Our BBQ and God's subtle reminders

Hello hello-

Every time I update this blog, I feel like time flies by! I can't believe it's already been two weeks since I last updated it. Just a good reminder of how thankful we are to be in Portland- we truly love it here.

Last week, we had a BBQ in Lake Oswego with our Bible study group. We challenged everyone to bring someone. Lake Oswego is a beautiful Lake- we got access to a private park right on the water. It was stunning. Some people who came to our BBQ said even though they live in Lake O, they aren't allowed in that park because you have to live in a certain area. Lake O is a different world! Which is why we are truly praying if that is the area we are supposed to be in.

Besides some trouble with figuring out how to use charcoal for the first time and burning our food, it was a great turn out. A new couple came as well as a man Trevor had met at a coffee shop the week before. We had a lot of fun hanging out and building relationships. We are thankful for the small community in Lake O who meets with us regularly. It has been a blessing to grow with them. After the BBQ, we all went to get ice cream at Salt and Straw- a famous place in Portland with very different flavors (Oprah's favorite from here is Olive Oil Ice cream!). We have been blessed with friends and it's exciting to build relationships with people and meet people who are just as starving for community and relationships as we are. There is something special that happens when believers come together- it's an unseen bond.

This week, Trevor got a call from a couple who somehow got our information and wanted to come to the Bible study on Tuesday at our house in NE. We have no idea how they got our info but said they were going to come. Another man who had not yet come to our study was planning to come too. We were very excited for new people! We invited a couple friends over for dinner before the study too. Last minute, Trevor got a call from all 3 people saying they weren't going to be able to make it. We were a little disappointed. But we knew God was still working and even though it was a bummer. That night, while we were eating dinner with our friends, someone knocked on our door. Everyone just looked up and stared with inquisitive looks. We live in an apartment complex- you need a key to get in and in the 6 months we have been here, no one has ever knocked on our door. Plus, we didn't know of anyone else who was supposed to be coming that night. We opened the door to find a young man who goes to college in Portland. Art (an original member of our core team when we moved up here) had invited him. Long story short- he is from Camarillo and I went to high school with him! Small small world! It was just another reminder of how God is working.

It reminds me of the Christians who were praying for Peter to be set free from prison. They were all in one house praying for Peter's freedom. There's a knock on the door and it's Peter. But the people are too busy praying to go let him in. Here they are praying for something and when it actually happens, they don't even realize it or believe it could happen. It's a good reminder to have an expectation of God answering our prayers. 

When things don't pan out the way we we expect, it can be easy to get discouraged or ask God why our efforts seem to be failing. We can blame ourselves or God for a lack of fruit or disappointment. Instead, I believe God us teaching us to trust Him with our actions. To trust that we don't know what the outcome will be even though we think we do. We think if we do A, B and C, then D, E and F will happen. That isn't always the case. Sometimes we don't see the fruit of what God is calling us to do and sometimes we harvest the fruit from someone else's sowing. We simply need to be obedient to what He calls us to do and trust He will do the rest. While we should pray with an expectation of Him working, we have to trust that He ultimately knows what is best. 

Please continue to pray for clarity as to what area we are to be in. 

Pray for our baby as she is coming in 6 weeks! We are so excited.

Please pray God opens doors for us to meet people here and share the love of Christ with them.

Thank you!

Julie

What's Happenin' in Portland and Lake O

Hello all!

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog. We truly appreciate it and are very excited to share what God is doing in our city.

August is the 6th full month we have been in Portland- time has sure flown by! Our lease is up in September and we are planning to renew for another year. Baby is coming soon - only 8 more weeks! We are so excited to meet our baby girl, Ali Michelle.

We began in Portland with Bible study on Tuesday nights at our home. We live in Northeast Portland - about 5 minutes east of down town. We love our area and have felt a heart for the people here. We have just begun to understand our area and are trying to reach our apartment complex and the people around us.

When we first moved here, Trevor worked at Peet's coffee in Lake Oswego. Lake O is about 15-20 minutes from our house and about 15 minutes south of down town Portland. He began to share Jesus with his co workers and began building relationships with regular customers. We also know a couple who lives in Lake O who used to go to Calvary Nexus in Camarillo. They opened their home up for Bible study on Thursday nights since a lot of the people Trevor was reaching out to and sharing with were from there anyways. In addition to Tuesdays at our house, we now meet at their house on Thursdays and have 10-15 people there each week.

We need your prayers for the next 2 months. We want to commit to one area instead of spreading ourselves over two. We are praying God would reveal to us if we should commit to Lake O and pursue that area as our main focus. This would mean moving out there and building relationships with the people there instead of just commuting out there once a week. The other option is staying where we are in Northeast Portland. We know there is a need here and it is an evident one. It is a difficult place to reach. We don't want to jump the gun, so to speak, and just move to Lake O because something is happening there already. We want to be patient and trust God to guide us. Please pray it would be clear in the next two months which area God would have us minister in.

God is already doing SO much here. It is amazing to be a part of the work He is doing. Next week we are having a BBQ in the park and asked everyone in our Bible study to invite someone. We are praying for a great turn out and more relationships to be built. Another family from Camarillo also moved up here in the last month- we are so blessed to have friends here. They have also opened their home for Sunday night BBQs for anyone who wants to come.

God is so good. People in Portland need Jesus. Please pray they are reached.

One last story. Since we arrived in Portland, the support we have received from surrounding churches has been amazing. No one is concerned with us "stealing" people from their church or planting our flag next door to them. They all want to see more people reached for Jesus. When we first moved here, Trevor met with a guy from the suburbs who had helped plant 5 churches in Portland. He was in touch which a church outside of the city but who owned a church building about 5 minutes from us. The church has been empty for many years and they have been looking for a church to make use of the building-preferably a church planter. We are in the early stages and definitely wouldn't be able to make use of it for some time. Their goal was just to get someone in the building so more people are reached for Jesus. A couple weeks ago, we visited a church called Door of Hope in SE Portland. While we were there, the pastor shared a prayer request- that their lease was up soon in their current building and they were out growing it. They were looking for a new building soon or some new door to open for them to meet somewhere else. After the service, Trevor went up to the pastor and passed on the information regarding the vacant church building. A week later, we found out that Door of Hope will be using the empty church come September!!! How awesome is our God?

Since we moved here, we have been networking with the pastors who are already in the area to see where the needs are. There is great unity here among churches and pastors and we are excited to learn from them and be a part of what is happening. While it may sound like another church getting a building isn't necessarily exciting for us, we can see God's fingerprints all over this city. The connection between the church and the new building was made because of the relationships Trevor has been pursuing with pastors. We have learned to focus more on the gospel and helping people meet Jesus than just our "church."

Please continue to pray for the things mentioned above- we appreciate it and love you all!.


Julie Gavin