New Adventures

Friday for lunch we had ETHIOPIAN food. I have had so many different types of cuisine since I arrived in NYC. It has been a good experience, but I would rather just stick to my Mexican, Italian and Chinese food.
This weekend we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. IT IS BEAUTIFUL!! I was in awe before we even went inside. The building is huge. Once we got inside, I am pretty sure that my mouth dropped to the floor. There are so many different exhibits with so much art. I have to say that I really enjoy looking at the religious art. We also decided to go to the Cloisters. It is part of the Met, but at the northernmost tip of Manhattan. The Cloisters is like a European church. Different chapels with religious art from many different centuries. I felt so at peace while walking through the wings. It was a day that several of us got to know each other better. That night, one of my friends' friends came into town, so some of us spent time with him and his friends. It was nice just to relax with my new friends. The Village is just so different that what I am used to. We left around 1.30 and the streets were packed. Night spots are open until 4 am here...that is so late!
Sunday we went to Riverside Church. It is a non denominational church that relates to the American Baptist Association. The service is one that I would not normally want to go to. The minister, Dr. James Forbes, is an amazing preacher, but it was just not the style that I am used to. The church is beautiful, very cathedral looking.
Monday our sessions were conducted by two people from the University of the Poor, which is an extension of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign. I can see myself working for this campaign in the future because poverty transcends race and education.
Tuesday we completed our press releases for different parts of the Church. So look for it on different media outlets of the Church. In the afternoon we met our liaisons for the National Mission Institutions. One of the liaisons told me to contact her after my two years about a teaching job at one of the mission schools and one is in Puerto Rico! I have to keep this job in mind when my placement is finished.
Today we did a scavenger hunt in Chinatown so we could experience a different culture. In the afternoon we traveled to Harlem to learn about community building from the Action for Community Empowerment group. Now I know how to get the community involved in different issues.
We were informed that Kathleen, the Interim Executive Secretary for Young Adult Programs, is taking leave until the new year. Her husband passed away in Nepal a few months ago. He was doing missionary work in the region. She decided to take a leave because she has been working non-stop and hasn't had time to herself. Please pray for her.
It feels so surreal that we are only here for a few more days and then only two weeks at home before we have to leave. This experience has been an experience of a life time and now I can't imagine not being in the US-2 program.
Commisioning is on Sunday, so at 11 EST pray for the US-2 Class of 2006 because we will be official missionaries of the United Methodist Church.