July 28, 2008
To date we now have approxiately 290 children who are receiving backpacks! Our dream in the beginning was filling 144 but because of the outpouring of interest and love for this vision we now have 324 backpacks available. That means we will even have a few extras for kids that just walk up that day with a need. So as of this date we do not need anymore school supplies. That is a praise!!!!!
If you are planning to share in the celebration that day we just ask you bring a bag of candy to give to the kids that day. Sort of trick or treat style to put in each backpack. Also, a donation that would be a huge help would be sticker name tags. We would love for everyone to wear one that day so 500 or more would be fabulous!!!! A luxury item that Bridge of Hope would greatly appreciate would be the use of a “johnny on the spot” for the day. That would eliminate traffic going in and out of the building and help keep our water bill down. If any of these items are possible for you to donate please feel free to call us and give us a head’s up and let us know if you can make it on the day of the event!!. Contact persons would be Lindsay Baker @ 314-650-4837 or Lori Farley 314-921-3680.
Hope to see you on August 9th! God bless!
Thursday July 24, 2008
It was the final day at Bridge of Hope for Real Life youth group and their FAITHFUL leaders. This was a day when all the kids in the neighborhood were around anxiously awaiting the signal that the playground was complete. After finishing the monkey bars that attached the two playgrounds, mounted the swings, stained the entire thing, 28 yards of mulch put down, it was ready to be played on!!! The kids loved it and even the older ones acted half there age laughing and trying out every piece of equipment. What a great place for a final group photo also! It is unbelievable to see our alley now too. We have taken it over and now 5 LOTS are clean! People have taken notice and have stopped to commend these teens on their hard work and humble spirits. They also put the entire men’s bathroom back together and it looks great! The new stairway is stained and three big boys tested it out for strength. No more fun house stairs that were seriously dangerous. Oh let me not forget to mention that EVERY wall in the entire church was washed down and looks and smells fabulous. It is so encouraging everyday to see this group just own it and find things they want to do at Bridge of Hope like it was their own church. And I guarantee as they worked they thought of the people that this place will touch outside of those walls and pray we can bring them in. The walls that were tore out because of mold in the kitchen now have been replaced and mudded and all we have to do is put a coat of paint on them. And last but not least something we always dreamed of getting done was moving the band from a corner on the floor to the stage. So now that they completed the stage the drum set and keyboard were moved up on the stage and it is awesome! Jeff ( one of the sponsors) plays drums at Real Life put it all back together on the stage and then played a sick drum solo for all to enjoy! Like I said they ALL USED THEIR TALENTS!!!!
I forgot to mention something that meant so much to Shawen. After they took a group photo on the NEW playground. The group circled up and put Shawen in the middle. Next the leaders surrounded him and layed hands on him then the rest of the teens surrounded the leaders. They took time to pray for Shawen and the future of Bridge of Hope. That is how all of this is possible. Prayer, love and support from God’s people. Saying thank you just doesn’t seem like enough but God’s blessings will be all over the faithful at Real Life in Portage, Indiana. We love you and will never forget the good work you have done in the city of St. Louis
Work Days Tuesday and Wednesday July 22 & 23, 2008
I want to start this entry by saying God’s love is extravagant! Bridge of Hope has felt such an extravagant love this week through His people at Real Life Church! We are learning so much about the body of Christ and how truly we must work together to accomplish great things for the kingdom of God. It has been beautiful to see this group serve the community that we have grown to love and use their talents and gifts to the table and make it all happen.
First I will make the INSANE list of accomplishments as far as “labor” and then share the relational that happened on the streets and one on one with the neighborhood people and children.
*Installed second donated playground next to the other playground (which included powerwashing and staining, boxing it in with timbers, and reconfiguring the whole thing)
*Tuck pointing the church (thanks girls!!)
*Ladies bathroom drywall repaired
*Ceiling hole patched in foyer
*Drywall back up in men’s bathroom and new drain put in
*stained stages
*more abandon lots totally cleared! (clean abandon lots means less places for drug transactions)
After a full day of work the Real Life group joined Bridge of Hope for our usual tuesday night street ministry. Melissa Dishert of Ferguson Church has been so awesome to screen Bridge of Hope t-shirts for us and she came through again for t-shirts for the group. She arrived with them (along with soda and freezer pops) just in time to hit the streets. Our goal that evening was to go to the remaining homes of our VBS kids and see if they were interested in our backpack drive. We divided up and each took an area of the neighborhood. The groups met lots of new families and 80 MORE KIDS are getting backpacks for school. Praise God. The teens hearts were broken with the things that break Jesus’ heart. I believe they were stretched out of their comfort zone and God saw their openness and gave them news eyes for the people that may look different from them. The stories when the group debriefed that night gave the week so much more meaning to serving than just the extreme hard work they had all done. Some may never be the same and we pray that they will never stop praying for those faces.
Posted on Tuesday July 22, 2008
On Monday July 21st , the group’s first full work day it was amazing to believe how much was accomplished at Bridge of Hope. I guess that is what happens when 39 people come together to serve. The man power of that number overwelms us knowing that for our small congregation to get these tasks done would take weeks maybe even months. They all have such a sweet spirit and the love of God and his people is evident. I think to quote Shawen when he first talked to the group Monday morning was ” own it” and that was just what they did. Promising to leave with jobs accomplished and leaving us with even more excitement for ministry at Bridge of Hope than before. It feels so slighted to just list the things that are going on and the jobs they did but I will for the sake of remembering it all at the end of the week. Hopefully pictures will follow and that could tell a better story and you won’t have to imagine.
*Pick up and installment of donated playground (thanks Debbie McFarland)
*Stage built in sanctuary and children’s stage started for basement
*painted the back room off sanctuary “coffee area”
*men’s bathroom completely gutted and start of repair work
*alley and abandon lot completely cleaned out!
*served sack lunch to any kids in the neighborhood that day and the workers
I think I need to mention that any supply runs to Home Depot or construction projects were completely funded my Real Life and THAT is amazing! God is so good!
Monday July 21, 2008
Bridge of Hope can hardly believe yet another youth group has come to serve!!! This one came as a surprise blessing when all their plans fell through serving at a homeless shelter in the city. Pastor Mike from Real Life Church of the Nazarene in Portage, Indiana found the Bridge of Hope website and saw that we were a city church new start and gave Shawen a call. SO, as of thursday of last week we were their new location! God crossed our paths and we are so excited. Watching them interact with our neighborhood kids from their first step out of their vehicles to praying and caring for the needs of those experiencing hard times. More touches for the kingdom!
The youth group and leaders were able to hit a Cardinals game yesterday (the hottest day of the summer so far) before attending service with us. We cooked up 200 hamburgers and fellowshipped with the community. With the 39 of them we had 91 in service and what a celebration it was. Worship, communion, and a very special prayer time started this mission week off right! Bridge of Hope stands amazed at yet another giving youth group and a great God we serve!
The night ended with a trip to Ted Drewe’s and that included anybody in the neighborhood that we could stuff in our vehicles. All of our Bridge Kids were so happy and loved the “field trip” with all those teenagers.
We can’t wait to see what this week will hold so keep an eye on the website for updates!
Please pray for protection, health, and God’s hand on this group.
A special thanks go out to Pastor Robby and Kym Patton for bringing their Youth Group to serve at Bridge of Hope. On Wednesday, July, 9, 2008, they hit the streets and invited over 300 households to participate in our Free Backpack Giveaway. So, not only did they pledge a generous number of backpacks for our drive, they invited tons of children in our neighborhood to come and get one. While they were out sharing with the neighborhood, they blessed many children by giving away free books. They brought two huge boxes of children’s books, and only had a few left at the end of the day. It was a hot and muggy day, but these teens were committed to sharing the love of Jesus Christ. Thank you everyone!!!!!
