Author: rvingwithapurpose

Monday, September 3, 2018

Happy Labor Day! Hope you have all enjoyed your day.

Yesterday was another beautiful day. Of course the team went to church and we again went to Oxford-University UMC. And again we went to the modern service in their nice new facility. This is the service that our camp director attends with his family. This week the senior pastor had the message, his first service in the new facility. It was a wonderful service in a very nice new facility. After service we were all going out to dinner together but the restaurant we chose had an hour wait so we just came back to Fred for lunch. We were really tired and spent the afternoon resting and napping.

Our team for this project is a little unusual. We had one team member with a birthday last week and two team members with birthdays today. So in addition to a labor day celebration we celebrated the three birthdays, Carol, Peggy and Dell. This afternoon we grilled out and each of us brought a side. We took mac and cheese we made in our Instant Pot. It was the first time we tried mac and cheese in the pot and were pleased with the results. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it as well. We also made some vanilla ice cream, with peaches and other toppings to go with the red velvet cake and brownies. It was a fun dinner and celebration. Otherwise is was just a laid back restful day.

Saturday, September 1, 2018

We knew today was going to be a long day so we were up early for our walk. Another beautiful sunrise. Definitely worth getting up.

We went out to breakfast with Anne’s brother Jim planning to go to IHOP. IHOP was packed and we were hungry so we just went across the street to Chick-Fil-A. We are so happy we made the change because as we were leaving we ran into our wonderful NOMADS friends Sheila and Frank. What are the chances? We were in Tuscaloosa and they stopped in Tuscaloosa on their way home from Sheila’s parents in Mississippi. We had a nice but short visit and look forward to seeing and working registration with them in Memphis in less than 4 weeks.

We completed a few things in Tuscaloosa and then headed back to Blount County to see Randy and Debra and check on the Aunts. It was great to see Randy and Debra even if for just a little while. The Aunts seem to be doing well. Both actually seem to have improved a little and they were both quite happy today. Soon it was time to make the drive back to Mississippi. We had a gorgeous sunset this afternoon. We returned to Camp Lake Stephens about 9:00, tired and very happy to be home.

Friday, August 31, 2018

We were up at 5:00am today and on the road back to Tuscaloosa at 6:00. Almost immediately we began noticing what was going to be a gorgeous sunrise. We got to watch it for about 30 minutes as the sun rose higher and higher. Late yesterday afternoon Dave and Carol called us outside to see a beautiful double rainbow and this morning a wonderful sunrise. What great reminders of God’s love for us.

We had an easy and uneventful drive to Tuscaloosa. We had a real estate closing at 10:00 and were concerned that traffic might be heavy since this is a holiday weekend but traffic was actually very light. We were able to finalize the sale of some of Mama Ruby’s real estate and then take care of some bank business while all three kids were in town for the closing. Very tiring and somewhat stressful day but we accomplished a lot. Since we are this close, we will probably try to go a little further northeast to Oneonta, to check on the Aunts and then head back to Mississippi. A lot of driving but we are anxious to get back to Camp and our NOMADS friends. Every one please be very careful this holiday weekend.

While Anne and her brother’s were meeting with the accountants, Max was outside looking at bugs. Max won.

Thursday, August 30, 2018

This morning was a cooler 70 degrees when we took our morning walk. Too bad the coolness didn’t last very long and by noon it was another hot summer day. But the morning was very nice.

Peggy brought us a wonderful devotion this morning by reading us a story of an art collector who lost his son in war. It reminded us that whoever takes/accepts the Son, gets it all. It sparked some good conversation. Thanks, Peggy.

Today we completed the retreat cabin (Cabin ½). We and more importantly, Rich, the camp director, are very pleased with the outcome. Max and Kitty worked to complete it, while Anne and Peggy worked on putting together the IKEA furniture for the cabin. There is still more furniture to build next week but it’s looking good. We are trying to provide a wonderful retreat cabin for pastors where they can come to retreat, reflect, envision, and return to their churches revitalized. Camp Lake Stephens is committed to being a place where children, youth, and adults can encounter God and respond in faith to God’s call to transform the world. They have a dedicated staff that we are blessed to be getting to know and hope our work here somehow contributes to the success of their mission. It is a small camp by Sumatanga standards, more intimate and very pretty. We feel very welcomed, appreciated and comfortable here.

 

Back to our work. The barn crew today consisted of Carol, John and Shannon with some short term help from Max and others. They survived another sweltering day and continued to put up walls. They are making good progress in spite of the heat. They needed lots of hydration today. Max and Anne felt almost guilty for working in our air conditioned environment but not guilty enough that we wanted to be in the heat. A fencing crew (Dave, Mariel and Del) worked to complete the new garden fence started by some AmeriCorp volunteers. With a family retreat this weekend that area needed the fence completed to make things safer for the kids that will be here. It was another successful day for the team and we will all sleep well tonight.