Seattle Stories

After adding another 600 miles to my odometer, I can’t say that I’m eager to climb behind the wheel again.  However, my travels to Portland, Corvallis and Eugene were fun and fruitful.

Monday October 5

I hit the road at 4:30am to make an 8:30am meeting in North Portland.  I had a refreshing time sharing stories and brainstorming networking ideas with Jack and Dennis (Both on staff with The Navigators in Portland).  After, Jack took me to “The Grotto” to meditate through Stations of the Cross and walk the beautiful gardens.  It was a major highlight of my journey to Oregon.

I drove to meet my Brother-in-Law, Ernst, for lunch in downtown Portland.  We enjoyed a great conversation and were able to catch up on life.  I appreciate his compassion and honesty.

After finding my way out of the urban core, I met with a friend Nick who is a grad student at George Fox University.  He was able to disclose the intricacies of his journey with counseling and beating one of the professors in racquetball that has earned him instant fame.  Nick is seeking to impact his colleagues and undergraduates with the love of Christ and be an agent of God’s Kingdom in Newberg, OR.  BTW – Colette and I were married at the Friends’ church on this campus in 1998.

After encountering Nick’s incredible transportation machine, I drove to Beaverton to spend time with my Father-in-Law.  He and I had the pleasure of taking my niece, Aubrey, to her gymnastics practice.  We then caught up over dinner.  I wish I could have stayed longer, but I needed to head to Corvallis to meet Keith and Kate.

Tuesday October 6

It was delightful to experience God’s work at Oregon State U.  Keith and his team are doing a great job of engaging students in the Greek system.  They made me get up at 6am for an early morning leadership meeting.  I’m just kidding.  I was eager to join them on campus and was glad to hang with their student leaders and watch Keith in action as he met with a couple of different men. In fact, one of the students might intern this year in Seattle!

That afternoon I said my goodbyes to the Beavers and headed further South to the home of the Ducks, The University of Oregon in Eugene.  I met immediately with Mike and Dan at Starbucks and engaged for two hours regarding many issues surrounding our work and labor among twenty-somethings in Seattle.

Shortly after my time at McStarbucks (oops, sorry about that), I headed to Mike and Stephanie’s house for a relaxing dinner.  It was a breath of fresh air as I had been going pretty strong for the last 36 hours.

At seven p.m. that evening was a student Bible Study in their home.  I enjoyed digging into the Scriptures with them and also sharing about our passion among graduates.

All in all, the time in Oregon was worth every minute.  It was great to get to know the other staff with The Navigators better and make them more aware of what we’re doing in Seattle.

In addition to spending time on the Oregon campuses, I will be hanging out with Brian and his student friends at the University of Washington in Seattle on a regular basis.  I appreciate his accommodating me into their schedule this Fall.

Colette and the kids managed pretty well while I was gone, but the kids grew a bit restless near the end.  For some reason these trips are always hardest on my boys.

As we labor among twenty-somethings in the Northwest, we covet your prayers for fueling our walks with God and sensitivity to God’s Spirit throughout the week.  It seems as if the enemy has increased his attacks on us and our friends in the last few weeks.

Colette and I are assuming leadership for the ministry to twenty-somethings in the Northwest as our friends Jon and Pat started their Sabbatical last week, lasting six months.

Take care until next time.