I See Seas of Green ...

Well there may be no red roses but it surely is a beautiful world here at Hebron. (A Beautiful World by Lois Armstrong) After the bit of rain we had last week the paddocks are starting to green up, which will provide much needed extra nutrition for the flock.  

This weekend has been a blend of fellowship, worship, introduction to Hebrew and working bee.  The main purpose of this property is for fellowship, so our shabbat gatherings and meal times are especially enjoyable.  This shabbat Justin presented an introduction to the Hebrew language and walked us through the first five verses of the torah.  Stretching the old grey cells!

Today we bowled over a number of jobs on the to-do list, although naturally there's always plenty of tasks on page 2.  The first task was to bring the flock in and give them a good look over and separate the ram and wethers.  The flock and Gulliver are now used to their home and moved to the yards nice and easy, which was very polite of them.  We are going to control the lambing times to help reduce the time spent on marking and vaccinating the lambs.  The new yards and race proved their worth today, although some more fine tuning of the set up is still required.  

One of my favourite tasks that was commenced  today was the cleaning up of the unholy mess around the small shed.  We've had drums and small containers of the rubbish and glycerine left over from the biodiesel making process sitting around for a few years now.  John put a big dent in this area, as well as Neal taking a trailerload of steel for recycling, so it's now starting to look halfway decent.  The water tank was also removed from the greenhouse to enable us to rip up the not-so-little underground community of rabbits.  Baiting has dealt with the rabbits but the warrens now need to be ripped to discourage further habitation.

Neal's next door neighbour, Pete, graciously donated his expertise in helping us finish off the front door surrounds, for which we're extremely grateful.  There's still a couple small jobs to do on it but it's looking a treat.

Speaking of doors, Carol hung the room labels so now all the bedrooms and living areas are now named after a biblical tree.  So goodbye 'special room' or 'old blue room', hello Olive, Fig or Acacia.  

Trevor spent time creating a digital map of the farm and house, which will make planning far easier.  Here he is with Yakira doing some digital room decoration.

Christina and I continued with the laying of the pavers and the end is definitely in sight.  The front area is now looking far more attractive and welcoming.  All that dirt and rubbish is now a distant memory!  

At the end of the day I was feeling that we have turned a corner in the development of Hebron.  Maybe I just felt more hopeful and positive; maybe I just enjoyed spending the weekend with some of the fellowship.  The physical aspect of Hebron is a mixture of enjoyment and challenge, which is also true for the spiritual and relational aspects of our community, but this blend of enjoyment and challenge in all aspects of Hebron life contributes to our wellbeing. 

Rom 15:13 Now may the Elohim of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Ruach HaKodesh.