Its a miracle – we were up, packed, loaded, out of the hotel rooms and on the road at 4:50 am!  Now that’s an amazing team!!

We said a groggy farewell to Bend, Oregon and headed home.  We stopped about half way for breakfast at a little cafe because the kids were so starving.  There were so many of us the waitress had to recruit a customer (her sister, fortunately) to help serve.  She said that we were one of the nicest groups she’s ever met.  I was so proud of our kids.  They really did make an awesome impression on everyone.  Thank you Jesus!

We pulled into City Light with horns blasting, cheering and waving.  The cars screeched to a halt and doors flung open and arms flung open wide for hugs.  It was a loud, happy reunion.  Flora and the City Light ladies took the vans to be cleaned out and washed for us and Sue had made an awesome lunch.  We hugged and kissed good-bye, and Sophee said she just wasn’t ready for the trip to be over yet.  We all were happy to be home, but ready to continue the search for great schools for our kids.

We came home with some Seattle Pacific Wannabees, a Duck, maybe a U of W future student and…some die hard Broncos.  But regardless, I watched as the kids caught the vision of how great college can be and how worth it.  How their future can be totally amazing and they can claim their spot not only in college, but also in the world.  They are talking excitedly about scholarships, GPAs, SATs, college prep, dorm vs. off campus, and who will room with whom when they get there.  They’re also expressing interest in what colleges to look at next.  Of course, my dream is that one of them will go to my alma mater Westmont (which I describe as Seattle Pacific at the beach).

The first college road trip has gone from being a dream to being in the past.  I checked my office, tore off the March calendar, came home, checked in with my family and looked at the yard.  As I suspected when I left, spring is making its mark on the yard.  There is no doubt it’s coming.  The flowers are blooming. And as I had hoped – so are the kids.

To everyone who made this amazing trip possible, thanks from the bottom of my heart.  Thank you Lord for watching over us.  Thanks to everyone who prayed for us.  I wish you could see what I saw.  I was amazed and excited every day of this incredibly journey and I’m excited to keep the momentum going now that we’re home.

Jean
Director, City Light

April 1, 2011

Go Ducks!
The University of Oregon turned at least one of our kids into a Duck!  We had a wonderful campus tour and Courtney was so impressed that she called her mother and suggested that they move to Oregon so that they could establish residency and save about $20,000 per year in tuition.  I was impressed with her excitement and very clever way of saving a lot of money on college.  Now THAT’S a great college tour!

Mitch McConnell and his mom Maria cooked dinner for us that night.  Mitch is a sophomore at U of O and also has helped us with our kid’s summer program at City Light.  A local McDonalds donated dinner for our kids and it was a wonderful evening.  Mitch gave our group a different insight into college life and we were all really impressed.  Mitch is not only adorable, but incredibly kind and generous to spend his day with us and share his insight.  Way to go Maria and Mark – you must be awesome parents!

It also happened to be April 1st today so the day was spent in pranks galore.  I’m proud to say that I didn’t fall for any of them, although they were pretty well done.

We said a quick farewell to U of O and Mitch and drove to Bend, Oregon where we stayed our last night at a Red Lion.  This was a quick overnight and then we planned to be up and on the road by 5 am on Saturday.  Can we get 16 people – 13 of us female – up and on the road by 5 am?  This really would be a miracle….

Four great colleges -  how to choose only one?

Jean
College Guidance Counselor

Where am I?  Portland. What day is it?  Thursday. What do I have to do today?  Take care of the kids.

For years I traveled for my job and those were always the three questions I asked myself when I woke up.  I haven’t had to do it for years, because I haven’t been on a trip with multiple cities in a short time.  Today I had to run through it.  Today is our “break” day and we are all ready for it.  Yesterday Sammy told me that he wanted to spend the whole day in his room because he was tired.  We all are but we didn’t stay in the rooms.  We intentionally planned a relaxing fun day at this point in the trip to recharge our batteries and have a little fun.  The touring and visiting schools has been awesome, but we all needed a break.

Because we didn’t have to get up early today, the kids all had slumber parties in each other’s rooms last night and Ashley Dudunake ended up with most of the girls.  We gave the kids several options of what they want to do today – shopping, touring, zoo, swimming, and so forth.  Tomorrow we’re off to University of Oregon where Mitch McConnell (Maria’s son) will host our visit.

Kaitlyn really wanted to go to the zoo to see a giraffe.  Turns out, all the girls did and the boys went to play basketball and swim at the Y with Sarah Price, Maria and Ashley.  The zoo was excellent and we also went to explore Chinatown and then we shuffled around the kids again and some of us stayed home with the exhausted boys and some of us were off to Applebee’s for dinner.

The trip has been wonderful, annoying, exhausting and amazing.  Getting to know the kids better will help us serve them better.  Seeing what they’re interested in will help us know how to help them fulfill their dreams.  Already we have started planning our next trip in our minds and also what additional steps we need to take to help them go to college.

I still have folks who think it’s at least mildly crazy to be doing this and that the mission of the mission should be shelter and meals only.  Traditional rescue.  We still do that and it’s critical and important.  But I don’t want these kids to live with us ever again.  I want them to break the cycle of homelessness and addiction.  Education is critical to our goal of teaching the moms and kids to thrive in our society and to claim their place in the world.  To become successful contributors.  To totally change their lives so that the concept of living at City Light again never enters their minds.  We want to go from traditional rescue to Permanent Rescue.

And then we want them to come back and help others capture that same vision and hope.
Lord hear my prayer.

Jean

Enjoying the Portland Zoo!

Union Rescue Mission!

Riding the Aerial Tram in Portland!

March 30, 2011

After some fumbling around with who’s driving the lead car – involving phone calls, pulling off the road, hand waving and so forth – we were off to Portland and Pacific Northwest College of Art.  God has been good to us – the pouring rain didn’t cause us any problems and when we arrived in Portland, it dried up and was beautiful.

We had a wonderful lunch courtesy of a great lady who works at Burger King.  We had asked BK for a free meal but there was corporate red tape.  The wonderful woman in Boise donated her own money for us to buy lunch anywhere.  But of course, we had to support her business and say thanks by eating at BK and it was awesome!  People have been so, so good to us!!

The PNCA was interesting.  Very different from anything else we’ve seen.  I’m not sure right now any of our kids has the talent for this amazing organization, but it was fascinating.  Courtney is really curious about photography and she and I decided to sign up for a class when we get home.

We also rode the aerial tram and got a great view of the city and then checked into a gorgeous Red Lion right on the water (thanks Red Lion for the awesome rooms!!).

We’re tired today and a bit emotionally drained.  Every night we have “college chat” and our staff shares their own college experiences.  Tonight Maria McConnell shared and inspired a real heart-to-heart about our lives and futures.  By the end, everyone was crying.  Except the boys.  I looked over at the three of them with my weepy face and three sets of solemn brown eyes turned and stared at me.  Finally, Dakota Heinz said, “there sure are a lot of girls on this trip!”.

Yes there are!

Jean
One of the girls

Group With Bill at Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland!

March 28

What an amazing tour today of Seattle Pacific University!  The wonderful people there couldn’t have been nicer and our kids were very impressed with the school.  Ashley Dudunake had them complete homework in advance of our trip about each school.  Truthfully I had thought that was a bit of over-kill but the university representative asked us for the electronic copy so that he can provide a version of it for other kids coming to look at the school!  Our kids were so well prepared and asked great questions.

SPU is our own Meagan Ellis’ alma mater and we all enjoyed hearing her stories and seeing where she went to school.

For me, there was a moment that validated this whole concept of touring colleges for our kids.  Three of our teens sat in the front row and I could see the concept of college become real for them.  They asked practical questions about everything from GPAs to test scores to scholarships.  They’ve even organized their roommate situations!  Sweet Sophee asked if she could apply to be a resident advisor before she gets there and wondered if she could go ahead and apply for scholarships now.  She’s a freshman at Cole Valley Christian School, by the way.  They suggested she might want to wait until she’s a senior.  We love her enthusiasm.

One of our chaperones, Sarah Heinz, had a moment when she was alone with us at our evening meeting where she grieved that she didn’t get this opportunity to tour schools and maybe see the opportunities.  She wondered how her life would have been different.  She’s still planning on going back to school and is an amazing woman with incredible skills and I’m excited to see where she goes with her education.  But we also grieved with her that she didn’t get to go to an awesome school like SPU or Westmont (my alma mater!).

We’re working hard to help our kids see the awesome world that is available to them.  And we have to admit that college looks so good, we all want to go back, even though we’ve graduated years ago.

University of Washington tomorrow!

Jean
World’s Oldest Returning Student – I wish!

Morning ferry ride complete with KTVB's Flat Larry!

Megan Gives a Lift

First Ocean Visit for 5 of the 10 Kids!

March 27, 2011

After being lost several times (see photos below), more rain and exciting driving conditions, lost essentials and minor drama associated with any group of women, kids, and teens, we arrived in Seattle.  The kids were amazed by how huge it is and excited to see it all.  Many of the kids had never seen the ocean before and had fun standing on the beach throwing rocks in.  The boys also discovered many treasures, such as sea weed and dead fish that they had a blast teasing us with, and were crushed that their new treasures were not allowed in the vans as souvenirs.

We are off to Seattle Pacific University tomorrow – Meagan Ellis’ Alma Mater!  We’re also doing a ferry tour, which the kids are very excited about.  And then dinner courtesy of the Cheesecake Factory – a big thanks to our sweet friends at the Boise location who have been so, so good to us!

There have been so many exciting things that have happened from the huge to the small.  Sarah Heinz led the boys in a prayer of salvation today during her morning devotion.  We’re talking about what a Christian is.  What a joy to be able to share the gospel with the kids and to make sure they understand (as much as they can for their ages) what it really means.

God has put us in charge of this precious group of kids and sometimes that responsibility keeps me up at night, as it is tonight.  It was a long, tiring day and I am exhausted, but couldn’t sleep due to my mind racing.  Of course, I feel inadequate to lead, but I feel His hand during this trip and my work at the mission- giving me peace that I don’t have to worry, just cast my care on Him.

So as I was wishing I was leading the car caravan today (because I like very few people’s driving except my own – one of my many flaws), God let me lead one of our sweet girls to a new life with Him.  As we began to drive across a floating bridge, Ashley Dudunake, our Children’s services manager, was cheerfully pointing out landmarks.  Our kiddo was scared about the floating bridge.  I asked her what she was afraid of.  She said, “The bridge sinking and us dying”.  I asked her what happened if she died and she didn’t know.  We taked about Heaven, Jesus and what a life with Him as Lord and Savior means.  We prayed for her to follow Him and she accepted the gift.

So even when we aren’t “leading” as we wish, or wondering if we’re equipped, God will step in and help, show the way or give you a wonderful blessing like He did for me today.  Leading the car caravan is fun for me, but nothing beats leading a sweet child to Christ.

Keep us in your prayers as we venture out.  I know you’re praying because the trip has been wonderful and amazing.  We are praying for all of you too.

Jean
Driver Extraordinaire!

Exhibit A - Lost in Washington

Exhibit B - Lost in Washington

Our first ever trip to look at schools for the mission kids, that is!  We have 12 kids planning to go – from 3rd grade to high school. We’ll be visiting University of Oregon, University of Washington, Seattle Pacific University and The Pacific College of Northwest Art.  We’re trying to show the kids different options and a different part of the country that is available to them if they work hard in school.  That’s one of the reasons to take the younger kids – it’s never too early to get them thinking about the value of an education.  Throughout the year we tour local colleges and also trade schools.  So don’t think we’re neglecting our beloved Broncos!  Or our friends at NNU….

We want our mission kids to look out past their tragic circumstances and see the hope in a bright future – loving and serving the Lord and following what plan He has for their lives.  I would, at this point, say, “Who knows, the next City Light director might be in the bunch” but I don’t have to!  Sophia Heinz has already staked her claim on my job.  And there isn’t much that makes me happier than to think of one day turning the keys over to her.  (Side note:  Meagan Ellis, our Children’s ministry manager, always comments – “me first!” when we talk about it. Love that too!!)

Our trip is made possible by the generous support of three donors who wanted to fund this project.  They all asked not to be identified. We are grateful to them!  More on who helped and who donated…stay tuned!

The kids we’re taking have had some real challenges in their lives.  Addiction, watching Mom go to jail or prison, insecurity and other sad things that kids shouldn’t have to face.  But God is good all the time and can heal their wounds and make them soar.

So as we get ready to soar away on our first adventure, please pray for us!  More from the road….

Jean
Director (for now) of City Light

In the course of today alone, there will be roughly 60 volunteers pass through our doors to assist with various projects.  One woman in her 90s was at the administration office this morning stuffing envelopes and shredding documents. Simultaneously, 15 members of the Temple Rider Association affiliated with the LDS church came to help at the warehouse as well as do a working tour at River of Life.  This afternoon, about 15 students from Omaha, Nebraska came to the Mission as part of a YWAM Mission Adventure.  In the short time they were here, they sorted food donations onto pallets, completed a painting project at River of Life, and completed a working tour of City Light. Later, there will be another 20 people from BSU’s TriO program showing up to finish some of the day’s projects. Even our very own Mrs. Boise, Lindsay Campbell (who just helped with our golf tournament) is bringing her kids with her tonight to help serve dinner at River of Life.

These small tasks go a long way in ensuring smooth distribution of donations, adequate staffing for meals, and getting ongoing projects completed in a timely manner.

Our service to the community is most often brought top-of-mind awareness during the holidays, but we have work year-round that needs completion.  If you’d like to get involved, don’t hesitate to contact us or fill out a volunteer form online!

(A volunteer looking into a storage room at River of Lfe which holds guests’ personal belongings)

(sorting food onto pallets at the Warehouse)