Tag Archives: SOWER Projects

Pictures of the Adventure, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2019, The Adventure

Over so soon???

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We’re starting to get ready to move on down the road, but before I get too involved with tucking away things and pulling out the bungee cords, I thought I’d do a quick wrap up about our time here at French Camp Academy (FCA). This is such an interesting place – mostly Christian boarding school, but also community center, historic area (including a café, pottery shop, and bed and breakfast among other delights!), observatory, and summer camp. Our work was concentrated mostly on the school campus, where the guys and half of the gals were working on a 5-plex staff building.
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Plumbing, electrical, windows, painting – so much was accomplished at that house!

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Meanwhile, the remaining two ladies (that would include me) were happily sewing away over at our meeting room.
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Come spring, FCA will be hosting a big Founders’ Day Celebration. That’s going to require lots of costumes for all of the participants, and in an effort to get a bit ahead of the game (especially since she had some Sewing SOWERS this month) we started in on making or remaking costumes. I must say it’s been a good long while since I’ve sewed detailed (as in pin-tucks and set in sleeves (with a gusset no less!)), but it was a fun challenge! Let me just say that the second one went much faster than the first one did!
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We also made aprons (4 with bibs and kerchiefs), and even a simple dress to put under the aprons!
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Some of us ladies even expanded our horizons to include millinery skills in the afternoon!
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Who knew??
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Overall, lots was accomplished this month in the ‘work’ department. But I think what really made this project stand out were the people we interacted with. At every turn folks were engaging us with kindness and thankfulness. We enjoyed evenings out with families and friends,
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got together with several other SOWER couples who live in the area
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and even managed a connection with our friends from Oakridge Camp in Oklahoma, who were down at their sister camp, Pineview, in nearby Kosciusko.
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On our off time we (well, Gary mostly) kept busy getting the trucks changed over (It’s amazing how much stuff accumulates in a truck over the years. Even found Gary’s missing Passport – so that’s a really good thing!) and getting the new one ready to tow. I’ve been working on some sewing projects (when I wasn’t working on my hat-making skills), and generally trying to keep on top of life in general. We struggled some with limited phone serve and sketchy internet, but all in all we’ve made it work and have enjoyed our time here. We’ve worked with great people,
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at a Christ-honoring ministry that is touching the lives of young and old alike, and have come to the conclusion once again, that we are blessed beyond measure to be able to do what God has called us to do!

Now I’d better get back to those “we’re pulling out on Wednesday” chores!

Thanks for stopping by! If you’d like to see a couple more photos from the month you can find them HERE. =)
Steph

On the Road, RV Life, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2019, The Adventure

From there to here

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When it came time to move from our October SOWER project (Mercy Ships in East TX) to our November project (French Camp Academy in central(ish) MS) we had a little complication. It was a happy complication called an extra truck, but a complication nonetheless! Since there was no way to get the shiny new truck ready to tow in the three days between its arrival in our lives and our need to get to Mississippi, and we hadn’t traded in our trusty gray truck (planning to donate it to a favorite ministry), there was really no other option than to have me drive the new kid behind the rig, which was towing the gray truck.

We’d already moved all the components (RV and both trucks) to the office (about 2 miles from Mercy Ships) and were all set to hit the road at daybreak on Thursday.
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And daybreak it was!
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While my first choice would always be to ride in the rig with Gary, it was pretty fun to drive the truck. I figured out how to connect my phone so I could listen to my favorite podcasts (ah, the miracle of Bluetooth), checked out all the stations on Sirius (free three month trial – sweet), and even made a couple of phone calls (nothing like talking to the steering wheel!). It was a beautiful clear day, and probably the biggest frustration was not being able to take any ‘along the way’ pictures.
OK, so I did take one –
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But it was super quick!
We made it to Madison, MS, where we settled into a Walmart parking lot for the night. Since we had a ‘loose’ truck, we even got to go out for a bite to eat(usually we stick to places within walking distance – i.e. Subway or McDonald’s in the Walmart!). (I did let Gary drive, btw!)
We returned to witness a stunning God painting, and once again were reminded of the majestic God we serve.
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Friday arrived with the promise of rain all day, so we were thankful that we only had 70 miles or so to finish up our drive.
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And I’m happy to report that we made it in with no problems. Since the rain (as promised) continued, we did a quick set up (just electric and water) and then started to address a little water leak problem we had noticed as we set out on our drive to French Camp. So although generally when we arrive at a project we’re nice and tidy, with everything put away in its place for a least a little bit, we got right to work taking EVERYTHING out from under the sink and remove the bottom drawers to locate and fix the problem.
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Happy to report that the problem is remedied, and now we just have to wait until everything drys out. With all the under sink ‘stuff’ out in the daylight,  it has at least given me the opportunity to do a little purge of the forgotten vinegars that have been hiding out there (like the gourmet red wine vinegar that has a best by date of 01/20/11 YIKES!! Not sure just how “gourmet” it is these days! Well aged, at least!) Those Under The Kitchen Spaces can be pretty scary! Hopefully by the end of the day, the space will be dried out and all will be returned to their correct spaces. (Or put in the trash!)
So, enough of that ‘keeping it real’ story! The rain has continued today, so for now, this is all I can offer of our “New View”
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Hopefully the sun will return by the time we start work (Monday AM), but in the meanwhile if you’d like to know a bit more about French Camp Academy, please hop over to my “So Where are we now” page or check out their website!

Thanks for stopping by!
Steph

Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2019, The Adventure

Wrapping up March

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OK, so March isn’t actually OVER, but our March SOWER project at Panfork Camp has come to a close, so it seemed a good time to give a little review of our time there!

Since you already know about the De-Bunking we did-
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and the Great Lifeguard Chair Challenge
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I thought I’d give you some details about the other major job that was tackled during our project.
One of the staff houses sustained some major water damage over the rough winter just past. Plumbing need to be repaired/replaced, drywall needed to be removed and flooring needed to be redone. It involved a bathroom, a closet, a laundry room and of course, the room that all of those doors opened up to!
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It was a mess, and with the new director and wife moving in  (hopefully)  by April 1st, the timing was critical. Lots to do, but the guys were up to it!
They started with the floor
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(though in hindsight, they would recommend doing the floor AFTER the drywall, etc. You know, construction dirt).
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Work progressed at a nice rate,
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while we ladies were busy painting the trim for them to re-install,
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and doing any other painting we could do while not being in the guys’ way!
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By the end of the three weeks, the room was finished, the plumbing worked, and all was good!
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Of course, there was other work that was accomplished. While the guys checked off several other maintenance jobs (which included, but was not limited to, pulling up more carpeting in another building)
Dorothy & I did some spring cleaning in one of the guest houses –
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and Larry spent some more time under sinks and behind toilets.
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It was a rough winter on the plumbing at the camp!
We ladies also tackled the job of sorting all those screws, nuts and bolts that came off those bunkbeds!

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It’s all about organization, folks! (And not being afraid of getting dirty!)

This really was a sweet project! Although Panfork Camp has been around since the 1940’s, this was the first time that SOWERs were here to help. We were honored to be in that first group!
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I’m not going to lie. The Texas Panhandle is not the prettiest part of Texas.
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This time of year it looks pretty barren. And brown.
But I sense, that when the trees break out of their winter mode, and the kids start coming here to learn about Jesus and the Hope that is in Him, this will be hallowed ground indeed!
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(If you’d like to see some more Panfork photos, you can check them out here!)

 

 

 

 

Family and Friends, RV Life, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2018

Wrapping up Montrose

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It seems crazy to me that our Montrose summer is coming to an end.  Yet here we are, with suitcases packed and the fridge organized for a quick cooler-pack in the morning, getting ready to head to the Cabin tomorrow morning! We’ve hugged the summer staff and said our farewells to the full-time staff. But before we load up the truck and pull out tomorrow, I figured I’d better give a recap of just what we’ve been doing all summer.
(Full disclosure – According to Gary,  I’ve been playing most of the summer: a SOWER sister get-away, a cruise with my sisters, a surprise day at Knoebels with our daughter and family, a week with our grandgirl Maddie, and then a long Vermont weekend for a family wedding.  And there is some truth to that, because those excursions were beyond precious to me! But honest, some work was done!)

My primary job this summer (when I wasn’t off playing) was to help with housekeeping. And for me that meant making beds and cleaning guest rooms.
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And when I wasn’t putting clean sheets on the beds, I was making the sheets clean.
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At a busy conference center there are ALWAYS beds to be made, and sheets and towels to be washed. Nothing like a job security!

Oh, I also got to do a bit of kitchen work and even was tasked with sewing a batch of new aprons.
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🙂
So it wasn’t ALL about bed linens!

Gary was disappointed that the walk-in Refrigerator/Freezer project didn’t happen as expected, but there were plenty of other projects to keep him busy.
There was the new guest room in Torrey
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and a porch landing to rebuild.
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He also got the new dorm rooms closer to finish (though I don’t have any pictures of that) and the last couple of weeks he worked on moving some ductwork in the Rec Hall. Again, I don’t have any pictures of the actual work, but I did get a picture of the completed job. Well, at least from the pretty side!
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Those fine registers (or at least their installation) are his handiwork!

If he hadn’t already gone to bed, I’m sure he could list out more projects that he worked on.

Lord willing, there will be a foundation (and maybe even some framing done!)here next summer.
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It was a chock-full of fun (and work) summer for us, and as always, we were blessed to be here at Montrose Bible Conference.
But I gotta tell you, and this point we can hear the cabin calling………
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