Acts 29

I was able to be a part of a group in Portland, Oregon that started a church plant called Imago Die Community. We started meeting as a group of thirty to forty in 2000. During this experience, I had been learning so much about the gospel! The gospel was becoming deeper and broader as I began to see Christ's vision for the church. I saw it in the book of Acts, Isaiah 61, and so many other places. The church is SENT directly from Christ to live out the gospel in the communities around us. There is a single vision that Christ's gives that everything we do fits into. Jesus sends us: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."  - Acts 1:8. As He has loves us with his amazing gracious love, He calls us to be loving, real, and intentional with each other and with people in the world.

I started feeling like I wanted and needed to take steps towards living out this vision Christ was giving me. I wanted something tangible to act on that would take me out into the community. About a year into the church plant, my pastor, Rick, and I decided that I would go with a team of people from our church to find an apartment complex to adopt. We wanted to find one that was lower income and then see how we could make ourselves available to meet needs and love the people living there.

My good friend Heather had the same vision. It was one Saturday afternoon when she and I decided to just walk around the neighborhood our church was meeting in. As we walked we prayed that Christ would direct us and help us to somehow begin a journey of being outward and truly loving. We didn't make it very far when we saw a big white building that looked like an apartment complex. I remember Heather feeling very drawn towards it. So we decided to walk around the block it was on and pray about it, not knowing who lived there or what it was. When we had circled the block and started passing by it again there was a man walking past it. So, we stopped him and asked if he knew what it was. He told us that it was a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center for mothers. He said he thought it was called Letty Owings. I remember trying to memorize that name. I also remember Heather and I being really excited because we may have found the place God wanted us to adopt, and we didn't even try very hard!

I got home, found the number in the phone book, called, and before we knew it we had a meeting scheduled with Phyllis who was interested in talking to us as potential volunteers. We went the next week. It was the first and not the last time that we rang the door bell, told the intercom our names, there was a loud buzz, and the door unlocked for us to walk in. God gave us instant repore with Phyllis. If anything she was intrigued that two girls and possibly more from a local church would want to volunteer their time to help out consistently. In that meeting the three of us decided that the place to start was to have us come help in the child-care facility that they ran while the mothers attended classes all day. It is a unique program funded by the state where mothers are allowed to keep their children with them. More often, the children are shipped out to foster homes during rehab time. We agreed that we would love to come and help. God was leading us and we were taking little steps at a time.

Shortly after this another girl from our church, Missy, came on board to help. We were each able to take a three hour block on different days of the week to do child-care. One of the first times I went, I came straight from some thing at school where I had to be dressed up. I had nice sweater and skirt on. As I worked in Letty Owings, I quickly found myself not matching my surroundings. It wasn't the place to be super dressed up. It was a good and basic lesson to learn about meeting people where they are at and breaking down as many barriers as possible. I thought it was a better idea the next time to where some jeans and a sweatshirt. This was one of many lessons that God began to teach us, and still is teaching the team that works at loving the ladies of Letty Owings.

Our goal was to meet physical needs and at the same begin to build relationships with the mothers where spiritual needs would also be met. We also felt that we wanted to provide a pathway for the people in our church to reach out to the community. We wanted our team of three to expand and draw others in from the church to help us. As time went by we were able to keep our ears out for any needs we could possibly meet. Two or three times we got to invite a group from Imago Dei to come to a work day on Saturday. It was the basic pulling weeds and planting flowers, but individuals and families from our church had a small way to begin to live the gospel out in our community. The gospel is living and breathing, and we were learning. At Christmas the entire church pitched in and bought presents for all the mothers and their children. We noticed that there were all sorts of other churches and religious groups doing things for Letty Owings during the Christmas season. Phyllis told us it was a unique thing that we were a group that helped out all year round, and that she needed to come up with some name for us because she didn't think the "church girls"  was cutting it.

God continued to bless the whole situation. We didn't feel very good at what we were doing a lot of the time. Sometimes all we had going for us was consistency. We wanted connection with the mothers, but we'd only see them when they dropped their child off or picked them up. We knew we were being helpful, but relationship was lacking. A lot of times it felt discouraging. We would go back to our vision statement, pray, and ask God for ways to expand our vision. It had been about a year and God opened up a new opportunity. The staff gave us one Saturday evening a month to come in and do an event for the mothers and their kids. We were excited that we actually would get to hang out with the moms. It was at this time when our team expanded from three to about twelve after we announced our need at church one Sunday morning. That was also very encouraging when so many ladies from church were willing to step out with us. We made cookies, had cafe' night, brought in a beautician from our church for pamper night, took the ladies and their kids to the zoo, and went to the downtown fountain. A bit more relationship began to take place. One thing we noticed was the growing trust that the staff was developing for us as they worked with us and saw we could be held to our word. I think that is such an important thing we needed to gain with the staff, and God just made it happen!

After two years Heather and I have now moved out of the leadership. Missy still leads faithfully and has gathered a new team of girls from Imago Dei to lead with her. They still continue to pray, commit it to God, and be faithful to do things many of which can be little tasks. The team desires fruit. They desire that the Letty ladies would experience the love we experience in our saving relationship with Christ. We desire that they could fight their addiction, move into healthy life-styles, and move into significant relationships with others. They are still stepping out, and intentional loving is hard! I know that it remains challenging for the team, and still, it remains life-giving because they are choosing to live in the vision Christ gives us as a church that is saved and sent. The team continues to have monthly events for the mothers and children, and they have just begun a bible study held at our church for the mothers. The details of getting the mothers there is a hurdle right now. The exciting thing is that many of the mothers want to come, but there is all the red tape with the program being funded by the government and how that mixes with us a religious group. But I have hope that God will direct the team, and give them courage and faith as they seek Him. Whoever knew the amazing gift God would give to us as Heather and I took our prayer walk looking for some people to take His love to. "In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will"  to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has feely given us in the One he loves." Eph.1:6.