Bridge Out

There are snow storms happening in the USA right now causing problems and dilemmas for perhaps millions of people. The storms have caused millions of dollars of damage and cut off many from the typical life we live in the USA.

Recently a community in the Dominican was cut off. The Hole, Hoya de Bartola, suffered a slight set back when the bridge that crosses the pollution-laden river was simply washed out. More than 20 kids who come to the nutrition center everyday live on the other side of the river . For these kids it means splish-splashing across the river on the “temporary” tire platoon until that is washed away by the rain. I pause to wonder what this bridge really means in terms of economy, health, community development and encouragement.

One does not think about economy much when speaking about the hole. The people there just get by. There is not much cash flow in the hole, either into or out of, but there are still people who leave the hole to work. Many of them now have to pay extra money or leave extra early to leave to get to work as their route is cut off. On a very basic scale it could mean as little as an extra thirty minute walk to get around the hole and thirty minutes back. If a person works six days a week that is six hours extra per week that is being taken away from this person's livelihood or family. If it means an extra public car ride that is thirteen pesos each way or twenty six pesos daily. Just short of one dollar. Again six days a week means six dollars a week. No big deal? Do you remember when gas prices were on the rise and how you felt shelling out the extra cash?

From the perspective of health, it goes unsaid that we are going to have more kids getting sick in the hole. The kids will of course try to traverse the bridge or slip and fall in the water as they make their way across the tires. Kids with open cuts will get more seriously sick. Other people will just get a little “gripe” (pronounced gree-pay). I know I am not a very pleasant person when I am sick. If they have ongoing sickness as they battle the water in the river regularly what will that do to the “community” of the hole?

Community development has come to a grinding slow down in the hole. One might ask, “What community development?”. Well, getting to a neighbor's place just took on a very different look. You can’t just go across to see how the neighbor is. In fact I feel bad because I have not passed by to visit my elderly neighbor there whose house is right on the edge of the small river. I am not sure if it is still there considering that the bridge is out. Well John, why haven’t you gone? My reply is embarrassing, “the bridge it out”. I am guilty of failing the community development test.

That leads directly into encouragement. Even Pastor Felix is having to make special trips to the other side of the hole now that the bridge is out. He has to really make an effort to visit the sick in their houses and if there are not kids coming to the feeding center he usually checks on them after missing two days. How can he be an encourager or motivator when he himself is having a tougher time of it? For those wanting to come to the church what are they doing?

A simple bridge, so symbolic, so vital, so needed. I wonder what happens when we have no faith to cross those raging rivers in our lives?