It has been great being back in Michigan. I have had a lot of time to spend with my Family and old Friends. I also have had a lot of time to reflect on the last couple years of my life and also think about where I am headed.
As I have reflected I am realizing the great impact Portland Bible College has on me. When I think of PBC I do not think of a classroom and textbooks as much as I think about the People I have come to know and love.
Around the middle of January 2006. I packed up my stuff into a couple suitcases and said goodbye to my family as they dropped me off at O’Hare Airport in Chicago. I didn’t know a single person in Oregon. I had only seen the school through their website and hadn’t really talked to anyone at the school. It was a exciting yet a bit scary. Leaving everything I knew for a new place. I wasn’t looking to start over or to escape anything I just felt a need to leave. People still ask me “Why Portland?, Why so far away?”. To be honest I have no idea. I just felt thats where I needed to go. I needed to leave my bubble, my comfort zone.
I remember the plane ride, Watching out the window as we crossed over snowy landscapes of mountains lit by a full moon. I arrived fairly late at night and All I had been told is that I need to look for a guy named Richard with a black truck (thanks to Larry H. for such detailed instructions.) As I walked out of the terminal to find my way to the baggage claim there is a guy with a goatee holding a sign that says “Matt Civis”. “Thats me” I say as I introduce myself to a new friend. This was the beginning of a whole new season of life.
Since moving to Portland I have experienced so much. I have met a ton of people and learned so much about myself and who I am. I still have so much to learn and experience. I am excited to see what is next. I am excited to meet new people and grow closer to the ones I already know.
Since I have been at PBC I have learned more than I had expected. Before heading off to “Bible College” my biggest concern was that the school would be extremely strict. The kind of school where listening to Newsboys was risky and the only movies we could watch had to be about the end times and star Kirk Cameron. But Instead I was introduced to a diverse group of people who had a strong desire to serve God and live out the Gospel. I have learned what it means to live in community. I have learned that my views and Ideas are not the only ones. I have felt God speak to me in deeper ways than I new were possible. I have been moved to tears and to laughter while being a part of PBC. I have been instilled with a desire to be more than just an echo but to be a voice. I have been humbled, I have experienced ups and downs. My prayer is that Life will always involve the kind of growth that has been stimulated the last couple years. My prayer is that I will not settle for less than than life God has called me live.
You may be able to tell that I am excited to get back to Portland and start school up again. But I am also excited that I get to spend the next four weeks here with my family. In a couple weeks We are going to spend a week in a cottage right on Lake Michigan. I have a wonderful family and despite how much I love Portland. My family is still my family and I am honored to be a part of it.
On a completely different note Go here to watch me Rock out : http://www.paloozahead.com/1140807-3b2d
