JnR Journey Notes

It should have been easy figuring out where to go next, right? After all, we had 15 months since retiring to live in five different SOOP assignment locations as well as spend several weeks in between each to be with Ruth's Dad in PA. But it was not until after much thought and prayer that we decided to move to San Antonio, Texas. We are grateful for new friends at the Mennonite church here who offered us a room in their house to rent with full use of the house as needed until we could find our own place. It's been good to be here and make this new friendship as well as get to know many others. We thought it also would be easy to find a house of our own, but 2 and 1/2 months later we were still looking. So the end of March, we told ourselves (and God) that this was our last day of looking. If we didn't find anything, we'd find an apartment to rent at least for 6 months and give up the house search. That Saturday we saw an afternoon open house listed in an area centra...

Jim and Ruth want to say thank you to all who were part of our journey these past 15 months. What do you write about while you wait? Our last SOOP assignment ended December 7 and life has felt on hold since then. One would assume that after more than a year of serving, it would be easy to just move on into a more permanent retirement phase. However, it didn't help that each SOOP location invited us to return longer term, and Ruth's Dad continues to face the challenges of aging at home. We felt torn, with desires to be everywhere but knowing we had to choose one-where. These past two months have been mostly in the Lancaster, PA area helping Ruth's Dad. Over this time Ruth's brother and sister-in-law also moved here to be closer to care for Dad's needs. We feel more at peace now to pursue other places. The beginning of January we made an exploratory trip back to San Antonio, Texas, and stayed with our good friends there. We again felt in our spirits that thi...

Thirteen months of SOOP [Service Opportunities with Our Partners] have passed more quickly than we expected. In each of the five locations where we served we met newcomers to the US who inspired us and challenged us to be more like them: humble, grateful, resilient, hopeful, patient, and loving.....unlike the vocabulary our government and even some church folks apply to them. We worked side-by-side with many churches and organizations who are tirelessly extending their tables and homes and hearts to make room for these brothers and sisters from lands near and far. What have we learned?     We can get by with a lot less 'stuff' and still live fully.     We can worship in many different settings and still sense God's presence.     We can adapt our skills to new ways of doing things.     We can gauge our energy levels and stop to rest when we need to.     We can make deep friendships even if we are physically in the same locale for...

We knew when we took on a camp assignment that it would be a harder 'natural' fit for us. We tend to enjoy urban over rural and sunny, warm weather over cloudy and cold. That being said, we chose to come to Camp Deerpark and have seen the blessings of the place and people here. The staff is super dedicated and inviting which attracts many retreat groups to return year after year. We're humbled to see talented people washing dishes and cleaning toilets with a smile on their face and joy in their heart for minimal compensation. Our Monday to Thursday schedule is rather boring for Ruth as a scanner of documents in the office, but she realizes that it is necessary work that frees others to do more enjoyable work! Jim is still making bunk beds. It is time consuming, but the natural product beds should last for multiple generations. During weekday evenings we gather for dinner at the director's house where we also have a room. The table often is set for single staff mem...

Since the last post we moved from humid summer to crisp mountain fall air. After leaving Georgia we spent two weeks with Ruth's Dad helping out and visiting with him. September 14 was move-in day again--this time at Camp Deerpark, near Cuddebackville, New York. Oh, you don't know where that is. It's a camp, so it's suppose to be far from everywhere! It is in the foothills 90 miles or so NW of New York City, 11 miles from Port Jervis where NY, PA, and NJ intersect. The camp is owned by 17 of the the New York City Mennonite churches. So most of the groups who use it are from NYC, but not all Mennonite affiliated. We know we are at a mountain camp when doors remain unlocked, the nearest shopping towns are half an hour drive away, campfires light the weekend evening sky, and Jim's weekend chore is to take the two llamas out to pasture in the morning and bring them back in the evening. During the weekdays Jim is building 12 bunk beds for the new cabins being constr...

  Being With vs Doing For Our time in LaGrange is rapidly coming to a close. It has continued to be busy, although it has also felt good to cross off many projects as "done." The rental apartment is ready for the two Mission Year young couples who come the end of August and will reside here for a year. The apartment is on the same street where the director couple of Casa Alterna lives and where most of our interactions take place. Consequently, we've been able to move to this remodeled apartment and have a bit more space. The space also got used some for the second week of summer camp, and for Ruth to teach English classes to adults and youth. Ruth continued to do the scheduling of visitors to immigration inmates at Stewart Detention Center through El Refugio. We both also served with El Refugio another weekend. Besides the physical labor of working on the apartment, we've been involved with driving people to immigration check-in appointments in Atlanta, drivin...