Category Archives: The Adventure

Tales from our travels

The Green Isle Project comes to a close…..

We have just completed our third Sower Project, and what a special time it was! When 14 couples (most of whom have never met before) live together for three weeks it can go many different ways. It could be a time of working together on the tasks at hand and then going more or less our own way. It could be a time of personalities vying for attention and control, with little sense of community at all. Or it could be a time of sweet fellowship, whether you’re working in the thrift shop, doing dishes in the kitchen, clearing debris from the hurricanes, painting 20,000 gallon water tanks for fire prevention, or trying to remember just what exactly a Greatest Common Multiplier is (and why anyone would care!). We truly had a special, special time with our co-labors at Green Isle. It was a very diversified group – four couples had done 2 or less projects, some 15 or twenty, and some had been doing projects for many, many years. The diversities became blessings as we all recognized again and again the precious bond we have in our precious Lord and Savoir. I was pushing for us all to remain and form a commune, but reality set in and slowly the RV’s began heading on to their next adventure. Some are going right to another project, others are heading for medical treatment, some are off to see family and friends. It is sad to think that we may never get to work and live with these dear friends again, but the sadness is tempered by the joy that we have in knowing them. God is Good – All the Time!

Here we all are – What a Crew!

We’re heading south. We’ll spend a couple of days at a beautiful county park outside of St. Petersburg (Fort DeSoto Park), and then head to Punta Gorda and Ft. Myers to see Gary’s sister and other dear friends. We really regret missing the blizzard in PA this weekend. NOT.

=)

My Kids

No, not Lara, Toby, Tammy, and Josiah. These are the Kids at the Green Isle School where I was “tutoring” for three weeks. I mostly worked with Ricky (he’s the blonde, second from the right) and Cory (he’s the big guy in the back trying to strangle the two boys in front of him.) These are great kids that already have a couple of strikes against them and are probably carrying more “baggage” that I will ever carry. This first picture is the “official” one – the gang is more or less under control. (The girls are daughters of staff members and the guy in the front is Mr. Bill, one of the teachers).

This picture is a little more realistic!

It was a great experience, frustrating at times, but one that I’m thankful to have had. And it sure has given me something to pray about!

Lake County, FL

There are so many lakes in this area that I often wondered why the whole area doesn’t just sink! You’d be driving along with orange groves on both sides and suddenly there would be a lake on one side. Here are a couple shot from a nearby camp in Leesburg, FL. It’s called Camp Horizon and it is also a SOWER’s project. There are actually four projects within about a 30 mile radius, so we all got together for a pot-luck one night at Camp Horizon. It was a great time of fellowship – and another lovely location.

Our Last week at the Green Isle Boy’s Ranch

We’ve had a good week here at Green Isle. It’s been a week of watching acquaintances grow into friends. As we share our “stories” and look into God’s Word during our devotions, work together on projects, get together in the evenings for a game or two, and come together for a meal or two, folks that were strangers just two weeks ago are now dear friends. It certainly is one of the beautiful side effects of the Sower concept!

The weather was lovely until Friday when we had our first rainy and cold day since our arrival. Since it was our “day off” it was nice just to sleep in, do some chores and take naps. Gary worked on reorganizing a couple of cupboards while I sewed to my heart’s content. I was able to finish piecing Hayley’s quilt, so it was a good day indeed (at least for me!). We joined several other Sower couples at the Honey Pot Eatery (a local hot spot!) for their Friday night all you can eat fish fry. Yummmm. Saturday we drove to St. Petersburg and spent the day with my niece Christiana, nephew Mike and his wife Robyn. We hit the downtown market and wandered around Fort DeSoto. The weather wasn’t all that Florida-like (we have been very spoiled!), but we had a grand time none the less. Mike managed to fit in some fishing (he’s addicted), but after our outing we just hung around, ate pizza and watched Pittsburgh beat the Jets. Yes, a good time!

This is our last week here at the Boy’s Ranch. The tutoring is going pretty well – if I could just convince my guy about the value of reviewing the material before he takes the quiz. (Since I’m learning it at the same time he is, the review is pretty helpful (no, necessary) to me too!). Gary’s been tuning up all of the HVAC/R equipment, and that’s going pretty well too. (Here’s a “small world” event – when we went to the supply house in Orlando for parts, who should be working behind the counter but a fellow that had worked for us back in the eighties! My oh my!)

Did I tell you the Disney Truck delivers leftover Disney food here once a week…….we’ve had some pretty nice treats! Ah, sweet Charity!

A weekend in Green Isle, FL

We’ve had a quiet weekend here at Green Isle. We had had every intention of “seeing the sights” here in the Central Florida area, finding a wildlife refuge to visit or at least locating a bike path, but when push came to shove it was tooooooo nice just hanging around home. The weather has continued to be excellent, sunny and bright every day. We did some laundry, I got started on Hayley’s quilt and Gary putzed around building shelves in a couple of the storage bays. We joined some of our Sower friends for a nice dinner out. One of our neighbors went around and washed all of our cars! (We’ll have to watch for him on other projects!). We worshipped on Sunday at a dynamic church in Leesburg, Southpointe Baptist Fellowship, and were blessed by the fellowship. It was a lovely, laidback weekend.

Oh – while we didn’t get to find a wildlife refuge, some of the locals came for a visit right here at our campsite. These wood ibis (American storks) came to our little pond, just 20 feet or so from the front of our RV.

It was a VERY nice weekend!