Okay so I PROMISE I'll change the picture when I have more time. Maybe next weekend. Here's a copy and paste of the email I sent Stacy, it'll make it easier for me that way -
I got back yesterday from my trip. It was a great experience. The whole group got along really well - a perfect mix of personalities. And I'll never look at Dr. Lewis the same way again haha he's kinda crazy sometimes, it's great. I'll give you a brief rundown of what we did -

Sat. 5/14 - Left at 9am, got to a camp in Pennyslvania in the evening where we ate dinner and slept.
Sun 5/15 - Left Penn at 7am (non dumb indiana time), got to NYC in the evening. We stayed at the YMCA in Manhattan, got dinner, which was WAY too expensive. NYC in general was more expensive but this was a chicken club sandwhich for $9. We got MetroCards (they are $24 and you can use them as much as you want for a week and work for buses and the subway). We walked around Time Square and Central Park. Slept.
Mon 5/16 - Took the bus to Harlem and went to this place called Little Sisters of the Assumption Health Care. Not sure what the name means but it was a faith-based institution that provides free in-home health care for ppl living in the projects, and that's kinda how they build a relationship and then start talking about Christ. They also have a day-care type thing. We had pizza for lunch - a huge slice of cheese for only $1, it was good. But weird because it was an Indian restaurant. But regular pizza. then went to a place that is for men who have "life-challenging problems" - mostly addictions but not necessarily. They live in a house together and they refurnish furniture 1) to accomplish something and 2) to earn money for the program. Then we went to a place, I don't know the name, that has two different programs. One is to help children who have incarcerated mothers and the other works with teens to prevent family violence.
Tues 5/17 - We went to a REALLY cool ministry place. They take homeless ppl and teach them art/craft projects so they can do somethng with their hands and feel good about themselves, build friendships, and sometimes they sell the art. We went to a place that houses runaways. Well actually the kids show up and they let them stay there no matter what the problem is, and they give them a few days before they have to show ID. They help the kids get jobs. They help the kids fix things with their families. It sounded a lot like Triple L - the place I interned in the fall, but they don't have to be referenced there. We went to a mid-week evening church service at Times Sqaure Church. It was soo amazing. It really was what the "church" should be. It's inter-denominational, a variety of worship styles. But here's the cool part - the congregatoin. There were whites, asians, blacks, hispanics - everyone. And they weren't segregated amongst themselves. And there wasn't a majority either. And there were homeless people and rich people and everyone in between. I LOVED IT!
Wed 5/18 - This day we met a guy named Richard Lewis. He's an evangelist now but he's done EVERYTHING. He used to be NYPD and he won the Medal of Honor twice, he knows martial arts, he trained for the Olympics, he's written several books, he's an evangelist now, and there's a lot more he's done that I don't remember. But yeah. He drove us around in our van to different churches. Some are huge. Some aren't. Hahaha yeah. Then we did this thing called the Raven Ministry (don't know why it's called that) it's with Times Square Church. They bag sandwhiches, chips, and fruit and go give it to homeless people and they also give out tracks. So we were in this room in the church waiting to go out and they said there was another group who were going to come also. So they walk in and we start talking to them - definately from North Anderson CHOG. How weird is that? I guess the guy leading it knows Dr. Lewis 'cause they're on some committee together or something but he walked in, shook Lewis' hand and asked "Are you Max?" and Lewis was like "I'm James Lewis" and the guy was like "Oh my gosh! I walked in and saw you and I thought 'That looks just like James Lewis!'" - weird. Oh and didn't like the Raven Ministry. Matthew 6.
Thurs 5/19 - In the morning we went to Riverside Church. They are a HUGE church! It's the 2nd tallest building in NYC post 9/11 and yeah, HUGE. Their sanctuary is a replica of a cathedral in France. They have a social justice pastor and we talked to him - they do a lot for the community, and they're very libreral. It was cool. Then we went to a Christian private elementary school. After we toured there we got to help with their feeding program. Every evening they have a soup kitchen, but once or twice a month they have a food drive and also have some donated clothes that each person can pick 3 pieces of clothing from. The area this school is in is like 85% Hispanic and 15% black, so a lot of people only knew spanish. Roommate, you should be proud of me. Towards the end there was only one box of clothes left that had some blusa in it and this lady who habla no englias pointed to her pants and I was able to tell her "No mas pantalones." haha. I thought of you.
Fri 5/20 - I only remember one of the places we went. It was a transition program for men getting out of prison. It was cool. Then we went out for a nicer dinner at TGIFriday's b/c it was Joe Thomas' 21st bday.

I really liked staying at the Y. It was kinda like a dorm, each room was SMALL (by small I mean smaller than our bedroom in Mansfield) with a bunk bed a dresser, and the dresser has a TV on it. Then there's a community bathroom w/ 2 toilets and 3 showers (at least for the women). I stayed w/ Jenna. Terry and Karissa Blackford have been married for a year and they got go stay together. It was kinda weird b/c I'm not used to married ppl my age being on a trip w/ me. Almost every night Gene, Joe, Shannon, Jenna and I would sit in one of our rooms and reflect on the day and it would turn theological and not debate but discussion and it made me think a lot and it was cool.

Do you remember the movie Serendipity? We went to the restaurant by the same name. We didn't eat there - it's a desert shoppe and a banana split was $18!!! But we went one night. And got lost. And walked around a not-so-great-but-not-the-worst-neighborhood. It was cool. Here's a fun story: It's a night, mid-week, and we (Gene, Joe, Shannon, Jenna, myself) are walking down the street back to the Y. Gene says, "Here's an idea. How about we do something different. Something that not every tourist does when they go to New York. Let's mug somebody." So we took turns mugging each other. Hmmm. Okay. Back to one day at a time...

Sat 5/21 - We had a free day in NYC. We went to Ground Zero. It wasn't as emotional as I expected. I think it might be because there were so many people there and it was like 10 am and I dunno. I took pictures though. They're still doing reconstruction on some of the surrounding buildings. Then we took the Staten Island Ferry, which goes right by the Statue of Liberty. Then we went to Chinatown ate and did some shopping (I bought a I [heart] NY shirt, but I got it in black) then we went to a store that was women's clothing they mostly had really cute springy cotton skirts and pants and shirts that were very trendy and it was like TJMaxx where it's different name brands, but cheaper. I bought a shirt for $5,I don't remember the original price. Then Shannon said her roommate told her there was an Old Navy that was HUGE (her roommate lived in NYC all summer last year) and we walked all over the place where she said it was and didn't see it, then got tired.

In NYC I ate Chinese twice, and also at Thai and Japanese. Yum. Yay for asian food. All the ministry places we went to (except "no mas pantalones" and the raven ministry) we just sat as they told us about the ministry)

Sun 5/22 - We went to a small church of God in NY then drove to D.C. In D.C. there's a program called Center for Student Missions (CSM) and they rent out part of a church, and that's where we stayed. They have some college interns that are "hosts" and when groups come in (mostly high schoolers) they go with them to different ministries and it's all hands on. I did this in high school w/ my youth group so it was weird to be back, but also cool. Sunday we just got there, met Allison (our host), bought groceries for sack lunches, and slept.
Mon 5/23 - We woke up REALLY early to go to 3rd St Prayer Breakfast. They serve breakfast to homeless ppl and before hand have a worship service and short sermon. I served pastries. Then we went to Food and Friends which was my favorite place 4 yrs ago and still is. They pack a lunch, dinner, and breakfast for the next day in a bag. Each bag/meal is specific for the person who gets it. They serve it to people with terminal illnesses. It started as just for AIDS but now they do others like cancer, etc. They deliver it to the ppl's homes. They have dietitians who help and stuff, so it's a great program. It's not faith-based. It's cool. Monday I delivered meals. Then we went to an after school program called the Fishing School. It's for elementary kids and they just hang out and also do tutoring. It's a Christian program. I didn't really get to hang out with the kids though b/c they need a few of us to go to this other school and grade standardized tests. The tests were taken at the fishing school and it was to see if the kids were improving so they could show donors/grants that there is a purpose for their ministry. Then we ate dinner. Then we did the prayer tour. Last time we started in front of the white house but this time we started on the Mall (between Washington Monument and Capital) and prayed for politicians and decisions. Then we get in the van and drive around town and learn statistics and pray for different specific things. I remembered this part from last time. You're driving around capital hill, the most expensive housing in the city where a lot of the political interns live. You drive under a bridge and you're in Anacostia, the "worst" part of the city with the most homeless people, the poorest housing, and a lot of violence. 50% (Maybe more, I don't remember) of the people are under 20. We ened at the National Cathedral, then came back for devotion (part of the class assignments) and went to bed.
Tues 5/24 - Food and Friends and Fishing School. At Food and Friends I bagged rolls and boxed cake. Fishing School, graded more tests. Dinner. Devotion. Sleep.
Wed 5/25 - D.C. Central Kitchen. They take left overs from colleges and restaurants and they have chefs who freeze it and re-cook it, or change it a little and serve it to homeless ppl. They aslo bring in homeless ppl, train them in the kitchen, provide jobs for them. I worked along side a former homeless guy. We took cooked chicken brests and pulled them apart into smaller pieces for soup. Then we peeled onions. Then we diced onions and I learned how to do it the professional chef way. I cried about 5 times. Then Fishing School - more grading. Dinner. Devotions. Sleep.
Thurs 5/26 - Prayer Breakfast. Food and Friends - this time I bagged the ppl's meals. Then folded papers. Then ate cookies. Then counted out bags. Then I was done early. Then we went to the Holocaust Museum - incredible. Had been there before, but yeah. Go if you ever get the chance. Dinner. Bed.
Fri 5/27 - Woke up at 2:30 am Indiana Time, left at 3am, drove from D.C. to Anderson, got here around 1pm Moved into intern house. Long freakin' day.