Cisco's last day

Thank you Cisco for all your time and teaching here at The Bridge! Your time here was a real blessing. We are excited to see what the next season will bring in Cisco and his family as they move back to Napa. You will be missed!

Sunday Afternoon Steak

Sunday afternoon, Mike and Elliott went to Chili's for a steak. Sounds normal...a couple of guys head out after church and head to the local fiesta-house for some grub. The whole reason for it?...Elliott went 30 days without smoking! Mike has told all the guys at The Bridge that if they quit smoking for 30 days, that he'll take them out for a steak at Chili's. Congratulations, Elliott! Hope it was the biggest they had!

Louie visits his daughter & Mom

What a precious thing when families begin to reunite. Louie has been anxiously waiting for this visit with his daughter.

Pre-Turkey Run

Here's a few pictures of some of the early morning ventures of, not just Mike and Toner, but some of the family. Ellie and Michele (the sister) were out with Nick the dog for a morning stroll and ran into part of the crew. What a gorgeous morning and day...but wait, the day's not over yet. I'm sure that we'll have more pics from the day!

There’s a new guy behind the wheel these days that’s enjoying the privilege of being a motorist. He’s not been with a valid California driver’s license for quite some time, but has just this past week completed the necessary steps to procure that cherished piece of ID that most take for granted. Jeff is just such a guy, and let me tell you, he’s ‘spinning broadies’ to have the liberty back! As part of the mission that The Bridge has, restoring hurting men back to their faith, family and community, this is one of the highlights that we need to applaud! Congratulations, Jeff….finish well!

Friday At The Alley

Mike and Louie doin' the Marthon

Here's a video of Mike and Louie running the Silicon Valley Marathon in San Jose. Take a look and experience the trill of victory that they had crossing the finish line.

Pre - Dawn Marathon Shots

Silicon Valley Marathon Pictures

Some Photos of the Fund Raiser....

Marathon Race Results

You might not be able to see in this picture, but if you click on the picture to make it bigger, you'll see the only (2) entries from Pacific Grove in the Metro Silicon Valley Marathon...along with their official race results. There will be more pictures and stories to come, but I just wanted you to see that what Mike and Louie set out to do, they have completed. Well done, good and faithful runners. You may now enter into 'REST'!

Another Video of the Taste Test

Pics of Thursday Night's Dinner

Coke Taste Test

Taste Test

It's the Real Thing! Do you remember that slogan? Tonight at The Bridge there will be a taste test to see if people really do know what the real thing is. A test of taste. How is it that someone could boldly proclaim that they can pick out the one true taste of Coca Cola amongst a field of impostors or alternatives? It's only because they have known and are familiar with what 'The Real Thing' is.

Do you realize that this is what our faith should show? If something comes along that is counterfeit, those who have had 'The Real Thing', a relationship with the One True and Living God of the Universe, to know the Second Deity of the Trinity and the way He speaks into our hearts, the One that knows the hairs on our head and the number of our days...are you getting the picture? We should know what our God, our Father is really like. We should be so familiar with Him to such an intimate level that if something came up and people were saying 'This is from the Lord', we should be able to say 'This is the Real Thing!'

My prayer is that The Bridge Guys could discern and proclaim 'The Real Thing' to those around them, and that Jesse isn't going to choose RC Coca Cola over Coke!

What's on Your Wish List?

What's on your Wish List? Do I have your attention? Well The Bridge has a Wish List, and believe it not, 'cars' are on the list!...along with wood, commercial fridges and dairy products! Quite the combination, I'll admit, but the fact of the matter is, they have real, tangible needs that you can fill. Take a look to the left hand column and you'll see. Maybe you have some of these items lying around, and know that The Bridge could really use them. Who knows, maybe you have a car that you've been thinking about donating. What a blessing to give out of the abundance that you have been given! Take a moment and think about how you might be able to bless this ministry with things you might not even think are necessities. And if you happen to have an extra F430 Ferrari laying about, I'm sure that Mike would know what to do with it!

Fund Raiser '08

Well, the day has come and gone, and the memories flood our minds. It was quite a presentation of what has gone on in the last year and a half of what The Bridge is all about....restoration. Testimony after testimony was given of lives changed because of the vision that Mike and Michele have for struggling men. Men trapped by their addictions and lifestyles that rip apart their lives, families and everything around them. Many were present to give account of the generosity and servant hood of The Bridge and it's men. Be looking for more updates of the evening, including pictures of this wonderful event. We've gotten so used to coming to this blog site and seeing the very familiar 'count-down' till the event....kinda miss it now. But we'll always be looking forward to what God is doing in the lives of these men. Stay tuned!

Grandpa Mike!

Look at this beautiful baby girl. Sophia was born on September 17th. What a joy and privilege it is to be a grandparent. Grandpa Mike is so proud! Sophia made an appearance the other evening at The Bridge for dinner. She didn't eat much and she slept quietly while she was here. Being grandparents is such an amazing thing. Praise the Lord!!!!!

The Rear View Mirror

Last night was the Most Excellent Way at CCMB. The MEW Worship Team did a fantastic job with the music, and celebrating sobriety is always a great thing. I encourage everyone to check out the TESTIMONY that Lynnea gave...it's a short video clip. But what I wanted to share here is the message that Mike gave from Hebrews 3 about slipping back into the lifestyle you were once in bondage to. As the writer of Hebrews states, it's all about a hardened heart. There isn't anything in the rear view mirror we need to see for going forward in Christ. We should remember those things that He did for us, and understand His heart that we walk victoriously. "When your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My works forty years" (Heb. 3:9) With such a big windshield in front of us with hope, and a future, the only thing we need look in the rear view mirror about is the faithfulness of our almighty Lord and Savior.

Kelp Crawl '08

This past weekend was the '08 Pacific Grove Triathlon in which The Bridge helped out. They manned a turnabout for the runners which was the last leg a the three. Here's a few pictures of the men at work. The one just to the right shows the set-up and some of the guys filling cups and getting ready to cut up some power bars for the runners.






To the left are some of the guys with the well-known 'rim grip' that they are instructed to have with water for the runners....water, not power bars!



To the right is a picture of Tone-E with his version of the 'rim-grip'. For those that aren't yet aware, Tone-E is our man for the 'Pancake eating Stack-Down' at the church coming up in just a couple of short weeks. We're banking on Tone's experience and expertise in this area. He doesn't like to boast, but merely says 'Ask my dad, he'll tell you!"





Here to the left is one of the action shots of our guys. Sometimes it's difficult being rejected by the runners. You get up early and set up all those cups, cut up the powerbars and hold out for the runners....and they blow by you like you're meaningless! But just take a look at the video below and you'll see the great appreciation some runners have for our boys!

...and Mike's appreciation for those that blow by him...

Look Ma!!!.... New Shoes!

Mike and Louie are continuing their frantic pace of training for the upcoming Silicon Valley Marathon, scheduled for October 26th. But, what good would all that training be without a pair of flashy new shoes to carry them to certain fame and glory? A trip to Del Monte Center and one of the Peninsula's fine retail establishments provided these super sneakers, designed to carry our fearless warriors at great speed on their 26.2 mile quest. So, if you are wondering what that mysterious flash of light was that went whizzing by your PG home in the early or late hours of the day, now you know....

Just Under a Month...

Just wanted to call attention to the Countdown Clock on the left. It's not too much longer before we find ourselves at the Embassy Suites in Sand City experiencing an evening of grace, reflection and hope. The fundraiser is our 'once a year' opportunity to display in a large format just exactly what the Lord has done, and is doing, in the lives of the men of The Bridge. It's an opportunity to put in people's hearts the awesome vision that Mike and Michele have been given. A chance to come together and remember the great salvation that only comes as we not only believe, but put our trust in the one plan of redemption God has for all. Redeemed because of worth. This is a worthy cause. The Bridge is a working ministry. This opportunity to let people know of the wonderful work being done at The Bridge comes once a year. Let's make the best of it and get the word out that people's faith is being restored. That men are being reconciled to their families, and that the community is being affected by these men at The Bridge.

Saturday happenings at The Bridge

UH - OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last Saturday the guys were working on getting a leak fixed. We discovered we had a leak and when they uncovered it knew it needed fixing ASAP. After some trials the water was back on! Yeah!!!! No water with all these guys makes for a very happy house when things are fixed. Very happy for all the guys and especially for the only gal in the house!!!!!!!

This Saturday the guys were working hard on getting all the prep work done for the BBQ/Baptism at church tomorrow. No telling what a Saturday will bring. Right now we have a great group here at the house and it's refreshing to see how these guys are able to pitch in and work as a team no matter what the task. Besides, fixing a leak and cutting cabbage are great future husband skills for these guys!

Mike and Louie Get Ready to Run!

Mike has been running every morning since his birthday in June in an effort to get rid of that 'Bridge Belly'. He' s pretty serious about it too! It's always been a desire of his to run a marathon, and this October will be the fulfilment of that. Every morning Mike gets up early and goes running to get in shape physically, as well as spiritually. October 26th is the date for the Metro Silicon Valley Marathon. It's a 26.2 mile course that starts in downtown San Jose, goes through Cambell and Los Gatos before ending up back in downtown San Jose at the Discovery Museum Park.

Louie has gotten the bug too. He says that he's always wanted to run a marathon, but had never voiced it until he found out Mike had that desire too. Now these two get up early and run. They run so that they can 'finish the race'. After Mike had his stroke, he had been told he may never walk again. Right! The power of Jesus in him now drives him to show all that He is risen, and lives in Mike to do and to will those things that glorify God. Mike lives to glorify the Lord....Louie too! Run boys Run!

HERE'S a link to the Metro Silicon Valley Marathon site.

MEW Monterey

An intrigual part of The Bridge ministry is The Most Excellent Way program at Calvary Chapel Monterey Bay. Here's a screen picture of the MEW Monterey Blogspot. I encourage you to take a look at the site and all that it shows. There's a video of one of the worship songs that the MEW worship team played. There will hopefully be links to Mike's teachings soon!

"The Most Excellent Way" is LOVE according to the Bible, 1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:3-8. God Himself demonstrated His love for us by freely giving us the gift of Life, abundant Life, His Son. And we love because He first loved us!"The Most Excellent Way" is a loving group of men and women affected directly or indirectly by drugs or alcohol. In the Support Meetings, we grow in our faith in Christ with the encouragement of God's Word and prayers of those who understand what we have been through. Thousands worldwide have been set free through these weekly meetings. The Most Excellent Way Monterey Bay Ministry meets 7:00 pm Monday evenings at Calvary Chapel Monterey Bay.

Update on the Scalices

Pastor Roger and his lovely bride Janet will be on the way back to the States this Friday from their time in the Philippines. Their heart is to do the bidding of the Lord, and after spending four months there, their plan is to be on the plane this Friday coming back for a season. They feel the Lord has shown them they should make annual visits for the encouragement of the saints in Christ in the Philippines. In the mean time....well, you should take a look at their blog, and catch up on what God is doing in their lives. HERE is the link. Looking forward to see them, should they come our way! Love you guys.

Carolyn's Birthday Gathering

Tuesday we gathered at The Bridge for the usual dinner/study, but we also celebrated Carolyn's Birthday. She is such a blessing to this ministry. An example of what walking close to the Lord is all about. Ellie made some Jambalaya and we all had our fill....another one of those many meals prepared at The Bridge each month. Here are some of the pictures from that night...