Tag Archives: Reunion

SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2021, The Adventure

Backing up

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No, not what we’re supposed to do FREQUENTLY with our computers and other devices.

No, it’s not the backing up you do when you need to get out of a parking spot.

It’s the kind of backing up where I need to fill in some of the blanks from my sad lack of blogging over the last several months. So, I’m going to give it a shot to get this little corner of the internet back up to speed (whatever speed that is!).
First up – our zipping out, zipping back, six night, four motels, trip to Texas last week. (Was it really just last week?)
Our time in Texas was pretty much all SOWER all the time! And while the Trustee meeting was of upmost importance (at least for Gary), the Texas Round-up that happened early in the week was certainly the highpoint for us!
It was a bit smaller this year thanks to our constant life-interrupter COVID-19, but it was special in so many ways! Among our group were at least two couples who hadn’t done any projects yet (and one of those was a ‘second generation’ SOWER – Mom and Dad had served years ago! We had even worked with them back in 2008!). Others had just completed their first project, and some only had two or three under their belt. It was so exciting and encouraging  to see that we ‘seasoned’ SOWERS were outnumbered by the new kids on the block.  I loved meeting these new folks that the LORD has brought into our ministry!

Along with wonderful fellowship we also were blessed to be part of constructing 10,000 (yes, that’s ten thousand) booklets of John and Romans to be sent overseas.
The booklets
Collating the Gospel
Part of the collating team
And more.....
The staple team
Stapling team
Thousands ready for the next step –Thousands of Gospels going to the Philippines.
They’ll get trimmed and then packaged to go. It was inspiring to think about this portion of God’s Word getting into so many hands – and hearts, we pray!
Working on that Scripture project was very meaningful and I’m so glad it was incorporated into the Rally. But there were also many, many light-hearted moments as well!
Like jelly bean balancing
Jelly bean balancing
Or jelly bean rolling
Jelly bean roll
or (my personal favorite) Peep Target shooting
Peeps rubber band target practice (photo creds to Michelle Malek)😉
(Photo creds to new SOWER (and friend) Michelle Malek!)
Our Game Masters (Gail and Wayne) kept us thoroughly entertained.  (or perhaps we were the ones entertaining them!)
Capture the egg competition
While laughter was an ever present guest at this gathering, there were some serious moments too. We had some Group Leader training (with lots of good questions) and a Q&A for the trustees that were present.  With so many new-ish SOWERS it was a wonderfully informative time.

We finished off the Round-up with a ‘formal’ banquet hosted by the ALERT Academy staff.
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Complete with a harpist.
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What a lovely evening!
All of the laughter, inspiration, encouragement, and fun made for another excellent gathering of our SOWER Family!
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If you’d like to see additional photos (along with pictures of individual couples in attendance) you can check them out here!

I’m not gonna lie – it was an exhausting week. But oh the joy that came with it!
Steph

Family and Friends, Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, The Adventure

Reunion Vibes

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The 2020 SOWER Family Reunion (Florida style) has wrapped up, and I have to tell you I am exhausted from all the fun!  The pictures are taking their time uploading and I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to string more than a couple of sentences together. Since our 2020 Dwinell Cabin Association Family Reunion is only 141 days away, I thought I’d share some reunion pictures from our past DCA reunions-
2006 – Sandy Cove, MD. No group picture, so I just picked this one of the “Under eight crowd.”
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2012 – at the Cabin – 38
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2015 – Montrose Bible Conference – 49
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2017 – Montrose Bible Conference – 48
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2020 – The Cabin – TBD

Can’t wait!

Family and Friends, On the Road, Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, The Adventure

Family Blessings

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When Gary was a youngun’ he was unofficially adopted by his Aunt Sis and Uncle Rich into their (already robust) family of seven. Those good Jesus-loving folks included him in vacations, had him over for weekends, and generally loved on him during a time when his family was pretty much falling apart. As I was introduced and well-welcomed into that family I could see how God used those dear people to model for Gary not only what an intact family looked like, but also what living for Jesus looked like in real life. Oh, there was lots and lots of teasing, but never without the underlying lots and lots of loving. Even when the family moved from the Philadelphia area up to Massachusetts, the connection stayed strong. When we set out on this journey, their house was the first place we visited. While I failed to get a photo of them at the time – here they are a couple of years later –
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Man, we love these folks! They have both been promoted to Heaven, but we still are in contact with those wild and crazy cousins. When we got an invitation to join their family reunion in MA, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to join in the fun. While we had little to no idea who went with who in the younger generations, it was still a marvelous day of seeing the Lake tribe in all of its glory and goodness. They might’ve been short a family or two, but it was still a perfectly wonderful day. Since we were so enjoying catching up with the gang, I didn’t take too many photos, but I couldn’t resist when all the littles were gathered together for a group shot.
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Even though they were definitely looking at a different camera, you can get a feel for the energy of the day! And for the moms that were busy trying to capture the moment.
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I did manage one sibling/cousin/spouse photo –
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We might not get to connect with these folks very often – but the love is always there!!

After our quick trip to Mass, we returned to work for a couple of days and then headed south to do some doctoring and other family visiting! Blood work, mammogram and annual check-ups all went well (thank you, Lord!), but the real highlight of our “Doctoring” time is our chance to visit with the Chambersburg Fitz’s and any other nearby family – Joie and Fitz came for the day to add more delight to our visit. Such a wonderful time of catching up with this sweet family! I totally failed in the picture taking department, but managed to get a shot of three of the four kiddos working on one of the three jigsaw puzzles that were in process during our visit!
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The time spent with that family more than made up for the two shots I got at the Doctors. And a quick stop at Trickling Springs Creamery also helped!
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All in all, it was an excellent week. A little work, a little road trip, a little business (those doctoring things!), a little ice cream and a LOT OF FAMILY!!! What could be better!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Steph
PS – If you’d like to see just a few more pictures of the trip, you can check them out here!

On the Road, SOWER Projects, The Adventure

Before we start April…..

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Let’s finish up March, shall we? (Oh, you say, but it’s already April 6th! I understand your confusion. But let’s just say – for today only, that it’s the end of March. Please?)

Following our March SOWER project at Panfork Camp, we hit the road for Big Sandy, TX where the 2019 Texas Roundup was being held. We pulled in a couple days early
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but before long the campground was full of rigs (and SOWERS ready for a great Roundup!).
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A SOWER Rally (or Round-up as we like to call’em here in Texas) is simply a gathering of any SOWERS who can make it – whether you’re just starting out on your SOWER journey or have been serving for decades – for a time of fellowship, fun, and ministry refreshment. For us personally it’s a wonderful time of reconnecting with folks we’ve worked with in the past and also an opportunity to meet some of the new faces that we hope to serve with in the future. Between the speakers and the activities, it’s always a great reminder of just why we do what we do. This year’s Round-up was no exception! Here are just a couple of the highlights –

  • We were blessed two mornings with messages from Lew Sterrett and his team from Sermon on the Mount.
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    So many Biblical lessons were shared – if you ever have the opportunity to hear him (or someone from his ministry) I urge you to take advantage of it! He was excellent!
  • We shared lunches and dinners together – always a great time of fellowship! Whether it was catered by ALERT or a good old fashioned (and always delicious) SOWER potluck
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    (Oh yeah, baby. Desserts!)
    Or the beautiful banquet ALERT put on for us –
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    (Don’t ask me what I’m doing in this picture – I haven’t a clue!)
    the fellowship around the table is always sweet!
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  • Our days always started with a time of worship, and we were led by the incredibly talented Salty Strings.
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    John and Connie not only share Christ through their music ministry, they are SOWERS too!! We loved getting to meet them and get to know them!
  • Another tradition at SOWER rallies is the auction. While it’s true that we are basically just trying to sell stuff we don’t want to other folks that don’t really need any more stuff, we certainly do try to have a good time while we do it!
    Gary Auction
    Money was raised – and laughter did happen!
  • But of course, the main attraction and true blessing of any SOWER gathering are the people!

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Oh, my! When we all joined hands and sang our SOWER theme song, the room resounded with “Hear Ye the Master’s Call!”
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(If this picture is just showing several blurry white balls, and you would like to actually see the picture, just click on the picture. 🙂 )

We can’t thank enough all the people that worked to put this most excellent Roundup together and ALERT Academy who once again so graciously hosted the event! What a wonderful way to finish up our busy winter season!
We pulled out on Wednesday, delighting in the spring green, and ready to tackle our next project!
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Family and Friends, RV Life, SOWER Projects 2017

Ten Things

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1. We were blessed to have another SOWER couple working with us last month. Darla & I worked on folding sheets and some sewing projects while Ed helped Gary in the Dorm Basement renovations.
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Loved having them here!

2. The Dorm Basement project is complete! Ok, so not complete-complete like campers will be staying there, but the new doors are in, wiring is done, the ductwork is installed and the upstairs (where campers WILL be staying next week) is all good to go.
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Which is a very good thing, ‘cause, you know – those campers arriving this weekend.

3. When Becky (head of housekeeping and essentially my boss) asked me to make some covers for the laundry carts, she assured me that she had a pattern.
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