Portland Day Three: Blanchet House, Saturday Market, and the sights of Portland

Welcome to day three! We have two writers this evening, Ellie Baxter who will be giving an overview on the whole day, and Masame Fletcher, who felt compelled to share her thoughts on our daily drives to and from Downtown Portland each day. Enjoy! -Taryn :)

Overview of the Day: Ellie Baxter

Today was a great day in Portland. This morning, we woke up and got ready to go to the Blanchet House of Hospitality. Our service project today was to help and serve in their Founder's Cafe, which makes and serves food to the homeless. It was an amazing experience getting to help so many underprivileged people. My job, along with Gavin, Simon, and Andy, was to plate all of the food. It was an absolutely AMAZING feeling and I would love to do it again.

When we were done serving, they gave us lunch, and then we went to the Saturday Market. The market had things from soap to jewelry made from spoons. It was fun getting to walk around and look at all the little booths they had. At the end, Andy and Taryn gave us a game to play. Andy went to one of the booths in the market and took a picture of something they had there. Once he showed us the picture, we had to try to find that same item, take a picture of it, and find out the price. Whoever could do that first, won a free doughnut from Voodoo Doughnuts. To wrap up our third full day in Portland, we went to Voodoo and got doughnuts. We all had a great time in Portland and I can't wait for our last couple days here!

Driving: Masame Fletcher

I have never enjoyed driving around in a car. I am one of those people who gets sick by doing anything, whether it's writing, reading, or playing on my phone. I remember the first time I rode in a car, I felt like throwing up. My stomach felt so queasy. But this time, I was able to stare out the window and enjoy the view.

I loved and I hated what I saw, because it brought me on a roller coaster of emotions. The pretty views were of people riding on their bikes and motorcycles, while others were walking their dogs. Not to mention the flashing signs advertising the stores, little kids holding their parent's hand while crossing the street, dogs walking by their side in perfect stance.

But then the more we got into the city, the trees and flowers disappeared, making the view and images more painful and beautiful at the same time. People were lying around in front of stores with their sleeping bags, others bodies looked like they functioned but seemed out of it; their faces told another story. With sleeping bags underneath them, dressed in old ragged clothes with cardboard signs in their hands, they simply asked for money, hoping someone would be generous. There was nothing beautiful about watching people who have lost themselves.

The beautiful part of driving was realizing that, in fact, I could help those people. Also, it was amazing to get to see the brokenness here. I enjoyed getting to see something that I normally don't get to in my town. Also, it inspired me to do everything I can. I loved this experience.

Portland Day Two: Food Trucks, Powell's, and Connected

Yesterday was our second full day in Portland. We had an easy morning, with no plans until lunchtime. For lunch, we went to a large pod of food trucks in the Pearl District of Portland, where I challenged each youth to find a new friend who may be in need of a good meal, then ask to sit and talk with them. Some of the kids dove right in, others needed a little bit of time to warm up to the idea of stepping outside of their comfort zones. After all was said and done, this challenge went way better than I expected. In today's blog post, you'll hear one of those stories from Gavin. After we finished with our lunch project, we headed to Powell's City of Books, which will be chronicled by Sara. Then, I will return to share with you our main service project of the day, walking in Holladay Park with a group called Connected. I hope you enjoy!

Food Trucks: Gavin Newton

Simon and I got a random person named Tamoki. He said he was a pro violinist and performs in many places and at weddings. It's cool how you can just ask someone to have lunch with you and learn how everyone is different. He said that, no matter how hard it is to reach your goal in like, you can. He's been playing the violin since he was six and he enjoys people that he performs for. It's nice to have people like that.

Powell's City of Books: Sara Hemingway

So, today we went to that one-block bookstore, which, if I forgot to mention had 6 floors? Yes, the place was huge. I don't think I was able to look around the whole thing. I will admit, I got lost a few times, which isn't anything new with the general life of Sara. The place had everything, from art to graphic novels, to travel, and then to sci-fi (three of those genres are some of my personal favorites and it was quite pleasing). Wait, hold up. I didn't even write what the bookstore was called, the bookstore-that-you-can-easily-get-lost-in-if-you-are-not-paying-attention is called Powell's City of Books. Lots and lots of books. I ended up buying a few, a bit expensive, I will admit. It was worth it though.

Okay, I have a single question, as you, the reader, is finished reading this, please tell me I'm not the only one who gets this feeling of proudness and happiness of some sort when you see a book you already own in a bookstore like that? I mean, I even had that book in my bag next to me as I was on my way to get an Italian soda, but that feeling of, "Hey, I have that book, I am so glad that it's here so other people can see and read it." Plus, it was even better because it was one of those great, unnappreciated books that no one knows about? No? Oh, well, that was a waste of time on these last few sentences. Oh, bye.

Connected Walk: Taryn Hauglie

I apologize for the length of this part of the post, but I'm the youth director and I do what I want :) I feel like this is such an important thing to share, and I want to be thorough. After we left Powell's, we went to Holladay Park, a one square city block wide park in the middle of Downtown Portland. There, we met up with a few pastors and volunteers who made up the organization called Connected.  Connected was formed about five years ago when Holladay Park had a much different landscape. Five years ago, Holladay Park was a hotbed gang activity, prostitution, violence, and even human trafficking. Police officers would often avoid the park because of how unsafe it was. Five years ago, at the corner of the park, a 14-year-old boy was shot and killed. Upon hearing about this event, a small group of pastors and other volunteers decided that enough was enough, and they needed to take this park back. From there, Connected was formed. Every single Friday, they meet at 4:30pm and walk for 2-3 hours. Their work is simple: they meet together, and walk around the perimeter of the park, along with one or two park rangers. They aim to be a loving presence in the park. Greeting anyone and everyone they cross paths with, their kindness and openness was contagious. In five years, they have not missed a single Friday. Why Fridays? Before the park cleaned up, Friday was typically the worst day for criminal activities and incidents in the park. This group values consistency, kindness, and community, and it was so great to just hang back a step or two and watch them interact, not only with each other, but with people in the park, whether they knew them or not. Everyone was a new friend to them, and I found that so inspiring.

What I found particularly moving was that I imagined what this park once looked like: dark, ugly, scary, full of not very nice things and not very nice people... definitely not a place I would feel comfortable bringing kids whose parents were entrusting me with their safety. Then I looked around and saw what it looked like today: there was a little splash pad or fountain, there were fooseball and ping-pong tables, there was a member of the Parks and Recreation department playing music and helping people with the games, families were walking through the park to go to or from the mall which was just behind the park (unheard of five years ago; people would walk blocks around just to avoid going through the park), there were advertisements for Fitness in the Park summer events and other youth programs... the park was booming, in a positive way. And I honestly believe a lot of the improvements of this park came to be because of the presence of the Connected organization.

Earlier in the day, I sat down with the kids and we spoke a bit on the racial tensions our country is seeing and the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Our conversation led me to share a story I've heard of a man seeing another man on a beach, throwing starfish that had been brought onto the sand from the tide back into the water. The man approaches the other man and says, "But there are so many, surely you can't save them all. What's the point?" And the man simply picks up another starfish, throws it in the water, and says, "Well, I just saved that one's life." The point of this story is to share that we may think we may not be able to make a difference in the world, because we are just one person, and surely we can't make any big changes, but there's such a beauty in the little things. And I believe that Connected embodies that idea so much. They have such a simple model, and I see Jesus at work in them. I believe that this park is where it is today, largely in part of the work Connected has done. Their story and the work they do is so inspiring, and it's an idea that can do some great work in the world.

Portland Day Two: Food Trucks, Powell's, and Connected

Yesterday was our second full day in Portland. We had an easy morning, with no plans until lunchtime. For lunch, we went to a large pod of food trucks in the Pearl District of Portland, where I challenged each youth to find a new friend who may be in need of a good meal, then ask to sit and talk with them. Some of the kids dove right in, others needed a little bit of time to warm up to the idea of stepping outside of their comfort zones. After all was said and done, this challenge went way better than I expected. In today's blog post, you'll hear two of those stories from Gavin. After we finished with our lunch project, we headed to Powell's City of Books, which will be chronicled by Sara. Then, I will return to share with you our main service project of the day, walking in Holladay Park with a group called Connected. I hope you enjoy!

Food Trucks: Gavin Newton

Simon and I got a random person named Tamoki. He said he was a pro violinist and performs in many places and at weddings. It's cool how you can just ask someone to have lunch with you and learn how everyone is different. He said that, no matter how hard it is to reach your goal in like, you can. He's been playing the violin since he was six and he enjoys people that he performs for. It's nice to have people like that.

Powell's City of Books: Sara Hemingway

So, today we went to that one-block bookstore, which, if I forgot to mention had 6 floors? Yes, the place was huge. I don't think I was able to look around the whole thing. I will admit, I got lost a few times, which isn't anything new with the general life of Sara. The place had everything, from art to graphic novels, to travel, and then to sci-fi (three of those genres are some of my personal favorites and it was quite pleasing). Wait, hold up. I didn't even write what the bookstore was called, the bookstore-that-you-can-easily-get-lost-in-if-you-are-not-paying-attention is called Powell's City of Books. Lots and lots of books. I ended up buying a few, a bit expensive, I will admit. It was worth it though.

Okay, I have a single question, as you, the reader, is finished reading this, please tell me I'm not the only one who gets this feeling of proudness and happiness of some sort when you see a book you already own in a bookstore like that? I mean, I even had that book in my bag next to me as I was on my way to get an Italian soda, but that feeling of, "Hey, I have that book, I am so glad that it's here so other people can see and read it." Plus, it was even better because it was one of those great, unnappreciated books that no one knows about? No? Oh, well, that was a waste of time on these last few sentences. Oh, bye.

Connected Walk: Taryn Hauglie

I apologize for the length of this part of the post, but I'm the youth director and I do what I want :) I feel like this is such an important thing to share, and I want to be thorough. After we left Powell's, we went to Holladay Park, a one square city block wide park in the middle of Downtown Portland. There, we met up with a few pastors and volunteers who made up the organization called Connected.  Connected was formed about five years ago when Holladay Park had a much different landscape. Five years ago, Holladay Park was a hotbed gang activity, prostitution, violence, and even human trafficking. Police officers would often avoid the park because of how unsafe it was. Five years ago, at the corner of the park, a 14-year-old boy was shot and killed. Upon hearing about this event, a small group of pastors and other volunteers decided that enough was enough, and they needed to take this park back. From there, Connected was formed. Every single Friday, they meet at 4:30pm and walk for 2-3 hours. Their work is simple: they meet together, and walk around the perimeter of the park, along with one or two park rangers. They aim to be a loving presence in the park. Greeting anyone and everyone they cross paths with, their kindness and openness was contagious. In five years, they have not missed a single Friday. Why Fridays? Before the park cleaned up, Friday was typically the worst day for criminal activities and incidents in the park. This group values consistency, kindness, and community, and it was so great to just hang back a step or two and watch them interact, not only with each other, but with people in the park, whether they knew them or not. Everyone was a new friend to them, and I found that so inspiring.

What I found particularly moving was that I imagined what this park once looked like: dark, ugly, scary, full of not very nice things and not very nice people... definitely not a place I would feel comfortable bringing kids whose parents were entrusting me with their safety. Then I looked around and saw what it looked like today: there was a little splash pad or fountain, there were fooseball and ping-pong tables, there was a member of the Parks and Recreation department playing music and helping people with the games, families were walking through the park to go to or from the mall which was just behind the park (unheard of five years ago; people would walk blocks around just to avoid going through the park), there were advertisements for Fitness in the Park summer events and other youth programs... the park was booming, in a positive way. And I honestly believe a lot of the improvements of this park came to be because of the presence of the Connected organization.

Earlier in the day, I sat down with the kids and we spoke a bit on the racial tensions our country is seeing and the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Our conversation led me to share a story I've heard of a man seeing another man on a beach, throwing starfish that had been brought onto the sand from the tide back into the water. The man approaches the other man and says, "But there are so many, surely you can't save them all. What's the point?" And the man simply picks up another starfish, throws it in the water, and says, "Well, I just saved that one's life." The point of this story is to share that we may think we may not be able to make a difference in the world, because we are just one person, and surely we can't make any big changes, but there's such a beauty in the little things. And I believe that Connected embodies that idea so much. They have such a simple model, and I see Jesus at work in them. I believe that this park is where it is today, largely in part of the work Connected has done. Their story and the work they do is so inspiring, and it's an idea that can do some great work in the world.

Keep CTK Weird 2016: Portland Day 1!

Ellie Baxter:

Today was our first full day in Portland. The first thing that we did was go to the Portland Food Bank. Our first shift was sorting packaged foods into healthy foods and unhealthy foods, which they called "supplementary." Then, we went to lunch and came back for our second shift. We had to put on aprons, hair nets, and gloves on. We liked dancing in them. At first, we were sorting and bagging onions, then when those were all done, we sorted and boxed cherries. In the end, we had sorted and packaged 19,613 pounds of produce, which made 16,349 meals. I thought it was an amazing experience and I would love to do it again.

When we were finished at the food bank, we came home and got ready for dinner and the Shanghai Tunnels tour. We went to dinner, ate, and found the place where the tour started. We went underneath the buildings of Portland to see things like boots from young men who had been imprisoned, trap doors, hear about human trafficking, and even stood in paranormal portals.

It was a really cool first day in Portland and I can't wait for more to come.


Simon Bidne:

Today at the food bank, the first shift we packed up boxes of food with non-perishable items to be packed and sent to food banks across Oregon. On the second shift, we packed onions and cherries to be sent around Oregon as well. On the second shift, we packed 19,613 pounds of cherries and onions, 16,349 meals, which comes out to an average of 206 meals per volunteer there.

The Shanghai Tunnels were an interesting turn-around from the food bank because it went from helping a bunch of people to learning about how innocent people were taken advantage of. We learned about how men were sedated and taken advantage of, then sent off for 3 to 6 years. And they were taken from their families and sold into slavery. We also learned about women who were taken off the streets, then mentally broken down and sold into prostitution. It really saddened my heart to hear how proud some of these men were that did this. It was hard to go and do good and then turn around and learn about some of the worst things that happened. It was a very emotional first day and it really set a tone for the rest of the trip.