Welcome to PHOTOS STORIES - a collage of pictures (starting with the most recent) showing daily life and special events at Elim Village in the past year. THERAPEUTIC GARDEN - Elim residents raised over $15,000 for the Harrison's therapeutic garden. The Elim Foundation matched the donations for a total of over $30,000. All residents celebrated the opening of the garden on June 28 with a tour, in this case, checking out the raised vegetable garden. The focal point of the garden features a bridge over a pond with a bubbling fountain. Designed to appeal to all the senses, this garden also has a section for roses. Harrison residents will enjoy the many aspects of this garden for years to come. JULY 1 - This year the annual village-wide Canada Day festivities started with tying knots into 250 helium balloons. Then the stroll through the Elim grounds began. Over 65 residents trailed through the scenic village. Another 30 residents met the parade at the Oasis and sang all the four verses of 'O Canada'. Marketing staff treated everyone to frozen yogurt bars and they watched a photo show of the five previous Canada Day village parades. ANNUAL ELIM GARAGE SALE - this year the event was held June 4 - 5. What could be more luring than an auditorium full of deals. Organized by residents, the garage took hours of volunteer help to organize and run. These are just a few of many residents who helped. As usual, the event drew in crowds from all over the city. For many this was their first exposure to Elim Village. Offers for this organ had to start at $100, more if you wanted to take the organist home too. Then there's the garage sale aftermath - clean up time! By the time the leftovers had been sorted into trash or 'keepers' for next year, residents had raised a record $7,080 for community projects. Congratulations! INTRODUCING...Elim's two newest residents nested on ten eggs this spring near the pond. The mother and ten chicks made their debut at the lower pond on May 20 then waddled off to the North Duplexes... ...but they haven't been seen since. Apparently they decided to leave Elim and live somewhere else. The village is so sad! ON THE MOVE - In late March, the marketing office literally moved to a new location. It's now on the big gravel parking lot in the center of the village. As the trailer rolled along the Elim boulevard, the maintenance crew recorded every detail..five times! ELIMPICS - for two weeks in February the village was awash in red and white. All exercise classes transformed themselves into 'Elimpians'. FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE HARRISON - residents and staff celebrated on January 28 as only one short year ago the Harrison opened. The Harrison choir gave a special performance and engaged all residents in singing along. Colorful banners recognized the contribution each resident makes the life in the Harrison and to the community of Elim. A SEASON OF CELEBRATION 2009 - The Christmas season began with a hymn-sing in the Oasis. In early December the village held its first ever craft sale. The whole community came out to support it. Sinterklaas made a traditional appearance on December 5th at several of the buildings. Choirs came to Elim but Elim's own choir also sang at several special events. Christmas teas at every neighbourhood in the Harrison brought friends together to celebrate Christmas. Administration and maintenance staff helped serve Christmas dinner at the Emerald. As a final touch to the season, staff raised over $500 at its Christmas party and residents added another $500 and boxes of food donations for the Surrey Food Bank. LOOKING AHEAD - These residents love to exchange ideas and dream about the planned therapeutic garden for the Harrison next year. When the Abbotsford Male Chorus heard about the planned garden, they asked that the free-will offering at their November 9th concert at Elim be donated toward the project. The choir blessed the audience with a doxology and also blessed village with $1,106 raised from the offering for the therapeutic garden. READING BUDDIES - In early November grade one students from Surrey Christian School came to the Emerald for reading practice with their Elim buddies. Most students were matched up one-to-one and engaged in a solid hour of reading practice. Just for an interesting change of pace, sometimes the student and buddy roles got reversed. FALL 2009 SCENES - Even in mid October summer color hangs on. Sunflowers got off to a late start but bloomed bright well into October. HEALTH AND WELLNESS FAIR - Over 130 people attended this September 25, 2009 event, which featured 22 exhibitors and two ongoing presentations. One of the first things residents always want to do is get their blood pressure checked. Everyone is curious about their glucose levels so quite happily endure the painful prick. This looks uncomfortable but the massage chair, complete with therapist, was new to the fair this year and proved to be a popular 'hands on' exhibit. Sometimes health and wellness is simply about catching up with friends. AUGUST 2009 GARDEN SCENE - Residents took 'ownership' of the upper pond this summer and planted the area full of annuals. Color still abounds in late summer. Residents don't even have to look up to see sunsets. The beautiful skies reflect in the pond. SOME ENCHANTED EVENING - Residents love an adventure. Lured by this sign in late July 2009, over 130 residents came to check out this event. Residents socialized with refreshments around the upper and lower ponds while a violinist strolled through the crowd. At dusk, floating candles and tea lights lit up the ponds. As the sun set, the violinist played into the night. THE BUS ARRIVES - On July 24, 2009 a big white vehicle rolled into Elim. The new recreation bus had arrived. Excited recreation staff ran outside to receive vehicle safety instructions and demonstrations. Soon this bus will open a whole new world for residents. THANK YOU for viewing 'Photo Stories'. Life remains ever colorful at Elim Village so stay tuned as we frequently post pictures about life at Elim!