We had been wanting a way to serve and get to know our neighbors better, so we decided to host a block party to celebrate the last day of school. Thankfully, Bridge makes it easy for us to serve our neighbors in this way, by providing a trailer with all the necessary supplies for a block party. Our biggest job was getting the word out! Three days before the party we passed out flyers to every home on our street and placed signs in our yard, for any passerby. We decided to keep it simple: Bounce House and Snowballs at 6:30, Movie at 7:30. Shortly after passing out the flyers, I received a text from a neighbor expressing her excitement for the party. A couple of days later, a little girl at the bus stop told me that she couldn’t wait to come to our party. I was so encouraged to hear that people were already looking forward to a time of gathering as a community.
The day of the block party, we were filled with both anticipation and anxiety. We worried that things might not work correctly, or that people wouldn’t come, or that they might get bored and think our party was “lame”. However, our anxious feelings faded as our setup came closer to completion, and as the first guest arrived…then the second. Kids jumped and parents chatted. Everyone ate about three snowballs, each. There were senior citizens, 20-somethings, and tweens: people of all different ages and races. It was beautiful to see everyone slow down for a bit and just be in each others lives. The main theme of the night seemed to be gratitude as everyone thanked us over and over again for an opportunity to gather together.
We are very thankful for our church equipping us with the resources to serve our neighborhood and encouraging us to constantly be on mission!
-Amber Veuleman
