The picture on this blog is a photo of Prayer Lake, a 40 acre man-made lake which is included in the rural neighborhood that Wellspring Community is located in.  If you are interested in learning more about this neighborhood and how to purchase land or visit, here is the website: www.christian communities.com

The Living Springs (the name that the owners gave to this neighborhood) website is very outdated because the webmaster passed away and never gave the passcode to the website to Bob and Joan Rutz, who started this community. However, you can still get a sense of what is happening in that website which was published around 1999.

About 50 people (including about 9 children) live in the Living Springs Neighborhood, and  are not required to be Christian. Many are not. Although some people might prefer that only Christians live on the acreage, residents co-exist peacefully with some people interacting in very cooperative ways, including Christians and non-Christians.

There are many wonderful people who live in the neighborhood, and I am friends with many of them. I feel disappointed because there is very little cooperation among people, (at least that I am included in) but once Wellspring gets going, I hope to see more cooperation in the future.

I started a messenger chat group which is for emergencies, and a Facebook page so people can cooperate as they feel inspired. A friend started a chat group for people to share about gardening, and we might be having a seed and plant exchange. I believe that if people are encouraged to cooperate more, it will happen.

When our kids were young, everyone (whether parents or not) rallied together to help with homeschooling and raising our kids in a community environment. In so many ways, it was ideal for them.

Now that the many of the children (including my own) are married, and have moved away, we don’t have the uniting energy that we used to have.

The lake is a wonderful resource with a park built by residents that has a volleyball court, basket ball court, picnic area, a dock to dive off of, and even outhouses and picnic tables.

On Sundays, there is a worship service. The attendance is only about 6-10 people. Doctrinal differences have created a lot of conflicts that have lead to a once well-attended service to being only a handful. I believe that 3 the women who are the overseers of the 2 hour service are doing their best to help people focus on bringing people together in a spirit of unity. However, my experience is that there are still resentments and unresolved simmering under the surface which prevent this service from being peaceful. I am choosing not to attend at this time.

I really hope to organize a“time bank”, as soon as possible since the economy is so fragile.

Although the couple who bought the land where Living Springs is located envisioned it to be a Christian community, they sell land to non-Christians. Most people are Christians, and so far have been good neighbors. We’ve had a little bit of crime–some vandalism here and there, but for the most part this neighborhood has been very safe.