We’re getting settled (along with 7 other couples) at our March SOWER project – Camp Horizon in Leesburg, FL. It was an easy 17 miles from the SOWER Reunion location, so I just drove the truck behind the rig. The last mile was definitely the prettiest!
The camp is located right on a lake (Lake Harris) northwest of Orlando.
And while we don’t have a lakefront parking spot, we do have a lake view one!
Pretty sure this is going to be another great month!
Category Archives: On the Road
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Let the New Year Begin!
For the first time in almost 10 years we’ll be wintering in Florida! Here’s a map that shows our different locations for Jan, Feb, and March –
We’re starting out the winter ‘season’ in Wauchula where we’ll be working at Sherry White Ministries. There are several facets to this ministry, but the basic premise is restoration through Jesus Christ! We are parked at the Pioneer Village and will be working with 4 other SOWER couples. Two of us are ‘seasoned SOWERS’ having been SOWERS for over 15 years, and two are pretty new and one is on their very first project!! We’re excited to be building new relationships and being a blessing to this ministry.
And yes, we will also be enjoying the 70-80 degree days! Just keeping it real!
Thank you for your prayers as we traveled from Ohio (Brrrrrr) to Georgia (Brr) to our current spot in Wauchula (Ah….) Yes, I’ve dug out the capris and the flip-flops! And it feels pretty good!
PS – It’s after 9PM and it’s STILL 76! Crazy, right? I’m thinking this Floridian Winter is going to work out just fine!
From Rural to Urban
We left French Camp Academy after a great project month
traveled a bit up the Natchez Trace
navigated our way through downtown Atlanta (at 5PM no less!)
(Trust me, it got way uglier than this. We just stayed in our lane and plodded along with all the other 9,435 cars that were also on I20 heading out of Atlanta)
and finally made our way to our December SOWER project – Camp Westminster in Conyers, GA. (Check out the Where are we now page for a map of our location!)
We unhooked our dependable gray truck for the last time (she is, as I write, being driven around by her new owners and will soon be on her way to Montrose Bible Conference where she will experience her first snowy winter!) and got settled in, awaiting our other two SOWER couples.
Once we got the house parked and plugged in, we took off for a jaunt to the nearest Costco for some long overdue eye exams. I’d like to say that ‘nearest’ actually meant ‘near’, but no. However since we were feeling the need for a Costco fix, back into the Altanta traffic we went. After two eye exams, two new pairs of glasses and a run through the store, it was a four $$$$ day. And we didn’t get heading back to Conyers until after three. (We’ve since been told that if you don’t get out of Atlanta by 3PM, you might as well just hang around until 7PM. We are seeing the wisdom in that!)
I couldn’t resist taking a picture of this picture of my eyeballs. Kinda crazy, right?
But I digress. The rest of our gang is settled in,
we all worshiped together this morning and enjoyed a nice quiet afternoon (which may or may not have included a nap). Tomorrow we start work – the guys will be tackling a multi-shower tiling job, and we ladies will be counting and entering new inventory for the gift shop. For all of my whining about the traffic, we’re looking forward to being a little bit closer to civilization (and shopping – tis the season after all!) this month. The camp is actually quite rural, but it’s only minutes to the interstate, and then voila – you’re in Atlanta!
Have a great week everyone! I’m sure it will a busy one for all!
A Quick Catch-up
Hi!
I’m sitting here in McDonald’s in Kosciusko, Mississippi, taking advantage of some decent cell phone service and a nice clear WiFi signal. We’ve been having a great project, but with our limited connectivity I haven’t been able to do any updates. Gary’s getting a bit antsy to get on our way so…..
Good News – the kitchen sink saga has been resolved without having to throw away the entire rig.
Everything seemed to spring a leak – incoming, outgoing, filter- during the repair, but eventually all was returned to normal.
More good news – the project is going very well. The rain finally stopped and we’ve been blessed a lovely string of beautiful days! Work is going well (more on that in a later post) and probably the hardest thing about work in that in the room right next to my work area THIS is happening –
Oh, the Smells!!!
Looks like my internet time is about to end – can you see that red truck through the window? Pretty sure the engine is running!
Thanks for stopping by (and for your patience between posts!)
From there to here
When it came time to move from our October SOWER project (Mercy Ships in East TX) to our November project (French Camp Academy in central(ish) MS) we had a little complication. It was a happy complication called an extra truck, but a complication nonetheless! Since there was no way to get the shiny new truck ready to tow in the three days between its arrival in our lives and our need to get to Mississippi, and we hadn’t traded in our trusty gray truck (planning to donate it to a favorite ministry), there was really no other option than to have me drive the new kid behind the rig, which was towing the gray truck.
We’d already moved all the components (RV and both trucks) to the office (about 2 miles from Mercy Ships) and were all set to hit the road at daybreak on Thursday.
And daybreak it was!
While my first choice would always be to ride in the rig with Gary, it was pretty fun to drive the truck. I figured out how to connect my phone so I could listen to my favorite podcasts (ah, the miracle of Bluetooth), checked out all the stations on Sirius (free three month trial – sweet), and even made a couple of phone calls (nothing like talking to the steering wheel!). It was a beautiful clear day, and probably the biggest frustration was not being able to take any ‘along the way’ pictures.
OK, so I did take one –
But it was super quick!
We made it to Madison, MS, where we settled into a Walmart parking lot for the night. Since we had a ‘loose’ truck, we even got to go out for a bite to eat(usually we stick to places within walking distance – i.e. Subway or McDonald’s in the Walmart!). (I did let Gary drive, btw!)
We returned to witness a stunning God painting, and once again were reminded of the majestic God we serve.
Friday arrived with the promise of rain all day, so we were thankful that we only had 70 miles or so to finish up our drive.
And I’m happy to report that we made it in with no problems. Since the rain (as promised) continued, we did a quick set up (just electric and water) and then started to address a little water leak problem we had noticed as we set out on our drive to French Camp. So although generally when we arrive at a project we’re nice and tidy, with everything put away in its place for a least a little bit, we got right to work taking EVERYTHING out from under the sink and remove the bottom drawers to locate and fix the problem.
Happy to report that the problem is remedied, and now we just have to wait until everything drys out. With all the under sink ‘stuff’ out in the daylight, it has at least given me the opportunity to do a little purge of the forgotten vinegars that have been hiding out there (like the gourmet red wine vinegar that has a best by date of 01/20/11 YIKES!! Not sure just how “gourmet” it is these days! Well aged, at least!) Those Under The Kitchen Spaces can be pretty scary! Hopefully by the end of the day, the space will be dried out and all will be returned to their correct spaces. (Or put in the trash!)
So, enough of that ‘keeping it real’ story! The rain has continued today, so for now, this is all I can offer of our “New View”
Hopefully the sun will return by the time we start work (Monday AM), but in the meanwhile if you’d like to know a bit more about French Camp Academy, please hop over to my “So Where are we now” page or check out their website!
Thanks for stopping by!
