Between our house meetings, Balin and I wandered around Bend to get a feel for the life we were about to start there. We kicked things off with a chat at Riverbend church with the pastor, Andrew. It was great to share our journey with him, and we got to hear about his family’s story of planting Riverbend. Turns out, it’s a church plant from Bridgetown in Portland that follows the same formation principles. If you’re not familiar with that term, you might want to check out “Practicing the Way” for a good overview. I’m really excited about joining Riverbend and seeing how we can serve and connect with people.
I also wanted to mention that Perrin flew in from San Diego for the first weekend we were there. It was wonderful having her with us as we started exploring our new home town. We walked to breakfast at Nancy P’s, walked to dinner at Northwest Crossing, toured two of the builder’s homes, took naps, and watched movies. It was so refreshing for Perrin and gave her a good idea of how easy it would be for her to live there. It was life-giving for all of us.
Balin and I made sure to visit a different spot every afternoon, either for a walk or a drink. Again, Piper was our go-to for meeting people. So many people stopped to talk to her, pet her, and ask about her—it’s quite something. While we were at Northwest Crossing, I spotted a gorgeous Bernese Mountain dog and couldn’t resist introducing myself. Mazie, the Bernese, belonged to Danny and Linda, who live part-time in Bend and part-time in Bozeman. We chatted for about 30 minutes before heading back to our table to enjoy some amazing Israeli street food. On another walk in the Old Mill area along the river, we stopped and chatted with Sam and Mary, who were out birding. Such beautiful conversations. One of the things I love most about traveling. I’m hoping it becomes a regular part of our next 40 weeks of travel and also our everyday lives.
We also had the pleasure of exploring the trails, checking out various breweries, and enjoying some great food—all of which made us even more excited about our choice of Bend.
On Saturday morning, we packed up and made our way to the construction site of the house. The framers were hard at work building the walls and setting up the trusses. Balin and I grabbed our Sharpie pens and went room by room, writing scripture on the studs and praying over each space. We truly believe that this home will be a place of service, hospitality, peace, and renewal, and we prayed with that in mind.
Our next stop was Medford to hang out for two nights with Balin’s family and put into practice what we’ve been learning.
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