The end of gardening

Since fall has arrived and with it colder, rainier weather, our weekly time in the community garden is coming to an end. The community garden is an empty housing lot that was converted into a garden about a year ago. It took months and months and countless truck loads of compost to establish the beautiful patch of green near our house. Many residents of the area grow vegetables there, as well as people from a local church and us, Nieu Communities. Most of the produce that comes from the land is then used for the churches homeless ministry (sometimes, we've been able to take some veggies home as well).

Usually, before we begin gardening, we'd eat lunch together. We called it: "Simple Meal" as everyone would bring whatever "treasures" they happened to have in the fridge and share them. The neighbor lady would usually bring over a bottle of homemade wine at that point and we'd feast and worship together. 

As a community, Nieu Communities will now shift our group ministry to other things. There's an abundance of need and opportunities for volunteers here, and being able to join something as a group is fantastic! I can't say that I will miss the weeding or the bugs, but spending time caring for God's creation was a wonderful experience. 

Making it to Vancouver...

After catching a boarder guard in a bad mood (grumble), I finally made it to Vancouver BC. An incredibly beautiful city, now to be my new home for the next year. 

I live in 

East Vancouver, off of Commercial Drive. If any of you have been here, you'll know that it's a popular hippy-kind-of-area that is jam-packed with Cafes, Shops, Pubs, 

and Supermarkets. It draws all kinds of people from Backpackers, Tourists, and Homeless to Urban-City-Dwellers, Families, and Weed-Smoking-Hippies. I love the plethora of faces you find here and 

the fact that everything is within walking distance! 

My Nieu Communities Team consists of two families with little kids (the children are sooo cute!!) 

and my housemates and I. 

Emmanuel comes from Cameroon and Anjolie is from India and together we occupy the quaintest little house.Thanks to Tim, Andrea, and Katharina (my friends from LA) who helped move me in, I feel quite at home in my new room. 

As Orientation takes three weeks, we spent the first week on Galiano Island together. 

Though it felt a little crazy to run off on a retreat the moment I arrived here, it was a great way to jump start knowing each other. The Staff is a team of six, all well adjusted to life in Canada (Many of them had originally worked with the Nieu Communities Team in South Africa or had been Apprentices themselves in Vancouver).

So, there's plenty more to write about, but for now..... Cheers!