The annual Bridges International event, like always, was hosted at the Marshall E. Free Church. The event began with a get-together, where we met new people and discussed our thoughts on the year and our plans for the summer. It was very interesting to learn what people had planned for the summer and to see how they fared during the semester. It was especially exciting for the graduates who attended the event, as they prepared for their big graduation day on Saturday, May 9th, 2026. After people got together and played some sand volleyball, which I hear was fun, they took a break to have some food and snacks that were available.  

Cooking hot dogs around the campfire and having paellas while continuing the conversation. One of the Bridges International Leaders, Christian, shared a short gospel message that was exactly 10 minutes and 27 seconds, despite saying he timed himself to be under 9 minutes. He went over how we should spend our summer doing good activities that will benefit our well-being and not let it go to waste, since 3 months can seem like a long time but can disappear in the blink of an eye. After Christian’s message, we broke into groups to go over discussion questions on the gospel that Christian had shared. It was interesting to hear other people’s thoughts and ways of thinking.  

Finally, after the group discussion, we ended the day with some Ultimate Frisbee and soccer, which was a blast. Except for the questionable referee decisions during the soccer game, but hey, we are here to have fun and not take everything too seriously, yet another successful end of the year Bridges International Cookout, and a wonderful way to close out this stressful school year. But if you missed this event, I believe there are many more events being hosted by Bridges International if your area around the Marshall area for the summer.