Building Bridges....

In my last post, I mentioned that the OC students were leaving.  Two of the young men who were with the group had worked really hard to build a new, sturdy bridge for the mission.  This bridge was 27 feet in length.  Their goal was to have the bridge up before they left.  Well, they were successful in getting the main structure up!  I so wish I could get my pictures to up-load to this blog so I could show you the pictures.  The bridge is great and the guys were so proud.

Everyone, from the Tanzanians to the American missionaries to the OC students, were working on building a different kind of bridge.  The bridge between cultures, races, languages and strangers.  It is so amazing to watch as people, strangers, come together to work and play.  To watch the bonds as they begin so fragilely and slowly grow in strength. People from two different worlds and languages learning from each other.  I saw such growth during the time the OC students were here. 

One of the students, Stu, was in the village by himself getting some supplies we needed.  During his trip, he took the time to interact with people in the village.  Through this interaction, he made a friend.  He met a young man who asked Stu to teach him about the Bible.  Stu met with this young man on several occasions during the two weeks he was here.  He even brought this young man over to our house and introduced him to everyone and he attended one or two of our devotionals.  It was so exiting to see this bond as it grew.

Over the two weeks, many bridges and relationships were built and grew strong.  So strong that when it was time for the trip to end, many tears were shed and many heart-felt words spoken.  In spite of all the differences, there was one connecting thread which the bridges were built on......Jesus Christ, the son the of living God.   My prayer is that everyone will always remember this time, each other and the strength of the relationships.  I pray that this one thread will always bind us together.