Land of Port

It's been about 3 weeks now that I have been living in Portland, Oregon! I don't even know where to begin...

Arriving in Portland was nothing short of ridiculous. I should have expected nothing less from the LGA (Lord God Almighty for you other than Steff or Julie) than extreme weather conditions that left me snowed in for about a week. Luckily, it was my first week living at the girl's house so it was a blessing to have that time to become more acquainted with the program. Most of the time I spent reading, journaling and of course helping bake copious amounts of Christmas cookies which we also frosted. The internship I'm doing is with a program called Transitional Youth. It's a great program and if you want to learn more you should check out the website (plug). So far, I am absolutely loving the job which mostly consists of checking off chores, but so much more comes with it and I am thrilled to see how the friendships with these girls strengthen. The staff is incredible as well as my 2 lovely residents! :) Since we were snowed in, we all got to know each other incredibly well in a terribly short period of time. Oh the joy of Christian community...

Once the blizzard came to a hault, I finally got the chance to explore Portland. Thanks to public transportation, I familiarized myself with the city quickly. Afterall no one wants to make the mistake of taking the wrong bus, ending up on the wrong side of town then finally arriving at the entrance of your neighborhood late at night while two very conspicuous large men are doing what seems like a drug deal. Trust me, you won't make that mistake twice. The city is great. There are so many coffee shops and book stores. Most everything seems locally owned and sustained by a farm not too far away, which makes the veggies seem even fresher. Or it could be some sort of placebo effect that makes you think that they are, but in fact there products are actually supplied by wal-mart. Either way, with all the coffee and tea-sleep has taken a backseat in my life which will probably catch up to me sooner or later, but I am having so much fun now I'll try not to worry bout that. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZzzzzzzz. oops. Just kidding. The only bad part about a new city is since I don't many ( like maybe 3) people here, I walk around aimlessly and may have gotten a bit too comfortable with asking for a table for one. It's weird coming from years of always having people around when you want them or not to all of a sudden being on your own. I think this magnifies how often I take advantage of community. In any case, i plan on joining a small group/book club/hiking club/ANYthing that will put community around me again.

One really cool place here I spend a lot of my time is the Drop-In Center for Transitional Youth. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday it's open for homeless youth ages 18-25 to come, hang out, eat, get clothes or even sleeping bags. Normally a movie is playing and someone is playing the piano. It gives them a chance to stay warm and dry before the shelters open because most don't open til 9 or 930 at night. I had never seen anything like this place in my life. Portland has per capita the greatest problem with teen homelessness in all the US. Although I have done homelesss ministry before, most of the friends I had made were in their 30s and up. It's surreal sitting at the drop-in and seeing a large room full of people my age without a place to call home. Anyway, street church, as we call it, is a cool place to hang out and build friendships. I have certainly met my share of interesting people there. Most of the kids at the Drop-In have street nicknames that they go by. So now, I am determined to also obtain one of these names too...I have been brainstorming for days and I can't come up with anything remotely tough or witty enough to make it for more than one introduction with my new friends...I'll keep thinking though. If you have any suggestions, let me know- and nothing too wimpy, I have a rep to protect.