I'm going to try and make this fairly brief and just gloss over a few of the events of the last month. It may not be pretty, or at times coherent, but I feel the urge to write before going to bed.
We're settled in to our home. We've had a few friends come up and stay the weekend now. Two of my good buddies came up and we spent a whole day hiking, followed by some Sven and Ole's pizza and video games. Partridge Falls has got to be one of my favorite places in the world. It's down a beat up old road, and it is a gorgeous waterfall in the middle of nowhere.
We did have a scare there one night. We had crammed 6 people in my 4 person Explorer, plus the dog. Since it's not a state park, we let Moose roam free. We were playing around at the base of the falls, and I hear my friend yell, Moose fell in. I ran over to the ledge, which has about a four foot nearly vertical incline our pup had dropped off of, and into the river below right before a nasty bend and some rapids. He dissappeared under the water for what felt like a minutes, and popped up on the Canadian side of the river. He swam back towards us, and found the shallow us bank to climb up and run up to me, looking a little freaked. I checked him over, and Beth gave him hugs and kisses, and his tail started wagging vigorously. Our darling pet was fine, and ready to run around again, long before our pulses had slowed down again.
Things with the church have been slow, although, nothing up here ever moves that quickly. We've met with Jake and April now about what we want to do to draw youth in. We're pretty set on wanting to take youth group out of the church, although a little lost on what to do from there.
I've connected with one of my coworkers at work, JR. He's shared stories of time he spent in correctional facilities, loosing a close friend to drugs, and escaping his addiction from prescription drugs. He wants to go back to school for social work, to help young kids that are in the same place that we are. While, he doesn't fully accept my faith, he is supportive of us being here, which, is good news to me.
This weekend is Rendezvous Days, and hands down the biggest weekend of the year in Portage. It is a giant Pow-wow. Natives and curious onlookers come from across the country and Canada to observe and take part in the drum circles, dancing, and regalia. I'll be working for most of it, and sure I'll be nearly overwhelmed by people buying touristy souvenirs and beverages, so, I won't be able to enjoy it as much as I'd like. But, I am excited that Beth will get to experience it for the first time.
It's been 2 months to the day since we moved, and we love our little house up on the hill, but, already are feeling some of the disconnect from being 35 miles from the community we came to be apart of. The drive to and from work can be a bit long at times, but always beautiful. Still, it can be onerous thinking about driving in on a day off. A group from Duluth had come up last week, and as much as we wanted to, we were not able to be there as much as we liked. We had to juggle what to do with the dog, traveling, and spending time together. We were fortunate enough to spend a couple nights with them, and it was a blessing to see a group that was so passionate about the mission God put them on. They embraced us, fed us the times we were there and prayed for our mission as well.
While the distance is hard, those days may too, be at an end. A co-worker of Beth's, who happens to be the mother of one of the youth kids, is moving to the Twin Cities shortly. She is working with the tribal council to see if it would be possible to sub-lease her home to us while she's gone. Beth and I are touched that she even thought of us. We should know by next week what they decided. While it would be awesome to be right there in the community, cutting our commutes down, and being so close to the church and Jake, and really, everything we came for, the thought of moving again in October, 4 months after the last move, is rather daunting.
Now, for the prayer requests. First, pray for JR and the interactions I have with him at work. That I can continue to find ways to encourage him to go back to to school and share my faith with him. Second, pray for the Duluth team, that they will continue to have a strong burning passion for the Lord and for Portage. Third, pray for the Pow-Wow this weekend. In many tribes and reservations, the drum circle is a dark and dangerous thing. We're thankful that is not hear, and hope this weekend can be a time of enlightenment and education for many people. Pray for our plans with the youth group. That we can find, not only ways to reach these kids, but also, show the community the changes in them. Finally, pray for Beth and I and that we have patience in waiting for the news on the house, and that we are content with any answer we receive. That the Lord will continue to strengthen us so that we can endure more months of long drives, or another move with a servant attitude.
As always, thank you for your prayers and support. Please, leave comments, whether they are prayers, prayer requests, encouragement, or just to tell us what nights you're planning on visiting (hint, hint, we'd love to see all of you up here). We miss all of you dearly but our grateful for the blessings you have given us.
With all our love in Christ,
Jon and Beth
