Reflections from living in portland and adapting to change

     This last summer I moved from South-west Florida to North-west Oregon. The move was from one corner of the US to the other, and in many cases a study in opposites. The weather, people’s political and social views, and other physical characteristics were quite different. There were also many extremes in my personal life. All these experiences have been challenging, and I have felt the Lord using these many new and different situations to teach and bring me closer to him. 

Adapting to change

     I have always lived in rural or small town settings.  Although I have been to cities and spent bits of time in them, I have not lived in them for extended periods of time. Portland turned out to be a great city as far as most cities I have seen go, but it was a city none the less. I had to figure out how to get around within its maze of streets, buildings, and then function in that culture. I learned about public transit, and biking in the city, both of which were super easy. On top of that, the city is quite pretty, located right on the Colombia and Willamette Rivers, with hills and interesting buildings, streets and houses all around it.  

     Despite the beauty being surrounded by houses, buildings, and people for miles, I felt trapped. The many parks and green areas were nice, but small and there was always the knowledge that I was surrounded. Many things I like to do, or are in my routine I had to change as a result of being in a city. 

     I have used running as a means of escape, relaxation, and exercise for years. Running on concrete is hard on my body though, and having to cross streets every block broke up my runs too much to be enjoyable. It became more work than relaxation, and I quit running altogether. Instead, I rode my bike a lot. I enjoyed the exercise and it got me out of the house, but again was more stressful rather than enjoyable since I always had to pay attention to cars or pedestrians around me.

     So what did I learn from all this? There are so many people in the city, and many enjoy its fast and crowded life style. I experienced it, had to change my habits, and made the most of it, but have no desire to go back to a large city for any extended period of time. But, more than that, everywhere I will go will be different, and habits will have to be changed. I will have to adapt and change my life style to function in the new place, and be thankful for what God is teaching me in that situation. CAR will be rural, but present a whole different set of challenges I will have to overcome. 

God Created Us for Community

      I spent last year in an incredible Christian community in Florida. As an intern, I lived in intern housing with others, worked with volunteers, work teams, and other staff all day. Although I am an introvert and needed time alone, I enjoyed the year of being around lots of people, and was able to share and learn from others so much more then I would have been able to on my own. The move to Portland put me in a city surrounded by people, but lacking the intentional community. Since I hoped to be travelling while raising support, I did not immediately get involved in my new environment, because I did not know when I would be available. When I became a little settled and got a job, my new hours limited the Bible studies or community events I could attend.   

A few of the interns and I at ECHO

      As I was living and facing many uncertainties, learning a ton about my life, it was evident that I needed community for support and comradery. I used Skype as a tool to communicate with a few people, but I missed being with people physically, or having people always present. I learned just how important it is to find a community or stay in close contact with community as soon as possible to help with transition and processing.    

      When I head to the CAR I am going to be faced with this going to a new place, and not having community right away. I am going to have to stay in contact with the community I have, and work hard at finding community there. It will be a smaller and more intentional community there, so that will help, but it is something to pay attention too in the CAR, as well as where ever I end up next.   

“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation”

     Growing up on the equator, I really run from the cold. In my opinion, it should always be hot, and never even cool. Continual rain is another thing that is really annoying to me. So, how did I end up in Oregon? That is a different story!  During my months there, it was cold and rained a lot. I mentioned in my previous post that God gave me a job. Turns out that the job had be working at the airport! I love planes, and airports, and this job let me be around them all the time.  It also meant working in the cold and rain every night with co-workers who held many different viewpoints on life and our job!  Going into winter, both days and evenings at the airport were tough. I am convinced though that God brought me to Portland and put me where he did to teach me, about being content in difficult or annoying situations, and how to react to them.

Me being eaten alive by hay bales. This could be quite a trying situation.  

     The couple I was living with were an incredibly positive and caring Christian couple. I was always greeted by a smile.  When it was raining or something unforeseen happened, a good light was shed on it, life was good, and life moved on. I really saw that although I did not like the weather or certain things that were happening, it was not something to be completely unhappy about, and dragging myself and others down with me over, but to see the positive in it. Life is hard, and in some cases there is not much we can do to change things. The fact that I knew my situation was temporary, as well as my love for aviation, helped me be able to tolerate and even be joyful in my circumstances at the airport, but helped me to also see other situations, and my attitude toward them. I saw how a positive attitude effected every one, and how God helped me learn to keep it positive.

A balanced life with purpose

      Last week, my job that I waited for, for so long, ended. I have worked hard all of my life in school, and then at ECHO. I like being productive, and hate going to bed without having anything to show for the day. When I moved to Portland I was out of school, and did not have a job. Reading was nice in little bits, and there were things I was doing for Reach Global that kept me busy, but I did not really feel like I had accomplished much it the end of the day. It felt like I had no real purpose and was not living for anything. Since I hoped to be visiting churches on weekends, employers refused my job applications, looking for people who would work flexible days, instead.

    My roommate would ask me every day after he got home from school, "What did you do today?" I would be forced to think about having not accomplished much of what I thought to be of much value. 

Taking a brake from work to munch on a few carrots 

    During this time I came to see how much I focus on work, and how much it can take over my view. As a result, other aspects of my life suffered  like spiritual, physical, and relational. I spent a lot of time with the Lord, thought a lot about my values, and volunteered at a soup kitchen. It was a good time of reflection and feeding some parts of my life, but not others, but this time I was unbalanced the other way. Then, when I could almost not bear going to bed any more for lack of daily work, God gave me a Job. I got hired at the airport to load and unload UPS jets. It was only part-time, but gave me purpose, allowed me keep weekends open, and still gave me plenty of time to spend in quiet time with the Lord. I saw the importance of a balanced life, one which keeps me busy, but also allows me to have time for other needs.    

74%

       The last few weeks I have been visiting churches around Oregon, and am now at 74%! As of right now, however, It looks like I do not have enough support yet to leave in January which was my original target departure time. 

      On Christmas I will leave Oregon and travel to Central California, to spend the holidays with family. Since my job here will have ended by then, there is really not much keeping me here, and I will head down to Southern California an try get the support still needed to go. 

The blessing of revisiting an old home

All around the world people stopped this last week to remember what they were thankful for. I was encouraged and amazed too as I gave thanks for the blessings in my life. On Sunday I visited Calvary church in Salem where I attended in fifth grade, drove by the house I lived in, and walked around the school I attended. Saturday I also discovered that the satellite imagery of the little village of Moanza deep in Congo had been updated on google earth. I lived at Moanza when I was 7 and have only been back once many years ago but have many memories.

My Friends and I at Moanza. We went to Kinongi forest to collect a special kind of shoot to eat.

As I saw things that brought memories back I thought about all that had happened between then and now. Primary, high school, college, the many times crossing the world, friends, adventures, and all the challenges I have faced since that time. So much has happened since those times, some I am proud of and some not so much. Here I am though, with many experiences from these places and all the places between that have shaped me and make me who I am now. 

God has been with me the whole time guiding and watching over me whether I was thinking about it or not. And that is a lot to be thankful for. God has been faithful, and brought me back to places I have been to show me his power and his will for me. It was fun to look at myself now and see what God had made me since I last stood in those places.

Proverbs 20:24 says “A man’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?” As I look at all that is happening in my life now, I don’t understand or realize what is happening all the time. I look ahead trying to plan and wonder what my life is going to be like over the next few years. I felt similar in 5^th grade, even though they were a whole different set of issues.   I am encouraged that God will be there directing my steps even though may not understand everything. Someday I will be able to look back on this time, and realize how faithful God has been, as I am doing now.

Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving and where able to see the blessings in your lives.

68%

Praise God, My little airplane is now at 68%! Quite a jump from last month. I am now past the 2/3eds mark, and on the final stretch.