this is the group that went to the bowery. my heart misses this place almost every day. ♥

i’ve been thinking about them often. little moments here and there will trigger those memories and take me back to that life-changing time.

in december of 2010, something happened that changed my life. forever. i went with a group of students from my school on a mission trip to the bowery mission. we volunteered with men who were currently homeless. the mission of the bowery offers men like this a warm meal and an option for a different life. men who accept this challenge turn over their worldly ways in exchange for a fresh start. they are given a place to stay and a life with purpose. people that come through the bowery capture your heart the moment you arrive. all of these men faced extreme hardships. some men where there because of their addictions to drugs or alcohol. other men were there because of situations out of their control and the bowery was their only sanctuary. no matter what the circumstance, they found a way to turn it around and give the glory back to God.

in the Bible, there is a story where Jesus washes his own disciples’ feet. never once did He think He was above them. He served them out of love. that is what i learned at the bowery. i learned that to serve someone is to love them. i learned that we are no better than anyone else and that God loves us all the same. i learned to view people through God’s eyes and love them like He does. one huge piece of knowledge i took back from working at the bowery is that love comes in all shapes and sizes. i never once thought that those men could love someone like me. i thought they were going to think i was a spoiled little princess and had no right to be helping them. i was wrong. they taught me so much. they loved me regardless of who i was. they never once made me feel like i didn’t belong. 🙂

basically, after the first day of being there, they captured my heart. it was all about love and acceptance. that was the best Christmas gift i have ever received. it was so hard coming home after that. Christmas was different, but in a good way. i just would have given anything to have spent it at the bowery. it was a life-changing and i HAVE to go back one day. soon.  i thank God all the time for letting me experience something as precious as that.  my heart misses them. i can’t wait to go back and show God’s love to people. it’s the best thing in the world.

i can’t believe this december it will be 2 years since i’ve been there. i still think about the bowery often and it will always have a piece of my heart.

♥

p.s. i apologize for the poor picture quality. this was before i learned manual.

the street where it all started.

she approves! 🙂

some of us girls in the kitchen!

brother and sister

still one of my favorite pictures of her! 😉

baby carlos!

dean called me his angel, when really he was my angel! 🙂

we would have worship services there at least 3 times a day. it was beautiful! everyone who was at the bowrey, living there and visiting, would stop in for some jesus time. it was amazing! i miss it!

this happened one night when we were all singing praise and worship with the men. the people in the audience are not the regular men who live at the bowery. these were the men who were homeless and still lived on the streets, but came to the bowery to enjoy a warm meal and hear a sermon.

singing worship songs. some of our favorites for the week were: “washed by the water” and “desert song.” i still think of the bowery every time those songs come on.

the bunk beds had quotes and advice from previous people who had served at the bowery. so cool!

one of my favorite stores. this was right down the block. carly and i stumbled across this beauty when we went exploring. 😉

and here was our favorite cupcake shop. we stopped by this place almost every day. i really hope to go back here again too. they had the best blueberry muffins too! yum! makes me want to go there now! hehe. 😉

go miami!

dean was so cool. he used to be an artist for disney!

peter! he was the head guy at the bowery.

love these girls!

this is ali. he’s the head of the kitchen staff. he was always telling us to be patient and grateful for what God had given us. AMEN!!! 🙂

miami was the comedian of the group. he always knew how to make us laugh and he had such a genuine heart.

warren. a true angel. i never got to hear his story personally, but carly did. she told us how he lost his mom at a very young age. he was also in the world trade centers when they crashed. he never really did anything to be homeless. he just had a lot of unfortunate events happen to happen. the real miracle out of all of this was he remained grateful and joyful. he always had the biggest smile on his face and praised God through everything.

david was like a cat. he had nine lives. there were so many instances God protected him and kept him alive before he came to the bowery. such a blessing.