For my husband and myself, coming to the Community Inn really does mean coming home, although neither of us ever planned on being innkeepers! Steven, who has worked for Mobile Loaves & Fishes for seven years, started the Genesis Gardens farming program and enjoyed many years of success as its director. Before marrying Steven, my career was in academia, where I spent my days in classrooms and libraries.

We married in 2015, and, unified in our calling to live as “ministers of homemaking” at Community First! Village, we moved into an RV here on the Village property. From our front window we can see the tiny house that serves as the Community Inn office, and we have already begun to welcome our first guests. Those guests do not simply come into a rented room, but into an extension of our home. In light of that fact, we hope we can draw on the foundations of our home–our faith, our call to live at the Village, and our experiences as a farmer and a scholar–to make your time here meaningful.

For Steven, this means continuing his work as “Good Soil Developer.” That’s the job title Steven chose for himself when began the garden program, and it’s a beautiful description of what he hopes to do as an innkeeper. As he gets to know our guests, trains our resident contractors, manages the inn facilities, and plans service and educational events, Steven is preparing rich ground in which relationships can take root.

My skills as a scholar and teacher have also found outlets in much of the inn’s meaningful work, particularly developing curricula for seminars, retreats and training programs. I’m also having such fun studying and reviving traditional “homemaking skills” for our Community First! micro-enterprise programs and volunteer opportunities.

We love our work here at the Village, especially when we can connect our old wisdom with the new work of running an inn. Thus, you’ll find plenty of garden beds and growing things all around the Inn, and I’m aways ready to talk about the latest book I’m reading. (Currently, it’s a volume on ancient practices of Christian hospitality. Talk about great inspiration for an aspiring innkeeper!).

Steven and I have come home to the Community Inn, and yet we are just at the beginning of this exciting journey. As hosts, we look forward to meeting you, welcoming you, and hearing the tale of your journey.