Fall in Warrenton, Missouri

Work is progressing as we completed week #2 at Child Evangelism Fellowship. The cement window sills are done except a few more coats of cement (very thin) and the painting. The list of odd jobs they are wanting the men to do is getting shorter. One group of RVICS men installed the plaques that are pictured above on a prayer wall showing each state of the US. The women spent their entire week in the kitchen and dining room helping the regular staff with the large group of state leaders that were here last week. The women always work in the morning. However, this week we split the group and half worked in the mornings and half in the afternoons.

As a highlight for the week, we heard the key note speaker for this leadership conference speak one morning for devotions. He is Czestaw Bassara from Auschwitz, Poland, where he was born just after WWII. What a fantastic speaker! He has spent his life working for CEF in the eastern block European countries as well as Russia. Today, he has an international Bible teaching ministry in which he speaks 5 languages. We were extremely impressed!

Fall returned this past week!! Most of us had given up hope for warm, sunny weather. The trees turned out in all of their glory with lots of golds and yellows. Yesterday, we took a short trip close by and it was like driving in the Smoky Mountains this time of the year. It was complete with the hills and tight curves. Our last stop was in the town of Hermann, a “German” town on the Missouri River. Yes, we can now say we had had a beautiful fall. It is our belief that all of the leaves in Hartford City are now on the ground!

We are noticing that the activities here are slowing down as we are getting deep into October. Many of the volunteers are heading south. There is a ministry class (12 week course) that will be finishing up in 2-3 weeks. We are guessing that in the “winter” it is much slower than what we have been experiencing. Once again, we found that the Christian community is “small”. There was a couple of Oregon with their children attending the conference last week. In talking to her, I found that they had driven across the US visiting with their supporters. One of the stops they made was in Upland to visit a friend of ours!!

Tomorrow, we begin another week of work. We don’t know what that might be but are anxious to get started.

Where is Fall?

“Neither, rain, sleet or snow” will stop us from our work. Even though we didn’t see the sleet or snow it felt like it for a good part of our time here. The above picture looks like snow but that is frost that was on the ground this morning. Brrrr!! The rains and cold temps didn’t keep us from doing the work that had been assigned to us for the week.

The men continued to work on their concrete window sills. They have progressed to a point in getting them done but are hitting a road block in how to get the final coats of cement to stick and not fall off from gravity. That is still a work in process. Since it was too wet to work outside a couple of the days, the men went inside and painted walls, stair wells etc. Most of the women spent their week helping in the kitchen. Marie and I spent the week doing housecleaning (no bathrooms). Special guests came to CEF during the week that required extra work to be done. We, also, set up and cleaned away tables for their banquets and special meeting rooms.

One of the things we like about doing the work we do with RVICS is seeing how the ministries we visit operate. Volunteers are vital to the ministry of Child Evangelism. They come for a week or months at a time. They have a large room where the volunteers gather of a morning and are there when the mail arrives with the completed correspondence courses from the children from around the world. The courses are logged into a computer and given a bar code. From there on it is the personal reading and grading by the volunteers on a one on one basis. When a person reads of a new salvation a bell is rung and everyone cheers.

One of the down sides to the adverse weather is we tend not to gather together as a group as often. However, the sun is shining brightly today!! Yeah! With the sunshine (and warmer temperatures) we are hoping to be able to socialize more this week as well as work outside more.

October 2009 finds us at the headquarters of Child Evangelism Fellowship outside Warrenton, Missouri. The campus is secluded and quiet. The property formerly was a monastery that had a major fire. In 1976 CEF purchased it for their home. This is the home for nearly (if not all) aspects of their ministry. Not only is there a staff of employees making the ministry work but many volunteers come. I don’t believe they could do the ministry that they do without the volunteers. This week there is even a group from Hawaii. One lodge is even called Volunteer Lodge.
Our RVICS team consists of 4 couples that we were with last month. The couple from Wisconsin went home and we added another couple from Indiana. This is a great group. There are a couple of former RVICS couples that volunteer that live here many months of the year doing volunteer services almost full time. So far, the only thing we don’t like is the cold, wet weather. Ha!!
Today was our first day of working. Two of us ladies helped with light housekeeping today. The remainder of the women worked with preliminary food preparation. The men are working on cement window sills. Over time a few of them have begun to crumble. Don and another RVICS worker found themselves using hammer drills to knock down the cement and get it prepped for rebuilding. A couple of the men are working on electric golf carts that are giving them problems.
We are looking forward to another good, productive month.

Nearing the Finish Line

Fall is coming! This has been an extremely nice month of weather but as the month of September draws to a close we feel October moving in. For the whole month, the team only had to change their work plans for one day because of rain. Everything is dry. We have been surprised that the leaves haven’t turned much but the acorns are really falling and hitting the roof of the RV hard today! Light sweaters have been about the only covering we have needed outside.

This week many projects were completed. Don and Paul finished the fence and it looks great. A ceiling in a bathroom was replaced, shower or two repaired and a new light was installed. The big, heavy job for the week for the men was working on a cabin roof. The old shingles had to be torn off, new tar paper put down and shingled. To this point, about 80% of one side is shingled and 40% of the other side is done. Don and Paul will be replacing a window tomorrow too.

The women waterproofed/stained the gazebo. The windows have been cleaned in most of the cabins with just a few remaining to be done. We have nearly completed the camp’s to do list. They are making up a new list for these last 4 days.

Yes, just 4 more days to go. This project has been alot of hard physical work but the time has gone by quickly. This is a great camp in many ways. The leadership is top notch and the facilities are well cared for. We will leave with great memories and hope to come back someday.

At the end of the week, we will pull out and head back to Hartford City for almost a week. After that time at home, we will go to an October project in Missouri. Four of the couples with us now will travel there also. However, another new couple will be added. In a couple of weeks look for another posting.

Thanks for your prayers and support.

Work & Play

We are at the half way point of working this project. We are working hard and also, having lots of fun.

When our work day ended at Thursday at noon, the ladies had finished painting and cleaning the 50 cabin windows and trim (including rehanging of the screens). The screen doors and trim were, also, sporting a new coat of paint with new chalking. The gas lines are newly painted. One team of men have completed the re-roofing job on the gazebo. Another team is putting the tractor back together. After getting inside it, they found a problem that made it too costly to permanently fix. We don’t know how else to describe it but they have a plastic barrel train pulled by an ATV. The men have repacked the bearings in the wheels. Don and Paul are still on the fence. It is progressing but slowly. At the end of the workday on Thursday, it was decided the supervisor had made a couple of bad decisions in RE to it, ex too short. All weekend they have been throwing ideas around on how to make the changes they now want. That is life!!

When you are around one another on a daily basis, you really get to know one another. This is a fun, game playing group. Also, Don has a first cousin that lives not to far from the camp. This week we were able to have a really good visit with them.

On Monday we will begin the work all over again. Don will be back at the fence and Sharon will have a paint brush in her hand. Yes, the play is planned too beginning tonight with a hot dog roast.

Camp Fairwood Week #1

Week 1 at Camp Fairwood proved to be a short but productive week. Since our first day of work landed on Labor Day and there were campers everywhere, only prep work was done on Monday, such as bringing lumber, shingles etc to the work sites. Tuesday morning everyone was very excited and anxious to work.

The 6 men were divided into 3 teams for different assignments. One group is working on an old tractor and another is re-roofing a gazebo. The third group of two (Don) has torn out an old fence and in the process of replacing it with another. There were old posts to be removed. In the end, they resorted to jack hammers! This was a first for Don. Now, everything old has been removed, new holes have been dug and, Monday, they will be building the new fence. This week was hard on the men because of the hot weather that we have been experiencing. As I write this we have the AC on in the RV.

The ladies are in the process of painting the outside of 50 cabin windows. Sharon started on this project but was then moved to another job. First, she scraped, then primed and now is painting the natural gas lines going into the various cabins etc. The hard part is the aluminum paint for the top coat. It is the consistency of water but doesn’t come off.

Once again we saw the camp being used this weekend for an all men retreat. It is exciting to see it come to life and see how the facility is being used. The camp director (Brad Dickinson) filled us in on the history of Camp Fairwood. In 1966, the General Association of Regular Baptists of Wisconsin purchased 230 acres and buildings. It had been owned by a professional baseball player who had designed it to be a camp for teaching kids baseball. Today, it is supported by 40 GARB churches and 1 EFCA church. Their work has been blessed and they have grown in every way. We are impressed by all that we see being done.

This is a fun area to be in this time of the year. 3M sent Don up here a few times many years ago. So many changes have occurred. It is much more populated and they are farming the land -----green beans, sweet corn, carrots, green peppers and, of course, potatoes and cranberries. Irrigated fields make the fields productive. We have seen many wild turkeys, sandhill cranes and, Sunday, 3 deer in our outdoor “office”.

Please continue to remember us in your prayers in our daily chores.

Summer is Over

On the road again. Yes, the summer is over and it is time for another RVICS project. This month will find us at Camp Fairwood near Westfield, Wisconsin. After arriving a few days ago, we and 5 other couples have settled in for a month of painting and light construction. We represent the midwest and are from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Once again we are meeting 4 new couples since we have only worked with the leaders previously. What fun!

The above pictures show our team for the month. The camp has the feel of a state park with lots of trees and lakes near here. Internet service is available with wifi but we have to walk some distance to get this “necessary” service. The last picture shows our office. Isn’t it beautiful?!

Family Camp was this weekend and it was great to see the camp in action. There were babies, children on bicycles, parents and grandpas and grandmas everywhere taking full advantage of the activities. This week we will be meeting with the director to learn more of the history etc of his camp. Already, we have heard of the impact on the lives of those who have “camped”. No longer than we have been here, we are greatly impressed with the director and the one other full time employee. They are 100% hands on.

Tomorrow morning will find Sharon with a scraper and a paint brush and Don with a crow bar and other destructive tools. However, we are excited and looking forward to getting started.