This week we were still in Muskogee, OK, with a team of 12 people continuing to work on the same trailer as last week. There have been times when it was somewhat crowded and very noisy in the double-wide mobile home, but we accomplished a lot. The weather improved with no more 90 degree days or heavy rain. We were even wearing jackets in the early mornings. By Thursday afternoon the front deck was completed, all the sub-flooring had been repaired or replaced, most of the luxury vinyl plank flooring had been installed in the entire trailer, most of the drywall had been installed, the master bath was almost complete and work on the central bath was begun. The back deck was completed, the upper cabinets in the kitchen were repaired, the lower cabinets were stained and ready to install. There is still drywall to be finished. It was a dedicated, hardworking crew. We were all pretty tired by Thursday night but another dinner together at one of Muskogee’s good bar-b-que restaurants made everything better.
Steve and Chris hanging cabinets
Michele and Ken working on back deck
Laura and Voni installing drywall
Laurie, Dean, Chris and Steve installing kitchen subfloor
My, my. How time flies! Looks like our last blog post was made July 2nd. We had completed our Constructors for Christ project in Bowling Green and had arrived at Cypress Landing RV Park in Dozier, Alabama. One of the friends we made while there said we came out of the RV about 15 minutes after we arrived and started working and didn’t stop for ten weeks. That’s a pretty accurate description of our summer at Cypress Landing. Two of our good friends purchased Cypress Landing at Gantt Lake about 2 weeks before and asked us to come help in getting the park cleaned up and set up and running. So, we did. We helped with all sorts of work while there. In addition to regular cleaning, we helped tear out a bathroom and converted it into a laundry room, helped remodel the General Store and helped change a laundry room into a gathering place for our Switch Crew friends and family. Anne learned how to work at the front desk in the store and take reservation requests. Max worked on all kinds of projects, and we both made some wonderful new friends and were able to work with a lot of Switch Crew friends we have made over the past six years. The park is looking better every day, and we would encourage everyone to stop by for a visit.
The old bathroom that became a laundry
The new laundry when we left
General Store before
General Store after
Helping square a pavilion that was built very crooked
We installed a new AED that was donated to the RV park.
A friend working on sites
Another of our projects was improving the connection pedestals …
… by raising the power connections to keep surge protectors out of the mud.
Of course there was also a lot of fun, such as testing the new Go Boats.
When we decided it was time to take a break, we headed back to South Carolina to visit with Randy and Debra and change out RV’s. We loaded BB up with supplies and headed to Talona Ridge RV park in Elijay GA, another great place we like to visit. There was a Switch it Up Huddle that we enjoyed for a few days, and especially enjoyed the “give back” project at Convoy Of Hope, before we needed to go to the NOMADS annual meeting in Elkhart, IN.
The Huddles are always a time for gathering with friends.
Our Convoy of Hope project consisted of sorting and inventorying thousands of donated shoes.
While in Elhart, we took BB back to the mother ship (Coachmen Class B Factory Service Center) for some work and she is now doing better than when she was brand new. The folks in Middlebury are always so great to work with us and keep BB in great shape. We are anxious to take her on another trip.
The NOMADS annual meeting was probably the best we have had since COVID. It was a great group and lots of new people in attendance. There were several service opportunities on various days, along with time set aside to visit the surrounding area. With only about 150 attendees our charity auction (funds used to support our mission projects) raised over $66,000.00. Extravagant Generosity! Next year the meeting will be in Mineola, TX and plans are already being made.
The NOMADS Memorial Service we made sure to attend to honor friends we lost this year
Worship is always a major part of our meetings
We always enjoy helping with the charity auction.
One of our educational sessions
We had several service projects this year. One was sewing bags for Midwest Mission, …
… and one was building beds for Sleep in Heavenly Peace.
We returned to South Carolina and changed back into Fred, visited with Randy and Debra, headed to Atlanta to visit Anne’s brother Jim for a few days and we are currently back in Blount County (home), for a few days. It’s time to pay taxes, vote, purchase a new tag for Fred, visit with friends and then we will be on the road to Oklahoma. We will be working a three week disaster rebuild in Muscogee. We will try to keep the blog updated a little more often.
One of many beautiful sunrises we have seen on the road
Sunday June 14, after church we drove to Randy and Debra’s home in South Carolina. It was great to be with them again after 72 days traveling the western US in BB. Debra had a wonderful homemade pizza waiting on us when we arrived. We had a busy but great four days with them before we were en route to Bowling Green, KY and the Constructors for Christ summer 2026 build. Randy and Debra joined us a day later, so we actually enjoyed twelve days together, but we had to share them with the other CFC volunteers.
The CFC project this year was building a 9,000 ft2 ministry center for Hope House that will assist the homeless and those in the recovery program. Their mission is “alleviating physical and spiritual poverty through gospel restoration.” There will be office space, classrooms, counseling rooms, etc. The programs they run to assist people getting back on their feet are impressive.
It was terribly hot for those working out on the job site and for those working to prepare the meals for everyone as well. Here is a day by day breakdown of the week:
Saturday:
The slab when we arrived
It’s always great to arrive a a project and see all the materials already on site …
… except maybe the 500 pounds of hand driven framing nails.
The Saturday crew
Our fine Saturday saw crew turned out …
… a bunch of corner and t-posts.
Installing exterior wall baseplates
Unloading the kitchen trailer
Sunday:
Sunday evening meeting
Monday:
Most days we got to enjoy sunrise on the way to work and sunset on the way back.
Each morning starts with prayer and instructions from Ray.
Moving materials
Installing interior baseplates
Building the first wall
Installing corner post for first wall
First part of the first wall
Rest of the first wall going up
Build site a the end of Monday
Another view on Monday evening
Tuesday:
Three more walls were erected before breakfast on Tuesday.
Build site at the end of Tuesday
Wednesday:
Our crew of lumber toters…
… sure saved us a lot of time – and steps.
One of our favorite things about Constructors for Christ is watching young people learn to be Christ’s hands and feet early …
… and learn new skills.
Part of our saw crew building headers
Build site at the end of Wednesday
Thursday:
First floor truss going up
Fastening trusses from the top and bottom
Getting a few more trusses up
This floorplan had lots of rooms, which means lots of doors and windows …
… which means lots of headers to install.
End of day Thursday
Friday:
We spent Friday morning putting the final touches on framing
The Constructors who have been attending the projects for many years are always willing to teach the newer volunteers.
When not otherwise working sometimes the younger mission volunteers practice building things out of scrap wood. (Hint: it’s a chair.)
End of week front view
End of week side view
The team on the job site got all the walls up for the first floor and all the floor trusses for the second floor leaving the project in good shape for week two to continue. The week 1 team this year consisted of 52 mission volunteers from 21 churches and 7 states. Please join us in praying for the next teams who will be completing as much as possible over the next four weeks.
We departed Capitol Reef National Park in Utah on Thursday, June 4th, knowing that a lot of our remaining time would be driving. Of course, we did not get an early start with the cinnamon rolls, hiking and getting BB ready for some back-to-back travel days. The night of June 4th was a Boondockers Welcome stop in Grand Junction, CO – about 200 miles for the day. Not great mileage but we stopped to make phone calls and handle some business that took longer than expected along the way. As usual, our hosts for the night were welcoming and we had a nice visit before turning in.
Eastern Utah sure looks a lot different from the western side.
We were up early on Friday, June 5th driving I-70 easterly across Colorado and into Kansas. We stopped for the night at Ellis Lakeside Campground, in Ellis, Kansas. This small campground is a city owned campground that was a whopping $25/night with full hookups and lake front site. It was a quiet, peaceful place to sleep after a long 568 mile day. We don’t do those long days very often anymore but it was all interstate and we were trying to get away from some of the heat.
Vista at the rest area near Vail
Welcome to Kansas
Shortly after entering Kansas we stopped and logged the oldest active geocache in the world
Our site at Ellis Lakeside Park
Near the city RV park in Ellis is a Railroad museum.
Saturday morning after a visit to the local bakery, we headed to Archie, MO. We stopped at the I-49 RV park to visit some friends, Connie and David. Connie and David are in our Bible Study group and we see them most weeks online but it sure was more fun to spend time with them in person! Thanks Connie and David for your gracious hospitality.
Visiting with Connie and Dave
Monday morning, June 8th, we left our dear friends and started driving again. Destination for Monday was Craighead Forest Park, Jonesboro , AR. – 345 miles. On the way, when it was time for a 2 hour driver change and leg stretch, we saw a sign for Mammoth Spring State Park and pulled in. Wow, what a find! It was right off US 63, and sort of served like a welcome center just after we entered Arkansas. We took advantage of their really nice walking trail and a nice display of the old generating plant on the spring river. It just so happened that this is the same Spring River that we took the Explorers canoeing many, many years ago – probably 40 years ago.
Mammoth Spring was flowing 8.59 million gallons of water each hour when we were there.
Mammoth Spring Dam
The old generator at Mammoth Spring provided power to area from 1925 to 1972.
Back on the road refreshed, we drove on to Jonesboro and another very nice public park on another lake that was only $15/night with hookups. Another great place to hike and another quiet night.
Our site at Craighead Forest Park in Jonesboro, AR
We enjoyed the lakeside trail at Craighead forest park.
On Tuesday, June 9th, we made our way back to Alabama and the River Ridge Retreat in Guntersville. This is the park where we had the Huddle back in April. We have rested a few days here, and tomorrow will move on to Camp Sumatanga, our church on Sunday and then back to our starting point in South Carolina. After getting BB cleaned out and Fred ready to hit the road to our next mission project, we will give you all the statistics on this trip.
Back at River Ridge Retreat
When we left River Ridge in April the ospreys were sitting on eggs. Now one of the nests has two chicks …
