Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is now past. Is that possible? A listing of all that we have to be thankful for would be too long to include here. God is so good to us. However, we were very thankful to have been able to travel to Georgia over the long weekend and visit with Kim, Luke and Hannah. We feasted on turkey etc and were able to join the crowds shopping on Friday. What fun we had!!

On Tuesday we were invited to the staff celebration of Thanksgiving with a carry in for lunch. It is good to meet the dedicated people that make this conference center work. We talked and shared in our common ground in Christ. As a part of our work day on Wednesday, the gals traveled to The Red Barn (a local relief kitchen) and served lunch. Wednesday evening found all of us around a campfire roasting hot dogs and fixing s’mores. We definitely weren’t in Indiana that far into November!

Today begins week no. 3 on our project here in Shocco Springs. Last week the men were continuing their work on the 6 guest rooms of one of the lodges. Today, they began the process of laying the carpet in the rooms. The ladies were found in the dining hall cleaning. At some point, we are going to help with the decorating for the Christmas season.

Every week that we spend with RVICS we are building memories (as you can see from above) as well as friendships. Thank you for remembering us in your prayers as we continue with this work.

Fall in Alabama

Have we finished a week of work here at Shocco Springs? It seems impossible but the calendar tells us otherwise. The time has flown.

There are multiple “motels” here for the guests that come here for conferences and the different camps that they have available. The men have spent their time this week renovating a few of the rooms in the building called the Bagley Center. Removing fixtures from the rooms, spackling the holes and painting the walls, were some of the things accomplished this week. When they finish the painting next week they will be ready to hang lights and other items in the rooms. We have seen some of the completed rooms and they are extremely nice.

The ladies were well experienced in their duties for the week. This place goes through an unbelievable amount of bedding and towels etc---and this is the off season. Deborah and Pam are responsible for the whole job. It was great fun helping them with this never ending task. Folding the laundry which is just one of their job assignments and we made it into a great time of talking and laughter.

Autumn is in full “bloom” around here. The afternoons found a couple of ladies outside enjoying the beauty before the leaves begin to fall. The picture above is the entrance. The view from our window is of a lake with mirror reflection of all the trees surrounding it.

The volunteers keep a 4 day work schedule. Fridays are called Tour Day. Today was a totally different “tour”. We were invited to a church just over the Alabama/Georgia border by friends of the Holloways. Southern hospitality was very evident!! We made a presentation of what RVICS is all about to the group in the church known as Keen Agers. They then served a Thanksgiving dinner. It was great!!

Thanksgiving is coming and this will be a shortened work week here. The staff have the time off to be with their families. Since we are close (relative to the distance from Hartford City to Warner-Robins, Georgia) we are going to spend a few days with Kim, Luke & Hannah. Hopefully, Chris will be able to have some turkey wherever he is stationed on his deployment.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers that continue to follow us!!

"For the Beauty of the Earth"

I wish that you could all join me right now. However, those who are late risers would frown at that statement if they looked at the time this was posted. Those late risers would miss sitting out in a lawn chair, under the pine trees and watching the sun come up over a lake with a background of crystal blue sky and vibrant colored leaves. BEAUTIFUL!! This is probably the peak of the beauty for their fall colors.

No we are not still in Indiana (remember it is November and I am outside). We arrived at Shocco Springs Conference Center (near Talladega, Alabama) less than 24 hours ago and already love it hear. This is a beautiful area. This is the conference center for all of of Alabama for the Southern Baptist church. We are just getting acquainted with the grounds but it is very large and can accommodate large groups of people.

For this RVICS project there are a total of 4 couples. One of the couples is from Hartford City and very much responsible for us joining this organization, Larry & Gaylene Holloway. We are getting to know the other 2 couples and know that we are going to enjoy getting to know them as well. We know that the men will be renovating some of the "motel" rooms and the ladies will be doing a variety of miscellany jobs.

Thank you for joining us in prayer for safety as we work. A couple of the men are already battling nagging problems that they hope will not hinder their work. We look forward to keeping you updated the next few weeks that we will be here.