Two Great Organizations to Support

While at the Catalyst Conference two weeks ago, I was certainly moved by two organizations that are making a difference in our world - Hope International and Compassion International.  Let me tell you a little about each.

Hope International is “a Christian faith-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on alleviating physical and spiritual poverty through microenterprise development.”  In other words, they collect donations and then LOAN that money out to entrepreneurs in impoverished situations.  The small loans enable these men and women to grow their businesses and support their families.  The loans, of course, are paid back.  The money is then recycled into another loan to help another family.  Wow.  Great idea.  At Catalyst, Hope International gave away over $120,ooo to the Catalyst attendees (approximately 13,000 of us).  Each person received $10 and then was challenged to turn their $10 into $100 and send it back to Hope to become a loan for a needy family.  That $120,000 has the potential to become 1.2 million if all of us successfully multiply our gift.  To learn more about the microlending program, visit their site at www.neverendinghope.org.

Compassion International is an organization most of us have already heard of.  Compassion offers the opportunity to sponsor children in poverty at the cost of $38 per month.  Each sponsorships helps provide opportunitiy for education, health living, and connection with a church family that will help the child understand the love and grace of God through His Son Jesus.  At Catalyst, I had the opportunity to witness the live testimony of a young Kenyan man named Jimmy who was sponsored through Compassion and who’s life was changed.  There at Catalyst, as Jimmy shared his story, he also got to meet his sponsor there on stage in an incredible emotional exchange of tears and gratitude.  To see this powereful moment, click here.

Just two weeks ago, we collected a special offering at church.  Over $450 was donated to send $100 to Hope International and to sponsor a child through Compassion.  Our childs name is Frank January Manyanda.  He is pictured above.  He i s 7 years old and lives in Tanzania.  When we receive our sponsorship packet, I will let you know how you can contribute and support Frank through our church.

Thank you all for giving!

Things we say

Something we repeat often @ The Bridge, but not always in the same way, is that people are in need of help, hope and healing.  This goes along right along with our vision of being “outwardly-focused.”  We remind ourselves of this b/c it is so easy to forget.  It is so easy for us turn inward, and think only of our own problems, and forget that people all around us are hurting, needing hope and healing.  All of us are pretty good at putting on our masks.  We clean up pretty good on the outside, but on the inside there is often a lot of doubt, fear, self-loathing, guilt, etc, etc, etc.  I think it is our natural tendency to just blind ourselves from the reality that people we are around us are in need.  If we didn’t wear our mask or tried to see past everyone elses, it would really become overwhelming.  But it is so important that we don’t become so inwardly focused to the neglect of everyone around us.  It is to overwhelming to know about and want to help those who are hurting, needing hope and healing.  But we aren’t the savior.  It is not our job to ‘fix’ everybody. Our hope is in God.  And God is the hope we can share with those in need.

So, know this, people are hurting.  They want help.  They desire healing.  They may not show it.  They may not say it.  But a lot of them are hoping that someone cares and has that hope, help or healing from them.  Care enough today to look past someone’s mask and love them.  Lend a hand.  Pray for them.  Serve them.  Invest your life in theirs.  You may be the one that plants that seed of hope that leads that friend, neighbor, family member to put their trust in God.

Things we say @ The Bridge

If you go to The Bridge, you’ll notice that we will say the same things over and over again.  We repeatedly say and remind ourselves about what is important to us.  Like vision. The reason for this is that “Vision Leaks.”  That’s one of the things we say @ The Bridge.  Vision Leaks.   Our vision is to be an outwardly-focused church.  This means we focus on honoring God and not doing church for us, but for God and for others.  All too often, a church, which starts with a focus on God and letting others know about God’s love for them, begins to turn inward and focus on itself.  The vision has begun to leak.  We begin to create programs and opportunities that benefit the members, attenders and insiders, and lose sight of the fact that the church is “God’s Plan A’” for reaching the world (see Ephesians 3:10).  We begin to lose the healthy balance between developing our own faith and sharing that faith with a world that desperately needs, hope, help and healing. The vision is leaking.

By reminding ourselves that “Vision Leaks”, it will hopefully help us keep our vision in mind of being “outwardly-focused” – to live our lives and do church with God’s perspective and God’s heart for people.  We don’t take the best spot in the parking lot at church when it’s available.  We leave it open, so maybe, just maybe, a newcomer to church finds it open and has an easier time getting into our building for church on Sunday.  We avoid speaking Christianeze (using words that only someone who has been in church for 80 years and has a seminary degree would know) and instead use language that everyone relates to and understands.  We use the Bible not as a hammer to nail people for sin, but understand that we all struggle on a variety of levels and share God’s truth with love  (Ephesians 4:15) and grace so that we build a bridge into lives and not walls that further separate us.  We get to church early so we can greet people as they come and make a new friendship.  There are a zillion ways to be outwardly-focused.  And that’s the vision.  And it will leak.  So we will keep repeating it and hopefully fill it back up again.

Vision leaks.  What’s the vision?  Be outwardly-focused. Live a life not so inwardly and self-focused but is concerned about the lives around you.  People are hurting.  They need help.  They want hope.  We have it.  Live the vision.

And, I would love for you to comment with ways we are being, or could be more outwardly focused as a church or as an individual.

I May Cut Up My Credit Card

I LOVE my credit card.  It is so convenient (maybe too convenient!).  I love pulling up to the gas pump and swiping the card and never having to go inside.  I love going to the grocery store and swipin’ that bad boy through the card reader as I cruise through the self-checkout lane.  It’s easy.  And, it’s FREE.  Courtney and I pay off our credit cards every month.  We are disciplined.  We don’t want to be enslaved to credit card debt.  And, for 8 blessed years of marriage, we’ve paid off our credit cards each month and the credit card company makes Jack Diddily Squat off of us.  Until now.

Let me explain.  So, we go to pay off my credit card this month and discover that our bill shows that we have taken a “cash advance.”  So I’m thinking, “O great. Somebody has nabbed my CC numbers and is taken out cash advances.”  So I call the card company to inform them.  To my surprise, the card company informs me that when my check cleared the bank last month, we had insufficient funds.  So, they did us a favor.  they charged us two fees (totaling $78) and then put the balance that was unpaid back on the account as a “cash advance.”  It would have seen kind of them to put it back where it came from – a credit card purchase, but apparently they thought it would be in my best INTEREST to put in the higher INTEREST of the cash advance.  So, instead of paying a lover interest rate as a credit card purchase, they simply move it over to cash advance, for no good reason, and charge an exorbitant interest rate.

It gets better.  If you don’t know this already, it may blow you away.  Here is how paying off your cash advance works.  Your bill comes.  Let’s say its $200.  $100 in credit card purchases, and $100 in cash advance.  And you’re thinking, well, I don’t want to pay these high interest rates, let me pay that off in full.  So you send in a check for $200.  Then you wait a month, get another bill, and low and behold, you still $100 in your cash advance, accept it has actually grown b/c they charged you interest on it.  And you’re thinking, “But wait!  I paid that off!.”  No.  You didn’t.  Because the credit card company wanted to do you another favor.   Here’s what they do.  Before they receive your check for $200, you go to the store, buy a shirt, buy a happy meal and buy some gas to fill up your SUV.  You spend a total of $100.  That registers on your account, before they receive your check.  So, in their good, kind-heartedness, they figure that you would want to pay off your lower interest debts first, apply the $200 you sent in only to your credit card purchases and leave your cash advance there earning you an interest payment.  Isn’t that great?  I hope I’m being clear and this is making sense.  This is REALLY what they do.  They have created a system that will keep you forever in debt unless you go to extreme measures to pay it off.  I’ve asked, can I send in a check and specify it to pay off my cash advance.  The answer, “no.”  They won’t take it.

The only way I can pay off that cash advance is to stop using my credit card until my previous payment has cleared, or they will not apply my payment to the cash advance.  Or you can go to the bank that issued your credit card, write a check and it will clear the bank that day.

And the credit card companies KNOW they are doing this.  They know it is wrong.  And THEY DON’T CARE.  They just want you and me in debt to them.  Period.

Anyway…I have never used a debit card.  Maybe it is time.  I wonder what Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University will have to say about this???

Our Short-Term Missionary in Brazil

One of our members, Matt Wells, is on a 2-week mission trip to Benevides, Brazil.  Matt joined in with a team from his former church in Virgina (Reston Bible Church) to help with a summer camp that RBC puts on in a “trash dump” community each year.  Matt has been there a little over a week and I wanted to share with you his email updates.  If you don’t know Matt, these emails may strike you as, uh, odd sometimes!  But that is Matt!  We love him and his hysterical sense of humor!  So, I’m going to more or less post the emails unedited.  Obvious from the emails should be many things we can be praying for.  This is a great opportunity, but also one that comes with an element of danger.  Let’s keep Matt and the Reston team in our prayers this week.

Tuesday, June 23

After about 36 hours of travel, we arrived at the Word of Life College in Benevides. God really blessed our travel. We each had our two carry-ons, and then we were each responsible for two bags to check in. Each bag was between 50 and 70 pounds (when all was said and done we brought down about 2 tons of stuff). Reagan National was a bit tricky b/c they made us move the bags through a long line, and then after we finally got to the front we had to move the bags back to have them scanned. The teen boys were really great about helping the ladies move their bags. We were worried about getting through customs b/c of some of the items that we were bringing down. Thankfully the white powder that we were bringing for tie-dyes didn’t raise suspicions. It was an amazing endeavor, and God really blessed us throughout the trip.
This morning some of the leaders had an opportunity to go visit the Flowers Estate Community. It truly was an incredibly impoverished area. I can’t imagine that there are many worse areas. The smell was horrible. I tried to take a bunch of pictures as we were entering: I can’t wait to show everyone. As we pulled up to the missionary’s community center that she had built next to her home in the Community, kids were running and biking ahead of us, scurrying to get into the center. We got out of the vehicle and heard all of the kids cheering. Apparently they were trying to surprise welcome us. They were all so cute. Granted they were all pretty dirty and smelly (when they get to the camp one of the first things we’ll do is clean them and apply lice shampoo). But it was impossible not to embrace them and play with them. My eyes teared up as I walked up to the center, and I had a hard time holding back my emotions most of the time that I was there. Even though most of us don’t speak Portugese, we were still able to communicate quite well. I caught on that one of the boys kept lying telling me that different boys were brothers. So as we walked to the dump, everytime we saw a mangy mutt I would point to it and using the word for brother, tell him that that dog must be his brother. They don’t get much, if any, affection from their parents (especially from their fathers), so these kids are starved for attention and affection. They loved being hugged, picked up and put on your shoulders, giving “five.” They also loved getting their picture taken and then looking at the picture on the small camera screen. Even the teenagers had to get their photos and then immediately group around the camera to see themselves. I’m really looking forward to going back tomorrow, and for camp. The rest of the day I had a hard time talking about my emotions without welling up with tears. It is so hard to see these cute children in such a bad situation (I’ll go into more detail below).
The dump was of course disgusting. There were vultures everywhere and it stunk really bad. The sad thing is that the Brazilian government has designated money for the community to make a recycling center so that they wouldn’t have to scrounge through it. But the mayor has kept the funds for himself. There is apparently a lot of corruption. Lynn is working hard as their advocate to get them justice and the money that belongs to the community. It is a struggle because most of the people she is trying to help are illiterate and don’t understand their rights. They finally have an prosecutor that is bringing to light all of the mayor’s corruption, but this is extremely dangerous. In the past these types of people would be killed, and that would end their advocacy and others would be too scared to take up their cause. So definitely be praying that justice would be served, and these people would get the money that is supposed to be theirs.
The area is really dangerous. It is very rare that police are willing to go through the dump community. A lot of the wanted “bandits” live in the area. They have had a lot of violence. One father was shot in the back while carrying his 18 month old son on his shoulders and holding his 4 year old’s hand, while simply walking down the road. The 18 month old was injurred after falling to the ground, but ok. They think it was probably a drug-related crime, but it is hard to know for sure. The people responsible for the murder still walk by the man’s home all the time. The people are just too scared to step forward. Recently some of the teens kidnapped a younger girl and raped her for several days. The boys were taken into custody but broke out when one of their mothers smuggled in a file. Lynn told us that she knows of several assasins, or murderers for hire in the community.
Lynn was telling us how a 9 year old died last week when the kite he was flying hit a telephone line. She told us about how a 2 month old died and it was most likely because of malnourishment. When she went to the home to bring food for the other 7 children, she openned the fridge and the only things that were in there was a chicken skin and some bones. That’s all they had for 7 children to eat. She said she took a toddler in because the hospital refused to treat the child (the community does not get much support from the rest of the area). Lynn basically nourished the child back to health. The toddler was going to die, not because of a disease, but from malnourishment.
I wanted to get onto the computer earlier today when the stories were fresher, but didn’t have time, so all of this probably seems a little disjointed and without a lot of detail (I am also really tired so that doesn’t help).
The college where we are staying is gated and has guards. However, last week the guards were held at gunpoint, and the robbers stole someone’s car. The do “let the dogs out” between 11:30 pm and 12 am. They have a german shepherd that helps the guard patrol. They had to let the rottweiler go because he was a pushover, and these other very large dogs they had ate too much!
Be praying for the camp next week (this camp is so wonderful for these children. Lynn said that the kids have been excited for it all year) and for our safety. I am also hoping to connect with some of the teens that came down from RBC, and invest in them a bit. This week is relatively low key as we prepare for camp. We were going to do work projects in the community, but we weren’t able to do them b/c our ultimately goal is to put on the camp, and we don’t want to leave work unfinished. Chris hopes to bring his whole family back down in September for a construction trip. I will see if anyone from out church wants to come down to help. Lynn wants to add a floor and an extension to the community center, and fix her fence, among other things. He’d probably be down for about 3 weeks. To make it worthwhile, people would need to come down for at least 10 days.
I wish I was better at describing the children. Hopefully when I am able to show the pictures, it will be more powerful.
One thing I forgot to add: Holly had put together our pictures with a little description about us. She had a picture of me with madeline. Under it she said that my favorite color was pink and that I really love to dance. The kids had fun looking at our pictures and figuring out which one was us. i told them that someone was joking with me and that my favorite color was Carolina blue. Holly also put a picture up of Lucy (their super-ugly bulldog) in front of the same Brazilian flag backdrop she used to take the other team members’ pictures (she couldn’t with me b/c I didn’t get to go to any of the meetings).

Please forward on this stuff to our small group and church. Our church really stepped up too. Debbie said that she brought down everything I gave her. She said it was great b/c people really gave us great things, and mostly got stuff from the donations list, so it was stuff we definitely needed. I was really proud of our church, and know that everyone who gave will really be blessed.
love, matt

Wednesday, June 24

Last night Chris and Debbie Smith went to Lynn’s for a little while. While they were there two guys (one with a machete) tried to get in through her gate. Lynn tried to hold the gate closed with her shoulder, but they bullied through. Lynn and Bete went into the street and started making a lot of noise to get everyone’s attention. Debbie quickly ran into a room and closed the door. They hit Chris above his eye with the back side of the machete. He told them they could take whatever they wanted. He thought one of them had a gun so we didn’t try to do anything. They stole his blackberry and that was about it. Everyone was of course bit shaken up, but Chris and Debbie have had a great attitude about the whole thing. Today we went to the dump and some of the teenagers told Lynn who it was. This is a big step b/c they usually don’t want to get involved, but some of these guys are starting to see Lynn’s love for them and responding to Christ’s love. They got the police to come and we’ll see what happens. She knows who they are and wanted to go to their house but we thought better. We had a good time with the kids. One lady rode up on her bike with a little boy and made him get off and come hug me. There is a deaf boy and I tried being friendly with him by looking at his bracelet and giving him the “ok” sign while saying “wow!” Apparently the ok sign is the equivalent of saying A-hole, so I was extremely embarassed, felt bad, and there was nothing we could do b/c we totally couldn’t communicate (he doesn’t even know sign language). We later played and I think all if ok…and I mean that in the american way of saying ok . There was a little girl, Gabby, who was absolutely adorable. We were playing a little game but then I think I scared her b/c I snuck up on her and she was away from her pack, so she started crying. so I decided to stick to just slapping hands, arm wrestling, and putting kids on my shoulders. I tell the kids here that my name is Vin Diesel. It’s funny hearing them call me that. i have also learned that when you don’t speak a language, it doesn’t matter how slow you say it, it still won’t be understood (I am saying this b/c these poor kids are trying to talk to me, and being so patient, but I barely understand anything). We do a lot of hand motions. I’ll let  you know how my time with Chris going into town to get some supplies goes if anything exciting happens. Glad to hear you and the kids are having a great time. It’s definitely tough being around all of these kids without mine. I wonder how ours would do with all of them. I don’t think I would bring mine down here for awhile, but I think they would actually have a really fun time. One of the girls brought her 8 month old baby. Kids were kicking a soccer ball around, and she was totally unfazed by the potential dangers. It is so funny b/c if this were america, we’d be constantly telling the kids not to do things for their safety, but these kids are so tough, that we don’t really put many restrictions on them. That may change at camp though. matt

Wednesday, June 24

So today after lunch Chris and I went with Lynn to run some errands. She needed a bunch of chairs and was going to buy some. Chris and I helped out and we were able to get 24 plastic chairs for her. It was awesome. Then we got Joe Hussa, a guy named Eric, and one other leader to go with us to her house to drop them off b/c it was nighttime. We were on high alert, but when we got there there were a bunch of the kids, and of course they wanted to play. I was keeping watch when all of a sudden someone jumped on my back. It scared the crap out of me. It was just a little kid trying to get a piggy-back. Thought I had just been attacked. I realized that I don’t make the best lookout. We were then standing around by the van and I decided to rip one. One of the teens made some hand signals and asked what it was in English. So we were able to teach them the word “fart.” Here were Christian missionaries teaching impoverished Brazilian kids the word Fart. I would say, “fart.” Then they would repeat back, “fart.” It was good fun. Hopefully their parents will let them come back. I mean, I don’t even let my kids say fart. But for whatever reason, it just didn’t feel right to teach them the word “toot.” Just didn’t feel cool enough for street kids to be using toot.
Tomorrow we are going to the girls home and then they are coming back here to hang with us for a little while. I’m looking forward to it.
Pray also for Curtis Goodnight, Kevin, and Bobby (Ross). They are traveling tomorrow. There are a lot of logistics for them as we are needing more supplies, and they have to go through what we did, but just the three of them.
love you. matt

Friday, June 26

Today we went to the girls home. It was a great time. They have a really neat ministry. They work to take girls between the ages of 12 and 18 off the streets. Their ultimate goal is to get them back with their families. They befriend them and pour into them and then try to find their families and evaluate if it would best for them to return to their families. If not, then they let them stay at the girls home. At the girls home they of course work to lead them to Christ, and then to also love on them and teach them skills to eventually allow them to go off on their own. There was one blind girl there and she had such a sweet spirit. We went around and had them give us their prayer requests. Most of them prayed for their families. Some of them are learning to try to love their families even though their families are really bad in many ways. The blind girl has been learning to get to the bus, take the bus to school and other places, and overall become more independent. They joked that when they first started trying to get her to do it she fought them over it. Now she understands why they pushed her. I was talking to one of the ladies that heads the ministry and she said that they are really strict about the girls following the rules. Only because they want what is best for them. She said when they break it, the worst torture for them is to have to discuss why they did it.
 
We then brought them back to the campus and played in the pool with them. I was excited to meet the two girls that the Smith’s originally tried to adopt. they have had some difficult times as other adoptions have fallen through, but they seemed to still have a great spirit. Debbie told me about how one Christmas they brought down gifts and gave a doll to this young girl. They then saw her sitting with it, cradling it, and hitting it. It was so unlike her to behave that way, which goes to show how deep some of the abuse is for some of these girls. The plan to expand the ministry and add a boys group soon. They are just praying for more workers as the harvest is full.
The team really gets along well. This is a great group of teens that we brought along. They are all really responsible, and we haven’t had any “issues.” The only issue is that they are all really competitive and have a hard time not playing sports against the college students here when challenged. I’m hoping that that doesn’t take away our energy for next week. It is definitely going to be a tough week as we are with the kids 24 hours a day. These kids are not used to authority or being told what they can or cannot do. I’m a little nervous having to be the only leader with the older kids. Honestly they intimidate me a little bit.

Also be praying for our health. A lot of the kids are getting sick. Hopefully it will pass over soon.

Sunday, June 28th

We just found out some difficult news. There were some teenagers that were involved in that rape scenario we discussed. One of their mom’s smuggled a file into the jail and they escaped. They are now “hiding out” in the dump community. While they were encarcerated there was some peace and quiet in the area, but since their escape there has been some tension. There is also an issue with the mayor closing down the dump b/c of politics, and now the people in the community do not have any source of income. The kids look forward to the camp all year, but with our presence comes tension. People will be aware that we are bringing “stuff” for the kids and family. About a week and a half ago, William (a boy that was once with a bad group, but now has really been transformed through Lynne’s ministry and is really trying to live a Christ-like life) and his family’s house was invaded. They were roughed up and robbed. They were told that if they reported it they would be hurt. Then last night they were invaded again. They are fearful for their lives. As a result, William is concerned with coming to camp b/c it would mean leaving the rest of his family alone. Another family was invaded a day or two ago, and lost a lot of their property. They are trying to find a new place to live, but that will be difficult. A lot of the kids and families may be scared now, and with them out of their houses, it puts their families in danger. Pray that their families will be safe, their stuff protected, and that they will not be paralyzed by fear.
Also continue to pray for justice in Chris’s assault. They know who it is, but it is a matter of getting the police to get involved. The community is an easy target b/c everyone is afraid to get involved. They need to know that they can’t get away with this stuff.
William is supposed to be in my group. I met him the two times I was out there and he is a really great guy.
Today we had a church service with the leaders. It is really neat (and emotional) to see the young leaders who have come through Lynne’s ministry who were being ministered to, now desiring to share Christ’s love with their community.
I’ll hopefully give you more later. matt

Dinner and a Show!

A few years ago, when “youth pastor” was one of the many hats I got to wear,  our youth minstry put on a dinner theatre called “Dinner at Luigi’s.”  I got pegged for the part of “Luigi.”  I was a cranky Italian cook who ran a restaurant.  It was the easiest of all the characters.  I pretty much had one line.  Throughout the show,  I would occasionally step out of the kitchen (from offstage) and yell “Whatsa matter for you, eh!” at the other characters.  It was a bit of comic relief.

Anyway…my former youth ministry is back in the theatre business again.  They are performing another show to help the teens raise money for their mission trip to Alaska.  Their mission in Alaska will be both repairing homes of the poor or elderly, and coordinating backyard Bible clubs for a number of communities.  If you’d like to help these kids get to Alaska, buy some tickets to their newest show, “Jerusalem P.D.”   It is a take off on the old TV show “Dragnet”, complete with “Joe Thursday.”  Tickets are $15 each.  Dinner includes steak, potato, bread, salad, dessert, etc.  Chances are the acting won’t be ready for the Durham Performing Arts Center, but should be a fair night of entertainment with some good food. 

There will be two showings – Friday, May 22nd, and Saturday, May 23rd, both at 6:30pm.  Let me know if you’d like to go.  Tickets are required as seating will be limited.  Make checks payable to “Ephesus Baptist Church” and put “Youth Mission Trip” in the memo line.

Eat BBQ, Do Good.

Okay, so I borrowed today’s blog title from Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee.  Their tag line is “Drink Coffee, Do Good.”  I hope you’ll do that, but I hope you’ll also eat some BBQ and do some good for some friends of mine.  The Ephesus Baptist Church Youth Department is raising money for their mission trip to Alaska.  If you love Eastern North Carolina BBQ like I do, you don’t want to miss this opportunity.  Be sure to drop by Ephesus Baptist on Friday, May 1, from 11am to 7pm to pick up some BBQ.  As a eastern NC BBQ connoisseur(click here for must see video), I have a hard time finding BBQ around here that I deem adequate.  So, I will not miss getting some of the real McCoy from the EBC youth on May 1.  You can call in orders, pick it up, have it delivered, deliver it to your friends and/or coworkers – whatever.  The food is great and you’ll be helping a great cause.

And while I’m on the subject of area BBQ, here’s my top places to go for good (notice my emphatic emphasis of good with bold, italics and underlining!) eastern NC style BBQ:

• Barbeque Lodge.  On Capital Blvd. in Raleigh, the Barbeque Lodge is my first choice for the Raleigh area (right now) for BBQ.  And don’t just get the BBQ – order family style.  It’s the way to go.  And, as a bonus, they have corn sticks (which I know means nothing to many of you!)
• Ron’s Barn in Coats.  It’s a whale of a drive out to Ron’s Barn, but some great country cooking and BBQ.
• Backyard Bistro.  The Bistro is a brand new restaurant that just opened on Trinity Road in Raleigh, next to the RBC Center.  A friend of mine is the owner and supplier of BBQ there (he also is cooking the BBQ for the EBC fundraiser!).
• Old Time BBQ.   Old Time is on Hillsborough St. in Raleigh.  Not my absolute favorite, but it’ll do.
• Smokey’s BBQ Shack.  Honorable mention – Smokey’s on Highway 54 in Morrisville.  Smokey’s is not, I repeat, is not, eastern NC style BBQ, but it is one of the rare BBQ that isn’t eastern NC style that I like.  Great food.  Check it out.

That’s eat.  If you’re hungry, give me a call!

Something To Celebrate

I am the absolute worst at celebrating.  I’m much to reserve.  I am the guy who goes to a UNC basketball game and fits right in with the “wine and cheese” crowd.  I don’t like to draw attention to myself.  I’m not vocal or demonstrative.  I don’t need a birthday party.  Which, unfortunately, translates into my inability to plan and celebrate for others when a celebration is due.  Celebration just doesn’t generally register on my radar.  It is something I need to change, and I’m working on it.

Anyway…I want to celebrate for Tim and Anna Walters who are in Russia, right now, in the final stages of the adoption process.  Lord willing, Tim and Anna will be back in less than 2 weeks with a brother and sister for Ty.  Whoo-who!  Praise God!  As many of you know, this adoption process is long, tedious, frustrating and expensive.  I am so glad they are nearing the light at the end of the tunnel for this process.  Many thanks to those of you who have prayed for them or with them, donated items or money, thrown baby showers, etc.  It is so great to be a part of a community of faith that supports each other in such a way.

Having said all that, I’d like to invite any of you to help me bless the Walters in at least one more way.  I’d love to get together a team to go over their house and cut the grass, trim the driveway, wash their cars and whatever other projects we can find to do.  If you’d like to help, let me know.  And let’s celebrate Mike style – with service!

Oh – and speaking of the “wine and cheese” crowd – how ’bout them Heels?  Go Tarheels!  Let’s win another NCAA Championship for Roy Williams!

Repeat Post

Just wanted to make sure people didn’t miss a chance to check out www.iamsecond.com.  I love stories of life change, and this site offers a dozens or more in video format.  It is so encouraging to hear people share real, heart stories, and how their lives were redeemed from the pits and utterly transformed.  The video below is a youtube.com version of the actual video from www.iamsecond.com.  Hope you have some time to sit and listen to a few of these.

Wali na kuku and Food Shuttle

Courtney made Wali na Kuku for dinner tonight.  What is Wali na Kuku?  It is the other recipe I brought home with me from Tanzania.  “Wali” is rice and “kuku” is chicken.  For the most part, it is a rice, chicken, onion, and puree’d tomato soup.  Oh, and lots of salt!   It’s amazing.  Pics below.

Also, over the weekend, some of us Bridgers volunteered at the Inter-faith Food Shuttle that is located near the Farmer’s Market.  We didn’t know exactly what we would be doing, but we ended up dismantling and washing many of the racks they store food on.  It was glamourous work, but needed.  It was great to serve.  The best part is just being able to connect with those who volunteered and “do life together.”

Chris looks like he's dancing!