Our Video Recap of the trip!

 Please click on the following YouTube link to see a recap of our trip:)

https://youtu.be/rD4hlJsfPZU

Day 6 - We are home!

It is Thursday morning and Kim and I are up having coffee after sleeping in our own beds in our own home!  We are so grateful for so many answered prayers over the last few days.  We prayed for a lot of different things leading into this trip, but most of all we prayed for three things. We prayed for safety, for good health in this season of sickness, and for God to work in the hearts of everyone on our team.  As we sit and reflect on the trip we realize we went to Atlanta and back safely and we didn't have to deal with any sickness.  We are so thankful! We were also able to watch God work in the hearts of our team.  Since our arrival on Friday night there was growth in each individual.  It was a blessing to watch the transformation from nervousness on Friday to high engagement with people on the streets throughout the rest of the trip. Everyone worked hard.  From lunch prep and street ministry to sorting food and prepping food for future routes, our students were pretty busy from morning to night.  One of the highlights each day was listening to individual reflections and talking with the group about the events of the day.  7 Bridges to Recovery is called 7 Bridges because they base their ministry on 7 different scriptures which they refer to as bridges to recovery.  The passage the ministry is centered on is Isaiah 58:6-8 which reads, 

“Is not this the fast that I choose:
    to loose the bonds of wickedness,
    to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
    and to break every yoke?
 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
    and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
    and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
    the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard."

We lived out this passage while down in Atlanta and the hope is that now that we are back home we will be more sensitive to what is going on around us and that we will look for ways to serve those in our own community who are in need.

As I wrap this up I also have to mention how thankful I am for God's provisions on our journey home yesterday.  It didn't start well and it had a rough ending, but in the end we are home safe!  When we left yesterday morning I was certain I had the trailer door (a rolling door that slides down) locked in place. I even had a padlock on it to keep others from getting inside.  However, once we got on the high way someone alerted us to the fact that our door was open.  We pulled over and found all of our luggage to be inside, but BJ's guitar had fallen out.  We retraced our steps, but someone else had already found and picked up the guitar and we were not able to recover it.  I'm frustrated it happened, but thankful we found out about our door issue before we lost more luggage!  

After that, traveling was good until we approached Indianapolis.  At this point I was driving with my lights on like I usually do on these long trips, but it soon became apparent my headlights were not working!  We pulled off the highway and visited an Advanced Auto and two different mechanics and then called the Chevy dealership before giving up on getting any help.  At this point it was getting dark and we considered finding a church or Christian school to crash in overnight, but we didn't really know where to start. I then noticed, that though my brights didn't stay on, they worked if I held the lever back. So what did we do? We drove from Indianapolis all the way home with our flashers on while I held the brights on.

It wasn't how I planned the return trip to play out, but throughout the day I often remembered John's prayer for us in the morning (John was our leader at 7 Bridges). He prayed we would have patience along the way home and that even if we encountered frustrating delays we would recognize God is sovereign and has a purpose in everything, even if we don't see it.  I have to trust that was the case.

I am grateful we are home and for God's continued grace in our lives.  We thank you for your prayers! It is such a blessing to be a part of the body of Christ!

~ Chris Hendrikse

*Please consider checking back later. I am hoping to post a video recapping our trip!

Blessings!

Day 5 - Last Day

Today, before we went out we prepared around 200 lunches to give out and we also brought the rest of our donations. We went on one route and made three stops. Our first stop was at a tent city that we went to on the first day. There weren’t as many people there as the first time, but there were still a couple people that we gave food and other items to keep them warm. Our second stop was under the same highway that we went to everyday. Here, we saw many of the same people that we saw every time we went there. And our last stop was at the trailer park we went to on the first day. While we were walking through the trailer park, many kids came running up to us for new jackets and gloves and hats, and a lot if kids came up to me because I was holding a bag full of candy and some things to draw with. When we got back to the church we ate lunch and had a debrief where everyone answered the questions of where did you see God? And what impacted you the most? For me, I saw God every time we went on route through how some of the people reacted to the prayer they received. And what impacted me the most was just seeing how a small lunch and some prayer changed people’s facial expressions and also their body language.

~ Noah Atkinson

The Atlanta trip impacted me tremendously. Before I came on this trip I always believed that homeless people must always be sad and that they couldn’t be happy. But now after this trip I realized that all the people we met were so joyful considering their situation. I wasn't expecting them to be so receptive and talkative to us. It also taught me to be thankful for everything that I have and that even just a toilet  is a huge blessing. While on one of the routes I met a guy named Bryan. He asked for a lunch and then I asked if I could pray for him. He then opened up to me and told me his name and said that he wants this year to be a spiritual journey for him and that he wanted me to pray for his battle with alcoholism. He said that he didn’t do drugs or any of that but he knew that drinking was just as bad. He started to have tears in his eyes when he told me that I was a huge blessing for him and that he prayed I could help other people. After I met him I realized that so many people on the streets are way more thankful for the prayer than the actual lunch. 

~ Haley DeMaster

We all woke up for our last route of the trip. Lunches were made as usual and even the stops were ones that were ones that we have been to before. However, I couldn’t help but notice something different about the trailer park that we visited. It was the second time we had been there and we had clothing donations and candy this time. For me it was hard to notice some things on the first day because there were nerves that I had not gotten rid of. This time, it was clear to see that God was present in the trailer park. Every single family we visited were happy and willing to accept whatever they were given. I was even shocked by a little boy I met named Mateo. I offered him a pair of gloves that he could keep but he refused them and said I should give them to someone else. Even though he may have not realized it, he showed me an example of a servant heart. And it was a good reminder for me to keep in mind and bring back home. We should recognize the blessings we are given but also keep in mind what others might not have and do the best we can to help.

~ Liam O'Keefe

Morning stretches

Making more pizza lunches

Who needs a basket when you have a shirt:)

Making lunches for our group. Today we ate the same lunches we were handing out

Clean up after packing all the lunches

Several time while on route our lead van would stop and hand out lunches or items of clothing to people on the roadside.

Praying us in at our first stop

We hardly got out of the vehicle and we had people coming over to find items of clothing

Jackson praying with the person in the tent and Liam and Conor praying for the man in the chair.

This lady was staying on a concrete median between two lanes under a bridge

We saw this dog each of the days we went on route. He's chained to a tree and belongs to one of the people staying in the tent

Elliot offering prayer

Getting ready to walk through the trailer park

We handed out a lot of clothes here.  One of the trailers caught fire Saturday night and there was a family that lost everything. Some of the neighbors were trying to find clothing they could give to them.

These two boys loved looking through the candy bag our guys brought along

Madelyne found the perfect jacket for this little girl

Debrief time. Each of us talked about our experience and how we were impacted while serving in Atlanta

In the afternoon we helped unload a truck of produce, bread, cookies and pastries that came in from Costco

Of course we had to make room in the freezer so we volunteered to eat a bunch of the ice-cream bars

A little b-ball between serving and meal time

We happened to run into one of the men we met 11 years ago on our first trip to 7 Bridges.  He has since moved on from the ministry at 7 Bridges and is now married with kids.

After supper we bagged 230 + bags of cheezits to be used on the route on Saturday

Just like that it's Wednesday morning!

It's hard to believe our trip is over already. It sure seems to have gone by very fast. I am thankful for the time our group could spend down serving and learning together.  My hope is we never forget the work we did and that we continue to look for opportunities to serve the poor in our own community.  In our prayer time before we left our host, John (one of the men in the ministry) challenged us to "never turn away from our own flesh" (Isaiah 58:7) and to continue to be in the Word and let it direct our lives.

Day 4 - Back on the Streets

We started preparing lunches earlier and grabbed the bags of clothes we separated.  We stopped at the park and met Melanie. I prayed with her and gave her a lunch, we prayed for her about strength since she was in bad condition. There was a lot that happened but through the whole route the one talk with Nathaniel really stuck out to me because it was so cool to see how much he knew about God. He almost knew more than I did.  Nathaniel is homeless and In a bad spot, but yet he still continues to choose to praise God through all of it. He talked about how we have to continue to stay strong in our faith no matter what. He also talked about how there are gonna be people who bash on our Christian faith, but we have to continue through that. I was just so impressed not only about his knowledge on God but also how he continues to worship God in his situation.  I didn’t realize it then but his advise on continuing spreading the word even though people try to stop us really helped me at our next stop. At the next spot we were handing out lunches and this lady was going crazy cussing us all out, I would usually get mad and want to say something back, but I didn’t. Instead I felt bad for her because  I knew that there was more to it than just her being angry.  At the very least she was very mentally ill, but the way she was acting it seemed like she was possessed. There was definitely more to her story than just her being mean. I was praying for her over and over again afterwards. Nathaniel’s advice helped a lot. When I got back we reflected on everything that happened today because we had a lot to talk about, there were lots of things that happened but that has stuck with me.

~ ZuZu Felix 

Today, on route, I talked to and prayed with a woman named Angela. She was probably mid fifties and was very appreciative for the prayer. She shared her testimony with Conor and I and said that she had been on that street since 2011. In that year her brother left her alone and went out west. Since then, she has been on that street with no jobs and not knowing where her next meal would come from. She asked for God’s providence on her life and for Him to continue to keep her safe. She asked for prayer for a job as well so she could maybe provide for herself. This experience really touched my heart and I wanted to do all that I could to help her and the best that I could offer was prayer.

~ BJ Doss

Today was an action packed day when we were on route. Before that we prepared 200 lunches to bring out. Once we were out walking we encountered a lot of people that were under a train bridge. They gladly accepted our lunches and clothing that we had brought. The stop was filled with a lot of people that accepted our lunches but were a lot more reluctant to accept prayer from us. The conditions that they were living in were truly eye opening. There was a train thundering above them every 15 mins. At the last stop we visited with a lot of people that needed lunches. Almost every person I asked wanted prayer. I met someone named Darnell. He was planning on leaving for California to "reunite with his daughter and win a law suit for 300,000 dollars." I prayed for stability and for justice for the situation that he was in and he really appreciated what we were doing for the community. Right before this I talked to a couple who wanted prayer for their financial situation as well as their lives in general because his wife had broken her neck recently. After I had prayed for them I gave them a hug. They really seemed to appreciate the kind gesture and thanked me for my prayers. It really encouraged me that the prayers and food we were offering were appreciated and that I was helping make an impact. This trip has been a great experience that has been very encouraging in my faith walk.

~ Elliot Fortuine

Today during the route there were many new experiences for me. One of which was what we believe to be a possessed women. She was yelling and screaming obscenities into the air as if she was yelling at someone. She even randomly swung and kicked at the air. She cussed at us and anyone who walked by for basically anything. Screaming at everyone, she very harshly rejected prayer from our group. She was even trying to punch another homeless man for talking about Jesus. What stood out to me about this encounter was that one of the homeless men went to her. When he went there he kept repeating things about Jesus, multiple times I heard “With the power of Jesus”. After about 1 minute of these arguments. He said the power of Jesus again, and she went silent, and walked away. This showed me truly how powerful Jesus’ name is. There was a lady I talked to today, her name was Regie, she wanted prayer for her behavior, she explained to me how bad behavior has gotten her kicked out of many places, she wants to see her children so badly, she even teared up when talking about her family. But she believes it is the best for them to stay away from her because she doesn’t want to do anything bad to them. This broke my heart knowing that some people on the streets can’t even be comforted by family. They need us for support.

~ Willem DeJong

Back to making lunches

Pizza and sandwiches are on the menu

A little crowded in our van with the donations:)

One doesn't need to drive far to find someone in need

Opening in prayer before meeting with people at our first stop

Some people (like this person) are sleeping or don't want to be bothered. We usually leave a lunch and an item of clothing or blanket and then say a word of prayer before moving on

Unloading at the next stop

Praying under the bridges

There were some difficult things to see at this stop.  We had to check one person to make sure he was still breathing.  On occasion, the men at 7 Bridges may find people who passed away after a cold night. Thankfully we didn't experience that today.

This next stop is right down the block from the Capital Building

This is the first time I was asked to help someone on the street tie a tie

                                

                                

After we got back and got cleaned up, we helped wrap muffins for lunches

Our quality control crew tasted a few muffins to make sure it was okay to give them away on the street:)

Game time

Catching a little Rose Bowl action on Noah's phone

Worship time before devos

Back downstairs (after a few games of mafia) to play some more games