New York

I was so thrilled that the Lord opened the door to minister in New York December 16-24. I had expected to work mainly at Mt. Sinai hospital and part time in the evenings with the Billy Graham Prayer Center as a counselor. When I called Chaplain Florence Sunday


Departing December 16 7:00 a.m. from Ontario	Connecting to Dallas/Fort Worth

We were delayed two hours due to rain.	I stayed at the YMCA on 63rd near the SW corner of Central Park


On my way to Harvest each morning I would go down Central Park South which becomes 8th St. to Broadway then left on 46th St., about a 3/4 mile walk.	A closer view of the statue on the corner

The main dispatch center for the Billy Graham Prayer Center is at Harvest Christian Fellowship on 56th near Carnegie Hall.	This is the view from the church up towards Carnegie Hall.

Believe it or not, this is the front door to the church which also serves as a dance studio during the week.	The fellowship hall on the third floor was our meeting place for orientation, worship, devotions, and deployment.

The church was so gracious and hospitable to the 300 volunteers that came to help the week of Dec. 17-24. Bagels, creme cheese, orange juice and coffee served daily at 10:00 a.m.	Most people came in groups of ten or more, mainly Calvary Chapel churches. I and four others came alone, so we became a group. Our first assignment was to work at Harvest to mat and frame lithographs for 150 fire stations in Manhattan. Two of my team members were Patrick on the left, who is a V.A. chaplain from South Dakota. Diana is a jail chaplain in Arizona. Raul on the right is on staff at the church, giving instructions, setting up sound and refreshments were among his many responsibilities.

Here are my other two team members, Camille, and her granddaughter, Nicole from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Camille's son, and Nicole's dad's name is Dana, so I was instantly adopted into their family.	Monday afternoon our team got on the subway to deliver lithographs to two fire stations. At the first the fireman in charge accepted the wrapped gift and thanked us. The second station invited us in for a long visit and pictures.

There is a ladder company and an engine company in each station.	The whole team from left to right: Camille, Dana, Diana, Patrick and Nicole.

This station had lost nine men on September 11. The families are very close. The Captain who died was promoted postmortem as he had already earned the promotion. The roster for that day is permanently posted.	Coming back from the fire stations Monday night, I got lost in Central Park but found some beautiful trees.

The Lamb's Store at the Lamb's Theater Manhattan Nazarene Church on 44th St. offered free Christmas shopping for laid off and displaced workers. My team and I worked here four days. After shopping they could enjoy punch and cookies and a warm fire. Then go upstairs for counseling, Bibles, tracts, and Christian CD's.	Since I speak Spanish and many of those seeking aid did, I sat at the front desk taking people's name address, and phone number, and inquiring about the number of children and adults they would shop for and giving them a number. Another volunteer would then help them shop, and another would pack their bags from an inventory in the basement.

The Lambs Theater built in 1904 continues to show off-Broadway plays	This is some of the literature given out from Harvest Christian Fellowship. All of it is stamped by staff or volunteers with stickers for both the Prayer Center and Harvest.

The first of couple of days the weather was mild then it cooled off and rained.	If you look close you will find a black poodle in this mans bag on the subway.