Comings and Goings

Subway. 9:31 p.m. – Lakewood, WA

Hello friends. I hope you’re having a good Monday. This morning we played a few songs at a lovely Methodist church with giant sloping wooden walls and a big stained glass window where the pastor talked about the love language of quality time and how we ought to take time for each other. This evening we ate at Applebee’s and then parked for the night at Walmart, inside of which is a twenty-four hour Subway with one electrical outlet.

The past two weeks we’re a really nice time for me back in Oregon. Eight of Travis’s peoples from his home in Missouri (and Sarah from Indiana) flew ought to see him for whole week. Good people – the kind you feel privileged to share life with, even for a few days. Admittedly, they came out here to see him; but by the time we drove them back to the airport, it felt like I had known these people for much longer than a week.

Before they all arrived, Travis and I took a certain pastor, who shall remain unnamed for the sake of keeping his job, to a Switchfoot concert. It was a grand experience, I even got to eat at Five Guys for the first time. They were playing with Relient K at this small venue in Eugene. Relient K was without their lead singer, which made it kind of fun to watch. They had a bunch of different people trying to fill his shoes..reading lyrics off pieces of paper as they sang and stumbling through their songs – it was refreshing to see the very human side of a band.

I did take a couple videos..they did a nice acoustic version of ‘ Hello Hurricane‘ around one mic, as well as one of my favorites off their new album ‘I Won’t Let You Go‘.

One day we loaded up in the bus, or the Whale as it’s been dubbed, and took a trip to the coast. We stared the journey off right with a Black Rock Coffee pit stop.

We went to Beverly Beach and to an old lighthouse where we worked on long jumping.

We took a trip to a nice hiking spot that Ben showed us. There seemed to constantly be Lord of the Rings theme music playing…and I thought I may have glimpsed an orc at one point.

And another to Silver Creek Falls where you can see maximum waterfalls for minimum walking.

Kevin (the last v.s. guy’s and Travis’s oldest brother) made us his famous pizza one night.

In Luke I found another man with a deep appreciation for good ginger ale. One day him, Austin, and I made a massive haul that kept us in good supply of beverages for almost the whole time. This is the skeletal remains of so much refreshment. Several nights we crowded around my laptop in the living room to watch a movie, with popcorn and said refreshments of course. Second Hand Lions is such a good story.

Today is our fourth day on the road on this trip to Washington. We’re singing a lot of new songs and learning as we go, but it’s been going really well so far. The next two days we don’t have any services.

The people over at the Word Shakers were kind enough to let me post some thoughts about chasing geese  on their site.

Thanks for praying for me; some days I wake up and feel quite prayed for, and I really appreciate that. Earlier tonight I read Tristan’s update about what’s going on with the guys on Edge. It’s so cool to hear about the ways God is faithful and patient enough to keep on teaching us. I’d ask you especially pray I’d be humble and living in a way that I hear what the Father is telling me.

“The secret that we share I cannot tell in full,

But this much I will tell,

What’s lost is nothing to what’s found,

And all the death that ever was,

Set next to life,

Would scarcely fill a cup.”  – Frederick Buechner

Take care friends,

Javen.