To get out of the house and away from the 100 degree weather we took an hour drive north of the city, up to Mt. Lemmon and the appropriately named town, Summer Haven. The temperature up the mountain was in the 60s and we enjoyed a day of playing games, picnicking, hiking, and exploring. We are slowly acclimating to the Arizona heat but this respite in a more familiar environment was much needed. We stopped on the way back down to watch the sunset. The sun did not disappoint.
While we might have quite literally gone "up the mountain" on Wednesday, Thursday's visit to our volunteer locations presented us with some of the metaphorical mountains we'll be summiting this year. We have members of the house working with Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery, restoring and stewarding the local watershed, and supporting immigrants and refugees. My position, with the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Resettlement Program, may include working closely with people that have experienced a lot of hardship and trauma. I'm grateful for the intentionality of our unit and the Shalom Mennonite Congregation for the support and tools we've already received to do this challenging work in a sustainable way.
Visiting everyone's placements is just one stage of settling into our new home. This also includes finding personal touches for the house (some from the MVS shed and others from thrift shops), establishing a budget and appointing a treasurer and assistant treasurer (yours truly), as well as choosing a show to watch together. Our current show is "Never Have I Ever..." a coming-of-age comedy-drama starring Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, currently with three seasons on Netflix. With 30 minute episodes we easily watch three before we realize how much time has passed. Laughing together combined with popcorn, ice cream, or both has been a great way to finish our days.
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