The Bowery Mission Women’s Center is a place for homeless women to live for nine to fifteen months as they go through recovery and transitional programs that allow them a second chance at life. After Sunday service on March 7th, a group of five IN2 women and I went to the Bowery Center to cook dinner for 20 homeless women. Going into this experience, I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew I was going with a great team and was certain that God would teach us something invaluable that day. So, I kept my mind and heart open.

When we arrived at the center, we began with prayer, asking God to prepare our hearts to serve. Then, we were ready to cook! Sandra had meticulously prepared all the groceries and selected a menu of teriyaki chicken with stir-fried vegetables, white rice, pasta salad, garden salad, and delicious cupcakes for dessert. We all dove into slicing, dicing, baking, and boiling, all the while laughing, cracking jokes, singing along to praise songs, and then hustling as dinner time drew closer. We made a really great team and after 3 hours of cooking, we served dinner for 26 women including ourselves. We truly did sit long, talk much, and laugh often with the women at the center, and I hope we created a good and memorable experience for the Bowery women who are struggling so much in their lives.

Whatever time and energy I put into this experience is incomparable to the way God revealed his blessings. First, I made unforgettable memories with the IN2 women who showed such great care in serving, which was an inspiration in itself. Then, when we sat down to eat and share, I spoke with a 22 year old woman who had found herself unemployed, broke and without a place to live. I was surprised by how fervently she spoke about God opening a door for her to stay at the Bowery Center to change her life and how He continues to guide her everyday through prayer, sharing, and reading. She had strength and hope behind her words and I could see she was driven with optimism and faith. She shared what she learned from the Bible about peace, forgiveness, love, and redemption. We found we had a lot in common in our spiritual journey of realizing where we had fallen down in the past, recognizing our repetitive mistakes, and how God broke us down to build us back up again stronger, wiser and with more faith. I knew it wasn't a coincidence that this young woman and I spoke that night. God was using us to validate His lessons to each other. From this, we were blessed with God's peace.

Towards the end of the evening after all the plates had been cleared, the IN2 women and two other Bowery women stood around the dining room making jokes and telling stories. The mood became somber when experiences about addictions, their children, and about men were shared and we got a glimpse into some of the dark places these women had experienced. There were many moments of silence as we felt their broken hearts and their loss of direction, and while there were still moments of jokes and smiles, we could see great pain in their eyes. Still, they also showed great faith. We joined our hands and prayed together. Sandra and Sera, who closed us in prayer, brought our hearts together as we cried to the Lord, surrendering our hearts and seeking strength, understanding and peace. God’s grace brought healing in that place in that moment, inspired hope in all of us, humbled us, and showed us great love. We will never fully understand their struggle, but I hope that through our time together, we conveyed the message that these women are loved. That night, we left the Bowery Center with heavy hearts but hearts filled with hope.

To learn more about the Bowery Mission Women's Center please click here.

by: Ann Joo