Chuck Bridges Blog

Jesus says to the Church in Philadelphia: “Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God.” (Revelation 3:12a) While I know that this verse has much greater application, it actually explains our first day of construction on the new facility in Romania. TJ and Kevin, our “Construction Specialists,” had to spend a large portion of the morning looking at some of the structural designs of existing buildings to determine how to “frame” the building for the Church in Sanger.

After the plan was formulated, we began cutting and shaping the “PILLARS” that will support the weight of the building. We had trouble cutting the 6X6 beams. Every possible power tool that was available was brought out. We borrowed a chain saw and then had no gas or oil. Once we got the fuel needed, we learned that the chain was very dull. We have a skill saw and drill but, as we were finally making some progress, the electricity went out for the entire village. So, we waited.

We were reminded to maximize our “down” time. As our “plans” were altered by circumstances beyond our control, we turned out attention to relationships with our Romanian hosts. It gave us some quality time to get better acquainted. We then took a walk through the village and, while we were merely strolling, an elderly lady approached us. Through the help of our translator we learned that she had been sick and was in pain. She is of the Orthodox faith and we told her why we were in her village. We asked if we could pray for her and she was elated. After our prayer, our translator explained to her more about the Christian Church in her village and the lady said she had thought about coming to the church.

It occurs to me that, while our circumstances on the job site were not what we wanted, God had a divine appointment for us that exceeded our awareness. Later in the day I was asked to ride to town with our translator to get a car that we could use during the week. We were getting ready to stand up the exterior walls so it was not good timing. But, since we needed the car I needed to go. (By the way, I have been given permission by a Police officer to drive while I am here! God is so good) Because I went to get the car I was able to speak with the Police officer about God, faith, the “after-life,” etc. Again, God had a “Divine Appointment” for me that I could have missed if my schedule had been allowed to supersede His!

The bottom line is that we “OVERCAME” our obstacles, got all the exterior, load-bearing walls stood up and installed enough ceiling rafters to make sure the walls did not fall over night. Not only did we make some significant progress on the facility, we had the privilege of sharing love, light and the Hope of Jesus Christ!!!

We have been called by God to BE OVERCOMERS! Your schedule may not be realized according to your plan today, but, trust God to use your unexpected interruptions” as opportunities to be His Light and His Hope for a world in NEED of HIM!!

Pray for continued safety as we work to construct the facility today. Also, pray for us to be “OVERCOMERS” because I know there are obstacles awaiting us that require God’s power to give us victory. We are called to be “more than conquerors” through Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:37)

It is very HOT here during the day. Yesterday it was 32 degrees Celsius (that’s about 90 degrees for us). We got a little sun burned but are thankful for the great weather to do construction. And, the Team seems to be doing fine with the food. I keep telling them not to listen to Bobby! Stay tuned for more to come from Romania.