June 27 – The Greatest of These Is Love

In church we have been talking about the vision of Bridge of Life Church. This week we are focusing of part of our vision statement which says how “we need each other…” One of our members, Roy, preached today and brought up so many interesting points that it is hard to know where to even start. He started by reading 1 Corinthians 12:12- 13.

1 Corinthians 12:12- 13

¹²The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. ¹³For we were all baptized by^c]">[c] one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

¹⁴Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. ¹⁵If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁶And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" ²²On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

²⁷Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. ²⁸And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. ²⁹Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues^d]">[d]? Do all interpret? ³¹But eagerly desire^e]">[e] the greater gifts.
And now I will show you the most excellent way.

1 Corinthians 13

¹If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

It is the story of the body of Christ. We are all created differently. We have different dreams, different strengths, different weaknesses, and different talents. God did this purposefully. Just think if we all were an eye…we could not function. We need diversity so that we can learn and better serve each other. We looked at this by looking at the variety of people in our church and the different talents that we all are blessed with. There is not one person that is just like another. The differences allow us to learn more about each other. We need each other dearly. We looked at the story of creation and saw how one of the very first lessons that god taught Adam was that he was good, but lonely. Then God made Adam name every animal. Why did he do this? Possibly to show Adam that he was somehow missing something, or someone. He showed Adam that the animals weren’t quiet the right fit; he needed eve. Similarly, we need each other, we need our differences, and we need our diversity.

But Paul goes on in Corinthians to talk about the greatest of talents, to love. One thing that we are called to do is to love others. We are called to love our community. We are called to love each other. A song that comes to mind when thinking about this is an older one but it goes like this:

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we'll guard each one's dignity and save each one's pride
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

By our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
And together we'll spread the news that God is in our land
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

By our love, by our love

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

Love is patient, love is kind
Never boasts, not full of pride
Always hopes, always trusts
The evidence of Christ in us

June 27- Strength

Often times I wonder what Gods plan for me and other people is. Things happen in friends lives and I wonder how God has a good purpose for it. How can terrible things be used for good? God tells us that he will provide for us, that he loves us, and is always with us. This is something that I have been wrestling with the past two days because a friend of mine, Naola, has been having a really hard last couple of days. I first met Naola at Sports 4 Life, our basketball league. Both her son and daughter play in the basket ball league and she is actively involved in the organization whether by supporting and cheering for her kids (or coaching) and also helping with the snack bar. The last four Saturdays I have helped with the snack bar, and the first time I helped she worked with me. She is jobless right now (like many people in the area) but has decided to use this time to show her kids the power of God and to help them understand what it means to believe that God is our provider. Every day they get up early and do devotions together and they pray. She also makes sure that they are involved in their church and go out and witness to the community. She is an amazing strong woman and has been such a dear friend to me while I have been here.

So this past Saturday she walks into the gym and just doesn’t seem quiet self. Turns out that her house was broken into this past Friday and they completely trashed the house. So please keep he and her family in your prayers. She is trying to be strong, but I know that she just feels angry and wonders how God is going to use this for good. Pray for the young men that broke into her house that God will surround them and work in them.

Learning to live for him,

Kristen

June 25 – Remembering Loved Ones

Today is my mothers birthday and Eric and I are also celebrating our relationship. I am missing both of them today, wishing that I could be there to celebrate and telling them how much they mean to me. My mother and I have always had a great relationship. She has always been there for me even when I might have been a snooty little teenager. She always knows what to say and offers immense encouragement to me when I feel down or don’t know what to do.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Eric is such a blessing to me! I am so thankful that God brought us together and helped our relationship become so close before he and I left for our different adventures this summer. It has made things easier even though we are apart.

I am so thankful for both of these people; they are huge blessings in my life.

In Him,

Kristen

June 24 – The Aztecs

This past week as been filled with lots and lots of work, filled with conversations with people in the area, filled with craziness at the Greenhouse, and laughter from the kids. I feel like I haven’t had a break at all. Tomorrow is Friday and is my day off. I am SO excited to get to sleep in a little bit more that usual. So today I woke up at 7 and packed for the day and then biked to the office. After lunch I left to bike to the greenhouse. Thursdays are the pool day for these kids and it is their favorite day by far. We have a lunch program everyday for the kids in this complex from 1-1:30 and then after that we walk a mile to get to the pool. Last week the pool wasn’t open when we got there, so they were even more excited / anxious to go there today. I think that you can always tell when kids think you are really cool (or annoying) when they splash you constantly and dunk you under water. At least I hope that is what it is otherwise these kids just really like me getting pummeled with water. I had such a great time with them at the pool. It reminded me so much of the pools that I have worked at in the past, and just made me smile. The kids would explain how great today was by saying it was “hecka cool!” After we walked back I biked home for dinner and then biked to the near by school to watch a couple of friends in their Aztec dance practice. They meet twice a week and have live drums in the school and dance for over two hours. It was such a neat experience most of the dancers had these things that they would tie around their ankles that had little bells attached to them. They also had different little rituals that they did for any dancer that would want to join into the dance and you could only move one direction around the circle. They also all wore red bandanas which is supposed to signify that they are learning, but also “training to be warriors”…which I thought was funny, because I don’t think that I could be a very good warrior. At the end of the practice we all stood in a circle and prayed and I thought that it was really interesting; people gave prayer requests, and prayed for everyone that was there even if it was their first time. No one was overlooked. We went around the who circle and had a chance to say something. If we didn’t want to say anything, we just said “elosea” which I think means he is God. It was great to see a different part of the community and to have a chance to get to know the neighborhood a little bit better. The whole evening was a great cultural experience, and I think that I got better as the night went on. I have some nasty blisters to show for it. Ouch!

Blessings,

Kristen

June 21 - Flat Tire

So today, the first day I ride my new bike, I get a flat tire. I was like, oh man what is it with me and bikes! I was able to get it fixed today, but hopefully that will be the last of my bike “adventures”. I think one of the hardest things doing this internship is being away from family, from Eric, and from friends. The whole time I have been here it seems like I am constantly playing phone and email tag with everyone. I wish that there would be easier times to talk with people rather than an hour block on certain days, when it could be as late as midnight in Michigan. Any way, I was reading a book recommended to me by my wonderful friend Jorie, and came across a passage on patience and loneliness. It talks about loneliness and how to be “full of Joy, here and now.” The first time I read those words, I was confused, I was like…joy in loneliness... crazy talk. Elizabeth Elliot wrote “We don’t only have hope for future Joys- we can be full of Joy here and now even in out trials and troubles…Taken in the right spirit these very things will give us patient endurance; this in turn will develop a mature character, and a character of this sort produces a steady hope, a hope that will never disappoint us.” So even tonight when I am wishing that I was on the same time zone with family, friends, and Eric, I pray that I grow stronger patience. I pray that I really see and know that through my experiences this summer God is using me and changing me. I still wish I could talk more with friends, but also know that go will use this to help me grow stronger in my relationship with him and to lean more on him.

God Bless,

Kristen

June 20 - The Love of a father

This Sunday on Fathers Day I was eating breakfast when Beto and Sita, Christina and Gilberts kids said, “Its really sad that you can’t be with your Dad today.” I really would have loved to be at home and having a really yummy breakfast and being able to go to church with my family Sunday morning. I love my family so much and my Dad is an amazing person. There are so many times when we were growing up that he would be there for us whether is was for school, or we needed help with our bikes, or if he asked us to go fishing. This past winter I went hunting with my Dad for the first time and had a great time! (I think that I actually fell asleep for a little bit, the blind that we used was luxurious compared to other blinds, so I have been told) I wish I had gone more when I was younger. Sunday morning Dave talked about all the fathers in the world and prayed that they would see their roles in their kids lives. For the ones who were in their kids lives, to see the opportunities they have, and for the ones who aren’t to have God work in them and get them connected with their kids again. There are a lot of broken families in our area (as there are where ever you go), but in our little community that is one of the needs, is for good fathers. One thing that Dave reminded us is that no matter what the situation with your earthly father may be, your heavenly father is always there for you, always comforting, always caring, always loving, and preparing your way.

Happy Fathers Day Dad!

Love,

Kristen

June 19 - God Provides

This past week was a as I was hard reminder of the area I live in. Thursday afternoon I was at Pastor Daves house right before I was going to go and work at the Greenhouse. When I went outside to go to work, my bike was gone. I had only been there for maybe 30 mins, a little less and it was parked right in their driveway between one of their cars and the door of the garage. It was interesting because when I went inside to ask if they had put my bike in their garage, I didn’t even think that someone would take it. Justin, their son said to me, “welcome to our neighborhood.” I think that I have talked with so many wonderful loving, caring, and justice seeking Christians and non-Christians here that I became naive to our neighborhoods situation and need. I hadn’t confronted the struggle. And I am not trying to say that I understand what everyone is going through here, but it was an unfortunate reminder of this neighborhoods struggle.

What blew me away was the response I received after this. Thursday night Dave sent out an email to friends, church members, and other churches about my situation and what had happened. That night be had offers on bikes that I could use. The next day people had said they would pitch in money for a new bike. Even one of my fellow Jubilee members asked his church to respond and organized people and got together an offering to help. God is good. God provides. I now have a bike to barrow for the summer and will be able to provide a bike to the person I was originally borrowing it from.

Leaning on Him,

Kristen

Driving Lesson

Today was so enlightening. So the morning started with a meeting with Dave and he surprised me with a driving lesson after our meeting. So there is a car that i get to barrow this summer, which will be great for days when it is in the triple digits here...but here is the catch....it is a stick shift. OH dear. SO i have never driven a stick shift before, so Dave said he would teach me. He didn't tell me this morning that i was going to have a lesson, he just pulled over and said he was thats what we were going to do. I was like great, we are going to die (that might have been a little dramatic). I was so nervous because i didn't want to hurt the car or injure the pastor of my church. I feel like that would be a really bad thing to do :)

So the first time that i started to go it was fine, a little shaky, but i didn't stall! Which was great, however, every time after that, when i would get to a stop sign, i would stall...so there is room for improvement for sure, but i am getting better. Hopefully by the end of the summer it will be second nature. The rest of the day i spent brainstorming for my children's ministries growth development plan, and the i had an interview with Shana later in the evening. We talked for about three hours about the community. She lived here for her whole live and told me just how different the community is here. It was a great time and i think next week we are going to meet to talk some more.

Praise God! Susie, Dave's wife, had surgery on Monday for what they originally thought was breast cancer. They found that the spot wasn't but they wanted to remove it anyway just to be safe. We are rejoicing here for here, but still praying for my uncle mark and my Grandpa who are still undergoing treatment for cancer. Please pray that God continues to give them both strength and peace.

God Bless,

Kristen

June 14 - The Green House

Today was my first day at the Green House. I am going to be helping at this organization about two to three times a week. Today was our VBS day, but we mostly played games since our VBS actually starts next week Monday. We took the kids to Ninos park right next to the two apartment complexes that house many Hispanic and Ukraine families, and over 600 children. It was a total blast and I had a great time begin able to get to know the kids here and begin to build relationships with them. We started with the game called “The BLOB.” It is one of the kids favorites and is where one person runs around trying to tag others and if you are tagged you link arms and form “the BLOB.” It was great and the kids thought it was the greatest thing ever. I thought it was going to be hard to get to know these kids, but if you play with them and don’t mind getting a little wet from water balloons they will love you and want you to play in the park all the time. One of my favorite parts of today was a water game that we played. The kids all got into two lines and at the beginning of each line they had a bucket of water and then about twenty feet in front of each line was another bucket that was empty. Each line had a sponge the point of the game is to soak the sponge in the water and the run to the empty bucket, then to put the water from the sponge in the empty bucket and run back to you line so the next person could do the same thing. So basically the team that had the most water in their bucket at the end won. So we were about to start the game and the kids are getting ready as we said “Ready. Set. GO!” and right when we said go, the sprinklers turn on all over the park. It couldn’t have been better timing. So we all ran around the whole park getting soaking wet and covered in grass and dirt. The kids thought it was the greatest thing ever and that we had planned that to happen (which we had no idea that the sprinklers would turn on). Over all it was a great day! The team, Rocking Hurricanes (my group), the third graders prevailed in red light green light. It was an epic game that I am sure they will never forget. It was a great day and I felt so cool when I was biking home and a little girl from the complex shouted “BYE KRISTEN!”

What a wonderful day to begin my adventures at the Green house,

Please pray for: Yuliana, Tazar, Benita, Uylessies, Ignasio, David, Perla, Yanet, Kimberly, Willie, Diana, Edwin, Oscar, Emily, Kelsey, and Julie. All are either volunteers, staff, or Kids that I talked with today. Pray that as the summer progresses God keeps these kids safe and that he gives them people who will be good influences in their lives.

In Him,

Kristen

June 13 - The Prodigal Son

In Church today we started a series of the missions and the vision of Bridge of Life church. Dave (our pastor) started out by telling the story of how the church first started and then how the church received its name. This is actually something that we talked about when I first got here because I thought that the name of the church is so interesting. He explained this by talking about the gap between us and god and what separates us from God. Sin made it impossible for us to be with God, but the person that God sent to bridge this gap, the one who gives us new life through him is Jesus. So Jesus is the Bridge of Life and this is what Dave wants to proclaim to this community. It is also interesting because if you look at the community here there are distinct barriers and entrances. One is the American river that separates the Garden land/Northgate community from downtown. The only way to get to the city is to go over the river via the Northgate Bridge. Because this bridge is one of the main ways to the city, this is also were a very large population of homeless live in our community. This bridge is one way that we can extend the love and message of God to our community. So not only is the name of the church due to the meaning of the gospel, but also the community it self.

As he continued to talk about the area and the need to Gods love to move in this area he connected our community to the story of the Prodigal Son. The story talks about a rebellious son who basically tells his father that he wishes he were dead so that he can have his portion of the inheritance. Ouch! I am sure we can all think of people in our own lives (including ourselves) that have acted in this way in some way or another, and in this community where families are struggling with each other and relationships have been broken, this vision of the rebellious son hits deep. So what does the son do once he gets his portion? He hits the road to use all of what he has been given with worldly desires. He ends up spending everything and no being able to even afford food. He eats with the pigs, which is a huge humiliation as a Jew. He realizes the significance of what he has done, the wrongs he has committed, and he knows that he not only hurt his earthly father but his heavenly father with his actions. So he goes home and tries to tell his father that he will pay him back for everything. The father runs to his son and tells his servants to bring the best gown and the family ring to remind the son that no matter what he has done no matter how far he has strayed, that he is loved and still part of this family.

Now if you look at the beauty of this story and see just how amazing this meaning is it can shatter peoples views of forgiveness and of grace. The father in this parable is God. We are the younger son (we also could be the older son, but that is what I’ll talk about later), we turn our back to God, to friends, to family and some times tell them to give us what we want and leave. We have hurt people and once we are alone and no longer satisfied by what we had, or we are worse off then we were, we may see the wrongs we have done and want to fix what we have done, to go back to family, friends, or God and ask for a second chance. The beauty is that when we wrong God, we don’t have to pay everything back. His gift for us was free of charge. There is nothing we could ever do to make God love us less. Wow. Think about that! This message to our community is pretty amazing. It isn’t often that you see this play out in families, so for us to go out and share this story with people is mind blowing, some would maybe even say crazy, but it is true for all of us.

It was a great way to begin our learning about our churches missions and to show how much Gods loves his children no matter what they have done.

Praise God,

Kristen

June 12 - World Cup Fun

Today was pretty normal. I woke up around 7 and mostly hung around the house this morning playing checkers with the kids and also watching one of their favorite movies the spies next-door. One of the best parts of my day was when a ten year old boy, the nephew of the Damians, telling me all about the Celtics and the Lakers and how the Lakers think that they are too good and that Colby thinks he can make any shot he wants but actually can’t. ( I thought it was funny though how he was wearing a Lakers drawstring bag!) After that I biked over the Lindner’s house and was really excited to watch the USA vs. England soccer game. IT was so much fun and a great (but frustrating) game to watch. Last night I had been at the Lindners house too helping Susie cook dinner for the family. If there is one thing that I love to do it is cooking…especially eating the food once it is done. It is always a great time being with the Lindners and I am excited to see our relationship grow. Susie always asks great questions when we are together and while we were cooking asked me “what do you think that God has been teaching you so far?” I almost chuckled a little bit when she asked me this because I didn’t know where to begin. I have felt like I have been learning so much. God’s patience and constant reminders of his faithfulness hit me when I feel overwhelmed and wonder how I can possible help this community. He always is asking me to give my burdens to him and lean on him for his burden is light. And as I see growth in these areas and I also see how each day I need to be reminded again of my need for me to let God have control. One thing that Susie told me is that one thing she always loved about mission trips and caring for other people is that it always seemed to help her feel more in-tune with God. I definitely can relate to this and really hope that as the summer progresses that my relationship continue to grow with God and that when I move back home it wouldn’t stop but still continue to grow as well.

Living Under the influence,

Kristen

An Answered Prayer

So today I was waiting to meet with Sarah Shin, a member of Bridge of Life who also has worked at the Green house, to talk with her about one of my projects for the summer and gain some input from her. One of my projects is coming up with a children’s ministry growth plan, to get children from the organizations connected with Bridge of Life better connected to the church. Anyway so I was waiting for Sarah outside of Starbuck’s at one of their tables because I needed to be able to sit by my bike since I didn’t have a bike lock and I began to write a prayer. I was watching people go by and noticed many people looking in trash cans and picking out cans, many people asking people for money as the walked by and began to write a prayer for the people in need of the community. I prayed that God would protect them and provide for them, but I also prayed that God would help me to better know how to love and care for people in need. Often I find my self wanting to care and help people, but afraid of either their response or what will happen if I do try to help the people in need. I prayed for God to help give me strength and courage to love these people. So right then Sarah pulled up and we talked for a minute and then she went inside to grab a coffee. While I waited for her outside, an elderly man came and sat down right at my table and started talking with me. He said what a beautiful day and how he wished he could be fishing and then proceeded to ask me who I thought would win tonight between the Lakers and The Celtics. I told him that I was rooting for the Celtics and then he said that’s ok, but he was rooting for the Lakers because he loves the Lakers. As we begin talking a smile spreads across my face and all I can think about is wow…God works quickly. I guess I didn’t think he would present an opportunity for me to talk with the homeless. I figured that I needed to first get strength and learn how to love people in need and THEN I would meet them. Well He had a different plan. So we continue talking and he told me his name was Lee. His first name is Leo and his middle name was Lee, but everyone calls him Lee. Sarah came out side and joined us and we talked for a little more and he went on to tell us about his life in the neighborhood, the jobs he has had and how he goes and collects cans every day to help pay because he is on a limited income. A while later we told him it was great talking with him and that we hoped to see him again. He smiled and shook our hands and then walked down the road. I was amazed. Who thought that God would meet me outside of Starbucks? Apparently not me, but there he was.

Learning to better love the least of these,

Kristen

Mathew 25:14-45

The Sheep and the Goats

^31-33"When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

^34-36"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.'

^37-40"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

^41-43"Then he will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on his left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.'

⁴⁴"Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?'

⁴⁵"He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.'

June 7 - The Move

I moved into the Damian’s house today and I’ll (god willing) stay with them for the rest of the summer. It is just hard to move out of the Lindner’s house, a place where I have finally began to feel at home. The Damian’s are a wonderful, on fire for God family. Christiana and her husband Gilbert have been very welcoming. Sita (their daughter) was so excited for me to come over, she said that she couldn’t wait for her new sister to come. Beto (their son) was excited too, but he was hoping that I would be delivered in a box because he loves playing and building with boxes. Anyway the moving around and setting in was pretty tiring but I am so thankful for the hospitality that this community and the Damian family have shown.

Kristen

Patience

Today I met Linda Marsh for coffee at a local Starbucks. I was a little nervous when i was driving over to talk with her because she is the first member of the community that i was really going to ask about the community. Dave and i looked over a questionnaire ahead of time to see if the questions sounded good. Oh how funny it is to me now that i worried so much. Needless to say this morning was a wonderful conversation that seemed less work related and more like coffee with a friend. Linda is a 65 year old woman who seems more like a 28 year old living in the body of a 53 yera old woman. She had so much life and energy that she was just simply refreshing. She has lived all over the Sacramento area and currently lives in one of the mobile home communities. She was telling me about the changes in the neighborhood over the years and the one that affected her the most was the huge increase of homeless people in the area. She is a hair stylist, and for a while she was involved in a ministry that would go to the homeless peoples communities and cut their hair. Her love for people and desire to help those who are hurting is so prevalent, especially with youth. She told me how an increasing population of homeless teens is increasing in the Sacramento area. People my age and younger are living on the streets here. There is such a need for the youth in this community. She is such a strong Christian and extremely humble in her faith. She was telling me how she daily gives everything to God so that she can be used in what he sees fitting. It isn't easy letting God take control of the reins, but his plan is the best plan. I continuously need to learn to do this in my own life, as well as be patient to see what God might be trying to show me. Linda was so encouraging and such a blessing. We ended up talking for almost two and a half hours this morning, and i am sure we could have kept going.

In an area of so much poverty and people with deep hurts God is using people like Linda, like Dave and Susie, and many other people not only at bridge of life, but all over the community to show others the love of God.

Learning to lean on God and to be patient,

Kristen

ABCD

So today i began my listening conversations with people in the community. We call the ABCD conversations (assest based community development conversations). Hopefully with talking with people at Bridge of life as well as others out side the church i can better understand the community and the needs of the people here, and also begin to see how each person brings something to the table. What we would like is to build relationships and help connect people together so that as a community we can begin to see change in our selves, in our church, in our neighborhood. So Today i talked with Joe and Delia, for a little bit, they have lived in the Gardenland - Northgate community for a very long time. Hopefully i can learn more about them next week, but i also talked with Micheal a land lord and friend of the Lindners. He is going to teach me how to cook liver and onions. He used to be a chef in two different restaurants and also used to coach horse racing all around the US (he loved racing in Michigan). There are so many interesting people here, all who have stories about the area, stories of people who lives have been broken in one way or another. It is so amazing thought to see hoe interconnected they all are and how community they take care of one another.

God is definitely at work!

Kristen

Psalm 23

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests... Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Ephesians 6:18-20

Yesterday was my first almost day of work. David and i went to this Mexican restaurant for lunch and talked about some projects that i might do for the summer and what i would like to get out while i am here this summer. We had a great conversation about the neighborhood and the people here. There is some many broken lives, but talking with some of the people here you wouldn't know that they are struggling because many of them have become really good at hiding their struggles and pain. Hopefully by the end of this week i will have a schedule down and can begin my projects. Right now it looks like i will be working with the green house two times a week, i will have two-three other projects with the church, and i will hopefully help out at a health clinic that is not connected with Bridge of Life but another church near by.

Yesterday i was talking with Erin, who is a faithful member of bridge of life, and a wonderful woman of God. She has been so overwhelmed with work and is wanting to throw it all away. She was saying you know i don't know hoe non-Christians do life. When we struggle and are down hearted and overwhelmed we know God is with us. How do non-Christians live with out that comfort?

Psalm 23

A David Psalm

^1-3 God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.



True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.

Even when the way goes through
Death Valley,
I'm not afraid
when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd's crook
makes me feel secure.

⁵ You serve me a six-course dinner
right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
my cup brims with blessing.



⁶ Your beauty and love chase after me
every day of my life.
I'm back home in the house of God
for the rest of my life.

Yesterday, we went to Yosemite National Park and as i read this verse pictures of the lush and beautiful wetlands come to my mind. The powerful and towering waterfalls we saw were staggering. Absolutely breathtaking; It reminded me of God's never ending peace and comfort. It is breathtaking in how it is never ending, always comforting, and always present.

God Bless,

Kristen