Wednesday: The long ride home

Our last night was a good night at 7 Bridges. After finishing up our work we went inside to join the Bible study that lead into our meal together. Afterwards we had some good hang-out time with the kids and some of our own reflection and share-out time.  It's a little bittersweet this year for Kim and me. We have been coming to 7 Bridges with groups of students for 8 years now, and this will be the final year at the current location.  The building and the property have been purchased by the city so they can level it and make room for a walkway that will go into the city.  7 Bridges will be moving somewhere else, but just where is not known for sure at this point. They have a few leads and they continue to trust in God's leading.  I will say it was harder than usual to leave the parking lot this morning knowing we won't be returning to the grounds. Next year will be new in some ways, but the work will be the same.  Lord willing, we will continue to bring groups down in the future.

For me and Kim I would say the our favorite part of this trip every year is watching the transformation in the students as we go throughout the trip.  It really is hard to explain, especially to those who haven't been on this trip and especially because I am not a particularly good writer.  I am thankful for the work the Lord has done in each of the students and I am thankful for their willingness as individuals and as a group to step out (with some slight nudging at first) of their comfort zones to speak into the lives of other people.  There are always points during the trip I wish parents could see what their kids are doing. At first students are a little hesitant to pray, but after the first day prodding is no longer necessary as students really begin to take the initiative to open in prayer or to go up to doors and offer prayer and food to those in need.  We really enjoyed watching them on rout as well as spending time with them working onsite.  They really grew as a group.  During our share-out time most students commented they learned it really isn't that hard to pray for someone.  I would say it is not a stretch to say this has been a life changing trip for each student.  They all learned something about themselves and they were all impacted in their own ways by different experiences and different people along the way.  If you see any of the students from this group, please ask them about the trip!

Thank you to 7 Bridges for hosting us again and for treating us like family!  Thank you parents for allowing/encouraging your students to go on this trip, and thank you to anyone who has been praying for us. We really appreciate it!!