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.