Why Dorchester? One might ask…well, it’s quite a story. Years ago we sent a small group of our people to Europe in hopes of finding people like us who loved God with all their hearts and wanted to give Him everything. They traveled for many months, camping on beaches, weathering storms, working wherever they could to make enough money to get by, trying to find an “open door” in this new land. One day they met a sweet woman in the south of Spain who owned a small hotel and offered them work for a time. After making friends with her, she told them about her old run down Chateau. “ I have no one to care for it.” She said, “It needs a lot of work.” she apologized, “but if you like, you can live there until you find something better.” Several people made the trip to Southern France with her son to see the property. There nestled at the base of the Pyrenees mountains stood what we now call, “Tabitha’s Place” the place that was to be a home for the beginnings of the tribe of Ruben. What a miracle…just what we prayed for!

Time passed and our dear friend had some financial problems, which required she sell her property. She hoped this peculiar group would be able to buy it because she knew they really needed it and would properly care for it. Well, they certainly did not have the funds, so they asked for help...

Back at home in the US, our ever increasing community in VT had a hard time finding places to buy large quantities of food, so we started sending people to Boston where the produce markets were bigger and the people were more generous. After a while we found that not only was food plentiful, so was the possibility of work, which we needed to support ourselves. So, after taking council, we decided to send a delegation to the big city in hopes of starting a new community. We were also very excited about the possibilities of meeting more people who loved the God of heaven with all their hearts. Farewells were said and our dear brothers and sisters left the security of home in Vermont to break new ground. Soon we were provided with an old Victorian house in disrepair. Just the job for us!

Then came the news from our brothers across the sea, “We need help! We can not pay for this property on our own…” Quickly we came to the rescue. Our reputation of good character and fine craftsmanship having gone before us, it was not difficult to find work. We sent more crews to the city to help. Tirelessly our brothers worked to meet the deadline and finally, the last payment was made!

By this time, the community in Boston had doubled… We increased to 4 households and had thriving construction, plumbing, and electrical businesses. We were able to support ourselves as well as many of the smaller beginnings that were springing up in other places.

Living smack in the middle of the city, it was not hard to notice the many needy people around us. How we wanted them to understand the purpose of life on this planet, to know God’s heart and experience a life of love and forgiveness. This inspired us to look for a place to open a restaurant where we could serve good, healthy food in a wholesome atmosphere and not only that, we could extend this marvelous life to all those on a quest for something more fulfilling than a mundane existence.

Eventually we found just the place on the edge of Lower Mills. Fathers and sons banded together to turn this old run down storefront into a beautiful café and wholesome food market. Such an endeavor clearly represents the heart of God to human beings at this time. He desires all men to be saved and restored to their original purpose.

So, that’s our story. We are now only one household of about 25 people as many of the larger families were sent to more pleasant places for raising many children. After 20 years we still live in the original house we first had on Melville Avenue. We are not many, but we can accomplish a lot! We love working together in our Café and store, interacting with God’s highest creation – human beings… It’s marvelous to make so many friends, to serve and care for people. We would be honored to host you! Come for a day, or to stay….