Somehow we slept in till 9am. After freshening up in the rest-stop bathrooms, we started the day with Jesus time and coffee at Starbucks...
when I say "we had coffee" what I mean is "they had coffee", because I don't usually drink coffee...
We found a “man if peace” – the cook at Salvation Army, who gave us a book listing all the ministries in Portland, and gave us advice about where to go and where not to go. Every two hours a couple of us had to go back to the van to put more quarters in the meter, and each time we passed by Salvation Army. A couple times our new friend happened to be outside and asked how we were doing, and a couple times chased us down the block to talk to us.
The romance of downtown wore off fast as we wandered in and out of Rescue Missions, passing by homeless people, and hearing sentences filled with more swear words than real words.
As soon as the drove the van across the bridge, we felt so much lighter…I had gotten a call earlier that someone from our campus had deposited $ in my account (you can do that in small towns), so we went to Subway for dinner…our first hot meal in 2 days…it was wonderful...
Then on to the Salem campus to take a shower, spend the night, and get ready for a busy day tomorrow, serving with Bridgetown Ministries and Portland Rescue Mission.
Then we headed downtown. At first it was exciting and beautiful - old stone buildings, a nice park by the river, and a good time of prayer and team building. And part of our team had the chance to talk to a random homeless man...
We then walked around town looking for ministries to get involved in as well as a place to stay. We talked to people and made calls to friends who knew the area.
We found a “man if peace” – the cook at Salvation Army, who gave us a book listing all the ministries in Portland, and gave us advice about where to go and where not to go. Every two hours a couple of us had to go back to the van to put more quarters in the meter, and each time we passed by Salvation Army. A couple times our new friend happened to be outside and asked how we were doing, and a couple times chased us down the block to talk to us.
The romance of downtown wore off fast as we wandered in and out of Rescue Missions, passing by homeless people, and hearing sentences filled with more swear words than real words.
As it started to rain we gathered on the patio of a pub, hoping they wouldn’t mind us sitting at their tables. Only to be criticized by a homeless man, “why is a Christian group, sitting at a pub?” By 5pm, we were pretty depressed and ready to just get out of here, and get some real food…
Then on to the Salem campus to take a shower, spend the night, and get ready for a busy day tomorrow, serving with Bridgetown Ministries and Portland Rescue Mission.
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