Victory in Jesus...

When two southern girls are searching for where they fit in the grand scheme of New York City, sometimes the best comfort for sense of direction is a little piece of home thousands of miles from Alabama or Georgia.

No, we didn’t make a trip to Virgil’s BBQ in Times Square – although the delicacies enjoyed with paper towel in lap nearly rival those on the menu at Hawg Wild in the hills of Habersham.

A Sunday morning subway ride to Hells Kitchen – somewhere in the 40’s streets between 9th and 10th avenues (I think…) – led us into a house of worship that wrenched and awoken our hearts with familiarity.

Yes, folks, there are Christian Yankees – Baptists, in fact. They hug necks during a time of greeting, take prayer requests from all ages and sing from Baptist Hymnals.

By the end of the service, both mine and Danielle’s souls were as full of hope as the building where we spent an hour of much needed worship on Sunday morning - a square room flanked with stained glass windows that shook with the vibrations of both passing subway trains underneath and the joyful sounds of “Washed in the Blood of the Lamb” from within.

Low and behold, our following week in New York has been even more thought provoking, inspiring and interesting than our last. And that, my friends, is saying something.

Thanks to Eric Spivey for directing us to a church home in the city and Alan Sherouse of Metro Baptist Church for opening his arms and congregation to two (still) bewildered NYC newcomers!