New York: Connecting with parents by loving children

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New Yorkers are known for living in tight areas and making the most out of their homes and space.

alexandra granda130Alexandra GrandaLook at the city itself. The metropolitan area is home to 20.1 million residents. New York is a small space surrounded by yellow cabs, buildings and multitudes of people from every nationality. Visitors want the ultimate New York experience—visiting the Statue of Liberty, Time Square or China Town. These are not bad things at all, but in my time in the city, I have realized how the local New Yorkers want nothing but peace and solitude from the city. 

For people living in Queens, the situation does not get any better. I have met families of 10-plus people who immigrated to United States for a better future and now are living in a one-bedroom apartment with no space for their children to play. Life is not easy in this city. In the afternoons, when parents are out of work, public parks are full of children, running around playgrounds as long as they can until sunset. 

We have been taking mission teams out into public parks to serve the community. We do Kids’ Camps with a variety of games, along with story time and snacks. God has been so gracious to us. The response of the community has been very positive, and we are thankful for that.

granda nycity kidcamp425Puppet shows are part of the Kids’ Camps the mission teams conduct in city parks.Recently, a group of kids ran to me and asked what games were we playing that day. Parents have also come to me sharing how their child keeps talking about the stories they have learned in the past weeks. They tell us how excited their kids are to be at the park again. 

This has been a huge opportunity to reach parents with the gospel. Over several weeks, parents have seen their kids play and be loved by us, and that has allowed many opportunities for us to talk with them about their spirituality. Many of these people come from South Asia, East Asia and South America. It is truly a melting pot, with so many different people groups and background beliefs. 

During story time, we share the creation of the universe and the fall of man in a way that parents and kids are able to understand. Being the only Spanish speaker on our team has allowed me to engage mostly with Hispanics, building true deep relationships with many mothers. Lety has been one of them. I have been getting to know her over the weeks, and God has allowed me to speak truth to her. She comes from a predominately Catholic background, and she is in the process of understanding who Jesus really is. I had the pleasure of giving her a New Testament, and she is working on reading the book of John. God is awesome! 

Another lady that I have spent time with is a Muslim friend practicing Ramadan. She knows I am a follower of Jesus and she also knows I own a Quran. So, she invited me to break [Iftar] fast with her family. We will be talking about Jesus and Islam. Pray that God opens her eyes and those of other Muslim friends as the time of Ramadan ends. 

Alexandra Granda, a campus missionary from the University of Texas Pan-American, is serving with Go Now Missions in New York City.


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