Just saying those two numbers, 9 – 11, brings
images and emotions to my heart.
September 11, 2001 sometimes seems like hundreds of years ago, and yet
at the same time, seems like last year.
I was at work when one of my co-workers yelled to
everyone near her office that her daughter just called her to tell her a plane
crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. This “accident” seemed so sad – for all
aboard this plane and anyone in the area of the impact of that building.
We gathered into the conference room and turned on
the television to see what was being reported.
Suddenly we all saw the second plane fly very low and much too close to
the Twin Towers. Then we saw it actually
turn around and fly directly into the other tower.
As news coverage continued, with the attack on the
Pentagon and the plane going down in Pennsylvania, and the collapse of both
Towers, there was a silence in our office that was surreal.
Saturday of the same week I was attending a
Leadership Prayer Summit held in a Queens church. While at this event, a Pastor of a local
church that works closely with ours approached a few of us asking if anyone
would be willing to help a ministry that is serving the workers at Ground Zero. We were asked to serve a 6-hour shift –
arriving at 6pm that evening. I
immediately knew I should volunteer, and with a few others said yes.
We first met at Street Life Ministries in Flushing
NY to help make massive amounts of soup, coffee, and gather other
supplies. We loaded a van with
everything and headed into the city.
Dave Van Fleet of Street Life Ministries had
responded immediately following the attack on the World Trade Center. He was one of the first responders; he and
his team, with his Food Truck, ministered to anyone and everyone he came in
contact with. Originally he went to
Chelsea Piers, where hundreds of volunteers were receiving donated food,
clothing, etc. It was also a place where
police and firefighters went to get some rest.
After awhile they moved the van further downtown, hoping to be able to
get as close to the disaster sight as possible – to minister to all the
workers. With prayer, and amazing “God
moments” they moved closer and closer.
On Thursday they were serving in front of City
Hall, feeding the many workers, praying with many, and sharing God’s Word. Dave felt in his heart that they should be
directly at Ground Zero – and continued to pray. At each attempt to get closer – he was told
“No.” Security measures were increasing,
and they were even prevented from returning to City Hall. But Dave knew God was greater than any
obstacles, so he continued to pray. He
suddenly heard a pounding on the van door and found a police officer asking
where they were headed. Asking for a
lift, the van was able to pass through many check points until they dropped off
the officer. Dave then said, “I’m going
straight down to Ground Zero.” And he
did!
He was allowed to set up the van directly in front of the
Millennium Hilton, which is where we headed to once we arrived Saturday night.
As we arrived directly at Ground Zero – it was so
overwhelming that many of us immediately cried.
The devastation was so intense – all we could do was pray; pray that we
could calm ourselves enough to be able to serve the 1,000’s of men and women
working at the site, pray that we could be a light in this very dark place,
pray that we could share the love of Jesus and give these people encouragement
to continue this difficult work – pray!
Once we reached the Street Life van, we were each
given a helmet and mask. We were
instructed to listen for an alarm that periodically sounded when there was any
shift in the Millennium Hotel, since they were not sure how stable that
building was. When we did hear the alarm
– we immediately dropped everything and ran up the street until we received an
“all clear” sign. I knew this was going
to be a time of ministry like no other I had ever experienced.
Besides serving those at the van – serving soup,
coffee and offering prayer – we were brought over to St. Paul’s Church. This historical church had not been damaged,
yet devastation surrounded it on all sides.
St. Paul’s became a place a refuge and service. As donations poured in, most was brought to
St. Paul’s and organized. The pews
served as isles containing snacks, water, toiletries, clothes, work boots, eye
drops, clean underwear, etc. We worked
for hours organizing the massive amount of items – so the many workers would be
able to quickly find anything they needed.
Some of the pews also served as a place to rest – to pray – and
pause.
The workers at Ground Zero worked tirelessly –
most until nearly collapsing – before taking a break. Some for so long – that they came asking if
there were any construction boots in their sizes – since they had actually worn
through their boots continually climbing the debris – searching for any
survivors. The physical pain was only
overrun by the emotional pain each was experiencing.
The majority of workers came over to
our van and prayer station many times, asking for prayer, asking to just share what they
were going through, thanking us for being there as a ray of light. What an awesome privilege it was to touch the
hearts of each while we were there.
We had been scheduled to work until midnight –
when another team from out of town was expected to arrive. The van arrived without the team, and we were
told they were unable to get to NYC in time.
We were asked if we wanted to return in the van or continue through the
night.
Everyone on my team remained
through the night. Continuing to sort
the hundreds of donated items, continuing to pray and sit with the many workers (including many with service dogs), continuing to offer hot soup and coffee. Each of us never tired, never stopped – and
as the sun came up the next morning – only then did we realize we had been
working throughout the night.
*
We continued until late next morning. Another team was arriving and would take our
place. Before we left we gathered
together once again and prayed as a group.
Prayed that all our work and time would touch each person we came in
contact with deeper than they’ve ever been touched; that they would be able to
heal after all they have gone through.
I was given a gift when asked to serve – asked to
share my time – my heart - my faith. I pray that
lives were healed and new beginnings were possible because of a group of humble
people that said “yes” when asked to go down to Ground Zero that weekend twelve
years ago.
*Photos courtesy of Street Life Ministries
