We went to Patterson Park in Baltimore first to register, eat breakfast and then pick up our free serve the city t-shirts. Then we headed off to the Samaritan Village. A Christian organization that is in the process of building their ministry.
They are renovating two very old and very cool mansions on the largest tract of undeveloped land in Baltimore city, 23 acres! The one home was built in the 1890s and had 23 rooms and 8,000 square feet! It was the summer home of a wealthy bachelor who owned a tugboat company in Baltimore. And he only lived in the house for 3 months out of the year! Wow.
In 1910 or so the home became a Sanatorium. A house for addicts and the nervous, in modern language, an Insane Assylum! There are lots of creepy stories about the house including that they used the dark basement to shackle and use shock therapy on the unlucky patients!
Our group helped sand the walls, paint, sweep, scrap wood and lead off different areas of the house. Once renovated it will be the home for battered women and they will also be taught a vocation, culinary arts! They will use the large and expanding vegetable garden next to the house to contribute to the program and also grow the food to donate to Baltimore area missions and shelters.
The second house on the property was built in the 1910's and is being renovated for church and group events which will be catered by the women! So the Samaritan Village has some great ministry goals and we got to help out. We also had some folks work in the garden/farm and we had a lumberjack crew who carried, split and chainsawed logs! Briah K. was our chainsaw expert! Ryan H. was our machete guy and Anna P, Grace, Tim H., fearless Papa Greg were our lumberjacks.
We will be going back as we look to make a long term partnership working with the folks at the Samaritan Village. Its neat to get in on the ground level and watch how the ministry comes to completion and grow into its ministry.
