This past year I have been working with Cru doing campus ministry at Iowa State. With the school year ending, our work on campus slows down. So, we get a summer placement. Cru offers several summer missions for college students to take part in - stateside and internationally. Last fall, I got a survey asking what I'd probably being doing next year and what kind of summer placement I'd prefer. Depending on what you are doing the next year, can largely determine what you will do over the summer. When I filled out the survey last fall, I hadn't yet decided what I'd be doing next, but most likely another year of ministry. I just wasn't sure where to do ministry - internationally with Cru or another stateside internship. (I eventually to do an a year of ministry internationally with Cru!)
In February, I got an email saying that I'd be on the Jersey Shore Summer Mission staff team. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed to read this. New Jersey was one of the last places I wanted to go. I said that I would prefer an international summer mission placement. And, if I was going to do a stateside mission, I didn't want to go to New Jersey. I had a bad picture of New Jersey in my mind.
I never went on a summer mission as a student because when I could have gone, I wasn't living a life completely surrendered to the Lord. I had no desire to go spend a summer in a new place on a summer mission. But, the summer before my senior year, God did some amazing work in my life, which lead me to doing a year of ministry with Cru.
As the news sank in and as it became closer for me to go to New Jersey, I became more excited. And, wow! One thing I learned from being in New Jersey is that God's plans are much better than mine! It was not a part of my plan to go to New Jersey, but it was God's plan for me. The six weeks I spent on the Jersey Shore were AMAZING!
I know Cru puts a lot of prayer into summer mission and placing people. Wow, prayer is powerful. The staff team community on the mission was such a blessing. It was so neat to hear why each of the staff members came to New Jersey - it was totally God bringing us together.
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| ^^New friends: me, Serena, and Hannah.^^ |
Cru has summer missions all over the world. There are many stateside ones where college students go for the entire summer. They get a job, live in Christian community, and do lots of ministry. The staff team is there for the first half of the mission. We lead the students in Bible studies, discipleship, sharing our faith in Jesus (outreach), and leading ministry teams. We got there a week before the students to get to know the others on the staff team, do some prep work, and prepare our hearts and minds for the summer. We were reminded that the most important thing for us to do is to be walking with Jesus ourself. Our ministry will flow from our relationship with Christ. When we left, the students took on various responsibilities that we had, such as leading Bible studies, discipleship, and leading ministry teams.
Throughout our time in New Jersey, our mornings as staff were filled with team meetings on Monday and Wednesdays, women/men's time on Tuesday mornings, and prep time on Thursday. During our team meetings, we would have a devotional, activities to build one another up, encouragement, planning time so that we were all on the same page, etc. Our afternoons were filled with prep time, meeting with students, ministry team prep/meetings, and various other jobs that we might need to do.
The Jersey Shore Summer Mission takes place in Seaside Heights, which is on the shore of Ocean County, New Jersey. There is a long skinny island with several towns along it. We technically stayed in Seaside Park, NJ, but the boardwalk where we did most of our ministry was in Seaside Heights. The towns were right next to one another and you could just walk from one to the other.
There is a bridge that connects the island to the mainland (Toms River, NJ), where we would go for groceries and such.
New Jersey definitely has a different culture than what I have in the midwest. It's very Italian out there - people talk different and the foods can be a little different. It was very neat to experience. I ended up loving the area! I did not think I'd like the island. But, it was much prettier than I expected - with the ocean on one side and the bay on the other. I would definitely go back, particularly to Seaside Park. Seaside Park had some super cute houses - it seemed to be a place where lots of people have second homes. Seaside Heights seemed to be more of the party town, which attracted younger people (which it was great for reaching out to them in doing ministry). In the area there were lots of fun places to eat, I liked the beach (the Seaside Park one) way more than I expected, and I loved how the boardwalk extended to be a walking path (there was the main boardwalk area with food, games, rides, etc, but then it extended along the beach to walk on!). The area was pretty quite most of the time. The staff team was there from mid-May to the end of June, so we were there at the beginning of the season. Some weekends got busier and towards the end of June, the island got busier, but overall, I loved the peace and quite I found (even in my backyard).
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| ^^The house I lived in for six weeks.^^ |
There were 19 of us on the staff team, which was made up of the staff leadership team of four, other full-time staff, interns, and four student staff. We lived in houses on a street a few blocks away from the street with the houses that students lived in. The student housing street was closer to the boardwalk, and the staff housing street was further out.
For staff housing, the married staff had a house. All of us single staff had housing a few houses down. There was a duplex - four of us girls were in the bottom and the five guys lived in the upstairs. There was a cottage in the backyard where four more girls lived. It was so fun having the backyard to hang out in!
The students had three houses right next to one another, which had a shared backyard. One thing we did before the students got to NJ was decorated the backyard and got their houses a little bit ready for their arrival.
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| ^^We each made our disciples a goodie bag for when they arrived. I was super excited to give mine to my ladies. I put popcorn, a candy bar, San Pellecrino, a face mask, nail polish, and a card in the bag.^^ |
The Jersey Shore Summer Mission partners with Union Church of Seaside Park. Cru has sent a summer mission group out to New Jersey for the past several summers. It has been an answer to the church's prayer to be able to reach the people that come to the island for Christ - to be a part of restoring the island! The church is super generous and caring to us - such a blessing! We attended their Sunday church services and used the building throughout the week for activities.
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| ^^Gathering in the church on the first night that students were there.^^ |
For the weeks that staff and students were on the mission, we had two weekly meetings. Once staff left, the students just hold one weekly meeting. For the first half of the mission, the staff team puts on the Sunday night meeting. It was just for the summer mission group. The Thursday night meeting, which was more student lead, was open to the public. It was something that we could invite people to - whether we met them on the boardwalk or they were people the students met in their jobs. We would have worship, a talk (given by those on the staff leadership team), and announcements.
There was also a large fellowship hall. It was a great gathering place before the weekly meeting or a place we could use for special dinners.
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| ^^Theme Week #1: "Setting the Pace" week.^^ |
Each week had a theme. We would announce it at the Sunday night meeting - it would be something that we focused on in the talks and discipleship content.
The staff were each paired up to lead a ministry team. I was on the vibe team with Serena. All the other ministry teams had students on them too, but ours didn't. As the vibe team, we were in charge of decorating the church for the Sunday night meeting based on what the theme was. We would also decorate the students' backyard some too based on what the theme for the week was.
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| ^^"Thirsting to Know Him" theme week.^^ |
One of the theme weeks, and probably the biggest one, was "Killing the Giants." During this week we focused on sharing the gospel as much as we could - whether on the boardwalk, in our jobs, with family/friends back home. We each set personal goals of how many times we want to initiate a conversation with someone (with the intentions of it turning into a spiritual conversation and then a gospel presentation) and goals of how many times we wanted to transition to a gospel presentation.
Killing the Giants theme week comes from the idea of David and Goliath, where David had to overcome a giant to win the battle. Often we have giants in our life - something that prevents us from moving closer to God or sharing our faith and furthering God's kingdom... something that is an obstacle for us. We were challenged to identify a giant in our life (maybe a sin, fear, lie we are believing), and with the power of the Holy Spirit come over it.
Though the staff team was always wanting to encourage and support the students, and were ourselves partaking in Killing the Giants week, we kind of acted as the giant for them that week too. We put things in front of them that might tempt them to not want to, say, go sharing or have a hard conversation. Serena and I made each of the houses baskets with fun stuff to distract them. We made a giant to symbolize the giants in our life. We even put on a birthday party for the giant in the students' backyard. During that time, students had to decide if they were going to choose fun or sharing. Ultimately, sharing our faith will have a greater reward - an eternal reward.
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| ^^The giant.^^ |
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| ^^The staff team with the giant at his birthday party.^^ |
Throughout the summer, there were various activities that were put on for the group. Usually a ministry team would plan one.
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| ^^Me and my disciple Hannah.^^ |
During one Sunday afternoon, we had a Beach Bash - a volleyball tournament on the beach with snacks, and time to hang out.
After "All for One" theme week, we had a staff versus students softball game.
During all "All for One" week, there was a no technology rule. That meant that the students had to do a lot more communication, such as with coordinating rides to places (work). One girl ended up giving lots a rides. She loves Oreos, so at the end of the week, a few people bought her Oreo treats. Funny, there wasn't communication, and two people bought her Oreo cakes! Though I am sure it was pretty easy to find people to help her eat it.
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| ^^First women's time - making journals.^^ |
Throughout the five weeks that staff and students were in New Jersey, we put on a couple men's time (time for just the men to be together) and women's time (just the ladies together). The first ones happened the first weekend.
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| ^^I got to make some beautiful salads for a women's time and then for the final banquet.^^ |
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| ^^Staff women minus Tina.^^ |
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| ^^The cottage staff girls.^^ |
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| ^^Me and my roommates of the summer.^^ |
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| ^^The married staff ladies.^^ |
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| ^^All the student ladies.^^ |
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| ^^These guys won for cleanest house EACH week!^^ |
A fun part of Serena and I's job as being the vibe team was getting to do room checks each week. Each Sunday afternoon, we would walk through the houses to make sure they were somewhat clean. We gave the top two cleanest houses prizes. The winners got a golden plunger. Usually the prizes were food!
Doing house checks was actually pretty fun because the houses could try to bribe us. One time, some girls washed our feet. Some houses left us food. But, these guys. They would charm us! They would play music, serve us, give us food. It was always so funny and entertaining!
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| ^^Sweet notes of encouragement left for us when we did room checks.^^ |
On one night of the week, we - staff and students - would have date night with Jesus. It was time set aside for us to connect with the Lord on our own and recharge. We could basically do whatever we wanted - obviously try to do what connects us with the Lord.
I was honestly kind of scared of these nights at the beginning of the summer. I don't really like being alone and having to spend longer periods of time by myself, especially in the evening. I was scared that I wouldn't know what to do with myself during my date nights with Jesus. But, they ended up being great nights! Sometimes I was completely by myself (mostly if I were to go somewhere to be alone), but most of the times there were others around me. We would just each be doing our own thing - which is actually my favorite thing (I love having people around me, but not necessarily having to interact constantly). One night, I got a sandwich from White Oak Market and went down to the bay. It was a great time with the Lord. And, the bay was beautiful. This side of the island, kind of reminded me of Norway!
The boardwalk in Seaside Heights. This is where we went our sharing. We had a life and spiritual question survey that we would go up to someone and ask them to take. From the survey we hoped to get into a spiritual conversation, which we hoped would lead to a Gospel presentation.
Wow! Sharing on the boardwalk was so much fun, interesting, and sometimes very draining. We would meet people with very interesting beliefs. People from very different backgrounds. Some people would pray to receive Christ. Sometimes we just encouraged a person. There were so many different kinds of conversations. It was always an interesting and learning experience.
We would go out sharing during discipleship, on our outreach night, and various other times.
One time when Hannah were on the boardwalk sharing for discipleship, as we were talking to two girls, it started to rain. So, we moved into a gazebo. It started to rain harder and harder. It started to storm - the lightning and thunder were so close. We were in a Gospel conversation with the girls, so we couldn't just leave. I was thinking, if I die getting hit by lightning, at least I'm sharing the Gospel while doing it! We were in the gazebo as far as we could and we were still getting wet. It was kind of awkward. When we finished, Hannah and I ran into a pizza place. There was a mirror and we didn't even recognize ourselves! We called for a ride to get home. It was quite the experience!
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| ^^Me and Emily.^^ |
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| ^^Me and Hailey.^^ |
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| ^^Me and Hannah.^^ |
My three disciples and I, plus Nikki and her two disciples (Tage and Lexi), came together for Bible study each week. We were studying Ephesians (as did all the other Bible studies). We would eat dinner together and then do content. We always had lots of good conversations - it was hard to stay on track sometimes!
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| ^^Last dinner and Bible study together.^^ |
I enjoyed getting to treat my disciples to something!
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| ^^Burger 25 with Hailey. The Oreo shake and fries were delicious!^^ |
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| ^^Ice cream at Rich's Ice Cream ll during discipleship with Emily.^^ |
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| ^^Breakfast & coffee with Hannah at White Oak Market.^^ |
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| ^^This is a pork roll, egg, & cheese sandwich. Pork roll is a big thing in New Jersey... it's essentially ham. I liked it! Depending on which part of the state you are in, it is either called pork roll or Taylor ham.^^ |
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| ^^Our Bible study at the final banquette.^^ |
On the last night that staff were there, we had a final banquette. It was hard - I felt like I was just getting to really know my girls and then I had to leave.
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| ^^Nikki and I.^^ |
Nikki and I got to lead Bible study together, and we shared a room! She was such a blessing - I enjoyed her so much! Nikki was so great at asking challenging and deep questions, and was so caring.
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| ^^All the single staff ladies.^^ |
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| All the men - staff and students.^^ |
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| ^^Such a sweet staff family.^^ |
On one of the Saturdays, we took the students to New York City for the day. We hoped for them to experience a big city and for their eyes to be opened to seeing it the way God sees it. We parked on Staten Island and took the ferry to lower Manhattan.
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| ^^The group minus five.^^ |
They first thing we did once getting into Manhattan was walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. Five of us from the staff team booked it across though so that we could pick up our pizzas for lunch. We got pizza from Juliana's located in Time Out Market New York. I'd love to go back to this area! We picked up the pizzas and then met the group in the park outside.
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| ^^Me, Thomas, Nikki, Thaddeus, Sam (not pictured).^^ |
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| ^^Juliana's Pizza.^^ |
We had lunch in the park and had 30 minutes to do a devotional to help us grow our heart for God's people. Then we broke up into our groups and went to our assigned campuses.
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| ^^My group in New York City.^^ |
Each group was assigned a campus to go to. Depending on which campus you got, would kind of determine what kind of ministry you did (maybe talking to people, prayer walking the campus). My group was assigned Columbia University! It was quite the trip to get there from Brooklyn (taking the subway). But, we made it (even though at times we didn't know what we were doing). By the time we got there, we only had a about a half hour before we'd have to leave to go to the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center). There was also an event going on there that day, so we just broke up into pairs and prayer walked the campus. It was pretty neat to see such a prestigious, old, NYC university!
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| ^^Columbia University - there was an alumni event happening that day!^^ |
By the time we got to the Top of the Rock, I was tired. Honestly, I didn't really care about too much at that point. I was also a bit hangry.
We had everyone download the Top of the Rock app. With this app, when you point your phone a certain direction at the top of the Rockefeller Center, it will tell you what you are looking at. We also gave everyone a sheet to lead us through praying over each of the areas as we looked at them.
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| ^^We were all STARVING, so we got some dumplings to share.^^ |
After Top of the Rock (you needed to stay with the people you drove with), we could split off to do whatever. My car decided to join another car and go to a restaurant in China Town. The we pretty much just headed back to the car and drove back to the island.
The staff team got each Friday off. I have never enjoyed days off more than I did on summer mission. Really, I have never really experienced "taking a day off" because I usually have something to do and am also someone who is easily temped to work (I liking working and being busy). But, having the staff team community right around me helped keep me accountable for keeping my day off, my day off. And, wow! They were amazing days! After the busy weeks, we all needed time to relax, and it was so much fun having the staff community there to do fun things with.
Though not a Friday, one fun thing that the staff team did on the first Sunday we were in New Jersey (before the students arrived), was spent an afternoon in New York City. We went after church. It was kind of a day to have fun, get to know one another better, and explore the city (which we would be taking the students to eventually). There wasn't really an agenda for the day after we all ate lunch together. Depending on what people wanted to do, we broke up into groups.
Some groups had more they wanted to do, but the group I ended up in didn't really have anything we wanted to do. So, we basically just walked around lower Manhattan... it was honestly super fun and lead to some spur-of-the-moment things!
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| ^^Riding the ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan.^^ |
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| ^^This is Scott.^^ |
We went to Adrienne's Pizzabar for lunch.
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| ^^The group I hung out with for the afternoon: Matt, Hannah, Thomas, Lauren, Serena, and Me.^^ |
It is crazy to look back on this day and think that we had only all met each other a few days prior. I felt so comfortable around them all right away! I think that was totally the Lord - right from the beginning I felt friends with everyone.
Us girls gave Thomas some good practice at taking our pictures! Thomas and Matt were great - so patient with us as we took pictures and went into some stores!
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| ^^Thomas practiced shooting photos for us - practicing getting just the right angle!^^ |
We got cheesecake from Eileen's Special Cheesecake. Apparently this is a famous place to get cheesecake. Honestly, I didn't think it was that great - the crust definitely could have been better. (I think mine is better!). It's a tiny little shop - nothing fancy. They do have a ton of flavors of cheesecake though.
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| ^^Blueberry cheesecake from Eileen's.^^ |
My favorite part of the day was going into The Broome Hotel on Broome Street in Manhattan.
At one point our group thought it would be fun to try to see a Manhattan apartment - to book a viewing. It was getting kind of late in the afternoon and it was a Sunday, so there weren't any viewings we could find. But, then we decided to try seeing a Manhattan hotel! We found one and walked on in (there happened to be no security at the one we chose). It was tiny, quaint place - an old building that had been restored. You couldn't even tell you were in the middle of New York City - it was so quite in there! The lady at the front desk must have been pretty board because she so quickly showed us around. The breakfast would be fresh croissants, made to order eggs, fresh squeezed juice, coffee, tea... it sounded wonderful! She showed us a room. I am surprised that we played off being curious about the hotel. If I had a chuck of money to spend in a night, I'd love to stay there!
After more wondering around, Matt had an idea that we all draw a name and then have to buy a gift for that person. We did it.
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| ^^Until next time, see ya New York City!^^ |
New York City is so mind boggling to me! The number of people there - residents, people coming to study, tourists. There is SO much that goes on in the city - good and bad things. There is so much history there. So many different areas, people groups. I bet someone could spend there entire life studying and exploring the city!
On our Friday days off, we did a variety of things. Definitely lots of beach time!
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| ^^Visiting Tage at Lava Java!^^ |
On one of the staff's day off, all of us single ladies went to visit one of the students at her job. She worked at Lava Java on the island. We got coffee, food, and then sat and hung out for a bit. Then we looked around a couple little shops next door. It was a hot day, so we headed back to the houses to get ready to spend some time at the beach. It was a great, relaxing, girls' day! That night some of guys and girls went to play mini golf. I couldn't decide if I should go, but it ended up being a lot of fun!
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| ^^Not quite ready for a picture.^^ |
On one of the staff's day off, we went to a six-flags water park. It also happened to be National Donut Day. So, a group of us stopped at Ob-Co's Donuts on our way, just on the other side of bridge going to the mainland. It was a cute little donut shop where you order your donuts at a window. They open really early and close when they run out of donuts! These donuts then made a few appearances to us over the mission.
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| ^^DONUTS!^^ |
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| ^^A New Jersey sunset.^^ |
On another staff-day-off a group of us ladies went to check out another nearby boardwalk. We went to Jenkinson's Boardwalk in Point Pleasant. It was a bit smaller than the Seaside Heights Boardwalk and was a bit more family oriented. The Seaside Heights Boardwalk definitely draws more of the young adult crowd.
Bonfire in our backyard!
Two times I got up extra early to watch the sunrise over the ocean with a few other staff. It was crazy seeing the difference in the sunrise on the two mornings. Wow, God's creations is beautiful! Each morning he paints a sunrise, each one being different from the last and beautiful in it's own way.
I was also became so fascinated by the ocean. Just how big and vast it is - just like God's love for us. The waves came crashing into the shore moment after moment, and it has been like that since the beginning when God created this world.
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| ^^There was a sting ray that had washed ashore. Nikki and Serena got it back into the water!^^ |
Bailey, a friend from college, came to visit me one Friday! She has been in Pennsylvania this past year and wasn't living too far away from Seaside Park!
Bailey, Nikki, and I hung out together for the day. We talked a lot, went to the farmer's market (the people there were so friendly!), made salads for lunch, went to Island Beach State Park (we didn't go too far into the park), and went to the boardwalk. It was a fun day!
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| ^^Island Beach State Park.^^ |
On the boardwalk, we got Kohr's ice cream/custard. It is so good!
We found some fun mirrors on the boardwalk - they are so entertaining!
The second morning sunrise.
Each week, on Tuesday morning, we would have staff men's time and staff women's time. On the last Tuesday, us ladies went out to 3C's for brunch.
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| ^^Avocado, tomato, and egg toast with a lemon aioli sauce at 3C's.^^ |
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| ^^Staff lunch on the last day.^^ |
My friends have always tried to get me to try sushi. I have refused. But, on the last day, the staff team went out for lunch. We went to Xina's right across the bridge on the mainland. It was a nicer Japanese sushi and oyster bar (they had other Asian food too). And, I decided to try sushi! I actually liked it! I am not really sure what I was eating - I think sushi is kind of overwhelming to understand how it's all made. I think the atmosphere of the restaurant helped me enjoy it. Which seems kind of weird to say. But, the majority of places where I have been offered sushi, are places that are dark and kind of dingy looking. This place was light and fresh inside!
Simple Meals
With being in a place for not too long and not wanting to buy too much, and for the kitchen having the very basics, my meals were kept pretty simple. I thought it was pretty easy to eat some healthy meals that were simple. I did buy some baking ingredients too, so I baked a few times! I think when traveling - whether for a week or for a longer stay - and you will be cooking some, it is a good idea to bring some basic spices. Then you don't have to buy them. And, if you have room and are able, bring some other basic ingredients that you wouldn't use the entire bottle of in the time that you will be there.
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| ^^Banana Bars!^^ |
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| ^^I ate a lot of yogurt & granola, but my granola started to become not fresh. So, I tried this concoction: yogurt, fresh fruit, oatmeal, chunky peanut butter, & honey.^^ |
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| ^^ Salad with spinach, broccoli, tomato, ham, hard boiled egg, avocado, and ranch (I liked Marie's ranch dressing that I found out there).^^ |
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| ^^Toast with avocado, tomato, an over easy egg, and salt & pepper is always good!^^ |
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| ^^A fried egg with cheese on toasted bread.^^ |
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| ^^This was so good! Something inspired by my roommate Nikki. Spinach with seasoned rice blend, salmon (seasoned with Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper) topped with mayo & lemon.^^ |
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| ^^Spinach, scrambled eggs, avocado, salt & pepper. So pretty!^^ |
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| ^^I made biscuits once for sausage, egg & cheese breakfast sandwiches!^^ |
Eating Out
I ate out probably more times than ever while on mission. There were lots of fun places to eat at nearby - on the island and on the mainland. Here is my input on restaurants, but I am sure there are lots of other good ones in the area that I didn't get to.
Some places that I went to, but would not recommend:
- The Sawmill - The pizza there is huge. But, I thought it was kind of gross.
- Polish Water Ice - It's on the boardwalk. People like it. I tried it. It might be worth trying, but it isn't anything I'd get again.
- Surf Taco - I had tacos from here catered out and people really like the place. I never was impressed by them - I didn't think they were too flavorful.
- Free Range
- Nino's Pizza
- Betty and Nick's Breakfast and Lunch
- Stewarts Drive In
Some of my favorite places were:
- Baker's Water Street Bar and Grille in Toms River - I had a cheeseburger there. It was SO good! This was like the first time I hate a CHEESEburger because I used to not like cheese.
- Burger 25
- Xina's
- Ob-Co's Donuts
- Park's Bakery
- Beach Culture Coffee
- White Oak Market
- Charlie's Ice Cream
- Kohr's Custard
- Rich's Ice Cream ll right next to Burger 25
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| ^^Cheeseburger and fries from Burger 25 in Toms River.^^ |
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| ^^Morning treats for our Bible study girls after church one Sunday.^^ |
Park Bakery is a bakery in Seaside Park, right next to the church. They have a lot of baked goods. I only ever had their crumb bun. This crumb bun seemed more like a yeast bun with crumb topping - yummy!
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| ^^Everything bagel with plain cream cheese from Bella's Brooklyn Bagels.^^ |
Bagel shops were also very common around New Jersey.
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| ^^Yogurt parfait from Beach Culture Coffee.^^ |
Beach Culture Coffee in Seaside Park was my kind of place! They basically had all my favorite, go-to breakfast foods - only black coffee, yogurt parfaits, pb toast, avocado toast, energy balls, and smoothies. Also, I was amazed how many people on the summer mission liked just, plain, black coffee. I feel like a lot of the times I am the only one who does.
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| ^^Kim, me, Thomas, Joy, and Sam at 3C's for brunch.^^ |
3C's was a little cafe/diner in Seaside Park. This place reminded me of my brother John. Just home cooked foods. It was nothing fancy - cute in it's own way and friendly people.
There are pizza, sub, and ice cream places all over in New Jersey.
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| ^^Uncle Nick's Subs.^^ |
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| ^^Quick lunch at White Oak Market with Kim!^^ |
White Oak Market was definitely a favorite place of mine. It had some basic grocery items, but had a deli where you could get some sandwiches... they were good! They also had some baked goods. I think the crumb buns there was from Ob-Co Donuts. This crumb bun seemed more cakey (compared to Park's which seemed more yeasty).
Sandwich for dinner down by the bay during one of my date nights with Jesus.
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| ^^Crumb bun from White Oak Market.^^ |
The picture above of the orange custard is from one of my favorite nights that we were out sharing on the boardwalk. I was sharing with a guy named Joseph. He was thirsty and wanted something to drink. He saw some orange juice being advertised, so he decided to stop at the stand to get some. Well, they were out. But, it was a very slow (and kind of chilly and stormy) night. We ended up talking to the Kohr's worker the entire time we were out on the boardwalk. I think he was kind of board, but we had a really good conversation. He told us all about the history of Kohr's. He started in the 1920s and was owned by three brothers. They invented the custard because they wanted ice cream to be less melty and found that adding egg yolks in did that. Eventually the three brothers split. Depending on which area of the shore you are in, they Kohr's will be slightly different. The worker also talked to us about himself. We got to share the gospel with him and he was very willing to converse with us about it. It was just a really cool and fun conversation. At the end, Joseph and I decided we should get some custard. We got the orange swirl - what they are famous for.
There were two ice cream places on Seaside Park - Sundae Time and Charlie's Homemade Ice Cream. I thought Charlie's Ice Cream was better.
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| ^^Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream of Charlie's.^^ |
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| ^^Sprinkles on ice cream became my favorite - so much fun!^^ |
I had to get some boardwalk fries! They just needed a lot more salt!
Okay, kind of random, but if you ever go to the Jersey Shore, carry cash with you. Most places only excepted cash.
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| ^^Pretty mess.^^ |
The whole mission can't even be captured through pictures and blogging. I've probably forgotten some great things, but here is a glimpse of the mission. It was an amazing summer! It kind of seems like a whole summer ago - Summer #1. Now I feel like I'm in Summer #2 - support rising to do ministry with Cru for another year. But, thanks for reading this probably world's longest blog post!
Right after being in New Jersey, I met up with my family to go on a family vacation to Costa Rica. I hope to get a blog post up on that sooner than later!
Right after being in New Jersey, I met up with my family to go on a family vacation to Costa Rica. I hope to get a blog post up on that sooner than later!
