RVing With a Purpose

Happy Labor Day!

Monday, September 2, 2019

Happy Labor Day! As NOMADS, we labored on Labor Day. We work four days/week and since this is our last week, we don’t have the option of working Friday instead of Monday. It was a beautiful day but much warmer than the past several days. The high today was 80 and working out in the sun on the roof of the church it felt much hotter.

Since the VIM team was still here, our morning started in the kitchen at 6:00 am helping Roxy prepare breakfast. Since there was 25-30 people for every meal we thought Roxy needed some help. But we are looking forward to an extra hour of sleep tomorrow morning.

We kept the entire team together today and worked on the addition to the church with Pastor Deb and her husband Larry. They are adding three bathrooms to the building that houses the volunteers and will be the future church building. It was nice to have everyone together for the first time in the five weeks we have been here. Today we completed installing the tin on the roof except for the very last sheet. We were one sheet short. Larry will try to purchase that last sheet tomorrow for us. We also began installing the sheathing. We did some drywall work in the building they are currently using for their sanctuary. Max, Rick and Tom also delivered 25 sheets of drywall out to Nate’s house so we can begin installing the drywall in the morning. Today was physically hard and the entire team is tired tonight but it was a great day. Lots of laughter and fellowship. Suspect we will be tired every night this week. Lots to do before we leave on Friday.

The team pulled the 1×4 nailers off to be replaced by sheathing.

End of day on the addition. We were disappointed that we didn’t have enough metal roofing to finish.

Last Weekend in Wisconsin

Sunday, September 1, 2019

In addition to watching coverage of the developing hurricane in the Atlantic, we spent Friday catching up on stuff for NOMADS and back in Alabama, writing reports and paying bills, etc. We also had to go to Mauston to pick up some plumbing parts for one of the houses where we are working. While there we went back to Carr Valley Cheese to buy a few thing to take with us when we leave. And of course since we were so close we had to stop at Culver’s for their flavor of the day.

We took advantage of the great weather and made Saturday a tourist day.

On Saturday morning it was 20 degrees cooler here than back at our house in Alabama. 🙂

We got to enjoy the last sunrise of August when we got up early to help Roxy cook for the 15 person VIM team that came in Friday night.

On Saturday morning Roxy cooked biscuits and gravy and eggs. On Sunday morning she prepared a pancake breakfast with eggs for the volunteers.

Saturday afternoon we decided to visit Devils Lake State Park, about an hour south of New Lisbon.

Apparently the East Bluff at Devils Lake SP is a popular climbing spot. We saw these climbers and several groups of people bouldering.

We stopped several times along the East Bluff Trail to enjoy the scenery.

Labor Day weekend may not have been the best time to visit Devils Lake. We had to drive past several parking lots just to find a parking spot.

One of the popular destinations at Devils Lake SP is Balanced Rock. It was not as big as we thought is would be.

The Balanced Rock Trail was steep and rocky. In some places there are narrow steps. We had to wait several times for traffic jams to clear. That part reminded us of our hike to Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park.

Our team shared meals this weekend with the VIM team. It was great to get to know them and hear about their ministry.

Tom presented Betty with an anniversary gift of a drywall rasp. Well, it is what she asked for.

The VIM team continued their work on Sunday and accomplished quite a bit on the house they are helping build. We took the opportunity to enjoy our last worship service with the congregation of Winding Rivers. Today Pastor Deb continued her series titled “My Big Fat Mouth” with a sermon on gossiping and lying.

It was a little sad for us and the congregation today to realize that this is our last Sunday to worship with them.

We joined Christopher (a local handy man who has been working at Rhonda’s while we were there) and his wife Christina at a local restaurant for lunch on Sunday.

It’s been a wonderful and busy weekend. Hope your Labor Day Weekend is great too. We work tomorrow. Only four work days left for 2019 and so much left to do.

Another NOMADS Friday

Thursday, August 29, 2019

It was even cooler this morning. It was 49 outside and 58 inside when we got up this morning. Time for the fireplace and the heat pump. It was cozy in a few minutes. We definitely had to wear jackets for our walk today.

Rick led our devotion today. He first shared some of his story on how he accepted Christ and when he made a public profession of faith and then he shared the parable of the sower. We talked about our various talents and ended with “Do everything for the glory of God.” Thanks Rick!

Again today Nancy, Gary, Rick and Sue headed back to Rhonda’s house. The crew there worked on installing base boards, painting cabinet doors, and several other things to make live easier for Deniese and Rhonda. At Lianna’s Stel, Jodi, Betty, Anne and Max worked to get that house close to completion. We cutout the counter top for the kitchen sink, and installed the sink. We will pick up parts to hook up the plumbing this weekend. We also completed the glass block window, got first coat on all the drywall and second coat on some. Next week we plan to finish up both these homes and get as much drywall up at Nate’s as possible. We also will be doing some work at the church. Lots left to do.

Counter top installed and sink ready to go in at Lianna’s

On the way home from Lianna’s we stopped for ice cream in Necedah. This is what we saw in the drive-thur

Tonight we had another great meal prepared by Roxy and some fun fellowship with the team and the pastor’s family. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Team Picture Wisconsin DR week 12 — This Week’s Team Picture

Still Making Progress

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Another beautiful sunrise this morning

This doe just stood beside the road and watched us walk by this morning. She even posed for a picture.

It was another really cool, almost cold at times, day. It was windy so that made it feel much cooler. The high was 73 with beautiful sunshine. The leaves are definitely changing now. It’s not that pretty all over color yet but still spotty reds and yellows. Seems really strange for August 28. We had to wear jackets for our morning walk.

Betty and Tom let devotion today and Betty shared a reading called “Windows For The Soul”. She read a story about a mission project where everything seemed to be going wrong. The team prayed about it but they didn’t have materials, or tools or people they needed to complete their tasks. On top of that it rained and their client’s house still didn’t have windows installed. “For your ways are not my ways.” “Trust”. While waiting on materials the team played with the children and developed relationships. In the end the work did get completed but it was the relationships that lived on after the mission project was over. It’s all about relationships, not the floors and windows. Thanks, Betty, for a message so appropriate for NOMADS and other mission volunteers.

After discussion about where were are on each project, we all returned to the same work site again today. The crew at Rhonda’s is getting really close to completion. Today they did an awesome job re-framing the upstairs windows, worked on texturing walls, painting, texturing a ceiling, and started on baseboards. Out at Lianna’s all the drywall is installed, the window has been trimmed out and the finishing for the drywall has begun. A lot of progress was made there today too. It was another wonderful day.