Tag Archives: MBC

Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, SOWER Projects 2023, The Adventure

The Great Organizational Challenge

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We painted those tables –
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(Full disclosure – one of the summer staff finished the job because we were moved to  housekeeping-)
We made the beds
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And then we accepted The Great Organizational Challenge!
Remember those two rooms our guys drywalled and then installed shelving?
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Our mission – should we choose to accept it – was to take all the boxes and crates (filled with decorations) in this room
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and organize it by season and/or holiday and put it in those two newly ‘shelved’ rooms.
Oh, my! We accepted the challenge (of course), took a big gulp, and got started!
I started pulling out all of the Christmas ‘stuff’ (since we had been told that there would be more of that than any other) and shuttling it down to Anita who kept busy labeling boxes, consolidating what she could, and trying to group things in some kind of order. Nativities nestled together. Christmas trees and greens in the same area. Tree decorations near each other. Table decorations…pine cones….snow flakes….you get my drift, right?
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This might look like a lot of shelves
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but let me tell you, there was A LOT of Christmas/Winter decorations.
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As I was sorting through boxes in the room we needed to empty, I was also trying to group other ‘like’ items together. Fall decorations. Spring. Valentines. Silk flowers by color. Eventually we felt we were making a dent in the pile.
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Look! Floor!!
Meanwhile, the “Christmas Room” was filling up fast!
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By the time we left work last Thursday, we were feeling quite hopeful we could wrap things up early the next week.
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Ah, silly us!
We came in on Monday, and as I was working my way to the back of the room, I noticed some boxes in the hall that had been hidden by the mattresses (also in the hallway). And wait – are there more boxes even past them?
Yep.
The back hall was full,
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the bedroom had a collection of boxes
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and even the bathroom was chock full of more (mostly Christmas) goodies!
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There might’ve been just a moment or two of disbelief before we just once again started opening, labeling, and sorting boxes.
By the end of our work week the apartment was ready to be cleaned for the summer staff
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and all the boxes were labeled and (to the best of our ability) organized on shelves.
The Christmas/Winter room was stuffed to the gills,
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but the “other” room had an empty shelf and a clear flat surface that will come in pretty handy as a work area as these decorations get used.
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We came. We saw. We got’er done!

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Mission Accomplished!

Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2023, The Adventure

A New Month – An Old Friend

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One of the aspects of our SOWER journey has been serving at lots of different ministries. With the exception of projects where we’ve returned for a specific need, we rarely serve at the same ministry twice. Even if we’ve had a great month, we always feel the pull to see just what God is doing around the corner. In fact, after this month, our next eight projects will be ‘new to us’ locations. And we’re excited about that.
But this month we’re at our “Home Project”, Montrose Bible Conference, where we’ve served more months than any other ministry (a total of 30 months!). It’s also where we first learned about SOWERs, so it has a very special place in our hearts!  I must admit, it feels pretty good to come back to this Old Friend. It’s nice to be somewhere where “everybody knows your name” and you know all the ins and outs of the ministry buildings. We know where the best pizza can be found, and I even have a hairdresser here in town! While there have been babies born and new staff added since we last worked here, it still feels a bit like coming home. This month we’re working alongside another SOWER couple whom we’ve worked with before (here in fact!) and they also are very familiar with this ministry. (He served on the Board here many years ago and their daughters have served here as summer staff (also many years ago!)!)
Our first two days on the job have been great! The guys have been working on turning some awkward spaces
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into usable storage –
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They’ve gotten pretty far in just two days
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and they think they’ll be wrapping up that room up tomorrow. Good job, guys!
We ladies tackled some new picnic tables that needed to be painted.
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I’d like to say that picnic table painting is trickier than you might think!
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Now that the primer is all on, we’ll be moving to the dark green tomorrow!
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Yep, it’s good to be back here at our old friend, MBC!

Pictures of the Adventure, SOWER Projects 2021, The Adventure

Mini-Montrose Mission

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To say I am well acquainted with the laundry situation at Montrose Bible Conference might be an understatement. I’ve washed and folded my share (and maybe your share too) of sheets and towels over the summers that we’ve been coming,
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and I have an up close and personal relationship with the quirky laundry equipment in the conference center’s laundry room.
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(See – even Gary pitches in when there’s a quick turn-over and guests are on their way! He mostly handles the pillowcases!)
When we learned that new laundry equipment was being donated to the conference center, we jumped on the bandwagon to help get the job done! And the timing was perfect! The new units arrived the day after we returned from our quick Cabin trip over Memorial Day/week –
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and everyone pitched in on getting the old (mostly not working) equipment out so the area could be prepped for the shiny new washers and dryers.
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That old green monster had been part of the room for over 40 years, and let me tell you it was no mean feat getting it unbolted from the floor!
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Or getting it out the door!
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Or onto the truck!
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Finally only the Big White Dryer was left – and it was deemed OK to stay! But then the question was – what about the floor?
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Completely replacing it wasn’t an option at the moment, so the guys began the arduous task of taking up what they could.
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And it was inch by inch for sure!
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So. Many. Nails.
Eventually prep for the new installation could begin!
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(The Big White Dryer has a large vent which is why the new dryers had to go up on a platform. Good for loading and unloading, not so convenient for the controls. But certainly doable!)
New water and drain lines, new electric and venting – the room even got a nice fresh coat of paint!
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And less than a week later – voila! With fresh curtains to boot – an updated laundry room!
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That there is one happy group of laundry do-ers!(AKA the director, Jim, and his wife, Becky, and son Daniel!)
Now all they have to do was figure out all those crazy control options!
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There will be a learning curve I’m sure, but it’s one I think they’ll (mostly) enjoy!
One last chore for Gary – installing some improved lighting in the new walk-ins:

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Now no one will ever again be able to say – “I can’t find the carrots!”!
(It’s usually chock full of food – we just happened to catch it at a pre-delivery low!. Another good-timing blessing.)

With our mission accomplished we packed up the truck (and I mean Packed Up The Truck!)
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and headed back to the Cabin!
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Where I sit this morning, sipping my coffee by the fire! It’s all good, my dears, all good!

Make it a great Tuesday, friends!
Steph

 

Family and Friends, Pictures of the Adventure, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2018, The Adventure

Flag Day and the answer

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Happy Flag Day everyone!
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Have you been having a good week? Aside from an excursion to the cardiologist on Wednesday (tests went well – but no word yet.), I’ve been busy helping with the Big Bed Shuffle here at the conference center. Remember all those mattresses that were delivered a week or so ago?
UntitledWell, the new queens are going into the rooms in Lily Hill (the motel), and the newer doubles that had been in Lily Hill were moved to replaced some older doubles in Dreyer. Then all the twin beds were replaced with new. In other words, just about every room at the conference center got some type of new (or new to them!) beds. It was a good chance to do some behind the beds cleaning,
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and then ALL those beds had to be made! Ah, job security!
Gary, who has been on ‘light duty’ since this whole heart thing started, kept busy making all the bed frames for those new queen beds.
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Neither he or I were actually involved in the shuffling of all the mattresses (thank goodness!). Just the pre- and after-math of said shuffle!! All in all, it was a good and productive week!
This weekend we head to upstate NY for a weekend visit with our good SOWER friends, Joe & Kim. =) At the end of the weekend, Gary will head back by himself and I’ll hang around in NY until Kim and I pick-up our other dear friend Jenny at the airport on Tuesday for a much anticipated Girls’ Getaway!!
Watch out – here comes trouble!
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Oh – the Where in the World Wednesday location? I had a lot of good guess over on Facebook, and lots of them got it right away.

Mount St. Helens in Washington State.  The mountain missing it’s main peak since its 1980 eruption.
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