Chuck Bridges Blog

Remember when we thought our time in school would never end? I remember thinking that I would never have to read another book or solve another mathematical equation that had absolutely no relevance to the “real world.” I mean, after all, how has “Beowolf” or “MacBeth” put any money in my bank account? After leaving our country and returning for over a dozen times now, I realize how much we are still in the classroom. The “Lessons” we are assigned each day may sometimes seem as irrelevant as those monotonous chemistry symbols or the theorms of geometry (my all-time worst subject!) But, when we stop to process that which invades our realm of consciousness, we may be surprised by the advantages they bring to our life.

While our objective for going to Romania on this last trip were well defined, I somehow felt that there was something more for me to do (or perhaps learn). Like many of us do, I sought to put my own “spin” on what I thought it was that I would experience. Then, as the trip rapidly progressed, I realized that nothing unexpected or unusual was happening. I began to wonder if our extreme busyness was keeping me from experiencing the “deeper” things that God wanted me to learn. Could it be that our everyday lives are basically doing the same thing to us today? We are staying so busy that the major things God is trying to teach us seem to be irrelevant at the time when we are experiencing them. When we view our daily lives as monotonous activity we may fail to learn some of our most beneficial, relevant lessons.

AS I try to evaluate this last trip out of our great country, I still cannot say for sure that God taught me this… or that God wanted me to go on this trip because… Since I am the kind of personality that puts a great deal of emphasis and importance on results, I fear that many of the things God wants to teach me are overshadowed by my pursuit of successful endeavors.

I do realize that my thoughts of how it would be to share the Love of Christ with the people of Romania were not realized. The people that I did get to talk to were either saved or just as disinterested as the people I encounter many times here in America (in the deep south where I live). I have many times felt like God wanted me to do something for someone else in an attempt to tell them about His love only to experience something totally different when the time came. The question that consumes my thought world right now is: “Why is it so difficult to share with others something that is greater than any other experience we can have on this earth?”

Are we expending our greatest resources on things that have no eternal value at all? Are the seconds passing by right now filled with deeper truths than I am aware of? Are the things we reach for closer and more obvious than we think? Maybe you could offer some help in “making sense” out of these ambiguous lessons. Any thoughts?

After boarding many different airplanes, rushing to find the right gates at airports, and just sitting for a very long time, we made it home. The travel to and from Romania is very tiring. But, it is just a part of the deal. We are honored that God has allowed us to once again go and serve His Kingdom in the great country of Romania. We have been blessed beyond description. The Christians we work with in Romania are very devoted to our Lord. This always challenges the level of growth I experience day-to-day.

In trying to assess the progress of another trip to Romania it occurred to me how much has been accomplished since the first time I went to the village of Sanger. I vividly remember being taken to preach in this village in 2005 on a trip we made to work on a church building in another village. The small group was meeting in a borrowed facility right beside the village’s school. I told the guys with us on that trip that I really felt like this was a place where something significant could be done.

After that trip, we were blessed with a significant gift by a committed Believer and started looking for property in Sanger. God blessed us with a very large piece of property that already had a house and some other structures on it that the church could use until a building could be constructed. Now, on these last two trips God has allowed us to build a facility for the church in that village to meet in and for the children to have a place to have their day-camps. Now the dream I first saw in 2005 has become a reality. The church has property and facilities to help them do the work of our Lord in their own community! When looking at what has been accomplished it is amazing. Especially since our church is so small, limiting our ability to finance this work.

Everything that has been accomplished is the result of numerous Christians doing whatever they can. It is many people giving all size gifts and not just a few giving a lot. I believe this is the way God expects us to accomplish His Visions on this earth. Only God can get the credit for what has been accomplished because we could not do it any other way. This also reminds me that He is also ABLE to supply for the future work in this area of the world.

Please pray for God’s CLARITY as we look to the future. Another church in the city of Cluj, Romania has asked us to provide construction teams for a Christian Camp facility on some property they have in the mountains. We toured this property on Sunday, October 25th, and all I can say is WOW! It is some beautiful land with a white water stream running right through it. The church has used summer and fall camps to build their church (over 500 members now) and has some great plans for this property that was given to them to develop something major for our Lord’s work.

Since buildings constructed out of wood are rare in Romania, they need guys from our churches to come and frame up these buildings. They can do a lot of the other construction. Please pray about possibly being involved in this future opportunity.

For all of you who prayed for our team while in Romania; gave to help us financially or any other way, let me say THANK YOU! Look what God has done and dream with me about what He still plans to do!!! God Bless.

Basically the church only needs to get the flooring installed and the wood stove heater put in and they can start meeting in the new building. Those who came by during the week are so excited about having this new facility to meet together and praise the Lord! The children who came provide much encouragement that God can do great things in this village. There are so many children in this particular village. I think that is why God drew my heart to work with Pastor Marius in Sanger, Romania.

Thanks to so many of you we were able to come and work for about 8 days in July and 7 days on this trip and see something amazing accomplished. We are all tired physically but are rejoicing in our Spirits! (I also just learned that they are turning the clocks back one hour tonight so we get an extra hour of sleep — AMEN!) Here are a few pictures from the last couple of days…

 

Over the past 6 years it has been my privilege to come to Romania and PARTNER with fellow Christ- Followers in the work of building God’s Kingdom. The blessings I have received and continue to receive far outweigh anything I could bring to our “Family” here in Romania. After being in 7 different countries on this globe, I have learned how many of God’s blessings Americans have in comparison to other places in the world. I am proud to be an American! While I love to travel, see God’s great big world, and partner with loving Christian people, I always love to get back home. I miss my wife Lisa, my children Matthew and Ashley, and my other family members. I also miss our Church family. Without many of them it would not be possible for us to be here!

                For many years I struggled with going home because of the discrepancy in our abundance when compared to the limited resources of other people in the world. Surely the inequality must not be pleasing to God! Don’t get me wrong, I know that America is not the only place in this world where His Abundant blessings are plentiful! The difference in my mind is that I truly believe America was established by God to be a “Light” to the nations of the world! It is my conviction that God has blessed the USA abundantly so that we would be a LIGHT to the other nations of the world! The more America has drifted from our foundation, the more uncertain our future has become. Many people are looking to Washington, D.C. for help when the Psalmist told us hundreds of years ago that “our help comes from the Lord.” (cf. Psalm 121)

                I wrestle with thoughts concerning what someone like me could do to change some of these inequalities? Why has God allowed me to experience other cultures, see first-hand how blessed I have been, and struggle with the inequalities of abundance among people whom I know He loves equally? My answers are not profound or exhaustive. Simply put: God is always at work in our lives and in the lives of those we encounter on a daily basis. For those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, it is our responsibility to SERVE the causes of our Lord wherever He has placed us. Today, whether you are involved in the activities of your normal day or on adventures others only dream about, SERVE God with ALL of your HEART!!! Like the old hymn says:

“Little is much when God is in it; Labor not for wealth or fame.

There’s a crown and you can win it; If you’ll go in Jesus’ name.”

We continue to make progress on the church building in Sanger Village, Romania. The drywall work is taking longer than expected. Because of the cold, wet conditions the “mud” is not drying properly. We have to get all the finish work done so we can get the inside painted, the windows trimmed out, and the electrical things installed. At this time it does not look like we will be able to get the bathroom ready, the floor covering installed or the wood stove for heat placed in the church. But these are things that they can do after we have returned home. We believe the church building will be ready for the church to meet in this winter!! Hallelujah.

            Please continue to pray for us today. Right now it is about 7:00am and the other guys are sleeping. I am praying now for each of them to be strong for our tasks today. I am growing to love all these guys in a deeper way. I respect them and their families greatly for making this journey with me. Each of our team members have spouses and young children at home. I know they miss each other greatly! These spouses are just as much a part of this team as those who are here. Without supportive family members our time here would not be possible! THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR FAMILY MEMBERS. WE LOVE YOU!! (And our Romanian Family longs to meet all of you!)

Solo de Gloria! TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY BOTH NOW AND FOREVERMORE!

Have you ever been asked to do something that you knew was beyond your capacity? It seems that most of our tasks in this life are determined by what we think we can do. We attempt to utilize the resources at our discretion to accomplish what we feel CAN be done. It occurred to me yesterday how God has CALLED us to come to a country that we know little about for a task that is much greater than anything we can do. We understand how to build a “Physical” structure for the People of God to have their meetings in. God has also shown us how HE Supernaturally stretches the resources to complete this project.

But, in the midst of our frantic pace to accomplish our objectives in such a short span of time, I am acutely aware of the things that exceed ALL of our RESOURCES (i.e. Our knowledge, money, time, etc.). While we can construct a building we cannot make people come. While we can share our testimony and explain to people how to be saved, we cannot make people accept Jesus Christ as their Savior! God is the Only One who can DRAW people to Himself. We are called to have Compassion on those who are in Spiritual Darkness and to do everything we can to help them SEE Jesus in us. But, we have no ability to make this Most Critical of ALL decisions for them. So, today I am asking God to keep me centered on His Love for Me and anticipating the accomplishments He will make today that far exceed my limitations.

So far this week (in spite of much rain) we are making good progress on the Church building in Sanger. The Team is working very hard on all of our tasks. Some are dealing with physical sickness and tired bodies. Please pray for God to keep all of our TEAM members healthy and strong for the TASK He has called us to accomplish here in Romania. Pray for the people who see the building being completed to come and hear the messages that will be shared in this place. Pray for the children. They are in school now so many of them were not able to come for the activities yesterday. We are having the “Bible Camp” in the morning one day and then in the afternoon the next day. Pray for our Romanian partners. Many of them have other commitments to meet and cannot stay with us for this work. Pray for the ones who have faithfully served with us in this great Calling.

We continue to wrestle with tension between challenges in our physical realm (i.e. physical weariness; irritations over trying to get things accomplished without some needed resources; human relations; etc.) and the “Struggles” we face in the Spiritual Realm. Each time I find myself at a point wondering why I am so far from home, missing my family, trying to build something so foreign to the people in this culture, etc. God sends someone into my sphere of consciousness to remind me why I am here. As I walked the muddy, cold road to the church this morning, (Wednesday) I simply prayed in my Spirit “God is this where you want me right now?” Without hesitation HE affirmed my calling to be here.

My deep love for our Romanian Brothers and Sisters is growing. They are so faithful and committed to the Lord! They are wonderful hosts (I never eat this much every day!). They treat us like royalty. Last night the guys were blessed to be able to go and take a hot shower at one of the Believer’s houses in a neighboring village. THANK YOU LORD!!!!! We have much to try and accomplish today on the building. Please pray for our Team. Kim continues to be sick and has been in the hotel for a couple of days. Pray that she will be well enough today to come and share in this ministry. Pray for the children to come to the day camp. The weather and their school schedule has prohibited them from coming as they usually do. Even though smaller numbers of children are coming, those who are here bless us immensely!

STAY TUNED!

Well I finally have an internet connection here in Romania. (I am sitting in Marius’ car outside an establishment that serves fire water!) We are all here safely and everyone is doing great! TJ and Paul arrived yesterday. WE had wonderful meetings with the people yesterday. The children performed a drama on the story of the Prodigal Son yesterday afternoon. The parents and others in the village were invited. There were probably about 65 people there. The children did a wonderful job. I had the privilege of sharing my testimony following the play and encouraged the people to search their hearts and allow Jesus Christ to come in. Please pray for God’s DRAWING power upon these who have heard the message of Salvation.

I have a video of the Construction progress thus far but the upload speed is very slow where I am. We are very pleased with the work the Romanians have done on the building. With God’s help I believe we will be able to have the building ready for the church to meet in. We have brought enough money to get the primary things done. We will not be able to complete the building in its entirety but will make it to where they can use it for worship and the children’s programs for the rest of the winter.

Pray with us about the continuing work in Sanger. Pray also about your involvement in this opportunity to partner with some of the most wonderful people I have ever met. Like Paul said this morning (as only Paul can), “God knows who He wants to come and what He wants each of us to do!” Well said Paul. Many of you back home are wanting to come. Begin now saving whatever money you can and get your passport! Take the first steps and then God will do the rest.

I have some pictures and video to show you but the upload speed on this connection is very, very, very slow. I will try to see if I can find a faster connection so you can see what we are doing. For those who are on facebook check there and I will try to post some media there.

God Bless!

Well the day has finally come for our Mission Team to return to Romania for another adventure specially planned by our Father. If you take a close look at the faces of the children on the header of this page you will see why it is so hard to leave them and why I am always anxious to get back over there. I will definitely miss my family, friends, and church here at home (and there really is “No place like home!”) but this is such a tremendous blessing in my life that it helps with the “yearnings” to be home.

Please pray specifically for our Team. All of the 6 people going with me have small children. Two of them are Moms! They are going to struggle with being away from them for this long and their children will not understand where they are. So, pray for those going and for the spouses who remain home to care for their households.

I hope to be able to post regularly and hopefully put some pictures and video on this time. We are supposed to have access to wireless, high speed internet at a hotel that the two ladies on our team are staying at. On our last trip I tried to send pictures but they would never upload. We will see once we get there. I should be able to at least put some updates on this blog and on Facebook. If we are not “friends” on fb send me a request and I’ll accept!

God has put this Team together and provided the funds to allow us to get the church building ready for the winter! To Him Be ALL the GLORY! Now, I have to get mentally prepared for a long SIT on a big bird and a very cold slap in the face when I depart the plane in Romania (wind chill about 20 degrees. YIKES!). God Bless You!

I have had so many things going on this past couple of weeks that I haven’t taken the time to sit down and post about some great Truths God is teaching me. This has truly been a great time of Spiritual, Emotional, and Mental Growth in my life. As always the stress of getting everything together for our departure to Romania this coming Thursday has been challenging. I always get nervous when taking others out of the country for the first time. Will it be a good experience for them? Will they adjust to the change in climate, culture, cuisine, etc.? Will they do ok with the lengthy travel? (I know; I know; these are all things in God’s control but I still think about these things) As I shared in my last post, I will try to keep regular updates coming through this blog while we are on this amazing journey (Oct. 15-27). Check it out when  you get a minute and please pray for us.

If I had to summarize what God has been magnifying in my life recently it would be mostly about “PERSPECTIVES.” We have probably all heard about the illustration of the glass that is half filled with water (or is it half empty?). EXACTLY! Whichever way you see it constitutes your tendencies in the realm of “PERSPECTIVE!” The problem for me is how easy it is to allow my PERSPECTIVE to be shaped by the Uncertain Present instead of by the Certainty of the Future. This may be a little archaic for some who have strived for the “Abundant Life” in this cursed world. With all of our knowledge about PERSPECTIVES it seems that our responses to “Daily Stuff” remain in the realm of the NOW!

Trust me, I am not pointing the long finger of disdain at anyone! (Except Myself) I have almost drowned recently in the “tsunami” of the PRESENT while claiming to Know and Believe in the “Life Boat” called the FUTURE! Romans 8 is a great resource for the most seasoned Christ-Follower as well as the beginner. It reminds us of how influential the guaranteed future can be in the wilderness of “Present struggles.” Actually the Bible says it is these very struggles that makes it possible for God to get accomplished what He has ultimately planned for our lives. So, some of the very things that we are praying like crazy for God to change, remove, or at least explain are the things He is using to “Construct” HIS Masterpiece (by the way, that Masterpiece is YOU! cf. Ephesians 2:10)

It would be great if it were possible to get all this stuff figured out so that we could handle life’s challenges with more poise and control. But, in reality, as soon as we think we have something figured out, another situation intrudes on our controlled environment that sets off all our alarms! Its at the times when we are “free-falling” that we reach out for something to grab on to that can stop the madness. While I can’t give you step by step instructions I can tell you that that something we need to grab hold of is actually not a thing it is a PERSON!

You see, we want our lives to fit neatly and comfortably in a structure that makes sense. Let’s just keep all the mystery in the novels and movies, RIGHT? This would produce a boring existence. Instead, do a quick inventory of your “situations” (good or bad; your fault or not; etc.) and evaluate how things could be different IF we learn where to reach when we need something solid to hang on to. In a way, a PERSPECTIVE God is giving me about life is that it is kind of like a thrilling ride on one of those upside down, incredibly fast roller coasters that takes your stomach away and makes you scream while laughing hysterically. The only reason we can enjoy that ride is because we are securely strapped in to our seat; trusting completely in the craftmanship of its designer!

We can face life in the same way as long as we are strapped securely in our seat (i.e. that is called Salvation through Christ) and we trust in the craftmanship of the designer (that’s the God we believe in). Knowing how to hold on to these 2 unchanging TRUTHS can help us keep our sanity no matter what unexpected things find their way into our realm of consciousness. Also, remember that, before anything gets to us (i.e. Children of God) it has to get past our Father, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit who lives in our hearts. You can be SURE that if our God has allowed it to make it all the way to us, He has a plan for our VICTORY!

So, hold on and enjoy this journey called LIFE! You only get one shot at it so don’t waste too much time griping or worrying about things you cannot change. Go ahead, be one of the brave ones, raise your arms to the sky, scream with joy at the top of your lungs, and laugh hysterically knowing that God has everything in control! That’s the PERSPECTIVE of CHAMPIONS! For a little more help with PERSPECTIVES that bring PEACE see Deut. 29:29! ENJOY THE RIDE OF YOUR LIFE!!!

Meet our Team: Paul, Michael, Kim, Chuck, Michelle, Matt and TJ

Hey Bloggers. Take a look at our next Romania Team. Five of us are leaving on Thursday, October 15th and the other two are leaving on Saturday, October 17th. Please pray for everyone to arrive safely. We are so excited about this opportunity to return to the Village of Sanger in the great country of Romania. We are planning to get the church building we started in July finished so that the church can use it this winter.

I will probably write some more about our Romania journey before we leave. I will also try to post updates on our trip while we are in the country so check it out during the dates of October 15 – 27.