Some Hard Words

"When you've talked with the people who are living in fear and poverty and you've held their children in your lap and you've ached as you have contemplated their future, you can't walk away and say, "It's none of our business," and still be faithful to our Lord."
David W. Preus

Photo by Courtney Steever

Keep Portland Weird

A llama was in the church parking lot yesterday...for real...a real llama. And I thought, "what is this kookie place?" Is that the way you spell kookie? A llama in the metro Portland area...I mean, my church is not in the country, we meet in a big city high school. I'm shaking my head quizzickly at the moment. And smiling. I do love Portland.

I was in St. Louis, really, I was...

And here are the pictures to prove it:


This is the Art Museum I thought about visiting...



This is a brick house....which represents how most of the buildings are built in St. Louis. It's actually really beautiful and if you look closely, you'll see Courtney and me in the upper left window.




And this is the Arch in which Angela and I went all the way to the top...much to the chagrin of my tummy. Look closely and you'll see Ange and me in the tiny window in the middle of the Arch. If you ever visit, don't miss the movie documenting how the Arch was built. It's full of suspense...truly.


If you haven't already guessed, there is not one picture proving that I was in St. Louis for almost a week....But, it is a really cool city and I had a great time visiting Angela, Courtney, and Jesse. We all met in Calcutta 2 years ago and they are great friends. It was such a nice time of just resting and relaxing...I wasn't quite ready to come home.

And, in other news, you may not have heard, but I am the best cook-maker EVER! Yep, it's true...check it out

A visit from the Brittles

Zach, Rebecca, Abi, and Maribel stayed the night with me a couple weeks ago. We crowded into my tiny apartment with Reb and me in the bed and Zach and Abi on the couch. It was great to have them...here's a picture of me with Maribel.

Cindy's Gone...

My supervisor's last day was Wednesday...Cindy is her name. It's been a sad week for me...our little corner office in the basement feels very empty, as does my heart. I realized she was one of like 2 friends I've made in Portland, so the loss of her is deep. But, she goes on to do some really really amazing work in Baltimore. Although, it is more than work she goes on to do, it is a way of living, to try and really put into action the Beatitudes. She gave me this poem as she was leaving, and I post it here as tribute to her:

A Hard Decree

Last

Night

God
Posted
On the Tavern wall

A hard decree for all of love’s inmates

Which read:

If your heart cannot find a joyful work

The jaws of this world
Will probably

Grab hold of your

Sweet
Ass.



Hafiz – The Great Sufi Master

Check This Out...

My nephew Jonah, who is 6, has his own blog. He takes most of his own pictures and writes his own captions....you don't want to miss this!!!! The World According to Jonah....maybe he's got something there...

Global Slave Trade Growing

I thought this article was a good one.