Our First Home

Beginning a life together necessarily requires a place that can be called home.

For nine months we have lived in an Eden-like wonderland called "The Potter's Place." No, that's not the name of some gated community or apartment housing development. That's the name of Don and Shannon Schaupp's privately-owned fifteen acre property, a place that has become, for many, a haven of rest, solitude, and joy.

We came by this place by a miracle. The day we returned from Haiti last May found me looking for a summer job and future housing after our wedding. That same day someone told me to call Don Schaupp. Long story short, I spent the summer landscaping and pruning and keeping this hidden garden, with all its greenery, wildlife, and characteristic tranquility.

We have lived in "the tree house" above Don's wood shop, and have been absolutely amazed, not only by the apartment itself and the immense natural beauty of the wooded areas that surround it, but by the work that the Father has done while we have lived here.

Home is not a building, but it often requires one. Home is not made by woods and singing birds and wild turkeys and blooming flowers, but those things often make home feel more like home. Home is though, without a doubt, made in that mysterious union we call "family." This is more than the term seems to suggest, for it does not, at least in our estimation, imply merely immediate blood relations. Rather, "family" refers to any of those persons that really make a house a home.

We have been so blessed to live in this place, surrounded by cabins and trees and beauty all around. We are so grateful to the Schaupps for their incredible desire to use the buildings, gardens and walking paths (and yes, even golf carts) of this place to create a home for the people of the King. Many have visited this place and have found all the external glories that we have known since living here...and many have also found and walked in community and fellowship as a result of being here.

I hope home always looks like this in our lives.


And yes, it would be really great if there were forests and gardens involved...


-Ryan

 The Turkey Patrol!

 Picnic Shelter

 Day Cabins