Back to Portland

So here's the news some of you have been sort of waiting for! I'm moving back to Portland in a week! Ta da! My friends Dan and Erin head up an organization called Lahash, whose objective is "to partner with East Africans in advocacy and care for the vulnerable, in response to Christ's love. Recently one of their local church partners, Berean Bible Church, gave them the use of a large house on BBC's property. So the Lahash folks have been working on restoring the dilapidated house to use as office space, as well as housing for travelers coming through Portland working with Lahash. (Dan or Erin, please feel free to correct me if I'm inaccurate in any way.) Lahash and BBC both have need for some media support, so Dan proposed a trade: I get housing in exchange for 8 hours a week of media work. HUGE BLESSING! I've been stressing a bit about coming back to Portland to pursue videography because there is no guarantee of work, and living accommodations can be expensive. This arrangement with Lahash is pretty much an incredible miracle God has done in my life. Special thanks are due to Mandi who is my connection with Lahash, and extra special thanks to Dan and Erin for thinking of me. Wow. He's just so stinkin' good sometimes!

My apologies for missing a blog update this last week. I was in Michigan for a week, and then my brother Drew got married, so it's been a busy couple of weeks. My friends Sam and Amanda got married in Jackson, Michigan, and they paid my way there to capture the whole event on video. It was awesome to get to play a part in their wedding, and even better that they were so generous to get me out there. The wedding was beautiful, probably one of the most sincere ceremonies I've ever experienced. I got a little misty twice that day, which is pretty serious for me. Though the ceremony itself was incredibly thoughtful, the days leading up to the wedding were some of the most fun days I've had in a while. Hanging out with Mandi, Jeff Budke, and my new friends Matt and Raeanne, made me laugh until my face hurt. Oh my gosh it was fun. From Sam and Amanda's wedding, Mandi and I drove over to West Michigan to surprise her parents for their 30th anniversary. Mandi's brother Justin helped us into a giant wrapped box, and when her parents arrived, they opened the huge present. It was pretty great to watch Mrs. Stonehouse literally jump into the air as she screamed with surprise. All the Stonehouse kids pitched in and rented a house on a lake for a few days, and a good time was had by all.

We came back from Michigan, and went straight into wedding stuff for Drew and Ashleigh. It's a bit strange watching your little brother get married, especially when he's nearly 7 years your junior. It was the first time I've ever sat in the front row at a wedding, which is pretty sweet. The wedding went well, and when they did a money dance to raise some cash for the newlyweds, I gave Drew $10 so I could dance with him. I think it was funnier to me than it was to him. But hey, I paid him, so he had to like it. I hung around Portland for another couple days, moved a little stuff into my new digs, and now I'm back in Bend for the week to get my things ready to move. It's going to be a really busy week, I think. Please pray for my sanity as I try to get all my ducks in a row, and pray that the move will go smoothly. Also pray that I won't lose sight of where it is God is taking me, as the present has a tendency to drown out the future. Thanks to you all.

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