A Community Gathers

Take a look at Holden's Fall photos to get a sense of what this village is about. During the fall work week, dozens of people came up from all over Washington, Minnesota, Oregon and California to work and serve this village which has blessed them over the years. A special kinship is formed when we all set to the work of maintaining this village which serves so many in the name of Jesus Christ who teaches us about hospitality, humility, service and love. A lot of work gets accomplished during fall and spring work weeks, as well as daily Bible study, delicious meals and treats, worship, and lots of laughter. Holden's community truly is comprised of everyone who has been here, and for many, coming back to Holden Village, if only for a week in the summer, feels like coming home.

Biology studies

Ooh, what's that smell? Can it be the bacteria which Nate has been feeding in order to study them in his dining-table biology studies? He was delighted to see various little critters under the microscope and is learning to keep a detailed lab notebook so that he'll have completed biology just as his friends in Bellingham are currently studying. Thanks to a generous homeschooling friend who is lending us her biology course this year, Nate will be able to learn all about cells, bacteria, frog eyeballs, and pungent smells, among other things.

Stained Glass Project

As part of their school art curriculum, Nate and Maya are lucky enough to be in on this year's stained glass windows project. These pieces of art will fill the upper panels of new doors in the offices. Joe Hester from the Grunewald Guild (artfaith.com) near Leavenworth has come to Holden Village to lead these nine high schoolers for a few weeks in this project which will last for years and years at the village.

Advent

It is Advent season in the church calendar which means that we spend time anticipating, waiting, and watching for God's coming. Christmas is not celebrated until Christmas Day and we get practice waiting, blissfully free of ads and commercials, traffic and shopping. It is a quiet time in the village, with only 48 people here this week! Pictured here is the bulletin cover for the Advent church services which I lettered using parallel pens in blue and turquoise ink.

Saint Nicholas day was celebrated on December 6. Each person set out his or her shoes, and St. Nick came around in the night and filled our shoes with goodies, thanks to his helpers (in the form of a few wonderful volunteers here). Here are our shoes as we found them that delightful morning!

While lettering Advent banners (one for each of the four Sundays of Advent), I was joined by some friendly onlookers who kept me company in the dining hall. The fabric is a canvas which was dyed by our wonderfully artistic worship assistant. I used Pearlescent acrylic ink to do the lettering with a brush, loving every moment that I get to spend creating art for the village.

Tropical Hot Tub Party

On this cold Thanksgiving weekend evening, the Utilities folks worked all day long to create this "tropical paradise" around the soon-to-be-closed hot tub.

There were mango smoothies, bits of pineapple to snack on, Hawaiian music and a 104-degree hot tub in which to soak.

Nate and a bunch of girls even performed a hula dance for us all. Now, that was a sight to see! This was just another example of "Holden Hospitality," which is one of the core values of the village, along with worship, study, community, grace, shalom, and others.

November "Polar Bear" Jump!

When you are living in the wilderness, it calls you to do some things that you might not ordinarily do. When Steph, the bookstore coordinator, suggested monthly jumps into the glacier-fed Lake Chelan, Bob and I immediately signed up. Here, the boat leaving Lucerne (Holden's stop) carried several delighted visitors who hooted and cheered as we leapt into the water and swam over to the ladder. It's the longest swim I've ever done, at about 10 yards!

Hidden Gifts

It is truly amazing to see sights such as these ice formations in this beautiful place. It is a reminder to me of the beautiful gifts that God gives us that we may not ever notice. Right now it is a particularly busy time of year for me in my job recording and reporting on contributions (great news! lots of generosity to witness), so I can miss these things of beauty all around me. My prayer is to efficiently get all my work done for the benefit of this wonderful ministry, but also to take some moments to notice the many gifts that surround us here at the village in the wilderness.

Bob the Carpenter Bookkeeper

In addition to doing the bookkeeping and payroll for the village, Bob has been finding some time to work with his hands. Here, he fixes a bathroom floor in a chalet (which is 60+ years old!), grinning all the while!

Thanksgiving camaraderie

The "mavericks" joined to say good-bye to two of their group. They are led by Daniel (in orange cap) who keeps them busy and somehow always keeps them smiling.

In the dining hall, we were led in a song about our daily breakfast: oatmeal! Thanks to our new electrician who arrived with his wife last week to stay for the year, the ode to oatmeal was made fun for all.

Thanksgiving was celebrated in the dining hall, with about 120 people, half of whom were guests for the weekend, feasting on turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberries, squash, green beans and freshly baked bread. Toasts were made and the delight of celebrating with so many tempered the fact that we weren't able to be with family this Thanksgiving. We were quite thankful for visiting friends who really brightened up the weekend. Maya and her friend found several things to toast about, including their shared love for the sci-fi TV show, "Dr. Who."