ended up needing the next day to fix our van (turns out the sway bar wasn’t attached to the steering or something really dangerous like that. Thank you Lord for your protection :)...). The following night our new Jersey friends from the Resting Place House of Prayer (RPHOP- www.restingplacehop.com/ ) took a Love offering for us which we were able use that for housing and to bless our hosts in Pennsylvania. God is faithful and trustworthy.
One of the highlights of our time in New Jersey, besides experiencing such supernatural hospitality, was being part of RPHOP’s prayer night. It was a time of worshiping God through prayer, singing and ministering to those in need. I was able to pray for a woman who struggled with rejection and anxiety. I watched the way God brought healing and peace to her as the tears came and her countenance changed during our prayer.
The craziest part about this night was the spontaneous joining of YWAMers. One of the teams from our Kona base that is halfway through their outreach in NYC was there, in addition to two of the staff from the Harrisburg base, and two other staff from our Kona base. We had no idea any of us would be there, but God did. It was a night of bringing family together and I loved every minute of it. New Jersey has formed a new place in my heart and I hope someday I get to pass through there again.
We three girls stayed at the home of a Puerto Rican couple, Jamie and Nancy. They were asleep by the time we arrived, but we were able to meet Jamie in the morning. We were only there for two nights, but each morning they had breakfast set out for us, and Nancy went out at 5:30 am the morning before we left to bring back bagels for our team before we hit the road. We are just being blessed by people left and right. God is so good. A small Korean church we attended the day we left Boston took an offering for us the day we left and sent us on our way with $130 in cash, the exact amount we ended up needing the next day to fix our van (turns out the sway bar wasn’t attached to the steering or something really dangerous like that. Thank you Lord for your protection :)...). The following night our new Jersey friends from the Resting Place House of Prayer (RPHOP- www.restingplacehop.com/ ) took a Love offering for us which we were able use that for housing and to bless our hosts in Pennsylvania. God is faithful and trustworthy.
One of the highlights of our time in New Jersey, besides experiencing such supernatural hospitality, was being part of RPHOP’s prayer night. It was a time of worshiping God through prayer, singing and ministering to those in need. I was able to pray for a woman who struggled with rejection and anxiety. I watched the way God brought healing and peace to her as the tears came and her countenance changed during our prayer.
The craziest part about this night was the spontaneous joining of YWAMers. One of the teams from our Kona base that is halfway through their outreach in NYC was there, in addition to two of the staff from the Harrisburg base, and two other staff from our Kona base. We had no idea any of us would be there, but God did. It was a night of bringing family together and I loved every minute of it. New Jersey has formed a new place in my heart and I hope someday I get to pass through there again.
**Our crew enjoying Starbucks with the gift cards one of Elizabeth's supporters gave us :)
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