Here is an update from Mary Kate that she send out about a week ago:
Hello Friends and Family,
Yesterday, I was teaching my students about descriptions, and we talked about how we describe things based on our five senses: seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, and touching. I wanted to teach them how to communicate what a person or object is like. On my way home later that day, I thought about how much I have had to adjust my senses since being in New York City. I have seen things that I have never seen before: temples, sky scrapers, people from every nation, train, things pleasant and things utterly disgusting and wicked. I seem to have inhaled the dirtiness of the city from the crammed transportation, yet I have breathed in the aroma of new foods and my favorite, Chai.
There are so many sounds that I hear every day: people yelling at each other, different languages being spoken, the traffic, the subway, the bus, the sirens, the rain, etc. I don't think people ever have one moment of quiet.
However, last night I heard the most beautiful sound, placing my feet on higher ground. I heard the richness of people from Muslim backgrounds, praying to God the Father in different languages and with different accents. I attended a prayer meeting at a church that partners with the ministry I work with, and I was so encouraged to see them praying and to get to know some of the members in the congregation.
During the week, I work at both Metropolitan Baptist Church and at the South Asian Center of Urban Impact.
Tuesdays through Thursdays I work all day at the South Asian Center and my focus is Bangladeshi Muslims. I teach English classes and do personal tutoring and eat in restaurants and shop in local neighborhood stores to form relationships. I also work with weekly high school and college teams who come to volunteer with us.
I think I have bored you enough for now with so many details. Although, I have not begun to scratch the surface of all that has happened here. I want to express my gratitude for your prayers. I am fully aware of them! I have to enter into places of much spiritual warfare: the Sikh temple, mosques, etc. Just yesterday, I took a high school team into a Hindu store full of idols, incense, and books of religion. Sometimes, the darkness just seems overwhelming. Please pray for strength during these times. All we want is to bring light to the darkness.
Please pray:
- That people would be open to the gospel and that I would have the boldness to share (2 Tim. 4:5).
- For intimate time with God and for increased wisdom in love (Philip. 1:9-11, Col. 1:10).
- For new relationships and friendships and for more understanding of the Bangladeshi people.
- For the women whom live with: that they would know Christ and the power of the cross.
- For encouragement and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to endure suffering and to preach the gospel.
- For unity with my teammates: that we would glorify God.
Much love,
Mary Kate