Author: rvingwithapurpose

Monday, March 11, 2019

We led devotion this morning using Philippians 4:6-7 encouraging everyone (including ourselves) to hand our worries to God – and leave them with Him.  The last part is the hardest.

Then it was back to work. Butch, Cheri, Harry, Janet, Mark and Lisa went back to Ms. Pam’s house on Baker Drive to continue work on the drywall and electrical. They got a lot more drywall done and tracked down and repaired the rest of the electrical problems. More importantly, Butch got the water heater installed and the water turned back on to the house. That is a big milestone for Ms. Pam. She has been without hot water in her travel trailer for weeks.

One special moment occurred when we presented Ms. Pam with a card and gift left for her by the Grand Valley State University Campus Ministries students. She was truly overwhelmed. If you read last Thursday’s post, you will remember that some of the students worked at her house for a while that day. Before they left they got to meet Ms. Pam and hear her story. They were very touched by it and decided to give their leftover hard-earned trip money to her along with a card in which several of them had written words of blessing and encouragement.

Anne, Gary, Nancy, Randy, Mary, Stel and Jodi went to Norwich Drive to work on drywall and finish installation of the tub surround.  Lots of progress was made on the drywall and the tub surround was completed.

Max bounced around between the houses and Lowe’s. Right after lunch Darryl took Max and Stel to look at two more houses he wants us to work on. On needs new steps and a little interior work.

The other needs all the kitchen cabinets installed. The homeowner went to the store and asked for a “complete set of kitchen cabinets” without measuring anything.  It will be up to us to figure out how to piece them all together and install them. It’s good that we like puzzles and challenges.

Sunday, March 10, 2019

We started this morning by attending worship with our wonderful host church. Pastor David asked Mark to be the acolyte today and Harry to lead the congregation in prayer. It is nice to be made to feel such a part of the family here.

After church we all went to lunch at Sammy’s Grill and had a great time. Some of our team members had never eaten crawfish so the waitress brought a few out for them to try. Good food and good fun.

We ended the day with our usual team meeting where we had a few refreshments and spent some time getting to know each other. Looks like it is going to be another great week.

Saturday, March 9, 2019

Last night for the first time this trip, we had a great night for sitting outside with our team. We all sat outside and watched “Forrest Gump” on our outside TV. Some had never seen the movie and for others it had been quite a while. We even had an intermission because the college students came back in from New Orleans to pick up their luggage. They were going to the airport to turn in their vans and meet their bus to start their 20 hour drive back to Michigan. We were able to get some more hugs and pictures and after our prayer circle, said our goodbyes. They were such great young people. Makes you feel hopeful for the future when you work with groups like these. After they left we finished our movie. By the time it was over we had to have some blankets but is was still a nice evening to be outside.

This morning it was cloudy but by afternoon we we had beautiful sunshine. It was warm with some gusty breezes. Our high today was 79. Nice. Team members were out and about playing tourist today with some visiting the old state capital and the waterfront in Baton Rouge and others making their way to New Orleans to the WWII museum along with some great food. Our new team members all arrived within a little over an hour shortly after lunch. Everybody is safely parked and the new folks have been on a tour of the agency. All the chicks are safely in the coop. It was a good day.

Friday, March 8, 2019

Today was a nice day in Baton Rouge. It was a little cloudy and a little breezy but a nice warm, not too hot day.

Today was a “see-you-down-the-road” day. First we said goodbyes to Dave and Rita. They are headed home to family and grandchildren. We have heard from them and know they safely arrived and hopefully we can get together for dinner when we get back to Alabama in a few weeks. Next we said goodbyes to Jean and Larry. This was our first time to work with them and we quickly grew to love them. Very talented and hard workers. They have the longest drive today, hoping to make it to Tennessee. We have not heard from them yet. Lastly we said goodbye to Bob and Anne. They had the shortest drive over to Fontainebleau State Park. They will get a little R&R before heading on their way. We had never worked with Bob and Anne either but also quickly grew to love them – easy folks to love. Last night they gave each of the couples here some Wisconsin Maple Syrup that Bob and his brother make every year. We haven’t opened it yet but are looking forward to some pancakes and syrup soon. Thanks so much, Bob and Anne. Thankfully they are both beginning to feel better from the Louisiana crud. We know they are safely parked for a few days too. Sad to say goodbyes but sweet knowing we may see some of them at annual meeting in September and you never know when you will work together again.

We took today to rest and work around the rig. Tomorrow we have three more couples arriving. There are a lot of NOMADS traveling this weekend so please keep them all in your prayers.