Dear Bridges to Home Ministry Friends
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave or free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."  Galatians 3:28
Through Jesus Christ all barriers are removed.  No divide separates us from the love of God and the love of neighbor.  Barriers such as financial resources, living stability, race or ethnicity, religious affiliation and so on sometimes divide us into them and us camps.  But because Jesus came into this world, we are all one in Him.  The new order of law is that we accept others unconditionally without the least wish to ignore, judge, or change them.  We are tempted to put that barrier up when we encounter individuals who are different from us, but our world is greatly blessed by the diversity it holds.  As the psalm says, let us rejoice and be glad.   

The Veterans' Administration is flooding Bridges to Home with referrals.  It is important to us to assist the veterans as quickly as possible since many are still sleeping on the floor, so we scheduled 2 moves on Saturday November 16th.  Thank you to Rhonda at our favorite Budget Truck rental business for providing us with the perfect vehicle to transport both moves.  

Living in a delightful apartment in San Bernardino, Army veteran Tonia impatiently anticipated our arrival.  Then she cried as 13 team members greeted her warmly as they traipsed into her apartment with arms loaded.  She cried at the beautiful choice of sofa and at the towels and bedding that coincidentally were her favorite color, purple.  She cried when she saw the food so generously donated for each move by Inland Valley Hope Partners.   Her comment was that now she wouldn't be starving anymore.  She was overwhelmed at the Thanksgiving basket of food generously donated to her by the parish.  Tonia said she was so pleased with the everything about the move that she wanted to keep all of us and not let us leave.  But Eugene was waiting for his turn to be blessed, so we bid her good bye.

Eugene thoroughly enjoyed his years in the Army as a supply master, traveling to places he never would have had the pleasure to visit otherwise.   He accepted with surprise the team swooping into his apartment and arranging it with skill that showed we had done this before.  When it was all done, he was well pleased.

Please scroll though the gallery below to view the pictures that are worth 1,000 words.
 

Thank you to Thelma, Donna K., Miranda, and an anonymous donor for your kind donation of financial support for Tonia and Eugene.  As you are very well aware, your caring support has already begun to make a great difference in their lives.  There is no way to quantify the gift you have given them, but the spirit of your gift will be felt for eternity.    

Please see the email for details about the next moves scheduled during the month of November.   Please join us in this journey of mercy and love.

Holy Spirit, show me your will and the will of the Father; for I want my whole life to be nothing else than a continuous and everlasting yes to the wishes and to the will of God, my Eteranl Father.  Amen

Mary
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