The news of the collapse of the 35 W bridge in Minneapolis has captured the attention of many of us these past few days. People throughout the country and even around the world have been impacted by this most recent "reality check" regarding the fragility of our lives.
But, I'd venture to say that if we all take a close look at the world around us, we must admit that we truly live on a fragile planet, and that we need to recognize even each breath we take as a huge gift.
As this news has been on the front page this week ... another kind of "bridge work" has been going on. Over the past 3 months, we have been involved in helping to mobilize and equip people from our church, Cedarbrook, in Menomonie, WI for some summer outreach and service teams to New Orleans. It has been a real joy to see 29 people step up and commit to going to the Central City area of New Orleans and continue to serve and build relational bridges with our dear brothers and sisters in that area. (See my April post for a recap of our partners and work there).
Right now we have 27 people on the road!! 13 are returning from a hugely impacting week of God sightings and bridge building! They will be driving through the night to arrive back in Menomonie on Saturday afternoon.
You can follow all of these two teams' escapades on their blog ... and on Picture Album 1 and Picture Album 2 as well! Enjoy
There are another14 people making their way to St. Louis ... for a great overnight with our dear friends, Bill and Lori Younker in Farmington, MO. Bill is a pastor of a church there, and has been a gracious host for our groups over the past year!
These teams of willing servants amaze me! They take time off from their daily work in order to work even harder; serving others. And the bridges that are built are not prone to decay, deterioration or collapse, because they are being built on the firm foundation, the Cornerstone, which is Jesus himself!
So, for all of you who wonder what may happen next, take heart ... bridges between hearts are being built between the likes of "Stretch"
and "Sarge" and "Deacon" and "Mama-Bear" and "Digga" and many others who are giving of themselves to make someone else's life better.
For these and many others like them who are building bridges with Living Stones, you are my heroes!! I can't give enough praise or thank-you's! Your reward will truly be great!
