On The Road Again

May you experience the peace and love from God expressed through you and I in the new year! Our time in Baltimore ended on December 23. It was good this past month to continue to build on relationships at the house, as well as get a better feel of the city. It was especially good to have 'deeper' conversations than just "How are you? How was work?" We had many at the house and church who asked us to stay longer, but we are not ready to settle yet.

We celebrated Christmas with our daughter, Michelle, in Philadelphia and are in the Lancaster area now. On Jan. 8 we will move into the International Guest House in Washington DC.

Although this is a joyous, festive time of year, my (Ruth) thoughts have been especially focused on those who have little to look forward to. Living in Baltimore I was reminded daily of the disparity between those who have nice houses with many good shopping locations and schools nearby and those who need to live among rows of boarded up houses where opportunities are limited. Locals told me it is better than years past, but there is still so much more to be done to bring a brighter future. On the plus side, there are many parts of Baltimore that are beautiful and touristy and inviting, but still out-of-reach price-wise for the average citizen to live near.

In between work times, I also did a lot of reading by minority authors. (It's way too easy to dismiss or ignore their perspective if we never take time to be informed.) Living and working with those classified as 'minorities' and 'asylum seekers' opened my heart more to listen without judgment...to learn and pray and repent and hopefully be changed. As time progressed, labels for people disappeared from my thinking.

Be in prayer with us over these next two months. Everyone asks us, "What will you do after DC?" We have some ideas, but honestly, have little knowledge where the next months or year are going to lead us, or what we are 'suppose to be' doing. However, the 'suppose to's' are becoming less and less of a concern. We live such privileged lives even being able to choose where we want to live and what we want to be doing. So, it's with immense gratitude that we continue on this journey.

The children of North Baltimore Mennonite Church singing and telling the Christmas story.

Many hands needed to construct our gingerbread house.

Bay window and tower to resemble Reservoir Hill House of Peace.

Some of Jim's handwork was making the back entry halls and stairs more inviting.

We made an Indian meal for the house residents as a thank you for their inclusion and acceptance of us.

Baltimore Inner Harbor as viewed from Federal Hill. We enjoyed visiting the touristy sites around here.

Another of Jim's projects was to put a ceiling above the dryers and frame in the entryway and paint it all.

Some plywood needed to be replaced in the basement that is rented out.

last project before we left