If the Walls Could Talk…the Iona Room

I am the Iona Room. I offer a peaceful and tranquil setting for those who seek rest here at Overtoun House. I must admit that ten days ago I had little to offer anyone. But then a group of pilgrims from Hayes Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, came to help me. I was in very poor shape given my door frames were crumbling, and my bathroom had no distinguishing features. I was a room without much to offer.


The pilgrims went to work quickly. Audrey took charge of my space with her energy and enthusiasm. Other pilgrims spent many hours within my walls. Cindy and Deborah were constant companions, and I think Ralph lived in my bathroom the whole week as he set about building glass block walls around the tub. Nelson and George hung various objects on my walls after the “Glossy Girls” painted. “Trim Jim” and Gary were in and out of the room measuring and making miter cuts on numerous boards. Even a young college student named Taylor who was not part of the original team of pilgrims joined in and helped Audrey accent the space that is me.

I now have stenciled on one of my ceiling beams “Faith, Hope, and Love.” I know for a fact that the person who stenciled them prayed as she worked on the tall ladder that the stenciled letters would spell the words as intended. I also know she said she was glad that there are only three “timeless values” to stencil…whatever that references!

I’m glad that I am the Iona Room and that I can offer a peaceful, tranquil place, one that will offer those who stay within “Faith, Hope, and Love.” These are timeless values for all. May the women and girls who come to Overtoun House for healing also find these timeless values on their journeys.