This past spring, the middle school youth were concerned that our neighborhood did not have enough beautiful yards and spaces in the neigh-borhood. They were then challenged with the idea to come up with ideas to make the neighbor-hood beautiful. For weeks, the discussion contin-ued about the condition of yards, so the group finally decided on a project they hoped would make a difference in the neighborhoods appear-ance. While the

idea of fixing up every front yard was impos-sible, the youth decided on a simple project that would add some beauty to each and eve-ry yard– each neighbor would receive a beautiful potted plant or flower. Since that discussion, the middle school

youth have been busy decorating pots, putting nourishing soil and beautiful, colorful flow-ers into them. Once the plants were potted, youth spent time nourishing the plants by watering them, putting them in sunlight daily, and grooming the leaves and flow-ers by inspecting for any damage. The youth wanted everyone in the neighborhood to know that they were loved by adding a decorative stick that said, “BMA loves You”, and going door-to-door to per-sonally deliver each potted gift. The youth hope this ges-ture will inspire the neighbors to take more pride in their yards.

Volume 10 Issue 3

Fall 2014

Our Vision Relationally Empowering

lives through

Spiritual Transformation,

Education, and

Neighborhood Revitalization.

The

Bri

dge

Bui

lder

B

RI

DG

E M

IN

IS

TR

Y

OF

AC

AD

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Our Mission An interdenominational Christian

holistic ministry called to provide

1) relationship-based programs which

empower the under-resourced and

2) mobilize Acadiana Christians to

social responsibility. Page 1

Faith through Flowers

Looking for a great Christmas gift?

Give a life changing donation in honor of or

memory of a loved one.

Page 2 THE BRIDGE BUILDER

Youth, ”Why are these eggs brown?”

Staff, “ Because they chickens lay brown eggs. They taste the same as the white ones that you get at the store.”

Youth, “Oh, I see. So we have to wait until they finish getting ripe and turn white before we eat them?”

Comments from the Garden

Just about every day the youth are out in the back working in the raised beds, feeding and watering the chickens, collecting eggs, and most recently picking fruit. There are many new experiences that are had out back and here are a few of the comments we have enjoyed hearing.

When eating hard boiled eggs for snack this conversation took place. Youth, “This is awkward,” before taking a bite.

Staff, “Why?”

Youth, “Because one of our chickens pooped this out.”

Staff, “That’s not exactly how it works, they lay the eggs. But all eggs come from chickens, so it is the same as eating eggs from the store.”

Youth, “Yeah, but I know this chicken.”

Staff, “Look, this one is ready to pick! It is our first Satsuma!”

Youth, ”What is a Stamuma?” Staff, ” t's satsuma and it is a small orange.”

Youth, "OH because we aren’t ready to grown the real ones yet.”

A few gardening basics: 1. Seeds have

to go under the dirt, not on top.

2. Plants go under the dirt, but not all the way– the leaves should not be buried.

3. Stink bugs are bad, but not because they make plants smelly.

4. Ladybugs are good, but they are not all girls. 5. Small snakes can be a good treat for a

chicken. 6. Watering the leaves doesn't help the plant

grow. 7. Worms are good, and should always be put

back in the dirt, 8. When pulling weeds, you have to get the

roots. 9. Vegetables have dirt on them because they

grow in dirt.

Thank you to Trinity Bible Church, Lourdes Foundation, American Heart Association, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation, the Healthy Living Club and the many volunteers for helping to make all these experiences possible.

Page 3 VOLUME 10 ISSUE 3

Leadership Development

There are 4 youth in the elementary leadership group. Those chosen are 3rd-5th graders who have character traits that we want to develop in our other youth- working hard in school, following the rules at Bridge and setting a good example for the other youth to follow, and are al-ready natural leaders in the group. These wonderful youth are already influencing others at Bridge and now they will influence them in the right ways! Leadership skills are being developed through Bi-ble study (looking at the ex-ample of Christ as a humble leader who put others first) while also giving the youth an opportunity to plan and evaluate some aspects of the programming at Bridge. For example, the team chose which movie to watch at the

elementary movie night, decide what to eat for dinner, and how much to order. The most positive outcome so far is that our leadership group led wor-ship for two weeks while a staff member was out of town. They each chose a song to lead, learned the motions, practiced ahead of time, and led the entire elementary group in singing that song for worship for both weeks. The youth were very proud to step in where they were needed and lead the others. They did a fan-tastic job! The youth are learning that this is THEIR program, and that they are the ones who make it successful by their attitude and character. By giving the youth an opportunity to have input in the program, they

have taken ownership in it and have stepped up take pride not only in their contri-butions to Bridge, but also in their behavior at Bridge. When one of the youth on our leadership team is mistreating one of the other students, our approach to correcting that behavior has taken a new turn. Instead of staff explaining to them how to act, all that is asked is if a leader at Bridge should treat other students in that way. Is that setting a good example for the other kids to follow? It is more of a "we" approach since we share the fact that our actions are setting the tone for the group. They are beginning to see that their behavior not only has consequences for them, but also for others.

Volunteers Serving July - October 2014

Dan Hughes

Jim Janes

Marion Janes

Shirley Jean

Vernon Jenkins

Mike Juneau

Leo Landry

Thomas LaSalle

Michael McManus

Hillary Ozenne

Jill Pierce

Jimmy Simon

Joslynn Stakes

Sheila Trahan

Jordan Vidrine

Daphne Yaun

Carolyn Barker

Susan Begnaud

Mike Bertucci

Debbie Blum

Aubrey Braithwaite

Charlie Broussard

Lisa Claiborne

Steve Cook

Denise Daigle

Tommy Daigle

Jamie Duplechin

Mindy Early

Jennifer Eisler

Nathan Greneaux

Jeff Heels

Charlotte Henderson

Asbury United Methodist

Church without Walls

The Bayou Church

Episcopal Church of the Ascension

First Baptist of Lafayette

Holy Cross Catholic Church

Metro Church

Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church

Philadelphia Christian Church

St. Lucy Catholic Church

Trinity Bible Church

Vineyard Church

Org

aniz

atio

ns V

olun

teer

s R

epre

sent

Thank

you

for your

sacrifice

of time

P.O. Box 62029

Lafayette, LA 70596

Bridge Ministry of Acadiana.

Phone: 337-235-5565

Fax: 337-235-5563

BridgeAcadiana.com

NON-PROFIT

US POSTAGE

PAID

LAFAYETTE LA

PERMIT NO 387

Board of Directors

Emilie Duhon Jennifer Reynaud Jules Edwards Bob Kulbeth Dennis Malcolm Keith Rodriguez Connie Sanders David Woods Patrick Trahan

Nelson Warner

Staff

Jennifer Reynaud Executive Director jenniferbma@bellsouth.net

Tony Boutte’

High School Coordinator tonybma@bellsouth.net

Joel Lee Middle School Coordinator joelbma@bellsouth.net

Erin Greneaux Elem. Youth Coordinator erinbma@bellsouth.net

Joslynn Stakes Church Liaison

joslynnbma@bellsouth.net

Jennifer Bourque Elem. Assistant

Toi James Middle School Assistant

Bridge depends on the support of individuals and churches.

Bridge has an endowment fund for planned gifts

Donations may be given monthly or annually

Bridge would like for you to consider becoming a Bridge Builder in our community.

Gifts may be given in honor of a loved one

Any major credit card may be used for contributions.

Giving a dollar a day will help build a financial foundation for restoring a neighborhood for Christ.

A dollar a day for a year will buy an hour of compassion.