UPdate

This week at the UP we are knee deep in the construct of our Coffee house. Walls have been knocked down, framing has been put up, and a nice new mezzanine for Duane and I has been put up. (We plan on putting lawn chairs up there and chillin). But there is so much work that still needs to be done.

We are doing all the wood work ourselves in order to cut down on costs and are using volunteers to do the work. Our volunteers have come in to the UP to stain the wood, stain the door frames, and do other types of manual labor around the building. Each Saturday, we will entertain volunteer groups and have them help us in the construction of the coffee shop, the recording studio, and even disassemble and clean the 100 year old windows for our stained glass workshop that meets on Thursday nights.

We are now ready for our volunteer group to grow and to become specialized. We now start our program of volunteer group leaders leading specialized communities in disciplines such as promotions, marketing, business, web graphics, and venue management to mention a few. Our first meeting is this Thursday February 16th from 7-9pm and Saturday February 18th 5-7pm.

I personally am extremely excited to start getting emails from people interested in volunteering for the union project and that are willing to be the leaders of these communities/groups. We (Duane, and the union project, and myself), are truly engaging the community and its leaders. The work that they do will build a wonderful organization that will support its community.

I think I love this so much because it is mission work, it' a place where my church meets, it's a place that I fellowship with Justin and Jess (my bosses) and Garrett the ceramics teacher and good friend, and Duane, whose become an invaluable support and brother in my life.

In a side note, there is a conference in Pittsburgh on Feb. 24th called Jubilee that is sponsored by the Coalition for Christian Outreach. The conference is for students looking to go into the workforce and wish to do so with Christ as their focus. This conference is attended by thousands of college students and young adults every year. I wanted to attend this conference... but I have no money... so I sent my church at home a letter asking for support... three weeks later, I got news that my church does not give out scholarships... so I was back to square one. So I asked my church out at the UP called The Open Door for support, and they agreed to support what they could. When I asked Jess at The Union Project for support, she immediately agreed to support me with what ever money I needed in order to go to this conference.

I would like to publicly thank the Union Project for supporting me in my work, my faith, and in making me an integral part of their family. I am truly thankful for your support.

Personally, life has been testing me, but the Union Project and Cornerstone (the college ministry I attend) have been a huge support in my life. I have a lot of work to do and even more stress to deal with, but this project is bigger then I am, and has the potential to impact more people then just me. I want to push this through to fruition and am having a hard time seeing the big picture. Thank the Lord I have Duane, the UP staff, Cornerstone, and my friends here at Pitt.

Well that is all for now. Hope all that read this Blog are doing well and are in good health. Looking forward to posting again.

~Reed