A Ride Down Memory Lane

The date was July 27, 1970 and the temperature that day in South Central Georgia was in the upper 90s with equivalent humidity. Sharon and I were just married the previous Saturday and we were on our honeymoon on the way to Florida. The little Opal we drove had no air conditioning, so we were tired and ready for a night's rest. We pulled off I-75 just south of Atlanta to a motel in Jackson, Georgia. (The only one in town) The name of the motel was "The Heart of Jackson". It had a large heart over the roof with an arrow through it. This is the place - - I knew we should stop!

I untangled myself from the Opal and went in to get a room. As I went to the desk to check in I noticed some well dressed folks sitting in the lobby. As I was filling out the register, these folks made a semi-circle behind me. Now as some of our close friends know , I have strong resevations about "small southern scary towns". So now what? One of the gentlemen introduced himself as the local banker and he was spesking on behalf of the local Professional Business Women (who were present) and they would like for us to be their guest for the evening. They were having a "Stay and See Georgia" contest. Of course, I responded, "we would be honored to be your guests."

That evening those good folks treated us to some good southern food at a Bar-B-Q picnic. Then one of the ladies ( a retired school teacher) took us to her home which was a large pre-civil war house. It was such a treat to tour her home.

The next day she and a freind took us to a garment factory, a luggage factory and tried to visit the new prison that had just opened. "I'm sorry, but you can't visit here," was the guard's reply. We silently were thankful, whew! They then took us to a roadside fruit market and treated us to some very large and sweet peaches. We were then on our way to Florida. For a few years we recieved Christmas Greetings from the dear lady. We reasoned she passed into glory when they stopped.

Well, that trip was 37 years ago. While visiting our daughter this fall in Macon, Georgia, we saw the sign on I-75 "Jackson" next exit. We couldn't resist to take a short trip to see what it would be like. It had indeed changed.

From what we could tell, a housing development was in the place of "The Heart Of Jackson" Motel. There were weeds and overgrowth where the garment factory stood. The building had turned to rust and the fence was in disrepair. I suppose garments are made in China or some other part of the world now. The benches were still around the courthouse, but no one was sitting on them as they were 37 years ago. There was a "Burger King", McDonalds, etc., along the highway. - - No motels. I saw a couple homes were flying the Confederate Flag. And there was a billboard advertising for recruits to join the "Sons of Confederate Veterans". We didn't see any fruit stands.

While some changes are good - - I found none here. The sleepy freindly little town had digressed into a couple gas stations, burger joints, and a few junk cars.

While our lives too have changed, our attempt has been to stay progressive and positive. We are thankful for a God who may deal with His creation differently at different times, but never changes His ultimate purpose for us. He is the same today and forever.

In a couple weeks we will be heading for our second RVICS project this season. We are going to a Christian Conference Ground near Talladega, AL. We again covet your prayers for safety while we travel and work.

I'll be looking for those fruit stands.

Farewell to Youth Haven Ranch

On September 7 we entered Youth Haven Ranch, Rives Junction, Michigan, with excitement and, as always, all too soon it is time to say goodbye. This month flew by quickly. We will never forget the beauty of this place and the ministry that is being done. It was so good every weekend to see the children come (free of charge) and be free of their burdens that they carry at home. This is an excellent ministry and very much needed in the world that we live in today. Hopefully, in some small way we have made this a better place for this ministry to children.

Also, we will never forget the people that we worked side by side with for the past month. It was a sad time as both the people that we worked with at the camp and those we worked with from RVICS said our last goodbyes and the last hugs were given and the last wave goodbye given. However, we will never forget the friendships that we have made and the common bond of Christian faith that holds us together. Without those "back home" we couldn't do this. Thank you all for the prayers, e-mails etc that you have given for us.

During the month of October we will be visiting with family and friends. Then, there are always the list of things to do at home that never seems to end. However, when the first week of November comes rolling around we will once again hook the truck to the 5th wheel and with excitement head for our next project.

Can We Be This Close to Going Home?

Week #3 of this project has been completed. Time is moving by very quickly. This past week was very much like the 2 weeks that came before. Don and the men painted the observatory and Sharon worked cleaning etc. with the ladies. This coming weekend the donors that keep this ranch going are gathering for their annual banquet. Everything has to be “ship shape”. We have been invited to attend but all of the RVICS volunteers will be back to their hometowns by that time.

We have continued to have visitors while we are here. One day another RVICS couple stopped by that, also, lives in Michigan. We will be meeting them again in November on a project in Alabama. Today, friends of our leaders came by for a visit. This is a good way to see how we, as RVICS couples, live and the type of jobs that we do. Maybe they will be joining us on a project themselves?

Volunteers are always needed as RVICS has to turn down many applications that they receive every year do due lack of volunteers that are willing to go. We find the rewards are well worth the aching muscles etc. that we might have. You can’t buy the satisfaction that we find in helping others make their ministries better.

On Thursday after we finish the project around noon, we will once again hook the truck to the 5th wheel and head south to Hartford City. Thank you for supporting us with prayer during this past month.

RVICS-ers

These are the members of our group that we have been enjoying Christian fellowship and work jobs. Ron & Rose and Willy & Sharon are all natives of Michigan. Thank you for praying for all of us.

We are only on our third project for the RVICS group. However, we are continually meeting people we have already worked with and new people. Last weekend, as you will recall, we joined another group of RVICS that were working about an hour away. This weekend we received a phone call from the couple that were assigned as our leaders for us this month but had to pull out for health reasons. We had worked with them in Texas last spring. How much fun to spend the day with them! Another RVICS couple that actually live about 10 miles away joined us, as well as, a couple that retired from RVICS about 7 years ago. RVICS is big on ice cream and we ended our time together at a local ice cream parlor---you can’t beat that!!

The camp requires many volunteers that give many hours. This weekend a men’s group from a church in Lansing have been here since Friday. It has been a bee hive of activity as we see maybe a half dozen projects being done. Yesterday afternoon, a group of girls with their counselor paid us a visit to express thanks for the work that we were doing. These children are why the volunteers come and give of their time and money.

Tomorrow morning we will begin the last half of our month assignment here. That doesn’t seem possible. Once again we will hit it hard or the kids.

Yes, we are still around

It is fall. In the last blog I was wanting earmuffs. We no longer need them. The beauty that God has provided for this season is busting forth. The crystal clear blue skies contrasting with the green grass with heavy dew is so beautiful. Added to all of this are the leaves that are changing color (it seems) before our very eyes. No picture can compare to the real things. This camp has an abundance of deer that make an appearance every morning and evening. One early morning Sharon met a skunk on the trail but apparently it was a friendly one. We have heard that there is a family of 20 turkeys but we have yet to see them.

There are few domesticated animals on the grounds also. The most fun are the goats and a donkey named Hershey. About a year ago Hershey arrived and the 3 resident goats gave him no peace and continually chased him. The goats didn’t realize that the donkey would grow. Now the goats have no peace with the donkey chasing them to the top of stairs on the side of the barn. A guy in our group says that Hershey is lonely.

On many RVICS projects every week is different. This project is holding to that. The men have been doing some painting. They are re-doing a shed for a new chicken coop. The ladies have done some additional cleaning and weeding of the landscaping around the buildings. The ladies are, also, involved in re-packing backpacks with school goodies for children 1-2 grades. They are re-packed so that each child finds similar items. Everything is donated and must be new---nothing second hand. When each child leaves the camp, they take a new pack with them. We have not seen them but they say the children are so excited. They will now “fit” is and have nice things too.

On projects we truly become a community. Each of the 3 couples are from different backgrounds but have the common bond in Jesus. Part of want we do is have devotions every morning with each member of the group leading this on their assigned day. One night of the week, we have group Bible study lead by someone from the ministry that we are volunteering for. One night we have a game/social night. It was great to have the other couples over to our “home” for a meal last night sharing family pictures, as well as, pictures from the other projects that each of us have participated.

Since we have 4 day work weeks tomorrow is a day off. It will be good to relax and visit the surrounding area. However, we will be excited to have Monday morning come around again to begin it all over again!

Where's my earmuffs?

Yes, it was definitely fall in Michigan this morning. When I went for my early morning walk today, earmuffs would have been nice. I did pack the warmer jacket and gloves. It was beautiful with the clear, blue skies and the sun shining on the frost that was on the ground. There is beginning to be a hint of red on some of the maples.

This camp is ideal for bringing the disadvantaged kids from the inner city with many family problems. It definitely shows the children a more peaceful, relaxed lifestyle. There is a permanent staff here year around and, in the summer, they double that number that work directly with the kids. Each child is assigned a staff member that remains with them the whole time that they are here. This helps them to get to know one another and gives them some stability while here. We heard the story of one child who was dropped off and no one came to pick him up.

We have met Norm. He is an impressive guy in his early 30’s who heads all maintenance at the camp. The other day we heard his story. The age limit is 7 years old to attend this camp. He wanted to come so badly that he convinced his mother to lie about his age to let him attend. He was only 6 at the time. What a success story!

We continue working on the projects as the director assigns them. We have a good crew to work with and things are getting done. It gives us great satisfaction to see these things to completion.

Thanks once again for praying.

Feeling at Home in Michigan

Week #1 is now history on this project at Youth Haven Ranch. As we do more and more projects for RVICS, we find that all of them are different and unique as are the ministries. This has been a “lighter” work load (to this point) than we are accustomed.

The ladies have done deep cleaning for most of the week. The hardest project for the men has been repairing a garage door—which they have now finished. Next week will bring out the paint brushes. Also, there are many donated back packs here that need to be filled with toys. These will need to be done while we are here.

We basically had a one day disruption to our work on Wednesday. A new, half hour TV program for Christian TV called Significant Living is being produced at this time. Significant Living will highlight retirees who are making a difference after retirement from their full time occupations. RVICS was selected for one of the programs and, more specially, they came and spent Wednesday with our group interviewing and videoing our work. It was very interesting but, from the groups’ stand point, a very long day. TV programming is not glamorous! The program for RVICS will not air until January.

RVICS men work 21 hours per week and the women work 12 hour per week. Fridays are “tour day”. Today was special. There is another project for RVICS nearby. We spent the day with this group of 5 couples. One of the couples we had done a previous project in Texas. As we meet more and more people doing projects, it is great to see friends again. Our tour today was to the Jiffy Mix factory and Thetford factory. We left the Jiffy Mix factory with samples of food. Thetford makes most of the products used in the waste tanks of the RVs. Samples from them were very welcome also.

Thanks again for your prayers.