Buen día, mis amigos! I am currently writing you from a city called San Ramón in Chile, our second location of DTS outreach.
I'm sure many of you are curious about my post-DTS plans. I am eager to reunite with my family after five months living across the country (and the world), and vice versa. That's why my next announcement is a little bittersweet to communicate. The next few years of my life are going to look dramatically different than I anticipated, but my heart swells with thrill and excitement for the adventure the Lord is taking me on.
I will be flying home to Tennessee on February 11, but my visit will be brief. In mid-March, I'll be packing up my Kia Soul and driving back to the northwest to begin a nine-month secondary school at the YWAM Salem base called the School of Biblical Studies (SBS). The SBS is an intensive deep-dive into the Bible, focusing on inductive study methods with the intention of understanding God's Word and character more intimately. During the course of the school, we'll be reading the Bible five times through. It will be more challenging than my bachelor's degree and at the level of a masters' degree (if not more difficult). I'll be living at the Salem base, just as I did during the lecture phase of my DTS, for the school's entirety.
I've known for a few years now that I wanted to pursue more education after graduating from college; I just didn't know that education would be so focused on Scripture. The past year-and-a-half, I've been untangling a lot of confusion and baggage I've carried since childhood regarding the Bible and my relationship with God. I grew up viewing Him as a terrifying authority figure, looming over my shoulder and awaiting my next mistake. Even today, at nearly twenty-three years old, I struggle to comprehend and accept that God's grace cannot be seperated from His nature. God has been gently pushing me to really know His Word this year to combat so many of those lies which are ingrained in me, and the SBS is the perfect answer to my prayer. I am simply in awe of the Lord's faithfulness and kindness to complete the good work He has started in me.
Although I was interested in taking the SBS since the beginning of my DTS in September, I was not planning to take it in Oregon (you know me—there's so much world to discover and so little time to explore). In actuality, I had been researching an SBS in England, because my heart longs to return to the U.K. soon. The timing of the SBS in England was not a good fit, though, as it wouldn't begin until the fall of 2023. Returning to England this year doesn't appear to be in the Lord's plan for this season, either, because He has placed a great passion in my heart for Portland (PDX), Oregon.
There was not a city more talked about than Portland during the pandemic. Riots, burning buildings, suicides, protests—the city itself seemed to be imploding from the inside-out. Portland already had a bad reputation, from riots to drug additions to new ageism to debauchery to politics. Particularly for those of us in the South, when we hear about Oregon, all we think about is Portland. My family was a little hesitant about my YWAM DTS being located in Oregon, likely because of all the horror stories one hears about Portland from across the U.S.
But I knew I wanted to come back to Oregon, at least for DTS. During the summer of 2021, I flew to Washington state to visit my best friend from college. I knew very little about the Pacific Northwest; the farthest west I'd ever been was North Dakota, and, well, let's just say the crop-to-people ratio is rather high.
The first city I visited out west was Seattle, and I immediately came face-to-face with severe houselessness as we made our way down the sidewalks. We literally had to step around tents and makeshift dwellings. It truly was culture shock for me. Later during the trip, we ventured down to Portland, Oregon, and witnessed a very similar issue of houselessness. I flew back to Tennessee a week or so later, but those encounters haunted me. I couldn't stop thinking about it.
But there's something you need to know about Oregon, and it is that Portland is not a healthy representation of the entire state of Oregon. I've met numerous Oregonians who adamantly acknowledge that Portland is an anomaly. Portland alone, because of its high population density, often controls the political and religious climate of Oregon. Simply put, many Oregon natives do not like to claim Portland as their own.
But if even Oregon itself will not claim Portland, who will?
Salem is about an hour away from Portland, and whenever I get the opportunity, I like to visit Bridgetown Church. Bridgetown has coined a phrase inspired by the Lord's Prayer which is, "In Portland as it is in Heaven." I love this church because they are passionate about getting outside the building and into their city, serving physically in local ministries and prayerfully at injustice hotspots around the city. Bridgetown displays the love of Christ so vibrantly in their city. I've wondered why this is, and I truly believe it's because the only way you can meet a place of such deep darkness is from a place of such radical love.
People are so prone to give up on a city like Portland because it looks too dirty, too messy, too dangerous, too...much. And I get it, I do. How could we ever have an impact on a city so fraught with sin? But friends, these are exactly the places in which Christ calls us to invest our time, prayers, and resources. I don't believe we are called to live comfortable, cushy lives where we give distantly and unemotionally, turning up our noses at dirty things. Nothing is irredeemable in the eyes of Jesus.
Which leads me to the connection between taking an SBS in Salem and my heart for Portland.
After I complete my SBS, I am planning on moving to Portland to work on staff at the newly-launched YWAM PDX base.
This might come as a shock to some, but at least from my parents' perspective, they saw my move to the Northwest coming. I remember all the girls sitting in a circle on our dorm room floor during the first couple of weeks of our DTS, and we were all answering the question, "What is your heartbeat?" Essentially, this meant, "What cause(s) are you passionate about?" I surprised myself by answering that my heartbeat was for the homeless population in Portland. This answer terrified me because, two weeks into DTS (and living in Oregon), I was certainly not ready to uproot my life and live in one of North America's scariest cities.
But the Lord was so gracious in the way He gently led me to saying yes. One Monday morning, during campus worship in Salem, a team from the YWAM PDX base visited us—a base I didn't even know existed. They were planning to launch their first DTS this January.
I nervously approached one of the girls after worship and expressed my interest in their base, and she asked for my contact information. As I recited my phone number, she said, "Wait. Where are you from?"
"Tennessee," I said hesitantly. At that point, I hadn't met another person from Tennessee in Oregon.
"I'm from Tennessee," the girl, Eliza, said excitedly. "I'm from the city of Knoxville!"
My mouth dropped straight open. "No way. I'M FROM KNOXVILLE!"
We instantly connected and began talking about our connections to Oregon. It was a divine appointment like I've never experienced before. The Lord was bringing people from my community in Tennessee to me, all the way across the country. He was creating a home.
From that meeting, as well as several smaller confirmations along the way, I knew I was supposed to move to Portland. I had connections now, and it didn't seem so scary. I was also surprised at how much I was falling in love with the city—the streets, the quirky people, the food, the coffee.
But then, God said, Wait.
I was fully willing to throw my desire to complete an SBS and further my education out the window, at least for the next few years. God, though, gently encouraged me consider taking the SBS in Salem before rushing on staff with YWAM PDX, despite the fact that the location wasn't my first choice. I felt comforted in staying close to Portland, as well as the friendships I've already been forming in Salem. I also liked the idea of taking a secondary school before joining staff with YWAM because I'll be more of an asset to my future team(s).
It's so sweet to me to look back at the journey the Lord has had me on since the beginning of DTS—a journey of turning my heart toward a city I never would've chosen myself and a Bible school I never thought I needed. But that's the beautiful thing about God—He understands what we need more than we ever could.
In order to pursue these plans, I'm looking to assemble a team of supporters—both short- and long-term—to financially partner with me over the next few months. I would like to have at least a few long-term supporters before I move back to Oregon in March, but I am also in need of one-time donations. While the tuition in total for my SBS is not due for a few months, there are certain payment deadlines I must meet, the cost of the school (including tuition, housing, and food) totaling at $9500.
I have complete faith that the Lord will provide these funds, as one of my greatest takeaways from DTS has been about generosity and God's provision in my life. I am extending the opportunity to you, my lovely friends and family, to partner with me prayerfully and financially. You may be wondering what it would look like to be a long-term supporter, and that's a valid question. As a long-term supporter, you will:
Pledge to giving a specific amount of your choice every month
Receive monthly newsletters keeping you informed of my time in missions
If any of you are interested in learning more about YWAM or being a long-term supporter, please reach out to me! For my Tennessee-local friends and family, I would love to treat you to coffee and share more of my heart for Portland, the SBS, and YWAM.
If any of you are interested in giving a one-time donation, that is also so appreciated! If you would like to donate online, you can do so through these avenues:
Venmo: @hannahroserob
Cashapp: $hannahroserob
PayPal: @hannahroserob
Thank you, my dear readers, for sharing in this adventure with me! Every time someone subscribes to my blog or tells me they've read my latest post, my heart swells with joy. Writing has always been and will always be one of my life's passions, and it means so much that you would take the time to read my musings.
Until next time,
Hannah Rose Rob
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