Chapter 2

Where do I start? How can I even begin to articulate what Sumner has meant to me. Sumner is more than a house, it's Scott, Glad, Zollner who I shared my daily living with. You, saints, have changed my life forever. Your honesty, your vulnerability, your generosity, your accountability, your short accounts, your food, your faith, and your love will live in me all my life. The phrase "I can never go back" comes to mind. I can never go back to single minded dwelling.

Some of my favorite memories:
- staying up late at night with Glad as we processed some hard teary stuff while sitting on the kitchen floor eating cheerios with dried cranberries, chocolate chips, peanuts, and......SCOTCH. At 2am that was a hilarious site to see.

- Garage time with Zollner when she brought me a smoothie and we kept our accounts short with more love and compassion than I was used to.

- Getting a christmas tree with my house

- Falling asleep during Advent because after the 20th night in a row of late nights with the larger community I just couldn't stay awake, but I just couldn't go to bed either.

- Playing old man dress up with Scotty, getting Glad to kacke with Scotty, cleaning the garage with Scotty (countless times), and going on processing walks with Scotty. Whenever I hung out with Scotty I was certain that one of two things would happen. I would either laugh my ass off or I would have a profound conversation and dig deeper into the meaning of life.

- Being surrounded at my wedding while Sarah and I were given a gift from the whole community. If you ever want to see me teary eyed, ask me about this.

Zollner, Glad, Scott, I love you all like I have known you my whole life. Thank you for all you have done and will continue to do as part of this community.

I am now in the beginning of the second chapter of my life - marriage. It's wonderful. And I'm here because I listened to God who asked me to live in a community that would change my life forever.

Now, as Sumner house takes on new members, it will change. That change will be, no it is, hard. I will want to keep it just as it was, but I won't. Because the magic happens in the journey. I pray that the next group at 29th and Sumner is vulnerable, and intentional, and loves each other enough to loose sleep. And I pray that Sumner as I experienced it will live on in the hearts of those that were touched by it.

All my love
Justin

Luna de Miel en Mexico

Hola from Isla Mujeres!
We are one week into a fantastically beautiful honeymoon full of sunshine (sunburns), beautiful blue oceans like in the magazines, wonderfully charming Italian hotel owners in the sleepy island of Holbox where everyone drives around town in golf carts and scooters all night keeping in touch...
Holbox was filled with visible reminders of hurricane Wilma damage that has not been recovered. The town is slowly picking itself back up onto its feet, but the parallel between the nice restaurants and hotels and the run down shops and homes of the locals is eye opening... The people are happy and peaceful and seem to carry with them a sense of hope for the future of their beautiful little island. We will never forget this magical place and hope to return soon to see the progress of these wonderful people.
Upon arrival into Isla Mujeres we were faced again with parallels... The beauty of the island and the water mixed with the Cancun like party scene of the daytrippers. Getting up early this morning we were able to have breakfast with the locals and enjoy the quiet of the pre-daytripper Island. There is beauty to be found here in the locals and behind the party scenes and we are enjoying the search!
Hasta Pronto
La Euteneiers

The Grand Adventure

I think that is a great way to describe it: The Grand Adventure. Glad and I have decided to embark on a wild adventure together as we pursue a romantic relationship. Our friendship has grown in deep ways over the last six months, and we have both realized more and more that we really like each other. This decision comes at a high price, though, because we as a house have always held a no dating our housemates policy. I have decided to move out of the house so that I can pursue Glad. We have spent many months trying to figure out how to live together with healthy boundaries in our friendship. We have tried not really hanging out and kind of avoiding each other. We have experienced seasons of frustration and great joy. Glad and I have shared our hearts with Justin and Sarah and they have been huge supports as we have tried to find healthy ways of loving each other while we live together. After many prayers, thoughts, and conversations, Glad and I agreed that we longed to let our lives and the way we interacted reflect our hearts. I am filled with joy to think of pursuing Glad. She is a rare woman. I often find myself lost in the depth of her beauty, wisdom, kindness, and love. I am also sad to leave the Sumner house and the unique relationships we all share as we strive to express live in community. I guess this is what adventure means--Joys and sorrows, traveling to new places and leaving others. My time at the house has changed me for life. The friendships I share with Glad, Sarah, and Justin have shaped who I am and helped determine who I will be. I find solace in the knowledge we share more than just a house, we share a life and a love that will continue to thrive beyond the walls of 2917 NE Sumner. And now, for the adventure . . .

We Miss our Zollnita

Well folks, as you know Sarah does most of the blogging around here, but every know and then the rest of us pipe in. I had a fun little revelation today as I walked out the door-- the house seems kinda empty with only four of us here right now. We miss our Sarah Zollner! I am amazed at how life at the house used to seem very full with lots of people and stuff going on. There are occasional times when I still need to retreat from the craiziness at the house, but for the most part I have grown to love and when the people I love aren't around, it doesn't seem quite full. I am learning that we are indeed made for community and it makes me excited for the time when we will all live in a huge community together in our Father's house. Until then, we get to miss the ones we love.

The Spotlight

I used to crave it, then I hated it, then I moved into a community house where people asked me with genuine sincerity, "how are you." I freeze. In those moments of frozen contemplation I'm trying to redefine myself. No longer do I need attention for the sake of it. But what to do with it when it comes...

I've had many moments in my community where I've answered, "fine" or "good", or "gee my students were tough today.". And I always walked away wondering why I couldn't be more honest.

Last Tuesday (our no-fly zone) my roommates, my lovely roommates asked me how i was. And I told them. Life is hard for me right now, in many ways. And I talked, and they listened, and I talked some more. It felt safe. It wasn't about deciding who I was, or am, or want to be. It was the moment. And they listened, and asked question. And not one single time did they say, "Can we do something else, something more fun because this is our Tuesday night."

I was heard, I was poured into, I was loved, I was held accountable, and I am eternally grateful and yet even those words will never due the proper justice.

Sunny Days

I love sunny days.

Comin' Home

Hey Team Members!
So after a long and wonderful visit to my homeland of Colorado, I am finally heading back to PDX. Justin's car is thoroughly stuffed and I am getting ready for another long drive. I love having the twenty plus hours in the car to process life. I have missed my community quite a bit and am anxious to get back in the swing of things. See you guys in two days (barring any horrendous driving conditions or other hindrances).

The cap

I have to give my two cents. My 6 months in the sumner: It wasn’t a likely thing that I would move into a hippie group house in Alberta. 4 mostly strangers brought together by the internet and beers at Kennedy School (that’s where I said “yes”). But I thought it was worth a shot. What a chance! What an idea, of course. Of course we should live in community. These people were incredible and I loved the vision of the place!

I couldn’t wait to meet Glad after the first time I talked to her – I could tell she was a very special person. It’s too bad I was in Virginia and she was just leaving for Patagonia.

It’s impossible to not catch Justin’s infectious enthusiasm for just about everything.

And Sarah’s organizational skills, dependability and heart for service I just had to love. She really filled in all the gaps and rounded out the group so well.

I’ll never forget the night we crowded in the cabin of my sailboat anchored in the Columbia as it rained on us on the outside and we had our first roommate date. We had an amazing summer holding each other up through unexpected things.

…and learning new hobbies like gardening.

We had tons of fun with screen on the green, bocce tournaments into trees and across neighbor’s fences, rooftop moonwatching and singing Neil Diamond tunes. Then there were serious times like worship and communion that most people just don’t do at their house. It was awesome. There was always good food to be eaten and new people to visit with. I didn’t always appreciate it like I should have. I miss that already.

There was always somebody to laugh or cry with. Sarah, thanks for letting me keep my favorite Lazyboy in the living room even though it didn’t match.

I learned this year about seasons…about highs and lows, and brokenness. I had the lowest of lows so far and really felt pain for the first time in my life. I learned that sun really does come after the rain and it’s the rain that clears the air for the sun to shine so bright. I talked to so many people who had experienced their greatest joys not too long after their worst pains. The LORD is good like that. I learned that as it says in James one we are to be joyful in the testing of our faith, it is this testing that produces endurance - and that the end result is us perfect and complete, lacking in nothing, if that's possible. I was led to Isaiah 58:10-11 by Glad which were awesome encouraging verses.

I know that everybody who comes through the sumner is touched. I was.
Thanks Glad, Justin, Sarah, Scott and the CASA chicks. It really was a blast and such a growing time. I’ll never forget it. You are all amazing people. God Bless You. (but it’s not like I’m going anywhere). See you tomorrow.

Personal Hygiene

Sometimes living in community means showering more often than you would if you lived on your own.

What I'm waiting for

I'm waiting to get back my heart for the poor. The kind that used to make me want to go serve hot food at 5am in the cold. The kind that used to leap into action after talking about it. I don't know where I lost it and I can't bear to think about what I've replaced it with. Please God, I want it back.

This is my first post. My first real post. It's intimidating.