At Jah-Jireh, we see love in action every day. A carer who goes above and beyond to check in on an elderly brother who is feeling low, an elderly sister who puts her heart into making a thank you card for our staff, a little girl who wants to volunteer her time to read to a resident – so many little things that make this home what it is.

One of these wonderful examples is Nettie's Pond. We wanted to tell you a little bit about what went into making this gorgeous pond.

Beyond Repair

When we bought this building and property over 20 years ago, it came with a lovely pond. It has always been a soothing feature for our residents and added to the charm of the Jah-Jireh Home.

Over the years though, as all things do, the pond began to need repairs. There were leaks to be fixed and many other little repairs that had to be taken care of often. The maintenance team did their best over the years, but the pond had reached a point where it could no longer be fixed and needed to be completely redone.

Here is a "before" picture to show you what we mean.

Love Fixes

We were seriously considering redoing the pond, which would involve considerable costs and finding the right specialists when a number of things clicked into place.

One of our treasured residents, Nettie (Nellie) Turcotte left a donation to the home in her will. This was a wonderful blessing as it allowed us to have this beautiful pond redone. Although Nettie isn't with us anymore, we will always remember her as we sit around the pond to "pause and reset." We can't wait to see her again and show her "Nettie's Pond" named in her honor.

We now had the funds but needed to find the right people for the job. Enter the Downes! The Downes had been known in the area to have a pond business before moving to Mexico. They were coming back to Canada for a visit so we reached out to them to see if they would be interested. They were! The timing was perfect.

Downe to the Ground

Kevin and Amber Downes are a wonderful pioneer couple, who moved to Mexico with their teenage children to serve where the need was greater. They have a heartwarming story that will be covered in another article. Now the Downes were an answer to a prayer for Jah-Jireh.

Kevin has been in the landscaping business for decades and learned how to create water features, ponds, and waterfalls for clients. He enjoys designing and installing landscapes with some sort of water feature. He has also been able to use his landscaping and design skills for LDC in Mexico.

When we approached them with the idea of redoing our pond, they accepted immediately. Kevin was inspired by the rich full lives that the friends in Jah Jireh enjoyed despite old age and infirmities. It reminded him of the stream spoken of in Ezekiel 47:9: "Everything will live wherever the stream goes." He wanted to be part of doing something for these faithful ones.

Here is a short video on this marvellous project and what it has achieved:

A few words from Kevin and Amber: "We were so excited to get to be a part of the changes to the garden and water feature at Jah Jireh. It was a real blessing knowing that our dear brothers and sisters who live at Jah Jireh will be able to enjoy the new pond, waterfall and garden area. We also enjoyed all the love and kind words of encouragement from the residents who regularly checked in on our progress as we worked there."

We're Deeply Grateful

This project has brought us so much joy. We have seen love in action, and we see its results every day in the smiles of our wonderful residents.

Thank you so much to all those involved in this project – Nettie for her thoughtful donation, the Downes for their labour of love, and all of you who helped us make these projects possible. Your donations, your volunteer spirit and your prayers are much appreciated!

If you would like to make a donation towards much-needed projects like this, please have a look at our Donate page.

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If you would like to volunteer at the home or visit our residents, please write to us.

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