Category Archives: SOWER Projects 2024

Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, SOWER Projects 2024, The Adventure, The Cabin

Wrapping up Shoshanah

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Once again, we’ve come to the end of our time here at Shoshanah Camp. And once again, it was a good and profitable month! We were the only SOWER couple here this month, and after a busy winter and spring, it worked very well for us to be on our own.  When we work alone, we often end up working together – and that was certainly the case this month.  Our primary focus (as mentioned before) was getting the screening done on their new pavilion.
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They plan to use this pavilion heavily this summer (staff and students start arriving next week!), and with the mosquito and black fly population an ever present guest, screening was imperative! Gary spent the first week preparing the areas for screening while I worked on sealing the doors. And then we moved to the actual screening. And I’m happy to report that despite some crazy weather, malfunctioning saws, and some material shortages, the screens are up, the doors have been hung and the final bits of trim have been installed!
Voila – a fully screened pavillion!
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Ready for guests!!
There were a few challenges this month, though. The lack of any cell service has been a bit frustrating. Although – it does eliminate those annoying ads between solitaire games. So I guess that’s a good thing, right? Although there is good strong internet (and using the wifi there to make calls worked well) at the nearby dining hall, not having a signal here has also been hard. But every now and again (like tonight while I’m writing this) a little bit of that dining hall signal seems to sneak through the woods. And then I make a mad dash to do all of my internet stuff (including this blog!) before it vanishes once again. (To be honest, I’m disappointed in myself that this “limited connectivity” has bothered me as much as it has.) But on the plus side, we were able to get to the Cabin for a lovely, low-impact weekend!
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And that certainly doesn’t happen during a SOWER project very often!

As another SOWER month draws to a close, we are once again thankful for the opportunity to be a small part of this ministry as it prepares to challenge and disciple Jesus followers in the weeks ahead.  Even with our “First World Problems”!

We leave on Tuesday for our Pre-Family Reunion preparations at the Cabin. Yep – it’s back to our Happy Place for us!
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(I definitely think we should recreate this picture from 2021 – don’t you?)

Hope you’re having a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by,
Steph

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Pictures of the Adventure, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2024, The Adventure

Halfway and a Day

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As  so often happens, our time here at Shoshanah Camp is rushing by! Their summer classes begin in July and while we are very disappointed to be missing the opportunity to sit in on some of those courses, we are very pleased to be able to help get the camp ready for the students, families, and instructors who will be arriving by the end of the month.  The campus here is over 800 acres, including a large pond, and there are many cottages, classrooms and gathering spaces that all need to be “made ready”. Our primary responsibility has been at their new large pavilion, located just above their beach area.

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The SOWERs who were here last summer were a huge help in the construction this pavilion – and our job has been to ‘button it up’.
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Gary got busy preparing the door openings
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while I was busy putting a couple coats of sealer on the doors!
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Once the door openings were ready, then it was time to prepare the other openings for screening!
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And then it was time for the screen!
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We are the only SOWERs here this month, but thankfully there is another couple volunteering here and we used all the help we could get with that screening. Hanging 5ft. wide screen, keeping the tension good, and getting it all stapled, was no joke! After the first couple of sections, we had a system down, but it still took three of us!
But with the exception of the door sections (we’re waiting for narrower screening), we got it done in just two mornings!
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Teamwork makes the dream work, right?
Our job this week so far has been to rip boards into 1/2 inch strips to cover up all those staples!
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It’s really going to look nice once all that finish work is done!
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And even though the view of the pond is somewhat diminished with the screens up, the black flies and mosquitoes are quite legendary up this way, so that screening will be very appreciated! So far I have rescued one robin and a lovely butterfly (a red-spotted Admiral, I believe) who have been caught on the wrong side of the screen. Why can’t they ever find the open spots????
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Hopefully once it’s all enclosed this will not be a problem! The pavilion will be used every weekend for cook-outs and fellowship – and we’ve been honored to be a small part in getting it ready!
The smaller screen will be here next week, so I’m pretty sure we can get it all buttoned-up before we finish our time here. And that will feel very good indeed!

We do have one more day this week, but we’re headed to the Cabin for the weekend! It’s less than three hours away (big ol’ Lake Champlain is the biggest obstacle) and no one else had signed up to use it so we’re headed that way! And – I don’t think Gary has many things on his list!  Whoohoo!

Thanks for stopping by,
Steph

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RV Life, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2024, The Adventure

Apparently I took May off

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From blogging, that is! I was so content in my Cabin bubble, that it was hard to break out the computer and generate thoughts. And as May progressed, it just seemed more and more unlikely that I would be able to encapsulate thoughts into words and words into sentences. But here it is – JUNE! Time for a fresh start!
We are safely parked at our June SOWER Project – Shoshanah Campus and are looking forward to starting work on Monday. Shoshanah is a ministry that teaches the Scripture from a Jewish perspective. Their conference season doesn’t start until after our project ends, but we’re excited to be able to help get things ready for this dynamic ministry.
But there is a small glitch. I have zero cell phone service (which means I also have zero internet), and the closest wifi access point is down at the dining room. (Full disclosure – as I write this, I have not actually located said access point. But I am confident that by the end of the day I’ll be able to get this post on line.) Even with this inconvenience (what a first world problem, right?) I’m going to make a strong attempt to get back on track with this blogging thing! I must have lots of material, right? After all, something must’ve been happening in May!
Thanks for stopping by – especially after so long of a pause!
Steph

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Family and Friends, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2024, The Adventure

April is full of surprises!

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I know it’s not quite April yet – but still, there are exciting days ahead!
We’re hanging out at the SOWER headquarters in Lindale, TX this month for a two-fold reason. One is that we’ll be working on the new SOWER building at the SOWER office, which involves Gary installing the HVAC.

The building is nearing completion, so I know I’ll be busy working with the team to finish up many of the other odds and ends!
But the second reason is pretty exciting to us too! Come Monday (4/1) we will be the owners of this sweet little (but more than twice the size of our dear Lizzie) cottage in the Bass Lake Christian Retirement Community.
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I’ll have lots to share in the weeks ahead as we once again (after almost 20 years) enter into this adult thing called homeownership – but for now I just wanted to share that we are here and safe (and maybe just a little overwhelmed!). Are we really ready for this?
Later, friends!
Steph

PS – We’re not coming off the road – just finally setting up a “Home Base”. In the map below, the star towards the bottom of the map is where son Josiah and his family live! Not quite next door, but way closer than we’ve been for many, many years! Sweet!

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Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2024, The Adventure

Remember Speed Dating?

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Well, this is Speed Blogging – my attempt to get this little corner of the internet caught up! Here we go-
February project – Word of Life Conference Center! I did a bit of sharing about our time there, but I don’t think I ever mentioned that we were able to enjoy many of the speakers and concerts that are held there during the winter months!
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While WOL’s main mission is to disciple young people, this particular location is also home to a large RV community of (mostly) seniors. We didn’t realize it when we signed up, but there were several retired SOWERs in the RV park and also in the general area that we were able to connect with! Another surprise connection was when I ran into a friend from Montrose, PA. I guess I know more snowbirds than I thought! But while it was fun to interact with the guests and speakers, it was even lovelier to work with a great SOWER team. One couple we’d known since our early days, one couple we’d worked with more recently, and one couple we’d never met before. I love it when our SOWER family grows!
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Next was my weekend back in Pennsylvania. Check.
Back from PA and on to the SOWER Florida Reunion/Rally. Check.

Our time here at Hope Children’s Home. Wow! I hardly know where to start! We’re in our final days serving at this ministry, and it’s been a grand three weeks. This time there was a nice long job list (for the guys especially), and we all just Got.To.It.  Here’s my Group Leader Report for this month:
We all kept very busy. Two of the ladies helped out in the kitchen each day,- helping with meal prep and also cleaning and organizing supplies. The other two ladies did some cleaning along with sorting and organizing various donation areas. The men worked on repairing and repainting fencing, and then pressure washed and stained many sets of steps (with over 1000 spindles!), decks, houses, and other fences. We enjoyed helping with the annual GIANT yard sale – both in organizing and shopping! We had a group outing to enjoy some strawberry shortcakes and enjoyed several game nights. It was wonderful to learn about the ministry of Hope Children’s Home – and be a small part of their mission to rescue children.
First the work –
After the guys finished repairing and repainting the front fence (no photo documentation of that, sorry), the guys moved on to painting and power washing almost the entire campus – or so it seemed!
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Two of the ladies (and the SOA (longer-term SOWER)) worked in the kitchen every day,  preparing meals for the students and volunteers. And when they weren’t cooking, they were organizing supplies, cleaning chairs, and lending a hand wherever it was needed.   Sondra and I concentrated mostly on donations. Now this ministry relies almost exclusively on donations, and donations of food, household products, clothing, etc., etc., etc. arrive almost every day. And all of those donations require massive amounts of organization. We sorted and organized and tidied and repackaged. And did a bit of cleaning too!
Many donations go to their two thrift stores, but certain items stay on campus to be used by the houseparents of the cottages or by the various staff that live on campus.
Like the Clothes closet –
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or the can shed –
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or maybe the household goods room –
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Every year they also have a Giant Yard Sale (and I mean GIANT!)
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Shoes – $2.00/pair
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Clothes  – $10/bag (large white trash bag) or a $1 per item.
There were lots of new-in-box type bargains, plenty of gently used items, and a nice selection of furniture. It was advertised as 10,000 items, and I can easily believe it!  We SOWERs ladies got to help with the set-up and pricing – and then we came back to help support the ministry by shopping! I came away with lots of treasures – now to  find places for all of these wonderful new items.
But it wasn’t all spraying and sorting and shopping – there were some fun outings too!
Like a field trip to have some famous Plant City Strawberry Shortcake –
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or an afternoon in Tarpon Springs, complete with sponges
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and flaming Greek food!
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This was a great project to wrap up our Florida winter! We made new friends, were introduced to a wonderful ministry, and enjoyed some of the sights (and food delights) of the area!
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Well, I’m not sure just how speedy this post was – but at least I’m officially up to date! We head on our next adventure tomorrow – which might just be our biggest one yet! Stay tuned!!
Happy Spring, friends,
Steph

 

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