We Will Cross That Bridge When We Get To It

Last weekend we were part of a church leadership retreat at a small camp outside of the city. As we are one of the few people in the church who own a car we where asked to bring all the food needed to feed 40 people for 3 meals. Of course we did so. The reason we purchased the car was to facilitate ministry.

The "camp", a small hand-built brick house, is located about 45 kilometers outside of Nizhny Novgorod. The roads are paved most of the way, but the final kilometer is down a rutted dirt track. The road ends at a small stream which is crossed by the bridge you see in the pictures. Crossing this bridge was a bit hair raising, and I don't have much hair to raise! As you look at the photos they can give you a small idea of the condition of this bridge.

Karen took these photos as she walked across the bridge

The original planking is long gone
and has been replaced by boards and logs by people who use the bridge.
Presumably the supporting structure is OK

Karen is taking these photos while I drive across

She was also guiding me onto the best boards

Our Russian friends who were in the car with me thought the whole thing was pretty funny! I knew the bridge was reasonably sound because friends of ours had driven across it several hours earlier.

The retreat was fun. We were all crowed into this small house. We ate outdoors. The weather was cold and rainy. The mosquitos were thick. At night the temperature dropped to near freezing and there is no heat in the house. But still, we had a great time together!