We're gearing up for Convergence!
January's here, and the facilitators of Convergence are getting excited about our January 26th-28th gathering at Edgefield Manor in Troutdale, OR. This blog is a place to post requests for rides or roommates: simply leave requests and contact information in the comments.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us through the Convergence contact form.
posted by Aj Schwanz @ 11:16 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Greetings to all! My name is Lori Bosteder and I'm from Eugene, Oregon. I’ve been married 28 years to a tremendous man and I have a 25 year old amazing son. I found out about the convergence at the Off the Map conference in Seattle last November. My husband and I attended it trying to find hope again. We had been encouraged by Brain McClaren's books and sermons, and hoped to find like minded people. We did! It was such a wonderful group and so good to have honest dialog. We had been longing for that.
I shared my story in the Quantum Kingdom workshop and a very nice woman named Sara, from Ind. sought me out to talk. We had lunch together with our spouses later that day. Sara asked if I was going to attend the convergence and before I could even think, my husband said, "Of course she is!" (He so knows me.) So Sara, I'm coming and I'm hoping you are, too.
I've been in church all my life and was very active in leadership as an adult. Jesus, my family, and my church were the center of my world. A trip to Israel, in 1999, turned me upside down and I followed the Lord out into my community in a way that made some of my Christian friends uncomfortable; I joined a Tai Chi group (I can’t tell you how out of the box this was for me). Now, after a series of difficult events that no one intended, for the first time in my life I've been without a church for nearly two years. I am getting pretty decent at Tai Chi, however, and forming amazing friendships with the people I train with weekly.
This journey of following the Lord has also taken me even farther out into the community. I'm working on a master's degree in Adult Education and Higher Education Leadership at Oregon State, while running my business in marketing and graphic design. On several occasions I’ve taught emotional intelligence in the women's prison in Wilsonville, Oregon. I went to San Diego last June to become a certified trainer in EQ as I felt God drawing me to make learning and teaching about EQ part of my life’s work. In fact, a classmate and I are working on the proposal for a research project around emotional intelligence training for women inmates that we hope to begin in the spring.
My world is so different now, as I stretch out of my comfort zones, nerves and all, and seek to follow him. It’s caused me to ask questions I never have and frankly I still am looking for answers around many of them. I just know I can’t do church the way I always have, it doesn’t make sense anymore and I’m not sure what will but it has to be more honest and human. Gathering with you will be a further exploration of this part of my journey. What I am confident of is the Lord will guide me and the journey will be fascinating, challenging, and worth it. I am looking forward to sharing stories, questions, struggles, and joys. Sara will be the only person I've met when I get there but I suspect that will be quite different when I leave.
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