JnR Journey Notes

Time is moving quickly here in Baltimore, especially with it being holiday season. It's hard to believe we are half-way through our commitment here. Jim especially has been kept busy with fix-up projects at the house. One of his main projects was/is fixing the entryway halls and stairs from the basement to second floor where there is a lot of peeling plaster and holes that need fixed and repainted. He also spent and will spend some more time on projects at the North Baltimore Mennonite Church. Ruth has been helping with these as she can, but also babysitting and making special meals. We have had wonderful opportunities meeting a lot of the people from the church over meals or meetings as well as getting to know the house residents better. Often in the mornings or evenings there are several others cooking and eating in the kitchen, so we chat about life and work and aspirations. We just concluded Thanksgiving holiday time. We hosted a meal here before Thanksgiving for 30 peopl

43 Steps. That's how many stair steps it is from the kitchen to our third floor bedroom--a great way to stay in shape! We arrived at Reservoir Hill House of Peace on Saturday, Nov. 4, and moved into one of the 10 bedrooms in the big old house. Little by little we are grasping the purpose and mission of those who live here and what our role in it is and will be. We will take part in a house meeting Monday evening and should know a bit more after that, as well. The house is administered by North Baltimore Mennonite Church which is about 3 miles from here. RHHP housed a Voluntary Service unit (which basically has closed), asylum seekers and individuals who work at various jobs in the city who wish to be part of the community here. Presently there is one VSer from Germany, three asylum seeker men and six other young adults besides us. Sunday morning we attended the Mennonite church and met a lot of the people there. We also attended a small group gathering Tuesday evening and got to