New beginnings

A local guy came by a few months ago and wanted to help out with our Saturdays at Bridge of Hope. He had done 20 years in prison and had been clean and off heroin for 5 years. He helps out every week and has become a great friend and family to us at BOH. Brew and us gals has been faithful to witness to him and spend time with him sharing God’s word for the last couple months. Yesterday, Steve committed his life to the Lord. It was wonderful. He felt the Spirit touching him as he said yes to Jesus. Today, we had a donation brought to us from a couple ladies. Within 5 minutes, the Lord used Steve to speak into one of the women’s lives as she is grieving over the loss of her son to Heroin. Steve could not believe the experience of intimacy and sharing, that we brothers and sisters in Christ get to experience everyday. It was a wonderful first day of following Christ for Steve. He saw God at work. He got to be real with a sister, encourage her and be encouraged. The Lord is faithful and always at work.

Read Full Post »

God answers prayer

The weather forecast was looking pretty bad for our Christmas party that was to be held outside in the park on December 12th. It was calling for heavy rains. All week, people were asking me what we were to do about the probability of rain. We were giving away Christmas trees, presents to the kids. We had many activities planned but if it rained… yikes. I prayed during the week and asked the Lord to hold back the rain. I heard the Lord say that the rain would not be an issue.
We opened the storehouse that early Saturday. No rain, and all was as usual until around 9:30 am. It began to pour. We hurried and brought all our tables and chairs inside the store. I still felt the Lord’s voice saying not to worry, it would not rain when the event was taking place, which was to be 1-5. I then asked the Lord if He could dry the ground too so the presents would not get wet. At 12:30 pm, we began to unload the truck of all 230 gifts for the children. One of the volunteers suggested we get tarps in case it rains, to cover all the gifts. I thought for a moment, and then said no to the idea of a tarp. I felt the Lord had tested me. He told me there would be no rain. If I were to get a tarp, would I truly be believing? Anyway, we had a wonderful, excellent day. The rain was not a issue, just as the Lord had said. Everytime we would get a light sprinkle, we would pray and it would stop. And oh, by the way, the ground was dry where the presents were stacked. Thank you Jesus. As we loaded up our cars and headed home after a long and fulfilling day, it began to rain. Our Lord is so faithful and funny too.

Read Full Post »

New friends

We had a new family from Tanzania come to the storehouse a week ago. After they were done shopping, we took them home. That is one of my favorite things to do- cruise down University with a car load of friends from other parts of the world. All we can do is laugh and smile together, we cannot understand each other’s words, but it does not seem necessary. We helped bring all the things they had picked out at the storehouse, up to their apartment. I also brought a box full of toiletries and school supplies a first grade class had put together to give to our families. I watched as our Swahili speaking friends pulled out each item and explained piece by piece what each thing was. Shampoo, hand santizer, sewing kit, crayons, pencil box etc. They were explaining and our friends were in awe of each thing they touched and studied. It was a sweet and tender time. Before I left, they introduced me to two of the sisters who had physical deformities. They asked me to lay hands on them and pray for them. What a wonderful family and how blessed we are to have them in ours.

Read Full Post »

Making a Difference

Today we had a local lady come and tell us, holding back her tears, how thankful she is for Bridge of Hope being there. That us simply being there, and doing what we are doing each week, the neighborhood is changing. She was sharing how she has hope now. That even her fears of gangs and violence on her street, which is ours, is gone now. This fear was something she has been battling for a long time. Thank you Jesus that our prayers are being answered. More Lord, bring revival to City Heights.

Read Full Post »

Our Faithful Volunteers

above: photos of our weekly food packing assembly line

Many of you have experienced our Saturday ministry, a morning filled with much excitement and anticipation: people wait in line for a chance to shop our storehouse, pick up a bag of food for their families; children swarm the crafts area and foosball table and an occasional game of volleyball ensues on the asphalt of 38th street. Some people stay all morning, well after their turn to shop has finished. They just like being there. So much community, so many familiar faces, the same ones every week. Special moments are when a person asks for prayer, and it’s then that you will witness a small but dynamic group of Christ followers speaking life and truth into the soul before them. And out of despair the soul comes alive and is filled with hope once again.

There’s a lot going on behind the scenes at Bridge of Hope during the week. Every Wednesday and Friday we gather together in the storehouse to sort donations, restock the racks, clean the floors, straighten the shelves and pack the food for distribution. Our favorite part of Wednesdays are when we settle into donated couches and chairs to share homemade hot tamales, green sauced chicken and soft tortillas along with lots of bustling laughter and trading of stories. Around the circle of eight you will see the faces of devoted friends, sisters in Christ who have stepped in to help get this little mecca of household goods into working order for the Saturday opening to the community.

God is so good. He has brought us all together, blessed us, purposed us to encourage one another through any battle thrown by the inner city.

Read Full Post »

Family Photos

We had the pleasure of having our good friend Daniel Hoffman and his church home group come and take professional family photos of some of our East African families. This was such a rare and exciting event for all of the families because it meant that in addition to having a nice framed family portrait for their wall they could also mail them to family members back at home who they’ve been separated from since relocating to San Diego. I can just imagine how excited their families and friends will be when they see these pictures!

If you would like to see a few more of the photos check out Daniel’s website.

Thanks Daniel!

Read Full Post »

Food Bank Fun

We’ve got a fun little story to share about our recent run to the food bank~ This last Thursday Sheri did her normal pickup from the food bank, this is for the food that we would pack into about 150 bags for our Saturday distribution. This week was one of the rare times that the bank was also carrying large boxes of diapers and toilet paper. At $0.09 per pound we were hoping to get a good deal. We were COMPLETELY surprised though at how good that deal was….Our load that we picked up was food for 150, about ten 60-ct. boxes of diapers, about ten 24-roll packages of toilet paper, stuff that would normally cost a shopper HUNDREDS of dollars, and guess how much we spent??

36 BUCKS!

We are were so happy, we hardly spent anything. and we had even just raised some money at our dinner the week before and we HAVE MONEY LEFTOVER! Our dollar goes a LOOONG way at the food bank. We are so thankful for our partnership with them for our weekly purchases, allowing us to touch the lives of people every week!

Read Full Post »

Dinner Party with Empanadas!

When you have Alex’s mom cooking up some homemade Colombian-style food you know your in for a treat!

Friday we hosted a fun dinner party to get friends together and to raise money for the food distribution program here at Bridge of Hope.

Every Saturday we give out 150 bags of food and due to the immense needs of the area we would love to give out more! Thanks to everyone who came to the party!

We raised a good amount that will help us to purchase SO much more from the local food banks.

Read Full Post »

Being a Bridge of Hope

This is a good description of Bridge of Hope, taken from the Mo’-Manna website:

Bridge of Hope is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping distressed families through transition. Transition can mean many things; recovery from a drug and alcohol addiction, domestic violence, illness, loss of a job, divorce, struggling single parents, widowhood as well as refugees coming to America.

Lending a helping hand through a difficult time can be a significant turning point in one’s life. Bridge of Hope was established to come along side those in transition, to support them through spiritual and practical means so that they have an opportunity to be successful.

Bridge of Hope was started in 2005 through the opening of our first storehouse and the hosting of a weekly Bible Study and prayer meeting. We met with women recovering from various addictions. The purpose was to equip women in the Word and love of God, in order for them to grow in strength and hope, by building a strong spiritual foundation in Christ Jesus. From this small study, Bridge of Hope has grown into an organization mobilized to provide spiritual and practical help to a wide variety of people in need.

Over the years, we have established strategic relationships with community groups and organizations that share the vision of Bridge of Hope. It is through these alliances and generous donations of time, resources, and money that we look to grow and become equipped to reach even more people in need in San Diego.

Bridge of Hope headquarters is located in City Heights, just east of downtown San Diego. At this location, we are reaching the local community through our Storehouse, Programs, Volunteer Opportunities and Community Events.

Help us build a bridge by continuing to provide hope to these families in need!

Read Full Post »