RVing With a Purpose

Monday, January 25, 2021

We started the day with a heavy fog, but by mid-morning the sun was out and we had a beautiful spring-like day.  It is just about 2 months earlier than we usually have spring in north Alabama.  It was 81 this afternoon.  We of course started the day with devotion, and today enjoyed meeting outside at our campsites.  Mary Ann reminded us of the different gifts God has given each of us.  We are all different, and should encourage each other, rather than criticize when others do things differently from us.  We should do everything in love – love of God and each other.

After devotion, we drove the 5 minutes to the church and began the day with Gene and Mary Ann showing us around the property and discussing the various items of work.  We all began by moving everything out of the nursery getting it ready for painting.  Gene and Bill took down a light pole in front of the office and Anne and Max began working in the office, removing the dishwasher and a peninsula from the kitchen. Becky, Randy, Mary Ann and Nell began the wall patching and painting in the nursery.  Gene and Bill also did some landscaping work and work on a door that was sticking. A lot was accomplished on our first day!  While we all work socially distanced and wearing our masks, we still laugh, and enjoy our work.  We are so blessed to be able to spend this time of our lives in this work.

Sunday, January 24, 2021

Friday was moving day for the entire ECHO team, either to the next project or for a little R&R.  We waited to say goodbye to everyone and then headed to the grocery store to resupply.  We left Riverside Retreat Center after lunch.  We stopped at a Harvest Hosts site Friday afternoon.  Our HH site was a beekeeper.  We arrived there mid-afternoon and went to the gift shop for a visit.  One of the owners was there and spent time explaining to us a little about the bee business.  They take almost all their bees to California about this time every year for the almond pollination.  We learned that almond trees require the bees and the quality of the bees impacts the almond production.  After the almond blooms are gone the bees are shipped to other areas of the country and end up back at their home in Florida for the winter and then the cycle resumes the end of January or early February each year when they again return to California.  It’s a huge business.  We love to visit Harvest Hosts sites and learn new things.

We had a very quiet, peaceful night and Saturday morning drove on to our next project in Dundee, FL.  We are parked at Camp Endeavor and will be working for the next two weeks about 5 minutes away at Dundee UMC.  The third week we will be doing some work at the camp.  The weather is beautiful, the camp has nice flat sites with full hookups and is next to an orange grove.  Life is good.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  Praying for all those who are ill and all those taking care of them.  Please stay safe and healthy!

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Wow, it has been a busy week.  This team has accomplished more than we ever thought would be possible when we started three weeks ago.  Today we learned that we completed more than our friends at ECHO thought we would do as well.  On our task list on day one was removing the old bamboo structure and building the new one, pouring the concrete for the seed bank slab, and replacing the pedestrian bridge deck boards.  There was also the storage container to be emptied, and new flooring installed and there was pressure washing if time allowed.  As of this afternoon all those items were completed plus sometime during week one, building a wall in the propagation area was added to the list and that too was completed.  ECHO actually thought the next team (not NOMADS) coming in two weeks would need to complete the new bamboo shed and possibly other items on the list.

Finishing the Bamboo Treatment Shed

Finishing the Seed Dryer Slab

Finishing the Storage Container Floor

Before and After

This was such a fun, talented, hardworking team.  It was such a blessing to us to be able to assist ECHO in their mission of helping feed the hungry around the world by teaching them location specific skills to grow enough food to feed their families.  The work and mission of ECHO is amazing.  We will continue to support them with our prayers and hope to be able to return here one day.

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Monday morning we all returned to ECHO to begin our last week here.  It’s been a great place to work!  Anne and Max returned to the foot bridge with Gregg and Karen to complete the installation of the deck boards and complete it we did, just before quitting time!  However, that did not complete the work.  Jhon (yes that is the correct spelling) brought us some bright yellow aluminum safety plates to install.  We didn’t get the installation completed until Tuesday morning – 23 safety plates with 18 screws per plate.  It took until mid-morning to complete.  One project complete.

Wanda and Janet returned to the wall project Monday morning making great progress.  They completed the wall about lunch time today.  Project two complete.

Suzan, Kevin, Ken and Vi returned to our largest project, the bamboo pressure treatment shed.  Monday they completed the installation of all the stringers.  Today they began the metal work.  Max and Greg rejoined that team this afternoon.  By the end of the day, all of the roofing was installed except two pieces of metal.  It is looking great! We are getting close on this project.

This afternoon Anne, Karen, Wanda and Janet pressure washed the Price building (office building) and began on the sidewalks.  We will see what tomorrow brings but the plan is to pour the concrete for the seed dryer.  Maybe that will be another project complete.  Only two more days, and lots more to accomplish!