Lytton, BC – May 18-24, 2025

John and Linda Sawatzky arrived Friday, May 16 to relieve Duane and Adeline who served for five weeks. We are here for two weeks.

The crew consisted of Matt Dyck, Jacob Morris and Judy Schmidt.

The town was bustling with activities for the May long weekend.  In the empty lot, the Fraserland Church set up tents for children’s activities, with some vendors on site as well.

On Sunday, we attended the Anglican service. After church, we meandered through a classic car show with over 100 vehicles. On Monday, there was a town parade with the theme Rock ‘n Roll. The community did a great job with many in rock ‘n roll attire.

Sunday night, Mark Rempel brought up two new scholarship students: Emma Arndt and Isabel Song. Ron Roth drove to the project from his home in Ontario. He was a bit road weary after driving for three days. Mark stayed until Wednesday supper.

Tuesday was a grocery and incidentals run to Lillooet. En route we saw a wolf and two mountain sheep. The drive is beautiful with curves, and, at one point, a single lane alongside the rock face. The grocery cart was filled to the brim.

Nikki Hamm Gwala, MDS Canada’s Communications Coordinator, came on Wednesday to interview the homeowners Nikiah and Cle-Ann, and the scholarship students.

The week’s work started with a cleanup of the site and painting of siding and trim boards. Otto Neufeld and Ben Wall came up on Tuesday to begin the siding project and worked at it for two days. The doors were installed, and soffit and flashing completed. By the end of the week, there was some siding on both sides of the house. Radon piping was missed but completed by a plumber for Friday.  The framing and plumbing inspections passed.

Judy, the cook, made amazing meals and desserts. Owen and Patsy, owners of MDS’ home build last year, joined us on Thursday for supper.  We are often visited by nearby neighbours, Shirley and her son Eric, who stop in for a cup of tea and a chat.

It’s been a great week — getting to know the homeowners, the students, volunteers and cook.