Other Fun Stuff…

While we were here in Vienna, we got to experience some pretty “fun stuff”. Along with the all the activities I mentioned in earlier posts, we were able to visit a pecan cracking facility, TerriLynn Pecans and a cotton gin, Nobel Gin and Cotton warehouse. Both were very interesting (and very noisy!). We took in the Cotton Museum here in Vienna (did you know that a bale of cotton (about 500#) can produce 7,800 men’s hankerchiefs or 1200 men’s T-shirts or 300 pairs of jeans!) and the Georgia Rural Telephone Museum in Leslie. Today we also did Andersonville – the site of the famous Civil War prisoner of war camp and the home of the Prisoner of War Museum. A very sobering afternoon. But before we went there we stopped in Americus and visited the Habitat for Humanity International Discovery Center. That was a stop that, while graphically illustrating the desperate situations many people live in (world-wide), was also filled with hope as it spoke about homes being built and lives being changed.
I don’t think we’re done with Georgia yet – heading north in a couple of days. We’ll keep you posted, I promise!

What’s Next…

From this weekend until Thanksgiving we’ll be traveling through Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Georgia (again!) and north Florida, seeing sights and visiting family. If you have any “must see” suggestions, please let us know! December we’ll be doing another Sower’s project (this time in South Carolina) before we head north for Josiah’s graduation and then on to Columbus to meet our new grandbaby. Looks like we’ll be pulling out those winter clothes before we know it!
Did I mention it was 81 and sunny today?
=)

Georgia National Fair

On our day off last week we joined the school as they went to the Georgia National Fair up the road in Perry, GA. Along with all of the “fair food” ~ funnel cake, sausage sandwiches, gyros, and Philly Cheese Steaks (now that’s a scary thought ) ~ we got to see cows and horses and bunnies and llamas and pigs and chickens and sheep and sheep dogs herding sheep. We also were delighted by the wonderful competitive displays – cooking, photography, flowers, crafts and beautiful quilts. The day was crisp and clear – it felt more like Vermont than Southern Georgia! It was fun to share part of the day with the “kids” and we were glad to have “gone to the fair”.

Guess I was in Quilt Heaven here!

Hanging around with some of our new friends from Faith Christain School

Just me and a couple of calves….

We finished the day with a trip to Jack’s Old South BBQ – one of the big winners of the 2004 Big Pig Jig Best BBQ award (among the other quadzillion trophies in the restaurant!). I’m not much of a BBQ connoisseur, but it tasted pretty good to me!

Did we mention the trains?

We’re on the home stretch at our project at Faith Christian School, and Gary just asked if I’d mentioned the trains. The school (and our camp site) is located between two sets of railroad tracks – each about two blocks from the school. And these are very busy tracks – and since they go through town, they have to blow those whistles, loud and long. They say it takes about three weeks to get used to it.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks – as often happens, when we would go to work on a certain project, it just kind of funnels into another project. What started as Sharon and I organizing the bulletin board “stuff” turned into a revamp of the storage room and trying to make it into a “resource room.” It still has a way to go, but at least the teachers shouldn’t be quite so afraid to enter! The guys continue to busy with yard work and general maintenance/repairs and we managed to get a set of curtains made and hung. Hopefully one more set will get done before we head on our way. We wrap up our time here on Thursday, but will be staying in our little spot until Saturday, tying up loose ends and packing up to hit the road. It has been truly a blessing to be here – getting to know the teachers and students, working with our new friends Dick and Sharon Brittell, and being able to use some of our talents in furthering God’s Kingdom.


Gary and Dick taming the courtyard. The grass was high and the bushes were wild, but they set them straight!

Seeing the country……Serving our Lord!