Author: rvingwithapurpose

Sunday, October 13, 2019

After three weeks we finally adjusted to the nightly trains and Anne slept right through all the commotion Thursday (our last night) night. It was probably because she was so tired. Anyway, we were up by 6:30 Friday morning so we go begin saying good bye to our team. First on the road at 7:00 was Hilary and Michael. They were headed home and had a long drive through what could be some bad weather. Suzanne was next out about 8:00 and then it was Jenny and Tom who changed their travel plans because of the early snow storms coming across Colorado. Bruce and Jackie left a short time later. We left next headed south, leaving Reid doing some work and cleaning on his RV before his short drive back home. We really enjoyed working with this team and are praying for safe travels for them all and all the other NOMADS traveling this weekend.

We saw some really nice fall color on the drive from Sebewaing to I-75 in Saginaw. Much prettier than the foliage a few miles north where we were working.

We drove about 4 hours to a rest area on I-75 near Bowling Green, Ohio,  Friday afternoon. It was a fairly large rest area next to a busy interstate but we still slept pretty well. Saturday we drove 9 hours and made is just inside the Alabama state line and spent the night at the welcome center. It was a very quiet and restful night before we drove on home this morning. This afternoon we have been opening up our and Aunt Helen’s house and getting organized again. Tomorrow morning we will be at the nursing home checking on the ladies. We will be very busy during our time at home the next few weeks. Hope you all had a great weekend.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

We finished the Sebewaing project with another day of glorious weather. Perfect for working outside, and we had a lot of outside work today.

Reid started our day with devotion. He shared an excerpt from “This Far By Faith” by Faith Fowler an intercity Detroit pastor. Through her leadership, impoverished urban areas are being transformed. Reid has been involved in building some tiny homes for the homeless as part of the ministry there.

Today we all worked very hard to get as much done as possible for Bay Shore Camp. We have all grown to love the staff here and appreciate their passion for ministry. There are so many young people who come to summer camps and have their first introduction to a life with Christ while here. It is joy to be a small part of this ministry. We are blessed to be a blessing.

So how was our little cottage at the end of our last day in this beautiful place? The siding on both side walls is complete. The siding on the front of the cottage is complete (except the little bit at the peak) and we even got the French door lock installed today. The siding on the back is complete to the level of the special trim for the eave. Max and Tom and Hilary got that area ready and David, the facilities manager, plans to have some of his guys complete that area soon. Inside, the bedroom is painted. The walls need a second coat of paint but the room looks good. The living room and kitchen walls have been primed. The bathroom drywall has been completed and needs a final light sanding and then primer and paint. The cottage is not complete but the camp is very pleased with the amount of work we completed. They feel that with all we have done, they can finish it up themselves. We will be anxiously awaiting pictures of the completed project.

The team went out to dinner tonight at the Lamplighter and Jeff and his wife Cindy joined us. It was another wonderful time of fellowship and sharing. We said our goodbyes and thank yous to Jeff and Cindy and hope we can return here sometime to work with them again. We will wait and say our goodbyes to the team tomorrow. Put it off as long as possible. This has been a wonderful team. Tomorrow we all head back south.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

We are still loving our weather. For all the rain and yuck we had last week, we are having beautiful skies and temperatures this week. Jackets in the morning and t-shirts in the afternoon. Great!

Jenny and Tom shared with us during our devotional time. We all talked about what all of us thought we would be doing in retirement and how we ended up in NOMADS. How God brought us all to this place. We all have different backgrounds and experiences but Jesus brought us here to be His hands and feet and He is here with us.

We were all anxious to get started today. Tom and Reid and Suzanne returned to the inside work sanding drywall, and cleaning up from sanding drywall. Later in the day Jackie joined in and worked on priming the living room and kitchen. She got everything cut in today. Otherwise everyone was outside working on siding. The outside is really looking good. Bruce and Max, Jackie and Michael completed the front of the house today. It looks great! Now it just needs a front deck. Anne, Jenny and Hilary worked on siding on the back and side of the cottage. We are hoping it can be at least close to completed tomorrow. We will see how it goes. We will be pushing to the end.

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

It was another wonderful day in Sebewaing. We are so blessed to have great weather this last week. It is allowing us to accomplish more than we thought possible.

Of course we started our day with devotion after which we headed straight to work. Today Anne, Jenny and Jackie started with sanding drywall. After that was done they went outside to join Hilary and Bruce working on siding. Suzanne inspected the front bedroom and decided it was ready for paint and before the day was over the bedroom ceiling and walls had a coat of primer. Max and Tom completed the drywall installation in the bathroom. Max and Micheal then insulated the back door and installed the brick mold, while Tom worked on the tape and mud in the bathroom. Tom completed the first coat just before our work day was over. Max worked with Bruce part of the afternoon on siding on the front and also with Michael on the siding on the back. Anne, Hilary and Jenny completed the siding on the north side of the house. With the plumbing complete Reid put another coat of mud in the drywall in the living room and kitchen. Hopefully that area will be ready for primer tomorrow. Only two more days but things are coming together. After work there was another short session of pickle ball and then we all watched the space station pass over our area. Nice end to a nice day.

(If you want to find out when the space station is visible in your area click here.)