But by the time breakfast was served, the world had begun to change. "That's when we heard that a plane had hit a World Trade Center tower," Austin said.

A little while later, somewhere around the time of the main speaker, Dr. Miroslav Volf, they heard the rest of the news. Two planes had hit both towers. One had collapsed. By the time the UN was completely evacuated, both towers were gone, replaced by a mountain of rubble and smoke that could be seen by the delegates as they stood in awe on the corner of East 42nd Street and First Avenue. Austin did the only thing he knew how to do -- he prayed.

The Christian Embassy, located in a beautiful flat on East 52nd Street, is directed by John C. Austin -- a pleasant soft spoken man, full of smiles. Austin said the Embassy is in the business of "adding value to life."

Delegates are free to come in as they choose. And they do. Whether it's for English classes that the women of the Embassy give to the delegate's wives or whether to attend the various functions the Embassy has, the delegates are mainstays at the Embassy, whose purpose is to serve the UN delegates and make their lives a little easier as they carry out their work.

"Our job is to do what Jesus told us to do," Austin said. "To love all. To be an agent for peace and an agent for reconciliation. We seek to serve in any way we can."

After the attacks, the Embassy released a series of documents. One of them was the text from the Prayer Breakfast. On page two, Austin writes, "When the Sixteenth Annual International Prayer Breakfast was scheduled for September 11, 2001, who could have anticipate how important prayer would become on that dreadful day?

"As 225 of us sat peacefully in the Delegates' Dining Room that morning, the city outside which all of us call "home" was already under siege. While those mighty towers were under attack with so many people facing death, Dr. Miroslav Volf was reminding us that the 'will to embrace the other' -- even an enemy -- is at the heart of reconciliation and peace and hope.

"The will to embrace is what the work of the United Nations is all about. That will may be profoundly tested in all of us in the months ahead."

Austin, 55, married to his wife Jo Anne with whom they have two children and five grandchildren, said the Embassy was created 21 years ago. "Some friends, working with a Christian organization in the Washington DC area, began to work with some of the Congressional leaders and eventually some of the White House staffers. And eventually they began to reach out to some of the diplomats in the Washington DC area. They gave that a name about 21 years ago called the Christian Embassy."

The aim, Austin said, was the same as it is now -- to be a positive agent to help those who lead nations. Because of the ambassadors moved back and forth between New York and Washington DC frequently, Austin said it was only natural to consider a Christian Embassy in New York.

"I was working in West Africa then," Austin said. "So I was not part of the Christian Embassy. I was part of a leadership training ministry that is part of our NGO, called the Great Commission Movement."

Austin said he joined the Embassy nine years ago. Since then, the staff remained small and effective. Near the back of the flat staff was working, printing out material before their deadline that evening.

"We have eight colleagues who do various things," Austin said. "One person's specialty is English. This is our office as well, and you can hear the presses running back there."

After September 11, Austin said, the Embassy has been frequented by delegates who were looking for some type of spiritual answers as to what happened and why. They printed out two booklets -- Perspective, After the Dust Settles, with a man walking in a layer of dust in downtown Manhattan, staring at a Do Not Enter sign. They also released Remembrance, Fallen but Not Forgotten, where the cover features the skin of what used to be outside of one of the World Trade Center towers.

"There's always something to do," Austin said, smiling. "Especially in light of the recent events. There's been a phenomenal interest. Three days after the attack on the World Trade Center, we just sent out a quick e-mail to any of the diplomats who wanted to gather in our room downstairs and pray -- just to pray -- and get together and talk. Of course the UN was hardly functioning and was pretty much shut down for a couple of days and all of us were wondering what's next. We admitted we didn't know what was going on but we asked God to intervene."

Austin said he used to be selfish, but now is looking to service. The Embassy is a great place for him to serve.