Children’s Bible Fellowship of New York
This spring break I was privileged to spend four days serving with Children’s Bible Fellowship of New York. This is a wonderful ministry that seeks to spread Jesus’ love to everyone. CBF originally began as a residential boarding school and a summer camp for children with disabilities: Camp Joy and Camp Hope. We stayed on site. The organization evolved with changes in government funding, and now CBF does outreach to inner city populations year-round in addition to summer camp. Over our four days there, we got to experience a little bit of everything CBF does.
On the first day, we went through orientation and then helped out with some work projects around the camp. On the second day, we split up and went to different churches in the Bronx. That was an experience. After, we went to Belsky–a residential living complex for individuals with cerebral palsy. On the third day, we again ventured into the Bronx to help out with an after school program and to reach out to children in a local park. A Tennessee team came up that night, so we got to worship with them and share testimonies from our weekend. Finally, on the fourth day, we worked around camp some more and then headed back to Messiah.
Those four days were absolutely exhausting, especially since I slept for less than four hours the night before we left. This trip has been one of the most challenging service trips, but also one of the most rewarding. The CBF staff we worked with was absolutely wonderful! They were a big family that picked on each other, entirely out of love. We quickly learned how to fit right in. Our team was also the quietest team I have ever been on. No one really knew anyone else. This allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and be assertive, especially during times of uncertainty when my teammates looked to me as their leader.
What I really want to share are a few of the lessons I learned through this trip. First, I really enjoyed our time in the park. I have always loved working with inner-city children; they’re a fun population. I am free to be my quirky self and engage through a common interest–in this case, a game of nine-square. Here is a video if you are unfamiliar with the sport:
My other big moment was at Belsky. It was an interesting experience to interact with individuals with cerebral palsy. As a biopsychology major, I’ve studied the disorder. But it’s an entirely different level of understanding to read and to experience disabilities. Honestly, I was surprised. These people are just like you and me. They may have difficulty speaking, but that did not stop them from trying to get to know us and share their stories. When we said goodbye, I even got a hug! It was humbling to transform these individuals from research subjects to friends.
We spent some time worshiping, too. These individuals may not have had the greatest sounding voices or the ability to maintain tempo, but they praised God nonetheless. They live all out for God, and He knows their hearts. How awesome! One lady, Sharlita, even danced for us! She lacked the grace of a ballerina, but it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! It was genuine and from the heart. One lady shared a wonderful insight with us:
“Everyone has disabilities. It’s just more obvious in some people than in others.”
YES. College has been a long four years of realizing that I’m not perfect and learning how to rehabilitate and strengthen those areas of weakness. And even if I can’t ever be fixed completely, I can rest assured that God has made me this way for a reason and praise Him for it all. There is so much to learn when we open our hearts and our minds.
I shared this as my testimony of the weekend. Note: I generally do not voluntarily get in front of groups, especially when I share such vulnerable details about my heart. But I gave God what little courage I had to offer and He did the rest. Actually, I was chatting with an old youth leader last night, and she expressed how impressed she is by my growth over the eight years she has known me. She is proud of how I allow God to stretch me and how my faith is entirely my own. I have latched on to God and now I’m leading a team of peers–a big step up from hiding in a box at Christmas because of my social anxiety.
This trip I came to serve, but I ended feeling ministered to way more than I could have imagined. It almost felt like a retreat. I was completely removed from Messiah, academics, troubling relationships, and anxiety about the future. Plus we spent all our free time in fellowship and worship. This is the most God-focused I have been in a while, and it’s something I have been craving for months now. I chose to serve God instead of myself during spring break, and He ended up blessing me immensely. God is good.
