Week #1 Carson Springs

As we finish week #1 at the Carson Spring Baptist Conference Center, we have finished one of our most physical week’s worth of work on a RVICS project. They have a long list of things that they would like to have done during our stay here.

The men have been working in 2 groups of 3 each. Don and his team have been digging holes and filling them with cement for new lights along a driveway. Digging a hole here is not that simple because it is mainly rock. They have custom made new window sills for the chapel. As preliminary work for next week, they have drawn up plans for a new sewer from one of the lodges. The other group of 3 men have been demolishing a building (keeping most of it for another building project). Prayers were with them on Thursday. As they had a lift removing the trusses, the rafters gave way and the WHOLE thing fell to the floor where the men were standing. It all happened in a matter of 2-3 seconds. After the dust cleared the men were all standing together OUTSIDE unharmed. It was a miracle. The day before they had been standing on them but didn’t realize that there was rot on one end of a couple of them that came loose and brought the whole thing down as dominos.

The ladies have been working in groups of 3 also. One group have been working on cleaning over 700 chairs in the chapel. Yes, it is more than a weeks worth of work! Sharon and that group have been patching holes in poured cement walls in a large room in the basement of the conference center that is being made for an office for housekeeping. The holes are patched. We are now coating all the walls with the same material. This is something new for me to add to my “resume”. Next week, the painting begins.

Yes, the truck was repaired as of yesterday. The “damage” could have been worse but they still had to take the whole transmission out. It is good to have transportation again. However, we haven’t lacked for rides.

This is a great group of people and we are enjoying our time with them. We are thoroughly enjoying one lady in particular that heads up the housekeeping staff. She is instructing us in the culture of the east Tennessee people. What a delight she is.

Thank you once again for your prayers. As you can see, they are being felt.

Another Project!!

Yes, we are at our new project sight after spending 5 days at home. That seemed like a whirlwind but we were once again anxious to begin this project at Carson Springs Baptist Conference Center. After driving all day yesterday we arrived last evening and before long all 6 of the couples for this project were getting set up for the month. Hopefully, in the near future I can get pictures of the RV Park on the blog. We are literally sitting on the side of a “hill”. There are no level spots here! In fact, we think that the truck didn’t like the idea because it started leaking transmission fluid as we were backing into the spot. Fortunately, it didn’t happen until we were at the end of our journey and at a place where friends could help us. Plus, we found a Ford dealership down (literally) the road! The middle of next week we will take it in for the verdict.

What a beautiful drive down with the sun shining most of the way and the leaves putting on their fall colors already. This conference center is a beautiful place too. Last evening when I walked to check e-mail etc I passed 9 turkeys. I am guessing that there is alot of wildlife around this location.

Of the five couples that are on this project, four of them are new to us. In just meeting them, it seems like it will be another fun group. Our friends from Hartford City were assigned with us. That is always special. The other couples are from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Montana and Florida. Yes, they are from all over again!

On a future blog, we will have to tell of our work and a little more about the conference center. We have not had an official meeting yet. Please pray that our time here will be well spent.

Near Completion

Two new boys’ bathrooms, 4 new wooden bunk beds, dozens of handyman jobs, mowed grass, cutting down of dozens of trees (diseased)---these are the completed or near completed jobs done by the men here at Hiawatha Youth Camp. The women have spent their time cleaning and painting. These jobs that we have done have all made the camp a little nicer for the campers that will come here next summer.

We are down to 2 ½ days of work and the time has flown by these past 3 weeks. Every project is different and with every project the skills of the volunteers very greatly. However, with every project, the volunteers seem to have just the skills required to do the work that needs to be done. That was true this time too.

It is about time to leave since the TV weatherman says that on Wednesday evening we might have snow/ice pellets. Winter is getting close in this far north part of the US. However, the scenery has been so spectacular this past week or so. The reds are unbelievable. All the fall colors are represented in their brilliance. Many evenings the group had made a campfire and spent their time with further fellowship. Last night the temperature was around 48 degrees when we finally called it a night. These make great memories.

Thursday at midday, we will hook the RV to the truck and head south. It is always hard to tell your new friends goodbye. Hopefully, we will cross paths with them again. After 4-5 days in Hartford City, we will once again leave for another project. This time it is in the south as we will be in Tennessee. We will then do this all over again as we meet new friends and greet fall one more time!!

Until we arrive at our new destination-----please keep us in your prayers.

Work?

The blog a week ago was titled Work & Play. That is very true of this past week, also. During our work hours, the men began to re-build the boys' bathrooms, continued to do repairs to other cabins, and spraying preservative on the outside of the cabins. Even today, 2-3 of the men, cut down a couple of very dead trees here in the RV encampment. The women painted and cleaned cabins and finished some of the work that they had been doing in the kitchen.

Play consisted of fun social when the RVICS group was invited to enjoy a pot luck social with the "community" that surrounds the lake. For Bible study we were invited into the home of a couple that lives on the lake and he led the study. He is a retired school principle and they make their home here 5 months of the year. For our Friday tour, we traveled to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, for a tour of the locks. It was another picture perfect day and freightors were in abundance! They are fun to watch when you are from a land locked area. Since we are "camping" one night we brought out the hot dogs, chips, marshmellows, and had a real for sure cook out. It was pretty cool but the fire did keep us warm.

As we close week number 2 here at Hiawatha Youth Camp, we are feeling very much at home and are meeting the members of the community that lives here that I referenced above. Hiawatha Youth Camp is a part of the Piatt Lake Bible Conference Association. Piatt Lake is surrounded by cottages that are built on leased land from the Association. They have to be Christians to live here (and prove it) as they want the atmosphere here to be different than the world. They are a great group of people. We have started riding our bicycles around the lake (4 miles) and some now call us by name and all wave. Also, we are definitely "out in the middle of no where" BUT there is one family from Upland that we know and visited with this week plus there is a connection to 2 other people that we know from Hartford City/Upland!! Most are not natives of this area and do go south in the winter time.

We are having a great time here---can you tell. We feel that we are benefiting the camp with our work and are having a good time doing it. By the way, the leaves are showing more and more color daily.

Work & Play

This has been a good and fruitful week here at Hiawatha Youth Camp. We hit the rode running and haven't let up yet. As the title says, work and play.

On Monday morning the men tore out a couple of the boys' bathrooms, as well as, tearing out much of the laundry room. By the end of the week, the ladies were once again able to use the laundry room. It is much improved! The boys' bathrooms will be re-built this coming week. Don spend much of his week in a set of 4 cabins being handy man---fixing and repairing. The ladies cleaned and sorted items in the kitchen making it ready for the winter when the entire camp is closed and shut down. A nursery room is, also, ready for babies next summer. Monday, I believe the women will be painting and painting and more painting.

This trip we brought our bicycles and everyone that has one is putting them to good use. The men drove their truck (tools) to the work location and parked them there. They have then been riding their bikes back and forth and to get needed supplies. The area is conducive to riding and we have taken rides for pleasure too.

The camp personal set up a "fire pit" in the center of our RV parking. We are enjoying it to the fullest and light a fire in the afternoons and evenings whenever it isn't raining. It makes for great fellowship.

On Friday (tour day for RVICS everywhere) we drove to the Tahquanenon Falls State Park. It was a postcard perfect day. I have spent 2 days before writing this blog trying to download pictures but the computer didn't cooperate. This is an enjoyable part of the projects and we get to see and visit places we might not ordinarily get to see.

Thanks again for all your prayers and support of notes etc. Monday will find us back at work.

Away Up North!!

Hiawatha Youth Camp will be our RVICS home for the next month. We haven't learned much of the history of the camp yet but we do know the location (I think). It is 50 miles from anything! Actually, we might not know where it is located because a local person in a car drove up to our window on a dirt road and asked if we knew where to go. "No" was the answer. He kindly drove in front of us to the campground! Lake Superior is just north of us and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, is to the northeast.

It is a very nice camp located on Piatt Lake. Because of its location, the camp is only open 2-3 months in the summer. I believe that the ladies will be "closing" the buildings down for winter by storing supplies and cleaning. For one of the men's projects, they will be renovating the laundry building.

Our RVICS group for the month is made of 5 couples from Virginia to California. One couple is very near their home in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada. This is the first time that we have worked with any of them. We have one of the men in the group to thank for our internet connection. I don't understand it but he took one of the couple's internet service and made it so we those with wifi can connect to it. We are thankful for that!!

Our RVs'are in the woods. We look out the windows and see nothing but trees. We are wondering how many animals we might spot. We have been told a bear occasionally shows up.

We are excited to be here and to begin work next week. One the drive up, we stopped at a McDonald's for lunch and ran into another RVICS couple that we have never worked with that were heading for a project at Miracle Camp. It is a small world.

Thanks for remembering us as we work. We will give updates whenever we can.

What a Trip!!

We have now landed in Hartford City. It feels like we have lived forever in the van and now need to get our "land legs". What a trip it was and one that we are very glad that we had the opportunity to do. We saw a good cross section of the USA.

Since we are a detailed family---

6500 miles (approximately)
12 different states of the US
2 Canadian provinces
Time with all the family

It is good to get home and now for the work. Time to get ready for another trip RVICS in September.