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...

Spirit West Coast '08

Here is a picture of some of the guys out at Spirit West Coast this year. They 'man' a booth for the Most Excellent Way, and I'm sure they were also advertising The Bridge, if not, The Lord, while they were there. All over the map, on the track, and getting into the lives of those who need the Lord to change them. Life for these guys means serving, and it's an obvious thing, if you follow them even for a day. I'm not saying that they don't get tired, or dragged down, but they have the Lord, the fellowship of the saints, and each other. Encouraging one another in the Lord.
Don't forget that date to the left, and look to help with the Fundraiser...more later

Pictures of the PG Concourse '08

Here are some more pictures of the Concourse in PG. They really enjoyed seeing all the cars, and the food that was at the end of it all. 'Long day' one of the guys said, but they enjoyed it!

The Yellow Brick Road

Well, I think it's official enough to make a post about this...The Yellow Brick Road Benefit Shop of Carmel Presbyterian Church of Carmel has granted to The Bridge funding to offset some if it's expenses. What a tremendous blessing it is! This road that The Bridge is on (sounds kind of funny, huh?!) has twists and turns in it that we cannot perceive. We have no idea what might be just around the corner. But we know that 'all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.'

We want to thank those involved in making this donation possible. We also look forward, with great anticipation, to the Fund Raiser, and the connections He will make on this journey....stay tuned, and thanks again, Yellow Brick Road!

Wow! I think we may be onto Something...

It's been only 20 hours ago that I put this 'GodTube' video on the site, and I looked at GodTube today at lunch....64 times it's been played!...and it's only about a 12 second video! (Click on the picture to see a larger view.) I think that this is going to be a tremendous addition to the site...a way that we can get a word out about what exactly is happening at The Bridge.

First Pass at 'GodTube Video'

David Directs Traffic in PG

Pacific Grove Concourse

Here are some pictures of the guys working the Pacific Grove Concourse in downtown Pacific Grove. They did traffic control with alot of style! Mike C. has some other shots that will make their way onto the page. After the traffic control, they went down to the hall for chicken and tri-tip. Everyone said it was great!

The Bridge Board

This is a picture of the board that hangs in the little office at The Bridge. It depicts the guys that are a part of the program and various aspects of thier 'term'. The date that they'll be out, eligible to work, any blackout date that applys...even dates that they can look forward to in overcoming thier addictions. It shows a to-do list and also a wish list for some of the things that they'd like to have at The Bridge.
I've heard it said that 'Communication is Key', and I think that having a simple board like this, up where everyone can see, is very effective. What would God's board look like for us as believers? I'm sure that the first thing we'd look for is the 'out date', don't you think? But the board that we do have, that God has given us, is His Word. In it, we have all we need to know about our lives. How many times have you heard it said: 'His Word tells us....'? Everything that God wanted to communicate to us is in His Word. The Lambs Book of Life. Just meditate on that for a while. It's a list, just like the one on the board, that says who's in....and sadly, who's not. Let's not lose sight of how precious we are to Him who loves us.

The Poll Is Over

After weeks of collecting votes, I've decided to close the polls on this....and the winner is...you guessed it! Weight Watchers wins the poll. So, Nate, if you had any wagers on the 'weight' of this study, you better reconsider. Maybe if there had been more visitors to the site that wanted 'Fries Animal Style' or a 'Flying Dutchman', the results would have turned out different....at any rate, Mike still wants the guys to be fit, both spiritually and physically. So take off your lobster bib, put on your running shoes, and say goodbye to that 'Bridge Belly'!

Change & Loss

We think of everyone who lives here at The Bridge as family. So things that happen both good and bad affect everyone. Our hearts and prayers are with one of our Bridge family members Jeff, who lost his Mom. She had been in the hospital and seemed to be improving, but she took a turn for the worse and passed away this morning. Jeff was able to visit her earlier in the week and he was glad to have gone. Getting another call yesterday wasn't expected and by God's grace he was able to coordinate transportation and make it back to her. Jeff has the comfort of knowing his Mom knew the Lord. What a relief when someone we love passes away to know where they are. But, Jeff would be blessed by your prayers for him and his family during this time.

We also had to make some hard decisions last night about one of the men living here. When people make bad choices that need to be dealt with it's so tricky. God, has a plan for everyone here. Sometimes people see that easily and sometimes they don't. We wish the best for everyone that comes through The Bridge even when they need to leave the program early.

On a happy note we had a blast at Spirit West Coast the last couple days, with The Bridge and Most Excellent folks. Most Excellent & The Bridge had an opportunity to serve in the Prayer Tent and to work Alter calls. It's a real privilege to watch peoples lives get touched. Stay tuned for more on that.

Michele & Mike