Month: April 2017

Monday, April 10, 2017

These wonderful days are habit forming. A little cool this morning and then beautiful blue skies and t-shirt weather.

Today starts week two for our team at Sumatanga. Amanda did devotion for us this morning using a cracked and broken clay pot that water poured right through. The pot of course represented us in our broken and sinful state. She then used it as a lamp shade and the light shown through very nicely representing how God can use us even if we have a broken past. There was some good discussion and sharing.

Of course, we then went to work. Bill and Marti continued to work in Little Brown. They replaced the old fuse box with a breaker box and have most of the rewiring done. Marti also sanded some of the mudding we did last week and they may put on another coat tomorrow. The rest of the team went up the mountain on the McKinney side of the road to what is becoming the new base camp. There is no electricity, or water, at the site. There are 2 old out houses. It’s suppose to be a primitive camping experience so we don’t know what amenities will eventually be added, if any. The “road” up to the base camp is more of a rough trail through the woods. When we went up on the wagon first thing this morning the wagon didn’t quite clear a tree and we had to back down a ways and try again. There is a walking trail up the mountain that has switch backs so is not quite so difficult to walk. Not an easy walk but better than the straight up “road.” Due to the distance, we took our breaks on the mountain today. While there we built the frames for the next two tent platforms and holes were dug for one of them. There was a problem with the tractor brakes so the holes for the other will hopefully be done tomorrow. We completed the decking on the frame that the previous group had built. We still have to put the railing around the sides and the beams across the top. Progress was slow this morning, but once we got things sorted out, things started moving pretty quickly this afternoon. It will probably take another couple of days to finish the four but hopefully we will complete that task this week. Tomorrow we will need to get Sackrete and water to the site to set the all the posts for the last two tent platforms. That may be a challenge. The trip up the mountain is really rough in the wagon or truck so we decided to walk it except the first time when we went up with the tools. Max ended up walking it once and Anne twice. Yep – probably going to be sore tomorrow but we are trying to build back up to full hiking condition. May be there by the end of the next 2 weeks at this rate. Hope you are having a wonderful week and check back in with us tomorrow.

Sunday, April 09, 2017

Another wonderful, beautiful day. A little cool again this morning – jackets required – but warmed up to T-shirt weather by lunch time. Of course it was jacket weather again this evening. It’s amazing the change in the trees in the past week. Spring in Alabama. Nice!

It’s Sunday, so we get to go to church! Richard wanted to go back to the bluegrass service at Springville UMC but the rest of us went to the contemporary service. The people were again very friendly and welcoming and the service was nice. The snacks were good too.  Pastor Chip again brought a very good message. His Lenten sermon series has been on the Nobodies.  Today he used Luke 19:28-40 and told a story about how his Dad stood up for him when he was getting picked on by bigger kids in his neighborhood.  He then transitioned to how Jesus stood up for the Nobodies and downtrodden and continues to do that for us today. 

We then went back to Sumatanga, finished cleaning house and getting the motor home ready for Barry to come work on the air conditioner. We have had a problem with the dash air. It was determined that a fitting was leaking and needed to be replaced. However, Freightliner in Gaffney didn’t have the part when we were there last fall for FRED’s annual maintenance. The part has been on back order. With Barry’s help we were able to get the part made. We ordered it the first of last week and it was delivered Friday. Today Barry installed the part for us and everything was wonderful. He charged the a/c with coolant and it was cooling great. However, when he removed the coolant tank hose all the coolant came rushing out. Seems the people who made the part did not put the valve core in the part. Very disappointing. Fortunately, Barry can take care of that too, and will return to Sumatanga later this week with the tool to finish the repair. Oh well, FRED isn’t fixed but we had a really good visit with Donna and Barry. We miss getting to spend time with them. We need to plan another road trip with them. After they went home we got a good walk on the Lake trail and then some reading and rest. Hope you had a great weekend and are looking forward to a good week. Pray that we stay safe and accomplish what God would have us do here at Sumatanga.

Friday, April 07, 2017

Today we went on a field trip! It was a cool, windy, but beautiful morning. We left around 9:15 to make a 10 o’clock appoint to tour the Blount County 9-1-1 Center in Oneonta. This is the new center that Max was responsible for starting and getting close to completion before retirement in April 2014 – 3 years ago. The team was met at the center by 9-1-1 Director, Caleb Branch. Caleb discussed the history of the center then showed the team some geographical information system (GIS) maps showing the emergency response density around the county. Harriet and Jim, who had experience in a volunteer ambulance department were very interested in how those maps were being used to improve emergency medical service (EMS) and ambulance response for Blount County. He then took the group into the dispatch room and talked about the computer aided dispatch (CAD) system and all the other electronic tools the dispatchers use to help them do their jobs faster and more accurately. Of particular interest were the large monitors on the wall showing images from the surveillance cameras mounted on the covered bridges we were going to tour when we left the center. Caleb also told the team that Blount County is one of only a few 9-1-1 systems that has implemented “text to 9-1-1” and recounted some instances where it was used when it was not safe for the caller to talk verbally. Once instance was when a lady’s house was being broken into. The dispatcher had her get in a closet and hide and continued to communicate with her by text until law enforcement arrived. Caleb also reminded the team that it is always better to call by voice if that is possible. At the time of our visit, there were almost 60 years of dispatch experience between the three dispatchers on duty this morning. Yes, we remain proud of our 9-1-1 dispatchers and center.

After we left the 9-1-1 center, we drove just north of Oneonta to Horton Mill Bridge, the highest of the three covered bridges still in use in the county. From there we drove to Easley Covered Bridge, the oldest one. Then we went to Cleveland to see Swann Covered Bridge, which is the longest of the three.

We then drove back to Oneonta to stop at the O’ So Good barbecue trailer in the Hometown Market parking lot. Everyone selected and bought their lunch and we went across the street to Woodland Park for a chilly and breezy picnic. Then Anne had to leave to pick up Max’s mother for a doctor’s appointment and the rest of the team loaded into Pat’s truck and returned to camp for an afternoon of rest and house cleaning. The team seemed to really enjoy seeing the bridges and tour of the center and since there were no leftovers, we presume they liked Oh, So Good too.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!