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805 Columbia Ridge Dr
Vancouver, WA, 98664
United States

Tales of Adventure Blog

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
with the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask you to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push back the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

This we ask in the name of our Captain,
Who is Jesus Christ.

 

I just emailed Mike Rowe and I Need Your Help!

Matthew Overton

Here is the email I just sent to Mike Rowe. The picture above is him laughing at my request.  I have never wanted to meet a public figure in my life (except for Father Gregory Boyle), but if you know what I am working on with teenagers and jobs you will know exactly why I would want to meet this guy. Also, if you know my sense of humor you would understand as well. If you care to help, please send Mike an email telling him why you believe in what I am doing with Mowtown and why he should go to lunch with me.  You can do it on his Facebook page or by emailing him kindly at info@mikeroweworks.com  Thanks!

Dear Mike,

     My name is Matt Overton. I am a Presbyterian minister in the Pacific Northwest.  About a year ago I started a social entrepreneurship that employs local teenagers in a landscaping business called "Mowtown". I was sick and tired of sending my kids from my church out into the world with little or no life and job training. I happen to believe that work is a God given gift to all of us.  As a minister who has a Masters Degree from Princeton Seminary I never expected to be emptying buckets of manure smelling grass into a trailer in pouring rain while wearing a Carhart jacket. The business and training program are great and you can see some of our story at the links below. We have just started to open up a Computer Programming track as well.  I am doing this all while serving at a church for about 60 hours a week on its own. It is a beast, fueled by passion.

   What really caused it to take off was when the CEO of Parr Lumber, who is the 15th biggest building supply company in the U.S., heard about what we were doing and came to us with a proposal. They proposed that we find them qualified students in our county who need 40 hour a week benefited jobs. Their benefits are excellent, they are employee centered, and they are looking for the kind of kid who isn't going off to college.  We just placed our first student with them and have 3 more in the pipe. It is the craziest project I have ever worked on. I went from wearing a clerical collar to wearing a blue collar all in one leap. I am 25k deep on this project with my own money on one income and I am loving it.  It is the most life changing work I have ever done with teenagers in my life.  I am going to share some links and articles below that might interest you. I also have a proposal.

    My proposal is this. I have never been remotely interested in a celebrity in my whole life. It may sound funny to say as a minister, but I am a natural skeptic.  So, it says alot when I say I respect your work and your wit.  I am offering you $2,500 of my own money that I don't really have to go to lunch. I would like to share with you about my project and pick your brain about this idea of developing kids for life through jobs.  Ooops, I need to amend that offer. My wife just walked in and we are down to $2,000.  Would you be interested?  I promise a couple of things. First, I am not a religious nut. I am classically trained and would be burned at the stake by most American Christians as a liberal heretic when it comes to religion. Second, I promise not to ask for any funding. I find your work inspiring and can see an intersection between what you do and write about with what I am investing my blood, sweat, and tears in.  Please let me know if you are interested. If you need respectable references I can put you in touch with Parr and with Princeton.

 

Deepest regards,

Rev. Matt Overton

Owner Operator at Mowtown Teen Lawncare and Landscaping

Vancouver, Wa.

530-635-1674

 

The Links:

 

MyCompany: 

https://www.facebook.com/Mowtown-Teen-Lawn-Care-362123533987508/

 

How it All got Started During the Downturn- http://www.youthministryinnovators.com/blog/2015/10/25/an-economic-downturn-a-camel-a-needle-and-some-god-given-gifts

 

How I Learned Humility And Shed my Elitism- 

http://www.youthministryinnovators.com/blog/2015/9/14/humble-operations

 

Why Teens Need Jobs- 

http://www.youthministryinnovators.com/blog/2015/5/20/students-need-to-work-especially-males-apparently

 

How I Screwed Everything Up My First Day on The Job (this one is pretty funny)- http://www.youthministryinnovators.com/blog/2015/5/6/the-first-shot-out-of-the-bag-fail

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