Portland Week 1

I have just finished my first full week in my newly aquired residence of Portland. Right now I am at Stumptown Coffee killing some time before I have to go back and pick up the church signs after the 12:00 service gets out. This morning i helped with setup and put out all the sings for the church. i have been gbetting invovled everywhere i can so as to inject some community in my veins and stop my withdrawals. On Wenesday night i wen to this homeless ministry called Wild Hope where we walk around downtown and tlak to the street kids. Portland has the highest number of street kids of any major U.S. city. There are tons of homeless people here. Part of it is because the coty itself is very friendly to the homeless population and part of it is because there are tons of programs and food distributions. Imago has like 5. Saturday i wen to the 3:00 people which sets up a tabl with drinks and food every saturday at three for people to stop by and get some food. Tommorow night i am going to the newly started college minstry and am going to help lead that. I am also attending a connection group tommorow based ont he idea of Discipleship. It is taught by one of the other itnerns here who is a masters of Divinity at Harvard.

have had no lucks with jobs but have much more peace about the whole situation. I have to be patient and relaize that i have been here only a week. God reminded me that he doesn't care about my job situation or my current purgatorial state as much as he cares about me. I have to remeber that at the end of the day this lif eis not about me. It is not about me getting a good job a good career and a girlfriend. it is about Him. It is about others.

i have been writing alot so i don't waste my time when i have no one ot hang out with and nothing to do.

The setup process at Imago is quite elaborate. 50 people or so are involved. They rent a school and so everything is packed away into 26 foot trailer and has to be set up every week. The childrens church takes up an entire gym and consists of putting up portable walls for every classroom. Today was the service was dedicated to Imago global mission and a band of orphan Rwnada refugees led worship. they are not child orphans, they are college age. I am getting to know the staff and the major players here. All the programs here are very entrepreneurial. Meaning that if you want to start some house group or minstry you just go out and do it. You don't have to be on leadership or staff, you just have to be a member and take a few classes and meet with a few people. It is kinda grassroots in a way. All of the minstries are more or less extensonsions rather than programs instituted by the church. But the church supports and works closely witht he majortiy of them. I am learning alot and doing my best to not go into depression being by myself. I have definentley grown alot jsut in the last week. I know that this is wher ei am supposed to be for this part of my life. I am learnign alot about this church and love it so far. Everyone here is superchill. The whole city is chill. No one is ever angry or stressed.I think there might be THC in the water.