Starship III

 After spending five months this summer at Lakeview and much prayer and listening, we came to the conclusion that we are supposed to be in Texas.  So we came back home and decided to put the house on the market, and if it sold quickly, it would be God's sign to us that it is the direction that He wants us to take.  We expected it to take two or three weeks for it to sell. It sold the first day!  With a backup offer the next day for more than full price.   Let the whirlwind begin!  We bought a house in Texas on three acres, where Bill can have a woodworking shop and Cheryl can have a small space for stained glass.  Mind you, we haven't SEEN the house yet, but we bought it!  How is that for Faith?  We did have someone do a Facetime, so we got to "see it" a little. We are excited about it! The  movers will be here Saturday, then we will be on our way to a new chapter in our lives.  I'll try to write more often when (IF) things slo...

  This was our radar at 6:38 this morning.  Palestine is left center on the screen.  Praise God it missed us.  We didn't even have any wind or rain from the hurricane.  Many of the guests who evacuated from Beaumont have returned to their homes.  Some have stayed on.  God is so good!

 We have been preparing rooms for up to nearly 300 evacuees from Hurricane Laura.  Mostly from Beaumont and the Houston area.  She is scheduled to hit tonight, and we are grateful that these people were able to get out.  Many are from Assisted Living homes.  Some came in ambulances.  Some drove all night.  Some came with their belongings in U-Hauls, at least one family brought a hospital bed, another has a generator in the back of their truck.  This is real life, folks.  It is so rewarding to be able to help in this situation, and we thank God that we are here.  Please pray for us that we will be shining examples of ambassadors for Christ.   It has been hot and humid, so it's very difficult to work outside except early morning, just like in Arizona, except we aren't used to the humidity again. Today is Coco's 13th birthday!  She is still going strong.  Bitsy is just Bitsy! She was moping the other day because she knew...

 Last month, we did something we have never done, and will probably never do again - we went on a hog hunt.  There are approximately one and a half MILLION hogs in Texas, and people are encouraged to kill as many as possible.  They are a very invasive species and will ruin entire fields of crops in one night.  They destroyed several areas of lawn, including rooting up irrigation systems.  Lakeview hired some professional hog hunters and we got to go along.  I won't gross you out with the details, but the night we went with them, they got a 250 pound hog!  That was a lot of bacon!  One of the guys processed it, which included soaking it in salt water for four days.   We have painted exterior doors on one entire set of dorms, cut lots of bushes, trimmed more trees and served in the cafeteria.  We have had two groups of people.  Most have cancelled.  One group was 185 people,  youth groups from a few of the local churche...

lakeviewmcc.org   for pictures and info about where we are. We have now been at Lakeview for over two months.  We have completed several small projects and a few large ones since our last post. 1.  We painted and redecorated a small bathroom in the Great Hall.  2.  Stabilized some overloaded bookshelves in a storage room and built new ones along one entire wall and part of another. 3.  Repaired walls, removed tape, glue etc.  Repainted Game Room. Added chalkboard paint to one area, hoping the kids will write on it instead of the walls and windows!  Also added a divider between the game room and the snack room.  Made a board covered with burlap and put behind the dart boards. 4.  Started painting 24 doors in one of their dorm sections. We drove over to a little country store about 35 miles away.  Had some of their famous homemade peach ice cream and bought some fresh veggies.  Love the little stores in rural Texas. Eve...

This has been a wonderful two and a half weeks at Lakeview.  We did lots of little odd jobs but felt like we made a difference.  One major project was we helped build a new stage background wall at one of the conference halls.  That took two and a half days. We got a screwdriver bit (of all things) in a brand new car tire.  One of the maintenance men plugged it for us, then we went into Discount Tire the next morning to have it fixed.  They did not charge us anything.  Another blessing!  God is always taking care of us. Cheryl made face masks for all the staff and employees.  Bill gave them all a pen that he had made.  Everyone seemed so appreciative. They gave us parting gifts,  family pictures, a framed picture of the Cross in Lake Lemon, hand made soap and a beautiful new wind chime after ours broke. Some had brought us homemade muffins.  They are just the nicest people and we love them all.  They are falling on some har...

Good morning from the beautiful Piney Woods of East Texas.  We escaped to one of our favorite places in the whole world, Lakeview United Methodist Conference Center, in the middle of 1300 acres of nowhere, south of Palestine TX.  We have worked here on numerous NOMADS projects. It is, unfortunately, closed for summer camp this year because of the virus, so they are taking this opportunity to spiffy everything up hopefully to host the Texas Aggies Freshman Orientation in the Fall. It's good to be back in the South, where everyone takes care of everyone else.  Yesterday, a lady brought cookies for all the employees. They invited us as one of them.  One of the Maintenance men was helping us with a tire, so one of the Housekeeping ladies wasn't sure he could make it, so she brought him some cookies.  It's the true sense of Community. We somehow picked up a screwdriver bit in a tire on the car.  Brand new tire, bought them just before we left AZ!  One...

Good Afternoon from Deming New Mexico.  We escaped Sun Lakes on Monday morning.  Spent a couple of nights in Casa Grande.  Will spend a couple of nights here before going on to Pecos TX.  Ok, ok, before y'all all get your panties into a wad, we haven't had contact with any more people than we would have at home.  We stopped once for fuel at Flying J, Bill used his mask and gloves to fuel up and to pay.  Stopped at rest areas for lunch and to let the girls out.  Ate from the freezer and fridge.  When we get to the RV park for the night, we have already made our reservations and paid, so they have our instructions and site number in a mailbox outside - don't even have to see anyone!  They have people parked farther apart with at least one space (about 20 ft or more) between coaches.  Everyone is friendly but keeps their distance.  Contrary to what our government thinks, we Americans DO have common sense and can think for ourselves....

Last week in Sunday School we were talking about plans and how our plans must be in line with God's plans. Plans are changing by the hour, it seems, because of the virus. The coach is all packed, except for freezer and fridge stuff, and a few last minute things.  Plans were to go to Palm Creek (RV resort in Casa Grande) a few days then go to the Family Motor Coach Assn (FMCA) RV rally in Tucson next week.  Palm Creek has closed all its buildings, and the rally has been cancelled. So that took care of that!  Then just this morning, we got news that all the NOMADS volunteer regular and Disaster Rebuild projects have been cancelled until May 7.  That was the three-week project we were going to be doing in North Carolina.  God had other plans, so we are forced to hunker down for several more weeks.  Bill is working on making some more pens, and I will order fabric on-line and make a quilt!  Bill is having withdrawals from shopping!!! We pray tha...

If you wish to be notified when we do a new post, please click on SUBSCRIBE at the top of our blog, and you will receive an email when we post. You ask "What is NOMADS?" NOMADS is an acronym for Nomads on a Mission Active in Divine Service.  It is a mission of the United Methodist Church, but you don't have to be a Methodist to belong.  You just have to have an RV and love helping other people.  We have been a member since 2008, but we started our work with Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  There are two "sections", regular projects which include helping at churches, colleges, nursing homes, and summer camps and conference centers.  The other is Disaster Rebuilding.  We have done both.  Disaster Rebuilding is our first love.  We love meeting the homeowner, however we don't always get to do this.  This puts a face with the home where we are working and makes it more personal.  Homeowners are those who don't have insurance or other means of ...

Gosh, it has been two months since I have posted an update.  Time flies when you are having fun. Bill has finished his outdoor kitchen cabinet. It has one big drawer on one side for charcoal, lighter, and wood chips and three drawers on the other side for utensils, etc.  We picked out some really gorgeous tiles with a metallic element for the top to make it heat-resistant.  He trusted me with the painting!  He is now working on sliding shelves to go under the bathroom sinks for laundry supplies.  I had one cataract surgery done two weeks ago.  That eye is completely recovered nicely.  I will have the other one done tomorrow.  Praying that it will go as well. I learned how to sew at my mother's knee when I was 8 years old, or younger.  I learned on her old Singer treadle machine.  Remember those old machines you had to pump with your foot?  And you had to turn the wheel BACKWARDS to get it going?  I have wanted one sinc...