We are finally back in New Haven. We are all moved into our new house on Nash St. with our friends Daniel and Lacy Evrard and Colin, Kristen, and Aelah Meyer. Our good friends Keith and Katherine Blake live right next door with their two kids Sam and Eden. We are still adjusting to life in the Nash St. house. We just have one bathroom so that is a little tricky, but that seems to be the only snag we've met so far (and even that one was minor). It is a fun house, full of life. It is definitely never boring. It is a house full of musicians and artists. It is not unusual to have spontaneous dance parties in the living room at 9 o'clock at night. It is great to have so much creativity around constantly. People are always knitting and Lacy is always weaving on her loom. Colin, Daniel and I (Derek) are writing a lot of music and practicing in the basement of our house. It feels really good to be making music. It is incredibly fulfilling to go down to the basement and watch the songs develop into the songs I've imagined them to be.
Daniel, Keith, and I have been thinking about doing a community garden for some time now. Our thoughts and conversations are finally turning into action. We've been garden planting for the last week, looking at seeds and methods of planting. We are extremely excited. We are starting in our back yards on Nash St.(ours and the Blake's). We are wanting to dream bigger though. In the next couple of days we are going to go look at an empty lot we may be able to turn into a garden. Our dream is to be able to provide produce for low or no cost to our community of friends and those in poverty among us. Keep us in prayer as we take on this in endeavor. There is a lot of planning and work to be done. We are going to try to do everything as low cost as possible, from recycled wood and plastic bottles. We are currently looking for a tiller.
We are very excited about this new year in New Haven. The opportunities we see ahead of are really exciting. We want to make a difference in our neighborhood and in this city. We want to learn what it means to live in true community, first in our house, then in our neighborhood, and then in our city. We are very excited about trying to follow Jesus as closely as possible and really trying to experience life abundantly. Please pray for us. The work ahead is a little overwhelming and frightening but it is good work. I'll write again soon.
