RV There Yet? » Sower Project

Drawing to a close

steph — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 05:16:01 +0000

But there is still plenty to do!
We’re down to the last couple of days here at Prescott Pines Camp – and I thought I’d share a little about the camp and what we’ve been doing here.
Prescott Pines Camp, like many of the facilities that we work at, is a multi-faceted conference center. They have a great summer camp program, which centers around Frontier Town -

and comes complete with teepees (tipis?) and rustic cabins. There are zip lines and challenge courses and of course a pool. In fact, they even have a Human Fooz Ball court -

(We’re running across them more and more. One of these days we might even get to see someone PLAY Human Fooz Ball!)
The other side of the camp is still rustic, but much more civilized. There’s a lovely chapel -

a great gynmasium (that looks like a chapel)

and cabins and dormitory style buildings to accommodate men’s and ladies’ retreats and winter youth retreats along with Outdoor Education Classes from local (and not so local) schools. This place is busy all year around.
But truth be told, they had a very rough winter. The weather was especially harsh, storms were longer and meaner, and parts of the camp were severely damaged. One of the staff houses caught fire and sustained enough damage to render it unusable. A large pine fell into the dining hall, taking out a large portion of the roof. The septic system literally floated out of the ground after an especially wet stretch of winter weather. Pipes burst, trees fell, insurance was ornery. But through it all they could see the Lord’s gracious hand. No one was injured in any of the calamities. Since the roof now needed to be replaced on the dining hall, it made for the perfect opportunity to do some much need expansion and improvement (the original dining hall had been constructed in the 40′s I think). Not all of the work would be covered by insurance, but it was a good start. The septic system was needing an upgrade too, and since it was already mostly out of the ground…. you get my drift. God has been providing resources and enthusiasm and for the last several months He’s also been providing SOWERS to help with the various projects.
We worked hard this month – the guys were busy doing all kinds of things, from moving walk-in boxes to moving landscaping, to digging ditches and building sheds. They even got to help with some of the dining hall interior demolition. One of our group this month is a heavy equipment operator, and he has spent hours on a backhoe and a little bobcat. (I personally think he’s been having lots of fun on those big toys!)
Here are some shots of the guys at work -

Those boys have been workin’ hard!
But we girls have put in our fair share of work too! We started the week by removing landscaping stones from in front of the dining hall, then moved to cleaning two new-to-them commercial stoves and then tackled painting one of the cabins!

The bottom right shot is at the foundation of the house that burned. We were asked to clean up the debris from around the foundation. What a job!
Before -

After -

The backhoe guy came up today and scooped up all the debris we had moved from the foundation. I’m not sure what their plans are for this site, but at least now it’s nice and tidy. Well, more tidy than it was anyway!
And I must admit we were quite pleased with how the cabin came out!

And all in just three mornings! (Ok, so we just did the body of the building – the trim and deck had already been done. But still….)
Oh, and the dining hall? This is how it looked when we got here (except that the blue tarp and some of the repair boards have been removed)-

And this is how it looked last weekend -

I think all the building permits are now in hand, so the rest of the demolition and renovations can begin. They were smashing up the concrete floor today. (I’m telling you, those backhoe guys have the most fun!)

And once again, it’s hard to believe that we’ll be back on the road again in just a few days. There have been some challenges this month (one couple had to leave after a week due to altitude sickness), but it’s been wonderful to see so many jobs accomplished. And it will be exciting to keep in touch with the folks here to see how their spring and summer progress. I know that feeding the multitudes in a wedding-type tent is getting a little old! But I know that God will continue to work here at Prescott Pines Camp!

Getting Ready

steph — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 05:09:54 +0000

So we getting ready these days.
We’re getting ready to pack up and pull out. Our project here is winding down (tomorrow, Thursday, is our last day), and Gary can just about smell the road beneath the wheels. We’ve enjoyed our time here, seeing some beautiful sights and making lovely new friends, but when Gary’s ready, he’s ready! Tomorrow after work we’ll be taking care of laundry, making one last trip to Costco, fitting in a stop at the Post Office, and maybe enjoying a final In N Out burger. (OK, so it might not be our final FINAL burger, but it will at least be our final one at THIS In N Out!)
And we’re be getting ready to say good-bye to our new friends. We had a fun group this month – one couple was on their first SOWER project, and the other couple had been full-timing for about 20 years! Quite some diversity! But we all meshed together just fine, and had a grand time. The work wasn’t too hard – the guys mostly worked on painting and refinishing things, while we ladies went between cleaning pre-school classrooms (you don’t want to look at the underside of those tables, believe you me), to putting together admission packets to filling eggs for the Easter egg hunt next week.

Gotta love the diversity of a Sower Project!
Here’s our little group -

Oh, yeah, we had a fun month!

And out in the field that Joshua Tree is getting ready to finish its burst into spring.
Here it was on March 11th-

and it was popping out a little more by the 17th -

And then this week, on the 23rd -

I certainly hope I get to see more of these as we continue our travels in the desert!

And we’re getting ready to be tourists for a week, too! We’ll be traveling to Prescott, Arizona, but along the way we’ll be stopping at Death Valley National Park and then the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Can’t wait for that!

And I’m also getting ready to get some potholders in the mail. The offer is still open, just so you know.

But right now, I’m getting ready to hit the sack. Can’t be shirking on my last day on the job!
Sweet dreams!

Wrapping up the Mission

steph — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:55:05 +0000

Tomorrow is the last day of our February Sower project at Coachella Valley Rescue Mission. And I suppose I always say this, but where does the time go?! It’s been a good project – while there weren’t any “big” projects (like building a deck or finishing an addition), the guys worked hard on various repairs and painting projects, and really spruced the place up!

We ladies did a little painting too, but mostly we worked in the office and finished out the project sorting clothes for the thrift shop.

Oh, yeah – We LOVE the Thrift Shop Shuffle!
One of the high points of our time working at the mission was being able to attend one of their graduations. About 15 men and women graduated from their two different programs, and it was inspiring to hear some of their stories and learn of God’s Grace in their lives. We also heard from many of the clients during our morning devotions. Men and women, young (18) and old (55), who found themselves on the street, usually as a result of different addictions and poor life choices. Some arrived at the mission with a little “nudge from the judge”, and some found their way simply because they needed a meal or a hot shower or a safe place to spend the night. The CVRM webpage says – “Not housing the homeless, but ending the homelessness. One life at a time.” And after our three weeks there, we can see that philosophy in action. This is an amazing ministry.
But our time here has certainly not been all work. Aside from our weekend fun (Dates Festivals and such), we had a potluck with other SOWERs in the area (there were about thirty of us!),

we took a drive to check out a camp near Julian that might become a SOWER project

and of course, don’t forget those great Happy Hours -

And while the commute and our “split” parking sites have presented some challenges, it’s hard to even whisper a complaint when we begin the day with this -

and end it with this -

Amen.

GL Reporting

steph — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:14:18 +0000

Have I mentioned before that we are the SOWER Group Leaders at Cherry Valley Brethren School? Every SOWER project has its own Group Leader. The GL is the main liaison between the host (the folks that run the ministry) and the SOWER workers. They are responsible for making sure that everyone has what they need when they need it, and they’re the ones who get the “what next” look from their fellow SOWERs. We haven’t been GLs for a while (well, unless you count when we’re group leaders when we’re alone on a project. Then we’re just the GLs for us. We’re pretty good at that!). I confess Gary doesn’t enjoy being the GL, though he is really a good one. He just prefers doing the work rather than working at keeping everyone else busy. But most of the GL stuff is behind us, and the only thing that remains is the GL Report. At the end of the project we meet together, go over some questions about the project (Is the information provided correct, were the parking spots “as advertised”, did anyone have any problems – you know, that kind of stuff.) And then we have to summarize what we did in (hopefully) 100 words – or less, they say! Ha!
So here is what I wrote –
We welcomed Gary and Laura “back” to Sowers – they have been off the road for 10 years! It was good to have them back, and we all had a busy month. The men worked their way through a long maintenance list – painting, repairing plumbing, building platforms, leveling concrete and yard work to name a few. They tackled a major remodel of the teachers’ lounge, complete with new flooring and paint, and re-tiled the floor in the ladies’ room. The ladies did cleaning, painting, filing, organizing and generally tried to lend a hand where needed. We also enjoyed several nights of great fellowship.
102 words.
I think I did pretty good – at least in the number of words category. But trying to condense the last three weeks into 100 words is really pretty impossible.
How can I explain (in 100 words or less) how a simple request to remove a broken vending machine from the teachers’ lounge resulted in a full scale remodel. New flooring, new paint, new arrangement.
From this (part way through the destruction phase)

To this.

How can I explain (in 100 words or less) the fun we had on “Spirit Day” when the theme was “The Fifties”. We couldn’t come up with any poodle skirts like some of the staff,

But I think we held our own…..

Do I even try to express (in those 100 or less words) what it felt like to wake up to this one morning?

Not a chance.
And how can I relate (in 100 words or less, please) how sweet it was to end the project today by doing a crafty cut and paste job

since earlier in the project we were doing this –

How can I include (in those 100 words or less) how we (all 8 of us) were blessed to be able to receive free Chiropractic care for the whole time we were there. I had never been to a chiropractor before, but Dr. Bob thought he could help those of us with colds too, so I gave it a shot. Did he help, or did the cold run its course? I don’t know – but I know I feel just fine now! Oh, and we’re all perfectly adjusted too!

And somehow the “We also enjoyed several nights of great fellowship” does little to tell about the great meals we shared

or the fun we had when we got together for games.

Nope, when you only get 100 words you’ve got to keep it brief.

Just the facts, Ma’am. Just the facts.

Rainy Weekends

steph — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 05:43:06 +0000

Since we’re having a classic rainy weekend here in Southern California, we won’t be getting out to see any sights (other than those on the way to Home Depot and maybe Joann Fabrics!). But I thought you might like to see a little bit of our project this month – both what this camp is like, and also just what we’ve been busy doing.
Indian Hills has quite a facility here. Their target age group is 8 – 14, and the camp does a great job of appealing to those kids! There are lots of fun options for sleeping -
Cabins
-
Tents

Tipis

and Covered Wagons.

For activities they start with a couple of pools

(This one is closed for the season – but I think you can get the drift!)
and great playground.

Plus they have archery, dirt bikes courses, and rock climbing, along with hiking trails and all your standard ball fields. Oh, and they also have one of those Human Foosball Courts!
While they have groups in over the weekends during these winter months, this is definitely their time to catch-up on lots of maintenance and upgrades. The guys have had quite a variety of ‘chores’ – from building bunk beds in the tipis

to rebuilding the steps to the office,

to patching cracks in all of the cabins and bathrooms.

Right now they are almost all working in a kitchen remodel.

As you can see, they have all been kept plenty busy!
We ladies, likewise, have not been wondering what to do. Pretty much we’ve been spending our time painting bathrooms. They have three bath houses -you know, four sinks, three toilets, three showers or some variation thereof. Here’s one side of one -

And then there is one building with 6 individual wash rooms and 6 individual showers. So far we’ve painted everything but one side of one of the bath houses.
Oh, and when we would run out of paint – there was always bathroom CLEANING that we could do. Now I don’t want you to think that all of the showers looked like this because they didn’t. But sometimes by the end of the summer, the soap scum just wins. This one was especially bad.

Much to the amazement of the janitor (a very sweet 22 year old guy – really, what could he possibly know about soap scum?), we managed to get this one looking like new!

Nuttin’ like a little Sower Lady Elbow Grease!

We celebrated the end of our second week (actually I think we were actually celebrating the start of our long weekend!) with a trip to Dairy Queen.

Now that’s a group of hard workin’ Sowers if I’ve ever seen one!

Out of the desert

steph — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:29:54 +0000

We spent our Thanksgiving day on the road. But since it was almost all New Road, it was still a very good day! (And we did get to talk to our kids and we have a turkey ready to roast tomorrow, so there will still be leftovers!). We were only going about 200 miles from the Coachella Valley down the east coast of the Salton Sea, south to El Centro and then west along the bottom of the state (almost into Mexico) and then a little north to swing around to Jamul (there are mountains in the way of actually getting there more directly). Here is what it looks like on a map -

Here’s what it looked like as we drove it -
Down past the Salton Sea

The north end of the Salton Sea is in the Imperial Valley – a real fruit (and vegetable) basket area of California. This field was ready for something!

Although the Salton Sea is increasing in it’s salinity each year (along with becoming more poluted), it is still home to about 30% of the the remaining American White Pelicans.

(If you’d like to know more about this lake (the largest in CA) there is some info Here on Wikipedia.)
We soon left the lake behind us and continued through the desert – but we knew that mountains were in our future!

Oh, yeah, mountains ahead. We were going from about 300 ft. below sea level to over 4000 ft. above sea level. Not the highest pass we’ve traveled by any means, but believe me, it was one long climb!

And what goes up, must come down -

and down -

and down.
We passed some majestic windmills along the way -

and pretty much continued to wind up and down and over and through mountain after mountain.

We eventually made it to the outskirts of The Big City – but I bet you can all picture Thanksgiving traffic. It wasn’t very photo worthy.
We finally settled down in parking lot near a Kohls in El Cajon. We figured if they asked us to move we would just say we were waiting for it to open at 4AM. Fortunately, no one bothered us so we didn’t have to actually get up and do it! (But I must say, many others did! And without the comfort of having their bed in the parking lot!).

Today we moved into our December project – Indian Hills Camp. We haven’t seen too much of the camp just yet, but I can share with you my new picture window view -

I don’t think we’re done being thankful just yet!

Chairs, Chairs everywhere….

steph — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:13:28 +0000

600 Chairs
Two People

and our Just Desserts…..

(aka Lunch)

Watch out – here come the tables!

Tomorrow is the big Turkey distribution – they have over 1000 turkeys (along with all the trimmings) to give away. Should be an exciting day!

Thrift Shop Goodness

steph — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:22:05 +0000

Well, we’re wrapping up our time here at Jordan Outreach Ministries in Coachella, CA. Our final official duty was last evening – we helped “man” the (free) Thrift Shop that is offered to folks who come for a worship service and food distribution. Earlier in the week I worked to get the shop organized (with a little help from Gary who would stop by periodically to lend a hand). Here is what the place looked like when I walked in on Tuesday -

Yikes!
I spent my days hanging clothes, sorting toys, and generally organizing the “stuff” as best as I could. The week before we had been given boxes and boxes of cute canvas shoes from Wal-Mart. The problem was they were all jumbled up together – no pairs and lots and lots of patterns. I was really thankful for Gary’s help on that one as we sorted patterns, matched pairs and then rubber-banded them together. (There are still about 8 boxes of shoes that we didn’t get to! We saved them for the NEXT batch of Sowers!) At any rate, the store was ready to open up on Friday-

Since the room is relatively small, and there are about 100 people that need to go through in the space of about an hour, there are some limitations that have to be in place.
1. Only five folks in the room at a time.
2. You only have 3-5 minutes to shop (remember there’s a LONG line behind you).
3. You can choose 3 articles of clothing (shoes count as one), a pkg of Depends/Poise, and then two “other ” things (games, toys, household things, etc.).
4. NO kids allowed and only one family member can come through. (The kid thing we had down, but how do we know “family members? That one was tough.)

We worked out a system – Gary would man the door, letting folks in and then checking their “purchases” on the way out. His Spanish has improved – he now knows uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco, apurarse (hurry up!). He really developed a fun raport with the folks waiting in line (probably had something to do with his really bad rendition of apurarse ). I, along with another couple, would help the folks as they came through the room. Mostly we were trying to explain that they could only have 2 of the “other” (there were lots of toys this time, so it was hard to chose for some folks).

All in all it was a good night. There was a real spirit of gratitude amongst the folks that were able to take home some necessities along with some frivalities, and I was pleased to see the room begin to empty out of “stuff”.

Because I know that by next week when the new group of volunteers come to organize the Thrift Shop – it may very well look like this again -

PS – Gary didn’t just guard the door – he also got to do this while while mama shopped -

and this

I think Christmas (and seeing our kids and grandkids) can’t come soon enough for him (or me!).

Getting ready to roll

steph — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 06:14:58 +0000

Tomorrow is our last day at Solid Rock. It’s been a good month. The weather has been outstanding – the locals have all said that this has been one of their nicest summers in a long time. We saw our first rain drops of the month on Monday, and even those were pretty few and far between. The intermittent rain has been a blessing for the local firefighters as they battle several wildfires in the area, and it hasn’t really slowed us down.
Solid Rock Bible Camp is one busy place! They run several different types of camp each week. During our first week there was a Running Camp, a Waterskiing Wakeboard Camp, and a Wagon Train Camp (focusing on horsemanship). This week they have two Wagon Train groups, a large Lakeside Camp and a basketball camp. It’s been keeping us pretty busy in the kitchen feeding all those hungry campers. We’ve been blessed by being able to eat with the campers, and since the guys were working down at the Wagon Train area we all got invited to their campfire breakfast last Friday.
Yummmmm.

Here are a couple of other shots from the Wagon Train area –

There is a nice trail around the lake that starts at the Wagon Train and goes over to the Lakeside Camp.

Here’s a view across the lake to the Prayer Chapel that we’ve been meeting at =

The trail ends at the Lakeside Camp –

I think you can see the appeal of these camps.

So tomorrow we raise the jacks, pull in the slides, strap down that coffee maker and make sure all the drawers are securely closed. We’re not done with Alaska yet, but we’ll be officially beginning the long trek back to the Lower 48. Fair Warning – there are windshield shots in your future!

Some Final thoughts about Camp Li-Wa

steph — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:11:54 +0000

This has truly been an exceptional project for us.
1.The folks we worked with.
We were working with the team we drove to Alaska with along with those new team members Pete and Ellen.

After all that time on the road we are STILL good friends, and thoroughly enjoyed sharing devotions each morning, working together and then playing together. Such a blessing!
2.The folks who work at Camp Li-Wa
Li-Wa has been a camp in Fairbanks since 1959. Like Alaska, it is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary. I can’t speak for all of the counselors and summer staff, but I know that the full-time year around staff are all there as missionaries. There are no big salaries or corporate perks with these jobs, everyone raises their own support and feels called to serve the Lord at the camp. They are a remarkable group of servants, and we were honored to serve along with them.
3.The work we did.
a. The men took on a huge job, and (as usual) handled it with great skill. The camp had been given a small construction trailer and needed to make it into the boys’ bathhouse.

When they started the shower stalls were in, the plumbing was there for the toilets and sink and that was all. No water, no electric, no sewer, not even steps into the building. By the beginning of the third week it was fully functional with a new peaked roof along with stairs and a landing into the building.

While Gary finished up the electric and water service to the boys’ bathhouse, the rest of the guys moved over to the girls’ bathhouse where they put a peaked roof over the existing flat one. Towards the end of our work time the guys worked together on getting the sewer line installed in the bathhouse and then while Gary worked on water lines in one of the new cabins,

the rest of the men built a solar box for the hot water heater!
These four men accomplished amazing things!
b. We ladies started out with a big cleaning job – getting the camp kitchen ready for the “season”.

It hadn’t been used all winter so it took us a couple of days to not only clean the appliances, shelves and floor, but also wash and sanitize all the dishes and silverware. After we got the cleaning done, Ellen and I worked on painting the floor.

With the kitchen cleaning done we moved to making curtains!!! Naomi, Rosie and I are Sewing Sowers, so we were pretty happy with that assignment. Ellen kept busy watering the gardens and flowers boxes that decorate the camp (and get enormous with all the sunlight!).
After we made curtains for one of the new cabins, we made new curtains for the camp dining hall and then for all three of the boys’ cabins.

(Check our our anti-mosquito garb!)
We were done with a couple of days to spare so we tackled some pillows and a wall hanging that they had had for a while and just hadn’t had time to get to. So for the last two days I was machine quilting!!!! What a delight for me!

4.The fact that we are in ALASKA! We have had a great time this month during our “tourist” moments – Chena Hot Springs, the Dalton Highway and the Arctic Circle, Discovery Riverboat, local farmer’s market, museums and parks, and the lovely Camp Li-Wa itself. As a special bonus, today as we were heading into Fairbanks we actually (for the first time) caught sight of Mt. McKinley on the horizon. It’s almost 200 miles away, so the conditions have to be just right for it to be visible. It was a great way to end our time in Fairbanks. (Sorry, but I didn’t have my trusty camera with me!)

Right now we’re parked in the Fred Myer’s parking lot waiting for a call from Lara that her plane has landed. While the Fairbanks Airport may have a “cell phone waiting lot”, we’re pretty sure it doesn’t have an RV waiting lot! It’s been a good month – and we’re looking forward for more goodness in the weeks and months ahead.

PS – if you’d like to see more of these hard working folks workin’ – Here you go!