The City that Never Sleeps

Hello there! Welcome :)

              As you may have guessed from my previous posts, I am a bit of a travel addict. I have been very lucky to have been able to travel with my family to a few places in the States and the Bahamas so far. I have also had the opportunity to go on several mission trips with my church within Canada. However, last summer was my favourite and most life-changing mission trip as of yet: the Bowery Mission in New York City.



              While I had been to New York a few times before, I had never experienced it like this. Twenty-eight youth and leaders stayed in the 'volunteer quarters' of a homeless shelter/soup kitchen/men's reform centre for a week, and were recruited to do many different tasks each day. This included cooking and serving meals, cleaning, giving out clothes, handing out food in the park, playing music for the daily chapel services, and more. We also really got a chance to chat and bond with the men in the program and hear their life stories. This was a really eye-opening experience not only for the kids, but for me as a leader as well.

              Though we had many responsibilities during the day, we also had the evenings and a Saturday to do some sightseeing. This meant that we would get to bed each night around midnight and had to be up by 6:30AM (5:45 if we were on breakfast duty). Needless to say that by the end of the week we were all exhausted and hated each other a little bit, but it was well worth it in the end. I am so glad I had this opportunity and am able to share it with you. Here are some photos from our time away at the Bowery Mission!


The girls with one of the men we met from the reform program.


A friend and I at Strawberry Fields (not sure why there is a strange haze over me, this is not so on my computer!)


Our entire group on the roof (again, what is that haze?!)


Men In Black headquarters from the movies.


The chapel at the Bowery.


Me with one of the men from the program, just before leaving.

              I have over 700 photos combined from my camera and phone, but I don't want to be too overwhelming here... This is just a little snippet of my personal highlights from the week. Hope you enjoyed! If you would like more information on the Bowery Mission or are wondering how you can get involved, you can visit their website at www.bowery.org. It really is an amazing place. What was one of your most life-changing experiences? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time,
Liv <3