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Today is Saturday
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In the City First, an apology. We went sightseeing on Saturday and we discovered that there's a lot to see in New York, and it takes a long time for 55 people to see it. We left Faith Baptist Church at 9 a.m. and returned about 11 p.m. -- a 14-hour day. Needless to say we were tired and went to bed. That's why there was no Web update at 9 p.m. Saturday night. But, better late than never, right? The day was beautiful. We
began with a brief meeting, then all 51 of us walked about What a sight! Where the Trade Center's twin towers once stood was now a vast empty space in the heart of the city. A fence surrounds the site, and on it are plaques and memorials commemorating the building and those who died when they were attacked in 2001. We spent about an hour there, remembering what happened.
The kids also had their first experience with street vendors. Many of your teens now own knock-offs of Oakley sunglasses and Prada purses. Ask Tyler how much he paid for his sunglasses. Another word of advice: If Ben Fleming wants you to come over and watch a movie with him, prepare to be underwhelmed at the quality.
Following another train ride,
we got on the Staten Island Ferry. We took the ferry over, disembarked,
then got right back on for the return trip. The water view was what we
really wanted -- we got a great look at the Manhattan skyline, plus got
within a quarter mile of the Statue of Liberty. After dinner at a New York deli, we made our way to the Empire State Building. Things got a little crazy on the way up -- lots of lines, ticket confusion. But the few inconveniences were well worth it when we stepped out onto the observation deck. What a view! It was dusk and there were streaks of pink and peach in the west. The sky grew dark as we were up there and the lights below grew sharper, brighter. It was stunning. The trip back to Faith Baptist was smooth -- hey! we're getting the hang of this subway thing! We got to bed as quickly as possible to be ready for a big day today (Sunday). Today we will serve FBC in song at its three services -- morning, Spanish and afternoon. It will be a great time at a great church in what we're discovering to be a great city. Pray for our team. Pray for Faith Baptist Church. And pray for Doug Lowery who led us through the city Saturday on a bad foot and needs to get to a doctor to have it checked out. |
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six
blocks from Faith Baptist to the neares
t
elevated train station. Once there, we loaded up (that was an experience)
and headed to the city. A couple of trains later and we surfaced in lower
Manhattan near the site of the World Trade Center.
One particularly striking
thing at the WTC site was a cross of steel girders. The cross was found in
the rubble after the towers were destroyed. Inscriptions could be seen on
the cross, though we couldn't get close enough to read them.
After a bathroom stop in the
Millenium Hilton (the bathrooms were on the third floor, but the hotel is
about 60 total), we went to Chinatown, Little Italy and -- most important
-- Canal Street for some serious shopping. Everything and anything New
York -- shirts, hats, bags, you name it -- could be found and bartered
for. 