Starting a New Year
by Debbie Habibzadah

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January has already been a busy month. There is a huge amount to plan and prepare for on the Horti project this year. As well as all the bedding plants for the Plant Sales Day, we have troughs and hanging baskets to make up for both our Open Day and the Great Yorkshire Show. We really want the gardens to be colourful for our 20th birthday year.

The beginning of a new year is a great time for sorting things out and starting afresh, and we have been busy in the polytunnels doing some early spring-cleaning. The propagation tunnel has been scrubbed out and the heated benches recovered, in readiness for this season’s seedlings. We already have some tomato plants just starting to grow.
The potting shed is taking shape quite quickly now and everyone is looking forward to being able to use it.

We have just replaced all our well-worn wellies and workboots, some of which had become rather leaky, so everyone is kitted out to survive the inclement weather. The valley is rather water logged and as we go to fill the bird feeders three times a week, it is important to keep warm. Bess the sheep dog loves to accompany us, and her sheer exuberance seems to rub off on people, so she is a great asset to the team. (Although she sometimes needs a bath when she gets back if she has rolled in something smelly!)

The Art and Craft project has not been running for some months, however the people in our care have quite a variety of options through the week, with literacy classes, drama and music workshops, and the new intake of Catering Academy has just begun. The Equestrian project has various people joining in and beginning to get to know the horses.

We are very excited by the prospect of the Adult Learning Centre becoming a reality. There are various diggers and machines on site doing preliminary work. We will also have to move all the guinea pigs and birds which currently live where the new buildings will be. 2007 is going to be a year where we see some big changes, and we are praying the Lord will really pour out His blessing on all we hope to achieve, especially on the lives of those we meet with day by day.

A huge feature this year has been the restarting of our Bible Study Groups. This year they are being run quite differently to before, and more like the “Seekers Services” that Peter used to run at Leeds Reformed Baptist Church. They enable those attending to participate and ask lots of questions, whilst we address the big and fundamental questions of what it means to be a Christian and how to grow as a Christian. We are looking forward to some exciting and hopefully beneficial times. With Michael a very new Christian and Kelly asking how she can become a Christian, we have some important and big issues to talk about.

Debbie Habibzadah