Friday in New York

WHAT A DAY!! It has been so spectacular today. We started at 7:00 AM at the Hope Center. After we made more than 60 gallons of soup, we realized the brown rice was infested with worms and our soup was corrupt! We quickly discarded, washed and made a second batch so we could head out to Chelsea Park on the Lower Westside of Manhattan. We met lots of great people, some you will see pictured here. Kevin really connected with Billy, the guy pictured with him. The soup was good and satisfied my lunch. The bread is donated from a local bakery and is fresh and delicious. So many people live such hard lives...it was such a blessing for all of us to be able to provide a positive spirit, a warm cup of soup, a listening ear, or an encouraging word.

After the morning bus ride (which took us through the Lincoln tunnel and some interesting traffic), we walked to the Tropicana Diner. Talk about a big menu. We refueled on some good food and came back to the Hope Center for the evening bus. This time we headed out to the projects of Elizabeth. The children at this site were so beautiful and encouraging. I was struck by a 12 year old girl who was clearly in charge of her younger siblings, including a younger brother and a 3 year old sister. They were so beautiful, and happy to have our hot chocolate!

We got back to the Hope Center and cleaned up and were done around 9:15 PM. I think everyone is quite tired and worn out from the day. We start again tomorrow morning at 7:00AM and are headed to the Bronx. It is such a joy to be here!