93 Million Miles

It's real out here.

Yesterday morning, there were four separate drive-by occasions in which over 60 shots were fired. 60. In one morning.  All in our area. Miraculously no one was hurt. However there were two other instances in the past week and a half were two men were killed from gunshot wounds.  I've got to keep the details vague, but many of our students, young students, are getting caught up in this gang activity.

When you're young and impressionable things can go downhill very rapidly.  Pray that the boys out here would be freed from the streets, that Jesus would break through barriers and provide protection, and for positive influences.  Quite simply, the world needs more real men.

 I'll continue to write more on the issue, but wanted to give a quick update on our work environment here in South Seattle...

Dance, Dance, Dance

This afternoon I turned on the Chili Peppers and shaved my head.

After being in Seattle for nearly a month, I decided that an abbreviated dome-do would be more appropriate for my new non-stop (and often rainy) lifestyle. And it's cheaper.  So Shell bravely held the clippers in hand and made it happen.  All turned out better than expected.  So much that, she decided to do her own head (not with the clippers of course).  The thought of finding a new stylist (Rita has done Shelley's hair since birth, and mine for the last handful-plus of years) was too much to think about, so we took matters into our own hands. After already having a second trimming on my head a few weeks later, I decided that today I was due for a closer cut, and *maybe* left a baby hawk on top...

But some things, most things, we need YOU for. We just cant do it on our own.

We've taken an exciting, major step in our move out here and our commitment to learn, in order to better serve.  We could not have done it alone.  Upon announcing, moving, and transitioning, we've found ourselves the benefactors of true support.  You've backed us up emotionally, prayerfully, and maybe even financially.  We could not be doing any of this, without any of that. 

We cant do it on our own.

We are in a new community group that I believe will challenge us to even moreso realize how much we need other people in our life.  There is a balance (as with ALL things in life) between the work we can do on our own, and the work we must join forces to do.  Thank you for being a part of our super team.  We are navigating this relationship, and en route to discovering how to best partner with and serve you.  As we dream big, we look forward to taking you along for the ride. 

For more info on "Sheltons in Seattle", please send an email to: joshandshelleyshelton@gmail.com OR thejoshuashelton@gmail.com

Mindspin

Before I get into the flow of more regularly blogging, let me recap our time out here so far (you can make any photos larger by clicking on them):

-Moved to Seattle
(26hrs of drive time, over 3 days. First leg: boring. Second leg: treacherous. Third leg: arrival.)

-Met (and lived with) the Renzelmans
(Chris and Rebecca. He has spent most of his life in ministry, and is the man, mentor, and friend conducting all the networking on our behalf. Serves as the NW director for the National Network of Youth Ministry.)

-Attended the Northwest Ministry Conference
(Hit the ground running, made some great connections with some amazing people.)

-Spent some time down in Portland
(Shadowed Marshall and Leslie Snyder, the founders of BridgeTown Inc. They do an incredible job of loving on people and their city through progressive methods.)

-House hunting
(Our target area was Rainier Valley, a neighborhood in SE Seattle. It is "the most diverse zip code in the nation", and is where some organizations we are working with are located. We found an amazing place to call home, The Station.)

-Job search
(My goal moving out was to get on board w/ Starbucks- what better place to be a barista, than for Starbucks IN Seattle??? I got in at one that is a 10-minute walk from our place. Shelley just started a month long nanny job, but is looking for a longer term nanny position for when that month is up.)

-Meetings, meetings, meetings
(Learning about the area, organizational leaders, mapping out our apprenticeship.)

-ENJOYING Seattle!
(We LOVE this city...)

Strange Clouds

We've been in The Great Northwest for over a month now.  It's been so radical that our time could already be easily justified. However, we are just getting started...

Here we are Seattle.

Here we are Jesus.

Here we are friends.

Here we are.

-js