Tag Archives: Ministry

On the Road, Pictures of the Adventure, The Adventure

How could I forget to mention…

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I’ve been so busy trying to figure out how to capture all of the Fabulous Family Fun from last month, that I totally forgot to mention that this past Thursday, August 1st, was our 20th anniversary of setting out on the crazy-wonderful adventure we call life these days!
lizzie
Twenty years ago two fifty-something (mostly) empty-nesters quit their jobs and ran away from home! In these twenty years we’ve traveled through (and stayed at least one night in) every state except North Dakota and Hawaii (waiting for the bridge). Our one year sabbatical (maybe two if we were careful with our funds) to celebrate staying married through raising children, renovating a pre-Civil War home and owning a small business turned (in God’s kindness) into twenty years of ministry! We’ve met the most wonderful people, seen some of the most beautiful places in this country, and seen God at work in all of the nooks and crannies of this great land! What a marvelous adventure we’ve been blessed to be a part of!

There might just a bit of reflection this month as we begin year Twenty-One!

Thanks for stopping by –
Steph

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

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

Where have I been???

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Oh my! It’s been almost two weeks since my last post – and much has been happening! There have been RV moves, airplane rides, family and friends, hugs and tears, memories made, and memories remembered! I’ll try to catch y’all up with those comings and goings in the days ahead, but meanwhile – here’s a real-time update!

We’ve arrived safely at our March SOWER project location –  Hope Children’s Home,  located in Tampa, FL.

This ministry is less than thirty miles from where we were serving last month, but it certainly feels like a whole new neighborhood! We’re much closer to Tampa (Bad news – traffic. Good news – Costco is nearby!) and the ministry here is completely different. Here’s a little excerpt from the Hope Children’s Ministry’s website-

Hope Children’s Home cares for neglected, abandoned, and abused children – loving them and equipping them for the future.

Hope Children’s Home originated in Florida, and we have been rescuing children giving them a safe, loving, Christian home for over 50 years! We have an open 55-acre campus tucked away in the middle of Tampa. Among many buildings, you will find a fully-functional Christian school and six cottages where the children live. 
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We’re working with four other couples, three of whom we have never worked with before. So we’re looking forward to building new relationships and helping out at this very special ministry.

There may even be a baby to hug now and then!

Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2023, The Adventure

Last [SOWER] Month

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In my catching-up mode, I figured I’d better start with our July project – Longview Camp in Arcade, NY. (Especially since today was the first day of our August project!)
Last month went by in a blur – or so it seemed! We loved our time at Longview – where we were working with some good SOWER friends and alongside the staff at the camp. Longview has a very interesting history but has only been in its current configuration (as an overnight camp) since 2015. The two full-time staff members are young (to us!) men with young families, and I don’t think any of the summer staff/interns were older than 26. Youth = Enthusiasm!! And there was lots of that!

Linda and I kept busy with quite a variety of tasks! We started on the serger (a bit of a learning curve on that machine!), moved to staining and sealing some trim, popped over to do some gardening, pulled out the regular sewing machine to make some skit curtains, got started on a mailing, and finished up with filling some gaps during the camp weeks – which included learning the ins and outs of snack shop and some dish pit work (that always included great conversations!)! None of that ‘same every day’ for us! It was fun to do different things as the needs arose. Here’s a little slide show of some of what we did:

Gary and Dick also moved easily from task to task! They started with some concrete work, making entries and equipment platforms. From there they helped out with finishing up some siding and installing the trim that Linda and I had stained and sealed. Gary got the A/C running at the director’s home (lots of happy faces there!), and then they both got started on insulating and hanging the drywall in one of the new buildings. They needed a couple of extra hands occasionally, but those boys worked hard every day. They just don’t have much photo documentation of that! Sorry! But here are a couple of photos from their jobs:

Of course, we were having some fun during all this work too! Another couple was working at a nearby project (Odosagih Bible Conference where we had served last summer) and we got together with them several times. It’s so fun to have SOWER neighbors! We also enjoyed several weekend concerts and Fourth of July fireworks down at Odosagih as well! Plus we had a mini SOWER reunion of SOWERs working or living in the area which was very special! We also squeezed in that trip to Columbus to hang out with the grands, so we were very thankful for the project’s flexibility with our goofy schedule! Such a fun and busy month! Here’s some of our fun:

We love working at “new to us” ministries, and this had the bonus of being a pretty “new to the camping scene” ministry. It was exciting to see what the Lord is doing through this young ministry, and very encouraging to see so many young people purposely serving Him! We might not get back to this area again, but we will surely be carrying Longview Camp (and its folks!) in our hearts and prayers!