We are so excited!

We'll play nice for mom.

Oh, so sad, Fritzy is leaving for Colorado. Yeah...

What Would Jesus Buy?

Last Sunday at church was a big kick-off to Advent Conspiracy which is all about relational giving and bucking the consumerism that has overtaken Christmas. Instead of a regular sermon Rick had three people talk - 1. Clark, the pastor of missional communities, about how adopting the Advent Conspiracy philosophy has impacted his family. 2. Stan, from Living Water Intl., the recipients and partner organization of Advent Conspiracy which is working to solve the world water problem. He spoke about the communities that benefited from the 11 wells our Advent offering was able to build this past year and the 23 communities that have been identified to benefit from this years gift. 3. the third person (who actually was the second to speak) was Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me fame. Yes, this was his first church "interview." He was sharing about a new movie that was being released last weekend that he helped produce called "What Would Jesus Buy?" A brief intro to the movie taken from the website...

"What Would Jesus Buy? follows Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir as they go on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse: the end of mankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt! The Shopocalypse is upon us … Who will be $aved?"

If you want to hear the "interview" with Rick from Sunday 11/25, download the sermon here or download the podcast. Or if you are short on time, KATU actually ran a short blip on the news which is posted here. I guess it actually ran on Good Morning America as well. The movie is playing locally at Cinema 21 until December 8th.

Narnia revisited

Narnia: Prince Caspian is due to be released 5/16/08!!!

They filmed it in New Zealand and the CZECH REPUBLIC!

"Czech" it all out here: Narnia
or here at Walden Media

The beauty all around us...

As I was driving to church this morning, late as usual, bouncing between the two lanes along I-205 trying to avoid the spray of cars ahead of me so that I could actually see out the front window I managed to glimpse something quite remarkable. Near the end of the greenbelt section approaching the Willamette exit I glanced over at a metal rod sticking up out of the ground in the middle of the greenway where there once was a reflector but instead had a large something on top instead. Suddenly I realized it was a huge hawk, and I do mean huge! It was placidly perched in the middle of a freeway and I wondered how many other people were noticing this unusual sight. I was still thinking about how big the hawk was when I passed the rock wall just before the West Linn exit which has several of the waterfalls going at the moment with all the rain we've been having. They are less impressive when you think about it being mostly street run-off but they are pretty, and they can be surprising. Beth was visiting from Iowa this past spring and she couldn't help but let out a "Wow!" as we drove by the wall. I read this morning an email update from a friend who is in China expounding about the beauty she finds in the Chinese people, the faces of her neighbors and students.

I wonder how many people drove by that hawk without the slightest notice. How many people drive by the rocks and waterfalls apathetic and indifferent until an out-of-town visitor takes an interest. Why is it easier to see the beauty in another person when we are outside of our comfort zone, away from our norm? Why do we ignore the beauty and majesty that God has surrounds us with by our complacency? I am certain the God has filled our every day with the remarkable, the surprising, and the beautiful - it is all there for us to find, like going on a fantastical treasure hunt. But these things are not hidden, they are there in the open like the hawk, the trick to finding them is to open our eyes and be expectant. What is even more astounding is that we live in a fallen broken world, it is a far cry from what the Lord intended for us and yet it can still take our breath away if we let it. Even far more amazing, this earth is just a shadow of what is to come. Revelation 21 tells us there will be a new heaven and a new earth, one where God will make his home with men, a city resplendent with all kinds of bling.

It is little wonder we cannot begin to fathom the beauty or marvelousness of heaven, most of us don't even begin to recognize the magnificent hints of God's artistry here and now, so how can we imagine something far superior? So what will you see today? Will you focus on the dark gray asphalt or glance at the median and see a hawk? Will you drive by the rocks and dismiss the waterfall as just run-off or marvel at the beauty of a small waterfall? Will you look passively at the person beside you or will you look at their face and notice them seeing their beauty and the image of God in each of them? What will you see today?

I see the light(s)!

I saw lights yesterday! As I turned on to my street,heading home there on the corner the house was adorned with alternating red and green Christmas lights along the eaves of the house! I was so excited! CHRISTMAS LIGHTS! With the weather today being all blustery cool and stormy along with there being snow coming down in Brno I'm beginning to feel like winter is here and Christmas is around the corner. I've loaded my Ipod with all Christmas music - I'm ready to go! But the big day will come and go before I know it. I haven't started to do Christmas shopping, I don't even have any good ideas yet. I don't have my requisite Christmas letter started. I don't have my St. Nick party on the calendar yet - I may not even do it this year. I want to enjoy the season, be able to reflect on the marvelous event Christmas celebrates, and frankly - everything else just stresses me out and kills the joy. To try and counteract this I'm seeing how I can incorporate Advent Conspiracy philosophy into my life this season. Let's all take a collective deep breathe, slowly let it out, put aside Western consumerism and take Christmas back!

Pet Peeves

Here are two of my top pet peeves that are ticking me off today.

1) Gigantic suburbans and other massive SUV's that park in spots labeled "compact." Seriously! They already hog all the gas and make the prices go up, hog the road and pollute the air, but do they have to be so arrogant as to claim the tiny parking spots meant for cars like my little Civic. The worst place for this is at my gym, Club Sport, where the parking spots are already small and the affluent of LO who tend to populate the gym all seem to drive overly large vehicles. Big SUVs have big doors that are usually being opened by children. Last night I had trouble finding a parking spot because the stupid SUVs had taken the compacts spots and elsewhere they take up two spots not leaving a space big enough for my little car. Argh!

2) Sweaty, stinky, hairy middle-aged men. Again, this is a gym related pet-peeve. I could hardly work out last night because of the lack of oxygen. I was trying not to breathe so I wouldn't smell the dude next to me. I actually moved machines because he was so very stinky.

Funny for the day

Driving to work this morning I saw something that made me crack-up. I was behind an older Ford Explorer with the license plate "BAAAA." The bumper sticker to the right said, "SHEEP" and the one to the left, "Sheepherders." That is one proud farm girl!

The excerpt below is taken from an interview with Emmanuel Katongole called "From Tower-Dwellers to Travelers" an interesting perspective on missions.
"That is why we need to learn another model—mission as pilgrimage, which is based on a vision of the Christian life as a journey. This model grows out of the sense of being pilgrims together, pilgrims who feel the dust under their feet and come to know the places where they sojourn.

The problem with the world is not that we do not see others. We do. We know the needs of the world. But to feel the gifts and needs of the world—that means learning to journey with people in different parts of the world. This kind of journeying is slower than mission done as delivery of aid, slower even than partnership. It takes time just to learn the history, for example, of Gulu in northern Uganda, to learn what is happening there. But when we take time for that, it begins to transform the pilgrim. You have learned the names of people and places, these far-flung places with names very difficult to pronounce. You have inhaled the dust.

Mission as pilgrimage is about that transformation. It's not about fixing northern Uganda. You're not going to fix northern Uganda! It's not even about partnering with "northern Uganda." How can you partner with all of northern Uganda? Where do you begin? Instead, the pilgrim begins to know, to feel, that northern Uganda, with all its tragedy and terror, is a Christian story. That it is not just their story, but that it is our story." Emmanuel Katongole

Being yourself with God

God has been working on my heart to show me how I've created these walls around my heart and myself as a defense and way to keep myself "safe." They have kept me moderately safe by keeping people out and, consequently, keeping God out as well. I'm realizing that I wasn't accepted for "me" and that hurt so I locked myself up and transfered people's rejection of my whimsy personality onto God. So as I was reading my devotions this morning and came across this passage I was stopped dead in my tracks. God wants me to simply and honestly be myself with him. And I can't truly worship God unless I am being my true self. What a radical concept for me. Truth breaking through a shroud of lies that would keep me bound and tumbling the bricks of the fortress walls around my heart. The movie Bridget Jones probably wouldn't seem to connect here considering how smutty it is, but my favorite line which makes my heart ache just thinking of it is: "I like you, just the way your are." What girl doesn't want to hear that, especially from a dashing charming man like Mr. Darcy? I particularly long to hear that affirmation. And wham-o here it is, in the the scripture, a declaration from the true lover of my soul that He wants me to come to him, that he invites me to worship him, that he likes me - just as I am.

clipped from www.biblegateway.com 23-24"It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."

Loving our City!

go to LOVE Portland and sign-up to participate!

Quote of the Day

"Be not he slave of your own past- plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep, and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience, that shall explain and overlook the old." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

FINISHED!!

I have done it! I have accomplished something of monumental proportions this weekend. What may you ask? drumroll please.... I finished reading the autobiography of Madame Guyon. It has taken me years. Agonizing long years to get through this book. I pick it up and read a couple chapters in between other books when I can make myself do so but it hasn't been pretty. A book shouldn't be so hard to read. I blame it on the fact it was written in the late 16oo's-early 1700's in French. The true meaning and eloquence with which it must have first been written has to have lost something in the past four hundred years and the (poor) translation into English for it to be such a drudgery to read. I stuck with it. I finished it. I may have even learned from it - you never know! I would recommend reading about her, she had an amazing life and spiritual perspective - just not this autobiography, unless you are a glutton for punishment and trying to anesthetize yourself.

Good Quote of the day

"we don't have to fit into prefabricated moral or mental or religious boxes before we are admitted into the company of God - we are taken seriously just as we are and given a place in his story, for it is, after all, his story; none of us is the leading character in the story of our life."
~Eugene H. Peterson, Introduction to 1-2 Samuel in the Message

Bizarre & Strange

I've been reading through the old testament using the Message for a change of pace. It has been good. The OT has been more understandable in the Message but with more comprehension comes a realization of just how bizarre and strange the commands of God are to the Israelites. What really throws me for a loop is the rituals surrounding the sacrifices and in particular that the blood is supposed to be splashed on the alter and with the thumb smeared on the horns of the alter. Why? That would make the alter a stained, sticky, smelly mess! Strange! Then during the ordination of the priests Moses is directed to smudge the blood from the sacrifice on the right ear lobe, right thumb, and right big toe of Aaron and his sons. Bizarre! I really just don't get it. In comparison to all the wacky-doodle stuff the surrounding nations would do I guess the blood isn't that strange but to us - wacko!

Quote of the Year

"When Jesus takes your hand He keeps you tight. When Jesus keeps you tight He leads you through life. When Jesus leads you through life He brings you safely home." --Casper ten Boom
as quoted at the end of "In My Father's House" written by Corrie ten Boom

NW bashing

I'll admit that I am in the category of thinking Crocs are a funny looking shoe but oh so comfy! I wore my mary-jane bright red Crocs to Bible study one day and with a tone of incredulity tainted with disdain Mink asked, "Why are you wearing those?" I felt the need to defend my shoe choice - they are super easy to clean after slopping around in the mud which is my back yard. The New York based author of this article revels in her dislike for the Crocs and makes no guises of her viewpoint but did she have to dis the Northwest along with my beloved shoes? I did find it quite interesting to get an east coasters opinion on the Northwest. Obviously she won't be wearing Crocs anytime soon or visiting the Northwest. And maybe we are the better for it, we can blissfully stay in our happy green counter-culture bubble.

clipped from www.slate.com Comfort and function were always the main Crocs pitch. The shoes' original home was Boulder, Colo. The early Crocs customer was probably a Pacific Northwesterner who liked to boat or garden—this was a niche shoe, after all. He or she was drawn in by the "no slip" grip on the sole, by the aerating holes, and by the featherweight heft of the thing (a pair weighs a mere 6 ounces). The clunky look was not a drawback (this is the region, after all, that brought us grunge), and many customers were pleased that the shoe was made of a proprietary nonplastic resin formula (known as Croslite)—it was, as one testified, "vegan." Because the material is soft, bacteria-resistant, and has a strangely "natural" feel, the Croc fits in with the Northwest's typically green and mildly counterculture ethos. Soon nurses, doctors, cooks, painters, and other workers who stand on their feet all day had discovered Crocs and found them to be life-changing.

The Prodigal Son

This painting is by one of my favorite artist - Liz Lemon Swindle. If you've been to my house you know that I love art and have seen one of her other paintings - Hold On Tight, which is Jesus giving a piggy-back ride to a child. Besides the subject matter what I love about her artwork is her ability to portray, capture, and conjure emotions. I had big tears well up in my eyes when I saw this picture and thought about how it represents God's acceptance of me.

clipped from www.greenwichworkshop.com

Weather woes

I can't believe how hot it has been! What I really can't believe is how I bemoan the lack of sun for most of the year and now that it is hear I am holed up in my home or someplace inside with air conditioning hiding from the very sun that I crave. In a feeble attempt to keep my house cool I have an absurd routine of getting up around 6:30am to turn off the fans that I have strategically placed around in different windows and close the shades so that my home feels more like a cave blocking out the rays that will simultaneously heat my home and brighten my outlook. So now that the NW actually has sun I'm going to great lengths to block it out. And when the temperature cools down next week and window shades can be left up again - then rain returns. There is no winning!

When did July get here?

Well, it has been some time since I've posted anything - borrowed or original. I hope you all had a great 4th of July. I had an interesting experience. I celebrated Independence day with some newly sworn in Americans. How odd to be celebrating independence from Britain with a British couple who are now Americans but still sound very much English. We had a lovely dinner together and then everyone took off to a baseball game at PGE. I could not be cajoled into going but instead stayed at my parents enjoying the coolness of the AC and a working TV. I felt a twang of guilt as I drove home at 11pm that I was being quite un-patriotic. I didn't even bother to go to the end of the cul-de-sac to see the neighborhood kids light off their fireworks. Less then that I didn't even flip channels to see any of the televised fireworks. I sat inside in an anti-social slump. What makes it even worse is that is was really nice weather! The joke always goes - when does it stop raining in Portland? July 5th! But this year the weather couldn't have been more perfect and I was a non-participant. Shameful! But I got to wondering as I drove home about the immigration problem we have in the US and wondered why is the US so popular? And I also am wondering why we have such a huge problem with illegal immigrants when, according to Carolyn's first hand experience, it is cake walk easy to become a citizen. Or rather the "tests" are easy peasy, maybe the paperwork and background check before you can take the test is what excludes many people from becoming legal. As we celebrated our national holiday I got rather contemplative about the future of this country. There is no telling where we are heading.

Blindness

This is taken from the Slice of Infinity newsletter from RZIM for June 8th titled "That I May See." I found it rather thought provoking. Hope you do to. I'd love to hear your thoughts that are provoked!

clipped from by138w.bay138.mail.live.com But that doesn't make it less real. Blindness is as natural to humankind as the desire to understand. We are blind to our own faults, blind to truths we don't want to hear. It is the cure to this blindness that is important. Eugene Peterson writes, "There is widespread interest in living beyond the roles and functions handed to us by our culture. But much of it ends up as a spirituality that is shaped by terms handed out by the same culture."(1) What do you do to see authentically? What do you do to protect yourself from walking blindly down paths shaped by dangerous ideas, down roads paved with misleading promises?

And we still ride horses to school...

Better Save the 'Two Washingtons' Story for Tomorrow

Clerk: Sir, you need to fill out a customs form for that.
Man: What? Why? This is in America.
Clerk: Sir, it's North America, but Oregon is not in the US.
Man: Yes, it is. It's in the northwest.
Clerk: Really? Are you sure? Oh.

--Post office, 99 Macombs Pl

via Overheard in New York, Apr 2, 2007

Grunge Suicide Is Always an Option

Woman: Would you let Michael go to the west coast?
Man #1: What?
Man #2: No! You don't want him to be a freak.
Woman: I didn't mean Oregon.

--Chipolte, 44th Street

via Overheard in New York, May 27, 2005

Shift Happens

I came across this on the blog for Western Seminary Alumni and thought it needed to be shared. The facts are a bit startling and scary!

Rosie ain't no posie

Why are we supposed to care about Rosie O’Donnell? Seriously! Each time I open Firefox (ack! You wouldn’t think I’d use Explorer do you?) my homepage of Comcast pops up. I read the news headlines and check the weather for my saved locations of Tualatin, Brno, and Baghdad before surfing to my intended website. I regret to say that this really is one of my main sources of news, reading the blip headlines, and almost without fail there is one about Rosie O’Donnell and the latest ruckus she is causing. I really don’t understand why we are supposed to care what she has to say or why we are supposed to be interested in everything she espouses. She provides no end of fodder for the media to pick up on. She is a loud mouthed, inflammatory, liberal, provocative prima donna. Who cares? She yaps about tolerance, but really just wants tolerance for her viewpoint and shows no tolerance for any opinions that counters her own. Why is she deemed worthy of so much press? I would much rather see the space and time of the writers go towards something newsworthy. Maybe the genocide going on in Africa? Maybe the degradation of women and children in SE Asia? Maybe the tragedy of the orphanage and foster care system in former Iron Curtain countries that is leading to a homeless epidemic among youth and young adults? Of if they are bent on pointing the lime light on a celebrity with something to say direct the light to Bono. If nothing else he is speaking out for a cause other than himself and doing a lot of good. Does my ranting about Rosie’s ranting somehow negate my point?

Corrie ten Boom ROCKS!

This past Saturday I was rather productive. I had finished washing the dishes and cleaning the cook top which required to be taken completely apart due to rice boiling over - oh! what a mess! It was about 8:30pm by then and I didn't know what to do with myself. I couldn't finish vacuuming, at least not if I wanted to keep on friendly terms with my neighbors. So what to do until 11pm when Mystery started on OPB? I picked up a book that had been in my side table for close to two years - Tramp for the Lord by Corrie ten Boom. I nearly missed Mystery I was so engrossed in the book. I had to keep a box of tissue near by as just with The Hiding Place I can't help myself from crying as I read her story. She is one of the most amazing women in the Christian faith as far as I am concerned. Sunday evening I picked up the book to keep reading and couldn't put it down. That is I didn't put it down until I finished it - at 2am. It has been over twenty years since she passed away and she still has so much to teach and show us about following God. Her complete submission and obedience is inspiring and puts me in my place for the lack of it in my own life. Reading her words always leads me closer in my own walk with Jesus and shows me how amazing life could be when truly walking with Christ as Lord. Everyone should read Corrie ten Book - including you! As if to augment the lessons I was learning this weekend from Corrie I listened to a sermon from Mark Driscoll at Mars Hill Church in Seattle titled "Humility and Hospitality" that really centered around "long-obedience." I'm learning a lot about obedience and just how disobedient I am.

Vision from golf clubs

A couple weeks ago I decided to clean up my garage. I needed to find a plug for a thingy - Day Lab Junior - I want to sell on eBay but instead of just looking for the plug I chose to reorganize my storage as I looked and sweep the floor and generally clean up. It was a nice sunny day so it didn't bother me to be out there; I had my tunes and was dancing around and daydreaming while I wielded the broom. I became a little overwhelmed with all the stuff in my garage. Somehow my reorganizing took up more space than before. I don't understand that phenomenon. I also took some pictures of the golf bags and club I'm hoping to sell as well. The thought occurred to me: "Maybe I should just sell everything!" I realized it would be a relief in many ways to be able to sell everything I have, so liberating and freeing. I could actually make the day dream I was enacting in my head of living in Europe a reality. But then I started to think about all my books and I didn't like the idea of parting with them. I realized that with a vision of something greater I could lay aside my attachments to my home, art, inherited silver and crystal, maybe even my books; but that vision needs to be there first and it needs to be divinely given. Then I read the Slice of Infinity newsletter from RZIM: At Home in Mud and Darkness I do not want to be like the rich young ruler, so I am praying for vision. I know I am in some weird holding pattern limbo land, that something new is on the way, but I am praying for a God given vision for the next part of my life. Amazing the philosphy and insight you can get from some old golf clubs.

Procrastination

Yup, there are plenty of things I should be doing. I have an application for a teaching position that I have given myself a deadline of submitting tomorrow that is on the desk in front of me that should be given my full attention. It isn't. Why? Because I do not want to write a "Christian philosophy of education." I have random thoughts and ideas but I can't muster the mental energy to turn them into complete coherent sentences. Instead I have just wasted a couple hours on You Tube. The greatest find is in the previous post. Another one of my finds is a guy with the user name "mattpaleboy" who you can also find at campjinx.com. While some of his podcasts can be rather crass (Santa Claus) some are stinking hilarious like the one about his wife's phobia of cats or the world series of Uno game. It is a family thing, his two sisters, brother-in-law, and brother get in on the action as well and don't forget dad - he has a couple podcasts too. So if you have a need to waste time, if you are an out of practice procrastinator take a cue from me, a world expert procrastinator and check out the Leonard family.

such silly fun

I've only seen this commercial on the geeky sci-fi channel but it should have a wider audience. I laugh out loud til I'm snorting when I see this ad. Maybe it has something to do with my mother's obsession with bunnies or the fact that I grew up in a home with bunny paraphernalia that multiplied about as rapidly as if they were real, but I find this somehow sadistically funny. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Another book

I just finished a book this morning that I want to recommend. It is called "My Father's Notebook: A Novel of Iran" by Kader Abdolah. It is one of those books that is supposed to be fiction but seems so real that you forget. How much is inspired or taken from real events I don't know but the whole story sweeps you up and carries you off on a magic carpet to Persia as it struggles through successively oppressive regime changes. For those with an interest in Iran and that part of the world the book provides interesting insights to the culture and struggles of the people.

Favorite Quote:
"Loss is an experience that eventually leads to a new road, to a new opportunity to think of things in a different way. Losing is not the end of everything, but merely the end of a particular way of thinking. If you fall in one place, get up again in another. That's a cardinal rule of life."
-By Mohammad Mokhtari as printed in the second to last chapter.

Easter Eggs

This is pysanky, Ukrainian egg decorating. About once every couple years I am inspired to try my hand at it again. This year I had to cheat and fill in some lines with a white paint pen. I think it takes me a couple years to forget how exasperating these eggs are to make, but I guess the end product is worth it. I've had a few people ask to learn how to do this. If you are interested in trying your hand at Pysanky let me know!

A major Good Grief! moment

Well, this morning I did it. I realized one of my fears. Living along I have this fear that I will have an accident and need help but no one will be there to help me. This is part of the reason I usually carry my cell-phone with me around the house. This morning I was going downstairs to fix my morning cup o' java when somehow my foot got tangled in my pajama bottoms and I tripped. I grabbed the banister but I couldn't regain my balance. I tumbled down the last third of my steps coming to a crash landing on my wood floor with my head. The thud my head made echoed and sounded horrible. I laid there in my entry-way a little dazed and angry, taking stock of my body. No bleeding, no black out - I could see the dirt on the floor perfectly well, just a burning sensation along my right leg. I finally sat up and looked at my leg. I must have hit the corner of a couple stairs pretty hard since I have a couple good raw rug burns on my knee and shin. I can't quite figure how it happened. The pajamas I was wearing this morning are rather short as if I'm expecting a flood, so how my foot or rather my toes got stuck inside the hem is beyond me. I was wearing my 'house shoes' some old Birkenstock sandals, which probably didn't help. If I were wearing socks they may have slipped back out of my pant leg. Anyhow, I got up and made my coffee still angry with myself and slowly the fear crept in, "what if I have a concussion?" Good grief! I probably do have a slight concussion, I hit the ground with my head hard after falling six steps and I have a raging headache to prove it. I'm more upset about the fact that my chiropractor finally had gotten a couple kinks in my back worked out yesterday and I was feeling really good, but I undid some of that work. Back to the doctor. What a way to start a new month!

Dove & Beauty

Prof. Gerry Breshears tipped me off to this video. It isn't a surprise at all how much media "enhances" their images but yet, how often do I find myself falling for their trap? Having worked with elementary school students and junior high students as well, it is shameful the way media has such an impact on our psyche and distorts our self-image. I personally think the Dove campaign for real beauty is great. Check out their website for really useful material to use with your daughters or youth group kids.

Friday, March 30th

Morning assignments had us splitting into four different groups. Evan, Corbin, Charith, and Bethany loaded the food trucks for afternoon deliveries. Chris and Leanne went to the Dream Center Academy to help tutor the kids. Lindsey and Dot were originally going to do “marketing” but that was cancelled and they joined a group going to Skid Row. Tiana, Meg, and I went to the Metro Kidz office. The food truck group was done early and went walking around and found a Japanese umbrella on the ground which resulted in a series of photos. Chris and Leanne deserve some major props; Chris is our science expert being a biology major, Leanne a math wiz and education major so they were requested as tutors, there wasn’t a lot of free choice on their part. They were both rather hesitant about tutoring the students at DC Academy which are teens that have been put in the program by the courts and don’t want to be there or kids that have been kicked out of all other schools. The program is all online self-paced with a ‘teacher’ in each room to help when needed or proctor. There are advantages to this program but many disadvantages as well. Many of the students were only a year or two younger than Chris and Leanne but they did a fantastic job of working with the students. At lunch Chris was totally jazzed about how he connected with the guys and been able to really help them get the science assignment by coming up with analogies the students could relate to; he was also very burdened by the need for positive male role models for the guys in the DC Academy program. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chris’ future goals and plans are tweaked by this experience.

The Metro Kidz office was interesting in that we got a behind the scenes peek into how extensive and large scale the program is on a weekly and monthly basis. We put together about 50 Easter baskets that will be given away at the church service. Every kid, about 150, will go home with an Easter basket on Sunday – EVERY KID! What makes it more impressive is that not much is donated, Metro Kidz has a huge budget and buys most of their supplies and give aways, and the do good give aways. When I went out on Wednesday they gave away four board games. For the street programs during the week every truck will have about ten baskets to give away as prizes and each kid will get a brown lunch sack chock-a-block full of stuff – candy, protein bars, a toy. They needed about a thousand bags or so. Again, all of the stuff in the bags is bought, not donated. Impressive if you think they only do this for major holidays but they do a “party” every month! The magnitude of the supplies needed to put together a thousand goodie bags every month was made more real when we helped unload pallets of boxes of candy and filled their small storage room. It is really an impressive operation and intimidates me all the more in regards to starting a Portland branch. Yikes!

The afternoon was spent with one of the food trucks. We weren’t told where we were going just to follow the green truck which was a challenge as it wove around local streets. I was intent on keeping up with the truck (yes, I was driving) and when it came to making our way back to the Dream Center, well, we took the scenic route as no one was paying attention to just how we got were we did or how to get back, but we made it. People were already lined up when we arrived at the sidewalk next to an elementary school, mostly Asian women, who were very eager to help. Three of the women were given plastic grocery bags to open and get ready to be filled. I was working on bagging up potatoes with another gal but I guess we were not doing it fast enough because a fellow came along and helped us in hyper speed. As bags of food were being handed out I started breaking down boxes and started talking to Mathias, a food truck regular worker. This ended up being a highlight for me. And it isn’t because Mathias is Swedish, a pastor, 32 years old, and adorable with his freckles and red hair and bushy beard that reminded me of an Ewok. Okay, maybe a little, but I won’t admit it! So if I won’t admit his appeal was the highlight, what was? Well it boils down to this: I walked away from our conversation which basically was comparing notes about the un-Christian-ness of Europe, particularly Sweden and Czech, with the strong sense and peace that it is okay to have a heart for Europe and want to return to minister there. This is something I’ve been really struggling with lately. There is so much hurt and need in Asia and Africa, especially in regards to kids at risk, that I feel a sense of obligation to do something in that arena. Yet my heart keeps calling me back to Europe and that is where I envision myself. It has been a tug-o-war in my heart and mind as I think about my future and trying to sort out where God is calling me. Whether right or wrong I had been thinking that Europe has so much and doesn’t have “need” like most areas of the world; it was kind of like Europe wasn’t as deserving in my mind. But after talking with Mathias and his burden for his country and the needs he sees in Sweden and Europe in general it was as if God was validating my desire to work in Europe that God needs people to serve Him there just as much as in Thailand, or India or Uganda. I don't know where God is directing my steps but at least now I don't have an accompanying sense of guilt when I consider Europe.

We arrive back at the Dream Center with over an hour before dinner. Sheer utter exhaustion from the lack of sleep all week finally allows me to nap, if only for a short 20 minutes and I woke up feeling rather awful and had to admit – I was sick. Lindsay had started the trip with a cold and it had made the rounds through several members of the team. I was thinking that I was going to be exempt but I couldn’t deny it any longer, it wasn’t allergies, it wasn’t smoke from the brush fire on the other side of the Hollywood hills, I had the team cold, and I was miserable.

It was decided that we’d pack up this evening and leave after the nightlife outreach. After dinner instead of packing up I lay back down on my squeaky bottom bunk. The nightlife outreach started at 11pm and was scheduled to return at around 3 am. The team decided they’d leave a little early and head out on our long trip home. Oy! I suggested to Lindsay that they go on the nightlife and let me stay at the Dream Center and sleep, when they were ready to go they could come back and get me and everyone could do a “potty break” before taking off. Thankfully she was willing, my plan B was to sleep in the van while they went on the outreach and I was so glad that I didn’t have to do that. Yes, I felt that awful.

The team came back and picked me up a little after 2 am. I grabbed the one bag I hadn’t put in the van already, used the toilet one last time, and we started the long journey home. The sunrise was lovely. I eavesdropped on a good story Corbin was telling Dot as she drove to keep her awake. Tiana was our power driver star of the trip. I didn’t even know she was qualified to drive but she took over around 4 am and lasted until about 10am. She rocked! We spent an hour in Redding getting our last taste of In-n-Out for lunch. It was a fairly mild drive home as most people slept for a major part of the trip. Not I, alas sleep was ever elusive. I got to be awake for the whole 16 hour drive fully aware of my misery. Thankfully the team really stepped up and I never had to drive. I was so tired I didn’t trust myself to drive. We pulled into George Fox University parking lot a little after 6 pm and finished the trip similar to how I started, borrowing Evan’s pass card to get into LeShana dorms to use the bathroom. I was proud to be a member of the “tiny tank” club that included Charith and Bethany who also required frequent potty breaks. Departing was bittersweet. I could hardly wait to get home and take a shower, a long hot private shower and sleep in my own bed in my quiet bedroom all by myself for however long I wanted to sleep, but I was also sad to be apart from my team, a group of students who had endeared themselves to me in a week’s time of constant companionship. It has been a good week, a great week.

Thursday, March 29th

This morning the Masters Commission students performed their "show" for us. The word show isn't appropriate but I can't think of what else it should be called. It is more akin to a talent show (drumming, break dancing, poetry reading, etc) with a message. Presentation, maybe that is the best word. The students present the message that everyone is divinely made and uniquely gifted and those gifts can be used for God's service. They go all over Southern California and put on this presentation in churches and schools. As the teams were splitting up into their assignments for the morning I slipped out. My team was doing Adopt-a-block again, this time a free car wash. But I had made arrangements to talk with a couple people in the Metro Kidz office. I first had to get my morning jolt of caffeine in the form of coffee. While it was great to have a little cafe on campus to get decent coffee (versus the nasty stuff served in the cafeteria) they had to be some of the slowest, most inefficient people in the service industry. In meeting with the HR person for Metro Kidz I basically wanted to know how do you start Metro Kidz, what training is available, and what, if any, ongoing support. I love the idea and concept of the trucks taking Sunday school to the street where the kids are, but I came to realize in the discussion that it really needs to be done out of a church. It may work to do it as a para-church organization but you'd still need the support of several churches. Anybody else want to help me get it started?

After lunch we went out with Under the Bridge which served lunch to homeless people under the 3rd street bridge and downtown. Dot was driving the van and we had one of the ministry people riding shot-gun to help give directions. While weaving out way downtown to the bridge Dot got a little wild and kissed mirrors with a stopped bus. Thankfully the only damage was a small part of our side view mirror went missing. But it provided a lot of fodder for teasing Dot. Under the 3rd street bridge we set up to serve meals but there were very few people, maybe two dozen, we hand delivered most of them to people. As we walked around there were areas where the stench of urine was almost overpowering and rat droppings were noticeable everywhere. While we were down there a truck came and picked-up one and delivered an empty dumpster, one of the big super-sized construction dumpsters. Apparently it is part of the campaign to clean up downtown. As we were packing up the food to head to the next site a man became very angry and started yelling at one of our team members. He accused us of being prejudice and patronizing, what he really needed was a job- not food. Chris, the ministry leader, went over and talked to him and pulled him away from the rest of us while the other ministry leaders quickly herded us back into the vans. Chris later told us that he knew the guy, he was a 'regular' and told him he was being stupid, that he didn't need to act this way.

We moved several blocks north and set up again. People were already lined up around the corner when we arrived and they were plenty upset that we were late! Isn't that hilarious? Here we had a variety of responses from people being profusely thankful to a couple people who exclaimed "I'm not gonna eat that crap!" Granted it wasn't food that I would want or fix for myself but it was decent food. One of the gals serving made a face at the more vocal lady who was expressing her dislike for the menu that was something of shock. Her comments boiled down to 'you wouldn't eat it so why are feeding it to me.' I made the comment to her, "It's probably what we are having for dinner." I'll admit that is the attitude that continually surprises me. The homeless are living off of handouts and others charity yet they defy the old adage, "Beggars can't be choosers." They don't want to just be feed, they want to be feed well and to their preferences. It was also interesting to see the social structure. There are established rules by the regulars and a couple women came around who did not understand or ignored that there was a line they had to wait in to get food. That got quite the reaction from those patiently waiting their turn. One other interesting thing I observed is that those who did not like something, say the zucchini, after they had ate everything else would toss it onto the sidewalk. In fact most of the people just threw there plate into the gutter or along the sidewalk. As we went around with garbage bags to pick up the debris some were very consciences to give us everything around them that was trash. Someone has left their plate, utensils, and cup in a neat stack on the edge of the sidewalk. I was headed over to pick it up when a man walking towards me went by and kicked it into the street. I wanted to yell, "Dude! that was so unnecessary!" But it illustrates the underlying disrespect that I think is an aspect of homelessness. We went back to the Dream Center and debriefed with Chris who told us some horrifying stories. He talked about how he had seen a women beaten to death one block away from where we were serving downtown a month ago. He also told us that the state of California ceased funding for the state run mental hospitals a couple years ago and those who didn't have family to care for them, they were loaded on buses and dropped off downtown on skid row to fend for themselves. Chris said he sees people still wearing their hospital ID bracelet and or gown. That shocked me, how can anyone, especially a whole state government, act so inhumanely? Since the push to clean-up downtown he says that a lot of homeless have disappeared, or at least are not around Skid Row anymore, but the downside is, they don't know where they are, and if you don't know where they are, how can you minister to them? And without them being in a concentrated area it is very difficult to minister to the homeless population. He is quoted in an LA TImes article about the homeless migration, that about half of the regulars are gone. He has heard stories of some being arrested or detained on minor charges and when they are released they are driven out to the desert and left. I kinda question the validity of that story. At least, I don't want to believe it.

After dinner five of us decided to go out on bus pick-up. Meg, Dot, and I went on a bus to a Hispanic neighborhood with a lot of kids while Lindsay and Tiana went on the bus to Skid Row. We had two gals from Master's Commission on the bus with us who have been going to this neighborhood each week and they told us of all the troubles they had been having with several of the teens, being only 18 and 19 themselves, they didn't have the authority needed to deal with the situation well. But the stories made me a bit nervous. As the kids started filing onto the bus Dot quickly hit it off with a group of young boys about ages 6-8 who were going to have a rock band one day and decided that Dot could be their manager or groupie or something. Meg befriended two girls who sat behind her, I think they were twins. And I got to meet the sweetest little girl named Diana. When I first started talking with her I couldn't get much of an answer and what little she did say was so quiet and muffled I could understand her. But through pestering her with questions I finally got her to start talking. Unfortunately she asked if I would be on the bus next week and it broke my heart to tell her no, that I'd be back home. I could literally see her withdraw from me at that point. When I had met in the morning with Andrea about Metro Kidz she suggested that I observe the kids program at church that evening so I asked my little friend Diana if she would show me where the kids program meets. When the bus stopped the kids rushed to get off and so I waited my turn but I could see Diana waiting on the steps of the building for me. It was so sweet. I was turned away from the kids program - no one is allowed who hasn't been through orientation - understandably but I was bummed. More so because I hadn't been able to say 'good-bye' to Diana.

I found the rest of my team inside the main auditorium for church. I still can't quite get over the "showiness" of the church and especially the worship. A Christian mosh pit during church worship??? Hey if it brings people in and reaches their target audience - sweet! I wouldn't choose it personally. The pastor was introducing all the groups at the Dream Center. He made a big to-do over the England team and challenged them to a soccer game the next day. Of course they got up and started singing as usual. Then Canada was introduced and they got up on stage and sang the Canadian anthem. Everyone laughed. Team Colorado was up next and Pastor Matt requested a song from them as well, they suggested the US anthem at which point Pastor Matt had all of the American teams come up and sing. It was all quite amusing. Then the guest speaker got up and started his talk with a story about a parrot who kept saying, "Whoopee Charlie! Let the good times roll!" which ended up being his them for the whole talk. After church we walked back to the Dream Center and played games - Mafia and Mao. Don't let Corbin play Mao.

Wednesday, March 28th

I'll try to be less wordy...

Today our morning assignment was “Adopt-a-Block” with the Idaho team. We walked, and walked, and walked from the Dream Center to Sunset Boulevard. We set up “shop” at an intersection of Sunset to pass out cookies. Yup! We passed out cookies to people as they stopped for the red light. We waited at three different corners, one person holding a sign that read, “Do you want a cookie?” and the rest passing out cookies parceled out two to a sandwich bag. It was actually really fun. Meg and Tiana got really aggressive in handing out cookies and waving people down. As the light didn’t turn red all that often or for long we started waving to people wishing them a good day. We got a lot of strange looks. A LOT of strange inquisitive looks! When we passed out the last of the cookies we were given trash bags and instructed to pick up garbage as we walked back to the Dream Center. Charith, Bethany, Tiana, Meg and I took one side, but soon Meg and I found ourselves lagging behind. Then we realized we couldn’t see anyone else we knew, I guess we were being too diligent in picking up trash, and this despite there being three people ahead of us picking up trash (or were they?). Even though I was certain I would recognize the street we needed to turn on to get back to the center I was thankful that a few people had waited until we caught up. Even though the morning wasn’t people intensive we all had so much fun and were inspired by the philosophy of random acts of kindness to reach out to people and be a blessing to others.

The afternoon assignment was Hope for Homeless Youth- Venice Beach. I skipped it. Instead I joined team Idaho and went on Metro Kidz to the neighborhood we had done bus pick-up on Sunday. I was so excited to see Metro Kidz in action. We had used it as a case study for one of my Kids at Risk classes at Western Seminary, but at that time only the original New York Metro Kidz was happening. I was tempted then to go visit New York to see it in action and now, seven years later, I was actually going to be a part of the program. I teamed up with a couple guys from the Salem college outreach group to pass out fliers and invite kids to come to the program. Our group of four dwindled to two. Juan was determined to keep passing out fliers while the two other guys went back to the program area to play with the kids. Even though Juan could probably take care of himself we were given strict instructions not to go off by ourselves so I went with him to pass out more fliers. I had to nearly jog to keep up with him. His ability to speak Spanish was terribly helpful. As we walked I learned he recently graduated from Western Oregon University and started working for Evergreen Air, and when a helicopter passed by we had to stop and see if it was an Evergreen. I also learned that he was from Ecuador when he chased a man, and his wife, into a busy street who was wearing a soccer jersey of the national team. The three of them talked for some time and Juan was very gracious in translating their conversation for me so that I didn’t feel left out. I found myself cursing my age, why couldn’t I be at least ten years younger? But then I realized that I was rooming with seven other girls who were of the right age for him. Probably lucky for Juan I didn’t seem him the rest of the week so I couldn’t play yenta with the girls on my team and handsome gentlemanly Juan.

At the program area I started drawing with a girl who just happened to be named Jennifer – an instant bond! I pretended that I couldn’t draw well and had her teach me how to do the fancy flowers she was drawing. Once the program got started I got pulled up to do a water balloon toss, my partner got very wet! Eric, our bus driver from Sunday, was the site leader and did the story telling and lesson summary. The program had all sorts of problems. For some reason the stage couldn’t be used, the sound system went out, and the food truck that was at the other end of the block had a volunteer with a slight heart attack so the ambulance showed up. Even with all the distractions the kids were intent on the lesson. It is a great program! I wonder how we can do it up in the Northwest.

The evening outreach was Dream Street on Skid Row with the group from Oasis Church in Bend. We had either single serving packages of Famous Amos cookies or Starbuck pastries tied up in a bag that we were to pass out and use as an entry to further conversation. Once we got on site Mike, our ministry leader, asked for the pastor from each group. After the overly labored explanation that we are a university group and don’t have a pastor he asked for one leader. Never knowing when Lindsey and Evan want me to be a leader (or when they’d rather I’d stayed home) I didn’t volunteer, but they both looked to me and asked if I’d be the leader for the purpose. I was glad to because I knew whoever had the role wasn’t going to have the full ministry experience. I got paired up with Anthony the worship leader from Oasis to be the “caboose” making sure no one got left behind. Everyone else paired up and headed out. I had a great time getting to know Anthony and we had some interesting experiences but nothing like sitting down on the dirty gritty sidewalk talking and praying with the homeless. We mostly talked to each other and Frank and his daughter who for whatever reasons didn’t talk with those on the street as instructed. At one point we were standing on the opposite sidewalk of Evan, Charith, and Bethany who were talking with a man and we were near this gate where a woman was standing shouting something incoherent. We were told to stay away from the screamers as they were most likely mentally ill so Anthony and I stayed our distance. Frank and his daughter joined us and were just as intrigued by the gate and the woman, especially after a man came from the other side of the gate, unlocked it, let the woman in, and then locked it up again. A few moments later two men came up to the gate, hollered something, then noticing us quickly walked away. After that we scooted down the sidewalk to be less of an obstacle. A man came out of the gate and Frank’s daughter (I never did get her name) asked him, “What’s going on back there?” His reply, “Things you should ever do!” as he waved his index finger back and forth. Later Anthony and I started talking with a man who was visiting LA and hoping to leave soon to go back home to Iowa. He had followed a woman out here and then gotten burned and realized he had been disillusioned. He was interesting to talk to as he had decided to make a study of Skid Row; he thought it was shameful how many mentally ill were homeless- that the state didn’t take care of them. He was scared of the drugs and violence in the area at night, and rightly so. I was intrigued by the cars that would pull up with their lights off. Mike told me later they were buying drugs which make sense since there wasn’t any other explanation for why minivans and nice sport cars would cruise that area of town. It became a running joke between Anthony and I that he kept getting rejected when trying to talk to people, but near the end he finally found a receptive ear with someone who had heard of the discipleship program at the Dream Center. Anthony almost convinced him to come back with us right then and there but the man decided he needed more time to think about it but sense that this is what he needed to do. Why anyone would have to debate between staying on the streets or getting help is a little baffling to me. At one point a group of us had gotten far behind the main group. As we stood on a corner debating which way our group would have gone we saw a mob coming towards us. For a moment we were scared and starting scoping out our escape routes, but then we realized it was the rest of our teams. Whew!

Well, it doesn't seem like I kept it short, but really I did keep in just the best parts. Really.

Tuesday, March 27th

We had our first meeting with all the other teams today. There are a bunch of us, ten just from Oregon! There is also a team from Idaho, Denver, Arkansas (which we like to imitate), one team from Manitoba and one from England! During our meeting we heard from one of the directors, Clarence, and three testimonies from the discipleship program, and met the short-term staff. We were divided up into five groups for tours of the Dream Center. We were paired with a group from Oasis church in Bend, my cousin’s church! We covered the main building from ground floor to roof – literally, and all in one trip. I do the stair climber often enough that I thought I was in decent shape but the hike up nine flights of stairs had me panting, but the view was worth it. With the rain yesterday the sky was actually scrubbed clean and was blue and clear giving a great shot of the Hollywood sign.

After the tour we went back to our floor and had some time until lunch, some took naps others journaled or had devotionals. A little before we should leave to go get in line for lunch I got in line with many other gals from my team to use the toilet (one toilet for the whole floor). Now, my team knew I was in line for the toilet, albeit the last one in line, but by the time I got out I couldn’t find any of my team, they were gone. Thankfully I already had my badge to get me into lunch since the door was locked to the bedroom. I walked toward the cafeteria and talked with Frank from the Oasis group thinking my team would eventually show up, we only have a half hour for lunch. Finally my stomach dictated along with the time, to go ahead and get lunch despite not being with my team. After pickup up my tray I went into the dining area only to discover my team was already seated and almost done with their lunches. Several asked, “Where have you been?” What?! Where have I been? You left me in line for the toilet, how was I supposed to know you’d ditch me and come to lunch and be able to get in early? Grr!

Our afternoon assignment was with Metro Kidz but because of the few drops that fell from the sky they cancelled the program; they had the audacity to call it rain! Instead we were to hand out flyers and candy and let the kids know next week would be the big Easter program. But first we had to get there. I got driving duty as most of the other drivers were still feeling a bit skittish about driving around LA. The traffic was going fairly well. I was being a ‘rubber-necker’ looking at what the police officer was doing to the right when we passed an exit and I had the thought, I bet that was the exit we needed but there was only a number – no name, and the instructions we had only had a name listed. Sure enough Dot, my co-pilot, figured out it was the exit we needed. We got off at the next exit and got back on the freeway, getting off at the correct exit and thought we’d just do the opposite of the instructions. But that just got us totally lost in Culver City. There was a lot of construction going on and the exit off of 170 east did not dump us near where the same exit off of 170 west did. Dot got on the phone and finally got someone to help us. We eventually got to where we needed to be, but not after a grand tour of Culver. Once at the project we took some fliers and candy but the Arkansas team that had gotten there first had already canvassed the entire neighborhood. We found a few kids but very few. Corbin, Meg, and I were heading back to the van as we cut through the playground at the community center where we found some kids to play with. They already had candy but we gave them some more, bet their parents loved us! I talked with a father and grandmother of three kids while Meg and Corbin taught them what an underdog is and got dizzy on the tire swing with them. It was neat to hear from the parents how much Metro Kidz means to the kids and to the adults. I was so disappointed that we didn’t get to see the whole program!

Finally the rest of the team came and found us; the Metro Kidz team wanted to get back and was waiting for us. Thankfully they let us follow them and waited on the side of the road when we got separated by a red light; if they hadn’t we would have had another grand tour of Culver City as I would have driven right past the on-ramp.

We had a choice for our evening activity between Discipleship Bible study and Women’s Bible study. Once again I made use of the toilet before we left and when I came back out the team was gone and the bedroom door was locked. Yes, for a second time today, I was ditched by the team while using the toilet. I caught up with the team standing in the parking lot. Even though we had tried to reserve seats at the Discipleship Bible study and were a little early we were too late to get in, the room was filled. The women decided to go to the women’s Bible study then, but since I had been locked out the bedroom I didn’t have my Bible or anything. The Women’s study started later but we went straight there to make sure we could get in (it wasn’t a problem). What was a problem was the smell in the room, an overpowering fruity-flower potpourri stink that made my eyes water and my nose burn. I couldn’t wait to get out of the room. I am not sure who the study is intended to reach; there were several groups of women- a few Japanese who spoke little English, a couple women who were graduates of the discipleship program. I was sitting next to a woman who was a graduate and I was puzzled because I hear the discipleship program is rather Biblically intense yet this woman was looking for the book of John between Genesis and Deuteronomy. The leader of the Bible study talked at a zooming pace and packed in a lot in the hour time frame, yet it smacked of the ‘health, wealth, and prosperity’ movement which turned me off.

Tuesday night we had a team meeting in which we discussed several ‘briefing’ questions that I had posed to the team on Sunday evening such as “what are your hopes or goals for the week?” We had a great discussion. This is where the incident with Chris and the women at Baja the day before came out, and people’s frustration with a ‘slow start’ to ministry was talked about. What resulted was a major attitude shift for all of us that made a huge difference in our team dynamics and individual outlooks. It was pretty amazing to see how God worked in our hearts so quickly and dramatically. God is good! I think the rest of our week would have been drab and petty if not for opening our hearts to God tonight. Tiana had a great perspective she shared of being a blessing to anyone and everyone regardless of the circumstances. That we could be a blessing to all the people who worked at the Dream Center such as those who served us our meals. We could be an example to all the high school students. We have an opportunity to serve and bring glory to God in all that we do whether it is what we were expecting to do or not. Attitudes we should have all the time!