Faceless...

I was driving to Portland today, and stopped to get gas at exit 104. As I turned toward the gas station, I noticed a figure holding a cardboard sign on the offramp. I glanced at the writing as I drove past and saw only a few words, namely "homeless," "ugle," and "help." It was the "ugle" that really caught my attention. I realized that, try as I might, I couldn't actually recall the man's face, "ugle" or not. That bothered me...

It seems that I am no longer seeing the faces of those who are looking for a meal, a handout, or a chance. I mean, I'm not going to start peeling out bills to every corner, but I am starting to look at the person standing there, rather than pretending they're not there (something that I see quite a lot of) and drive/bike/walk on. Hopefully eye contact will lead to some sort of connection beyond a hand grasping a dollar... We'll see.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

This would have shut down
the city of Portland...

Woke up this morning to a light dusting of snow. The perfect kind: pretty, but not dangerous. Still, I walked to work to enjoy the feel of the first snow of the season... and into town... and to the store... and back to work... and back home. I like the snow like this!

the "elf tree"

I was actually thinking of skipping any decorations at home this year, as it's just me and I don't really have holiday visitors to impress. But - of all places - Safeway had these great little "elf trees," so I got one, broke out my box of ornaments, and set up the tree. Then, after a few folk had come by for dinner, realized that it was dripping water on my stereo, cleaned up the water... and knocked the tree over, breaking 4 ornaments. *sigh* Sarah, bless her heart, was still over, and helped me gather ornaments and reset the tree.
But apparently I hadn't gotten the decorating bug out of my system, because I went and splurged $1.50 on some lights, stripped the tree, and redressed it all over again while watching Muppet's Christmas Carol.

All I'm Saying is That I'd Better Get My Cleaning Deposit Back...

I Just Cleaned the Left Side

So I finally got around to cleaning the gross looking linoleum that lines the non-carpeted portions of my apartment. It boggles my mind that they took the time to completely replace the carpet but couldn't be bothered to mop the floors. Mind you, this did take my most of an hour with a scrub brush, but this is my kitchen! I prep food here! Ick...

Next... the full bathroom! *shudder*

Visits by Night...

 
So the cat with the broken tail found it's way into my apartment again. Apparently I brought in more than my laundry from the basement! But a bit of tuna and a warm lap was all he was looking for... and then back out to the cold...

Harvest, Halloween, Slamquest... this is my life.

Downtown Walla Walla

As inferred by the few and far-in-between posts, life has been busy up here in Walla Walla. Settling in is a much longer process than I realized, and I'm quite content to let my work, ministry, and life meld together. It may seem that I have no life, but that's because I am able to move at a healthier pace since my life is my ministry!

Patrick & I being Epic

Now, I admit that the blog title is a wee bit misleading; I did not actually assist with any harvesting. But I did help with a Harvest Carnival put on by First Pres on Halloween. See, we're like 3 blocks from downtown and they had this big shindig, so we did too (as did quite a few local churches). So a couple hundred incredibly cute kids came through, played games, won prizes, got candy, ate popcorn, watched puppet shows, and ran from the guitar wielding daywalker out front (yeah, that was me). I didn't get home in time to hand out candy, so I'm stuck with 100 pieces of epicly tasty candy... which Hannah has thoughtfully agreed to take off my hands if I can get it down to Lake Oswego.

This last weekend I went on my first Central Washington Presbytery youth camp, aptly named SLAMQUEST. It's a Middle School camp, and the slamming refers to... well, alot. First it applied to a multitude of pumpkins that were scattered on the grounds, which had the misfortune of being chock full of candy (thus the slamming). Literal Smashing Pumpkins (yes, we did play tunes by them). Wonderful place, this Ghormley Meadow, and I hope to take kids back again. I got the chance to lead music/worship with a few other leaders, and we had a blast! "they" said to me, "You're not from here; Eastern Washington teens don't jump around and go crazy during worship songs." Oh really, says I.... [video coming soon]

Now we're getting ready to get into Holiday Festivities, beginning with Thanksgiving Eve Eve Service & Dessert (yes, I volunteered myself and the youth to make desserts) on Tuesday. Should be fun. Then the Youth and I prep Stone Soup for the congregation, kids make crafts, and adults participate in the Hanging of the Greens... and yes, I do get to scale the tower of the 1912 building to hang giant wreaths! (apparently I'm the only one not uber scared of heights) This will then be followed by the Youth Annual Turkey Bowl Flag Football game... which will be followed by warmth, pizza, and a movie. Have I mentioned that I love this?

Ah, and then I intersperse bad horror movies into the mix (beware ThanksKilling), and discover important things like that Captain Morgan's new 100-proof is downright evil. New friends come over for dinner and movies occasionally, and old friends drive up to visit. These are all wonderful things to experience...

Friendliest...

So it turns out that Walla Walla was ranked friendliest town in America last year...

Helpful...

...Sarah and I went to pick up a couple of couches for the church in her family's old pick-up the other day. It's an old '67 Ford, so I figured that both of them would fit in the truck. I figured wrong. So as we're trying to force the 2nd couch in, a woman comes over and asks if we want to put the other one in her pickup and she'd follow us over to the church. Awesome...

...and then she helped us carry both down into the basement where they are currently being enjoyed by teens, adults, staff, and just about everyone who walks past them.

The Digs...

The View From My Back Door

Eh, apparently I've been pretty bad about keeping up this blog. But here we go...

I've been settling in to living in Walla Walla for the past month, and am sorta getting used to it. I can usually find my way around to one place or another (like the grocery, the community theater, the local ball field, schools, cafes, candy stores, pizza joints, and other such great places).

A Seat For You...

All the boxes are unpacked in my apartment, and the Living Room has taken shape; ready for visitors and such. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but there's a little creek running behind the apartment building, which is great for ambience, sound, and a bit of a breeze that runs off of it on hot days. My neighbors moved out, and suddenly a tabby with a folded over tail appears at my back door every day... what to do, what to do...?

"meow, meow, meow, meow..."

It's also great because I'm only a few blocks away from the church that I work at too, and often walk to work. Great neighborhood, right next to the local YMCA. Oh, and I'm also just a few blocks from the downtown of Walla Walla, which is quite convenient. Recently I've been to high school football games, city league soccer matches, local theatre shows, and many cups of coffee...

Enter September...

I can't say that there's much in epicness to report, but still thought I'd post a quick note.

I'm getting settled here in Walla Walla; I unpacked the last box at my apartment, so that's quite an accomplishment... plus it makes it more difficult to folk to walk off with my stuff in case that is their intent...

My office at the church is coming together nicely as well, with the furniture in an open format now... I just need to acquire a chair or two for people to sit in when visiting. Now for the rest of the Youth Cave System... Did I mention that my office and the youth rooms were in the basement?


Anyhow, it's the weekend of the Walla Walla Fair & Rodeo and I'll be wandering about that, hopefully running into a plethora of students from church who can show me the epicness of the fairgrounds...

More About Moving, Missing, and Meandering...

"Deadeye" Gates

I would like to say that the folks would miss me as I left, but Mom pulled out the Nerf gun and acted quite menacing toward my nephew, which caused me to be on my best behavior the rest of the week for sure!

The Quesus

But people do miss me in Portland, and my friends Tricie and Scott took me to Coalition Brewery and the Grilled Cheese Grill my last couple of days... talk about epic grilled cheese; No bun, instead there's a cheese sandwich on each side of the big ol' burger! And a Stout called Hanzo? Why had I never gone there before?!

Harpo Marx?

Ironically, "Kevin" got thrown away

 I got a chance to chill with the Calvin Pres youth one last time, and was surprised by an awesome cake, cards, memory book, Nerf bullets, and many hugs. I also used the opportunity to see what I would look like with a white haired pony-tail.  Eh, I can wait...

So many folks made the move so easy, helping by loading up the truck, organizing it all, and then greeted by a handful of folks from the church who did most of the unloading too! Though driving a 20+ foot Uhaul and towing my car was a bit of a pain whenever I had to leave the Interstate.

Deadly Weaponry

I must say, the Dollar Tree is a staple of restabilizing after a move. So many household items and other things that I don't really need if they weren't only a buck. And the history here; so many places where nothing actually happened. and a few other places, but I haven't been there yet, so I guess that'll wait for another day!

Nothing Happened Here

Rememories...

Cartman won't go away...

It’s amazing the things you learn when you’re unpacking after moving. Well, maybe “learn” is too strong of a word, though I did learn that if you leave dry-erase marker on a whiteboard for almost a year it becomes permanent. And that certain tables don’t like it when you pile boxes of books on them. They take their revenge by furniture-suicide. Now I need a new TV stand. Anyway…

Go Lakers!

It’s more about things discovered that I had forgotten about. Like that I own way too much stuff… although it’s pretty cool stuff sometimes. and also gems like this; I found a Lake Oswego High School newspaper from 1993 that asked graduating Seniors where they were headed after high school. My intentions were to “attend Multnomah School of the Bible to earn a degree in Youth Ministries. Then work as a director of Youth Ministries, possibly in music and theatre.” Amazingly enough I just secured a position as a Youth Director at a church, and plan to play with the worship band as much as possible. Huh, amazing how these things work out, eh?

Cassettes, VHS, Beta, oh my!

It’s also remembering the things that have once been in my life. I have uncovered dozens of pieces of art created by my [ex]step-daughter, Hannah. Each and every one of them brings me joy… joy and a bit of sadness, because I miss her so, especially now that I’m over half a state away. Speaking of profound sadness, I also uncovered wedding photos that I had forgotten about. It’s uncanny how many feelings are still there just under the surface when faced with the histories we all have.

Epicness

Anyway, before I get too melancholy, I’ve also rediscovered my music collection, and have even found my mix tapes that I put together in the 80s and 90s… mostly of 70s music, ironically. The thing that I’ve found most to be true, though, is that my bad ankle really hates stairs. And I live in a townhouse. Igh, I’m getting old. Oh, and Robot Chicken is funny as all get out.

Whirlwind to Walla Walla

I realize that my blog has been rather sporadic and that may soon change; you see, I went to an interview this past weekend in Walla Walla, Washington.

It's about 4 1/2 hours (reasonably) to Walla Walla from my home south of Portland in Lake Oswego. So I loaded an overnight bag, my guitar, a lesson on Jonah, some good music, and got in my dad's car to head East. My car's air conditioning doesn't work, and it's supposed to be in the 100s up there, so the Toyota worked as a substitute... thanks dad!

Anyway, the scenery is quite beautiful, because I traveled through the Columbia River Gorge as I headed out. Suddenly, at Cascade Locks, the clouds parted and there was clear skies, accompanied by warm weather! I was wondering where Summer had been hiding (mid 70s and cloudy in Portland for the most part so far). The drive was pleasant, and I was able to see such sights as several dams, hundreds of wind turbines producing power (go green!), and lots and lots of sagebrush and wheat grasses. Once leaving I-84, the land is pretty much all agriculture as far as the eye can see... and that's pretty far.

I drove through Milton-Freewater on the way to Walla Walla, and find it interesting that there are a dozen or so (that I could see) frog statues in front of several businesses. Being me, I stopped and took pics, because frog statues infesting a town amused me quite a bit. I'd have a frog statue in my yard if I lived there. You know you've reached your destination when you see that big sign welcoming you: "Wal*Mart Superstore". That was at College Place, which borders on Walla Walla. But on to the interview...


I've never done an interview like this before. Basically I meet with members of a search committee over a day and a half, learn about the town and the church that they are a part of (did I mention that this is for a ministry job?), eat a lot, meet the pastor and talk theology, missiology, and ekklesiology, go to church and consider the service styles, and end that with an official interview followed by running an hour long youth group so that they can see me in action. Good thing I had just realized that you can make Angry Birds a real life game if you have water balloon launchers, eh? Epic game, which will be repeated!

I gotta say, I love the town, the people I met were awesome, the teens that I got to work with were top notch, and I see and understand the vision of what they want to do with the Youth Director position. It all went well, and then I got in my [dad's] car and headed home. On the way, I even got a call from the pastor to clarify some things. I had no idea if that was bad or good. Getting home at 1 in the morning meant I was sleepy, but I had more calls from the pastor on Monday, and then...

Monday afternoon the chair of the search committee called me to offer me the position of Youth Director at Walla Walla First Presbyterian Church. I accepted immediately. Much dancing, singing, shouting, and drinking of iced water followed suit (I was thirsty, and don't actually have champagne on hand). Then I realized the start date: 9 days from now. "To the internet, boy wonder!" I shouted to noone in particular, and started looking up apartment and house rentals. Dad and I jumped back in the Toyota on Tuesday (my car was then in the shop having the air conditioning remedied), and spent 2 days in Walla Walla looking at potential living spaces, of which some were ok, some weren't, and some were great. But having a place ready to move into within a week or two just wasn't the norm. Those wonderful folk at WWFPC were working on it though... making calls to friends in the realty biz, property management friends, and also finding possible temporary digs until a place more permanent opened up.

Maybe now is a good time to mention that Walla Walla was recently rated Friendliest Small Town in the United States of America by USA Today and Rand McNally. And they really are! Albert, my new boss and the pastor of WWFPC, gave dad and I the full historical and potential tour of the church building, and we talked into the wee hours of the night (about 9:30, but it had been a busy day).

Leaving Walla Walla without having secured housing, I had a backup plan for an apt outside of town (that's only 2 miles folks), and another that I was waiting for a call back for. Meanwhile, the WWFPC folk where still making calls for temp and permanent housing for me. Have I mentioned how awesome these folks are? Anyway, the short side is that I got a call back from a townhouse about 1/2 a mile from the church, and they will be ready for me to move in on Tuesday. Not Tuesday in several weeks, but this next Tuesday. The day before I start work. Talk about timing, eh? Thank the Lord!

This has all happened in about 4 days, and it's now all about packing and finding movers to help load the Uhaul from my storage unit. The church will have members ready to unload it when I get there. And then I hope to breath. It truly has been a whirlwind affair, but I couldn't be happier about the way things are going. Oh, yes, I will miss my friends and family, and realize that I am leaving behind ministry and personal support networks, but I am confident that this is where I am supposed to be. The level of prayer that has been applied to this possibility by folks on both sides is staggering, and I'm glad that God is big enough to take that all in... because it's His path that I'm trying to follow in the first place.

So look for more posts, pictures, and random observations as I leave the Greater Portland area and relocate to Walla Walla, Washington... home of the Walla Walla Sweets, over 100 wineries, acres of wheat, and some of the friendliest people in the nation. Yeah, I can live with that.

Someone Better Tell Tom Selleck...

I never really thought of it as a roadblock to anything, let alone employment.

It was pointed out to me today over coffee by a pro in the field of employment-finding that sporting a mustache can be a stumbling point for many people due to the stereotype associated with a man with a mustache. What is this stereotype?

A few years ago, when Holly first came to Mt. Tabor Presbyterian where I was working, (and it was later told to me) her initial reaction to seeing me (I was leading singing at the time) was to question, “Who’s the guy with the molest-a-stache?” Upon hearing that I was the Youth Director, she was in disbelief.

This might be a good time to point out that many of the jobs I am trying to be hired for work directly with teenagers. “If you were my client I’d make you shave it off,” said my friend in the café.

My brain really fought this one, as I have really gotten used to the ‘stache over the past few years. “Obviously whoever considers a mustache as a sign that someone shouldn't be in ministry has never been to a Pastor’s Conference, where the mustache (along with a comb over - or at least a side part - and a cell phone in belt case) is almost a cliché among those in attendance,” I told myself. But maybe that is a part of the negative stereotype.

I reflected back on a couple of really good interviews that I have recently had that did not result in any sort of employment, and I wonder if wanting to work with teens and young adults while sporting a mustache is a poor decision. Goatees, on the other hand, have become quite popular among our society these days, crossing a generational gap that stops many other fashion and/or style progressions. However, it takes me a month or two to actually get a decent goatee going… apparently I need Rogaine for the chin.

At this point the decision was quite simple: the mustache is gone. I may not agree with some of the stereotypes placed on mustaches, but I understand that other folk might see something other than a benign attempt at facial hair. After all, Paul wrote “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, [with a mustache], won’t that person be emboldened to [assume there is a darker intention that they too can follow]? …Therefore, if [my mustache] causes my brother or sister to fall into [or assume] sin, I will never [sport a ‘stache] again, so that I will not cause them to fall.”  (1 Corinthians  8:9-10, 13) Well, maybe not exactly that, but I get what he was saying, and so will consider what others see in a man working with youth that has a mustache.

The whole facial-hair-marks-the-good-or-bad thing is about to become a major plot point, as this weekend is the last for Trek In The Park, featuring the episode Mirror, Mirror. You know, the one where we can tell that Spock is evil based on if he has a goatee or not?

Now I just need to spend some time in the sun so that I don’t have a pale line between my nose and lips.
UPDATE: In the interest of several offended people, and that Tom has an epic 'stache, the original Title referring to Hitler has been removed.

Mission Chicken Part Two: A Photographic Tale

We flew in to Columbus, Ohio and picked up some vans to transport the students and the few of us leaders. Chicken quickly adapted to the new windshield and we were on the way to Indianopolis Presbyterian Church where we stayed the night on Greek Row of Ohio State University.

While Chicken slept, Brian and Tricie awoke early in the morning with a student who had neck pain due to the hard floor. As Brian walked past a window, he looked out and saw a body in the early sunlight. Seeing blood on man, they investigated, called an ambulance and, while the students slept, Police and Paramedics came and took the poor fellow to the hospital. We later found out that he had drank a considerable amount of alcohol at a frat party, passed out on the stone ledge of the church's stairwell, then fell off and cracked his skull. We figured if nothing else came of this trip, the fact that we were able to find the man and get him medical attention made it worth it.

The next day we drove out of Ohio into West Virginia and watched as the city turned to private unincorporated towns and finally into Logan. The downtown showed many dilapidated buildings, some actually falling apart.

We drove up to the New Life Fellowship building where YouthWorks has it's home and moved in to the 3rd floor with 2 other churches and a group of young men from inner city Akron. The church bought the buildings, which was once a middle school, from the city about 12 years prior for $10.



Each student and leader was assigned a locker in the old school hallway. They operated as makeshift mailboxes where notes of encouragement, quickly sketched drawings, papers of flirting, and the occasional phone number were exchanged. Chicken, while chaperoning the hallway, unfortunately received no mail.



Many happenings came about, which will be told in person or possibly later on this blog. On our way home, we had some good old turbulence.


We had a layover in Las Vegas, where the temperature was about 112 degrees. We chose to stay indoors during this time.

Weird is not so weird...

As I sit in Powell's books downtown, I realize just how out of fashion wearing a suit can be. Hundreds of people walk by, and many look at me like I am somehow against the accepted norm here. Earlier today I was walking the sidewalks of hawthorne and received similar looks.

Me by the Powell's Pillar

Now, I admit that a suit is rarely my wardrobe of choice, but I had an important job interview today (not to mention I just plain look good in a suit) and then visited some friends while on the east side of town. It may be that I am simply not part of any crowds that regularly, or even irregularly, dress in such a fashion. But when did attiring oneself in a suit become such a strange and abnormal thing?

It seems everwhere I look I see stickers encouraging readers to "keep Portland weird", but the irony is that I am standing as the weird dressed in my astonishingly good looking suit here in Portlandia.

Guess I win, eh?

Mission Chicken Part One: Background

Chicken on Rooster ('10)

Last year, as we prepared to enter the United States of America from Mexico, where we had been working with orphans near Ensenada, we were met with many hawkers of food and trinkets while in line to cross the border. Much to my amusement was a seller of rubber chickens attached to suction cups, so I splurged the $1 and bought it. It then hung from our van's front window until we left to get on our plane to fly back to Oregon. Much to my chagrin I realized that I had left the chicken on the van window. However, 3 of our group was still in California and salvaged the Chicken, taking it on their merry way visiting prospective college campuses. Many photos were sent to my phone of the adventures of Chicken until it came back to Oregon once again. From then it has been a faithful lookout on the windshield of my 3 cars which I have owned in the last year.

Chicken at "home"

Chicken flying cross-country

Now it is time to go on a new Mission trip with the students from Calvin Presbyterian Church, and in response to popular request, the Chicken will be coming along to chronicle - thru pictures - our journey. Check back for more Chicken Adventures...

...and I Ain't Got Nobody

After several hours of catching up, eating leftovers, and watching movies and Robot Chicken episodes, Jenn and I decided to head out to Voodoo Donuts Too... at 10:30 on a Saturday night. As we headed towards downtown, we noticed several police cruisers with their lights on and officers directing some sort of traffic off of the main road... and then we saw that they were bicyclists; naked bicyclists. 

Portland Naked Bike Ride 2011

I forgot that the end of June brings on throngs of thongs via naked folk on bikes. Last year a couple of friends and I were standing outside of my apartment building when all of a sudden hundreds of bicyclists emerged from the dark of night... At least when they surprised me this year there were only a dozen or so, but still the whole thing is intriguing. See, it's not very warm at the end of June in Oregon. I wonder if they do that on purpose, so as to discourage certain bodily responses within the swarm of bare skin rolling down the street.

But anyway, we got to Voodoo Too... I didn't really consider how busy it would be with the downtown location closed for renovations. Apparently Jenn anticipated the line stretching out the door and around the back half of the building, but I did not. I also didn't realize what a tourist attraction it was; well dressed folk taking pictures of each other in front of the building, alongside the delivery vans, and inside the small building. Facebook received dozens of uploaded photos as we waiting in line next to excited women who saw Voodoo Donuts on the Food Network recently. 

Voodoo Dozen +
our favorites...

After half an hour or so the uber tourist Food Network folk had enough and left, since we hadn't even made it into the building yet. But we certainly didn't have anywhere special to be, so why leave now? Which is what brings us - an hour and ten minutes later - to the front of the line, still deciding on how many donuts we want and which ones to choose. So many choices. So we let them make it for us. VooDoo Dozen, handpicked by the counter guy... You'd think that with so many possiblities that we'd get 13 different donuts, right? Apparently not. He was rather unimaginative and we got duplicates of chocolate glazed, coconut chocolate glazed, sprinkles, and blueberry cake. Lame. At least Jenn got her favorite, Grape Ape. I had to purchase an additional maple bar just to get one (NEVER ask if they would put in your favorite; they won't) Luckily, I had church with the Youth Mission Team in the morning, and they made short work of the half a dozen that bored us into not eating them the night before.

$5 5-Gallon Bucket
of Voodoo Donuts!

If that's what you get by ordering the VooDoo Dozen, I'm just gonna get a $5 Bucket of donuts next time. Last time we did that, we got over 60 donuts, and plenty of crazy good ones too!