Finished projects

When working RVICS projects at the various camps, churches etc, there are times we do not see the completed product. Last week the men saw the completion of the siding on the café and the roof on the shelter for the pump. After these things were done, one group of men started working on replacing the soffit for the bathhouse in the RV park. Don and a couple of guys started work on an old pontoon boat. The goal was to replace the decking. However, before it got that far, they found that it had holes in the tubes and that it wasn’t actually sea worthy and the idea was scrapped. Now, they are building swing sets to sit around the camp.

Since the weather improved (got warmer) the women could now start painting. Last week, we painted doors and cabins. With 2 groups of cabins completed we have moved on to the last ones. They are proving to a little more difficult and are taking longer. When these are done, there is more painting awaiting us.

On Friday, we experienced a special day. Every year in January they have an RVICS reunion of all the RVICS people in Florida (working different projects in the area and retired RVICS in that are close). This is the first one that we have had the privilege to attend. Lake Aurora Camp was the location this year and since our group is here we acted as hosts. Don gave the devotional for the occasion. It was great seeing people that we have worked with the past 3 years plus putting faces to name’s of people that we have heard about. It will definitely be a highlight of this month here.

It is hard for us to believe but there are only 6 more working days left. We are looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow.

A Week of Contrasts

Week one at Lake Aurora is now history. It was a week of contrasts. On Monday we piled on multiple layers of clothing to keep warm working on our various projects. By the time Saturday rolled around we were in "summer" type attire. We much prefer the more summer type temps.

As you can see by the picture above, the men did finish the fence work that they were working on at the Gold N Bough Cafe (breakfast & lunch only) that the camp runs on their property. A couple of men are still putting on siding on one side of the building.

Three of the men have moved on to other work. We are surrounded by orange groves (and juicing factories). There are numerous citrus trees on the property too that help supplement the income of the camp. When the weather turns extremely cold, water is pumped onto the trees to keep them from freezing. We were told that a single pump can pump up a million gallons of water in a day! The picture above is the diesel pump on this property (huge thing). The shelter that is built over it needs extensive repairs with the rafters etc. This isn't fun work but is necessary. Don will be busy for a few days working on this.

Sharon and the ladies pulled multipe staples from walls, tables etc around the property last week. Before that, we sewed potholders for the kitchen out of towels. This saved the camp many dollars. Do you know how much a single potholder costs ----$9!! Tomorrow, we will once again dig out the paint brushes and begin painting.

What will this week bring? We are excited to find out what the Lord has in store for us.

Beginning 2010 Project

January 6, 2010, found us heading south from the snow & cold in Indiana to the sunny, warm environment of Florida. As it turned out, the cold and nasty weather followed us south (no sun and no warmth). God was gracious to us in giving us safe travel (in some cases) in unsafe conditions. However, it is good to be here as we begin season #4 with RVICS and our 13th project.

It is hard to believe that in our 3 years of retirement that a year of it has been spent in the RV and working. This month finds us in Lake Wales, Florida, at Lake Aurora Christian Camp & Retreat Center. Orange trees are all around with a few lemon and grapefruit trees. What a treat to have picked fruit straight from the tree. It is delicious!!

RVICS sent 6 couples to work here this month but 1 couple is arriving late because of illness. Hopefully, they will be able to join us in a couple of weeks. We are all northerners in the group----Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York and, of course, Indiana with 2 of the couples new to us. What fun to meet, work with and get to know fellow Christians. There is, also, another organization here working, as well as, 3 other independent missionaries. They are, also, doing service work for the camp.

There is fence work to be done. The last couple of days Don and the men have been moving and rebuilding a fence. The holes are a little easier to dig than the ones that he dug in Wisconsin this fall. Sharon and the ladies worked in the chapel removing staples---yes, staples---the first day. Tuesday, we all got our sewing machines out to make potholders out of “orphan” towels left behind by campers. That was fun but we had lots of broken needles!

Today, we begin anew with more on the list to do. We will fill you in later on the rest of the week.

The Finish Line

The “finish line” is getting close. Monday and Tuesday are the only remaining days left for our work at Child Evangelism Fellowship. The men will finish the windows with paint. The rains this past week pushed that away back!! In fact, with record all time rainfall for Missouri this past month, many outside jobs are going to have to be left undone. However, the men worked hard inside getting staining, painting done. Don and Paul worked in the electrical room rebuilding a wall and doing shelving. The ladies continued their kitchen work and housekeeping. Sharon spent the whole week making beds and vacuuming. This coming week it will all be to do again!

October 2009 is history. Our October project here at Child Evangelism Fellowship is nearly over as well. In fact, our leaders are pulling out in a few minutes for the 3 day drive to the next project near Houston, Texas. (RVICS asks their team leaders to arrive a couple of days on a new project before the rest of the team.) Another couple will join the group there. So, the hard goodbyes are already beginning. Two of the couples we have worked with the previous 2 months are heading for Texas. The remaining 3 couples are all heading for home through the holidays. Then, we will once again be seeing new places and meeting new people.

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.