Snow Is Falling Everywhere!

Snow, it seems to be everywhere we go. It is so beautiful from inside a window but makes for some inconvenience when work, travel, etc. are necessary.
We left Texas on the 4th of Dec. Our pickup had been in the shop for most of the week but was returned to the campground just in time for us to leave. We traveled to Ardmore and stayed there the first night. When we wanted to leave in the morning the pickup was dead as a door nail. It was Saturday and no mechanic worth his salt was working so what do we do but lay over in Ardmore (in the RV because we had no vehicle) for the weekend. Wilmer kept looking in the Ford book and going out and making another attempt to find the problem. Being the pickup is a diesel the familiarity with the mechanics was a little more elusive. However, after several of those attempts he discovered there was water in the fuel line. We are good dutchman and like to save money but trying to run a diesel with water was going a little too far I guess. Thanks to a resourceful man of the house who persevered he was able to drain the water out and the pickup started without any hesitation and we were on our way toward Iowa. We drove to Salina, KS where we stayed for the night in the RV and then left the RV in dry lot there for a couple of weeks. On Sunday was finished out trek to Sioux Center.
Last winter we were home in Dec. and were snowed in several times and this year looked like a repeat of those weather conditions. The picture to the left is very similar to one I took last year but it shows this years fresh layer of snow. Glad we don't have a dog who calls this place home, it would have made for some chilly nights. While home we enjoyed several family parties and time in Sioux Falls with Cindy and the girls. But after 2 weeks we were on the road again heading for Colorado for Christmas parties and a wedding.

We had to go out of the way a little but we needed to pick up the RV in Salina, KS. It was in good shape and we decided to stay in it for the night. OOOOOH, not so good when propane runs out and the furnace can't run. That makes for real togetherness! Thank goodness we had two space heaters which made the temp. almost warm. Experiences. Reminded us of camping on a trip we made many years ago when we used everything available, including throw rugs, to cover us to keep out the cold.

We got to Loveland, CO on the 20th and what do you know, it was soon snowing. The campground shown is ours with a new layer of 8-10 inches of snow. Beautiful. We will celebrate Christmas with Linda, family, some extended family and Jason and family. Then New Year's Eve we celebrate the marriage of Erin and David in Denver. In between that we will spend time with Jason, Shasta and Eli in Golden, CO. Then on the 1st we will turn west again and start a Jan. RVICS project in Yucaipa, CA. Wonder if we will "enjoy" snow there as well.? Always interesting to think about what we will do on a project. Only know when we actually get there.

I will blog more regularly when we are in California and volunteering. Just wanted you all to know what we were doing in the interim. We continue to be healthy and are actually content to be back in the RV again.

Until later, we love you all and would enjoy hearing from you,

Mom/Dad Marilyn/Wilmer (or zilverenvossens)

Thanksgiving 2009

Not your ordinary Iowa Thanksgiving. New faces, new weather, new place and new friends. We took the RV to San Antonio for the Thanksgiving weekend. The RV park prepared a turkey, dressing, potatoes and rolls for all the campers. We were requested to take a side dish to accompany their food. It is amazing how much good food was available for all of us. The desserts were especially tantalizing but of course I am a dessert person so that suited me fine. Pecan pies were very good but so were the cakes and other desserts. So glad we decided to take part in the dinner. I know it doesn't show up very well but I had never seen the little lace "tents" they covered the food with to avoid flys, etc. from getting on the food. They were fancy and very useful. Probably wouldn't need them very often in Nov. in Iowa but in Texas they did the trick. Sat with some people who actually were from Iowa. What a small world. The man could talk farming with the best of them and he found the best in talking to Dad. And of course compare notes about camp grounds, etc. as they spend quite a bit of time in the RV as well.

We did not take the pickup/truck downtown because we found the bus proved to be cheap and good. For less than $10.00 we had good bus transportation the whole time we were here. The Christmas tree downtown doesn't compare very well to the trees most of you have or to the one we have seen many times in Branson but it was a tribute to the City and was decorated accordingly. Interesting that the tree was now energy efficient. Because of certain bulbs used this year the energy used 1/11 of the energy used other years. That is green! The tree came from California and was only the top half of the tree. Wonder if it took energy to haul the tree that distance?

The day after Thanksgiving they had a lighting ceremony in the street near the tree. They expected 150,000 people on that street and I believe we touched shoulders with every one of them. It was a very organized self disciplined crowd so the mass of people didn't get unruly or anything. The other event that night was the parade of Christmas floats/barges on the River. We had seats on the River Walk so could see the parade well. The 25 floats were professionally decorated and were beautiful but such bright scenes don't photograph very well, thus no pictures.

We did spend considerable time walking and browsing the River Walk. We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant and we sat right beside the river. You can see one of the barges in the background. The weather was perfect the whole time we were in the City so we could enjoy the outdoors at all times.

No time spent in San Antonio would be complete without a visit to the Alamo. The rangers talk was sobering once again. It is such a difficult stretch to imagine how people were so brave, passionate about a cause to risk absolutely all. The battle at the Alamo was certainly bloody but the battle was so pivotal in the history of Texas. I am reading a book now by Bob Dole and his experience in World War ll. Again, the passion to save our country overrode ideas of personal safety and personal plans and schedules.

I have written our plans before but I will reiterate a little. We get done working on Thursday at noon but we will stay here that afternoon to get RV ready to travel again. The way it is raining here the last days and all day today some wonder if the Motorhomes can even get out of this place. The roads are good when dry but they are a sea of mud now and staff has been tearing them up a bit with working on the site in order to drain a pond, dam a stream, etc. Their work is close to the road we need to get out of here so we will see what the next days bring. We have an advantage with a fifth wheel but 4 of the couples have motor homes and are sweating it a little. We will stay in Ardmore, OK on Friday night, Salina, KS on Saturday night and we will leave the RV there for a couple of weeks. We will then travel to Sioux Center on Sunday. This is all if the weather is good. Then on the way to the wedding in Dec. we will first pick up the RV and then head to Loveland and Golden before heading to California to work on projects there.

So good to hear from all of you. Really treasure those calls, emails and FB.

Love you all. Hope you are enjoying the beginning of the Christmas Season.

Dad and Mom/Wilmer and Marilyn

Beautiful Camp Tejas

This is probably the most beautiful and clean Retreat Center/Camp we have seen so far. It also must have the most creative staff as all the buildings on the campus are decorated in a unique style and many colors. It is interesting that the way a camp is decorated will influence the type of groups that come for retreats., or vice versa. This one will attract adults and especially women because of its design and then the camp supplies more attractions for those groups such as a good size gift shop. We talked to the director of another camp this morning , which is 3 hours from here, and they cater to mostly children so their camp has bunk beds etc. that kids enjoy. However, the type of entertainment that they provide is always a draw to kids and they do make it attractive. Some retreat centers provide all the program staff and some camps the groups bring or enlist their own speakers. There is a big Christian Camp Assn. in Texas and the personnel from each camp share their ideas.

It would seem like the picture above is of an office but it really is private rooms for families. I admire the many pads of dutch tile that make up their grounds as you can see in the center left side of the picture. they are all laid beautifully. What a warm feel those tiles give in contrast to just clay soil. And lately with the rains that clay soil was a mass of mucky gunk. It runs right past our RV so we have to do some fancy foot work to get from rug to RV without getting very cruddy.
This pool certainly has to be a draw for kids in Texas. It has a smaller pool and a water tube to the right. Another thing that I don't have a picture of is a large mud "puddle". They flood the area with water and then the kids actually play games in it. Guess it is popular. But after playing in this mud they get hosed off with a 2 1/2 inch water pipe. Doesn't that sounds like fun? I know when I was very little I had a great deal of fun making mud pies in the grove but guess the sensation wasn't the same. This is an example of the creativity of the camp. On each side of the large open hall were guest rooms decorated in the months of the year. Very creative decorating. The floor is of dutch tiles and the ceiling partitioned into squares painted in different colors. It does not look glitzy but blends all the colors of the doors and room siding into a pretty picture. This building also has a auditorium, wash room, smaller meeting room and an "eternal" coffee pot. The last couple of days I worked near here taking inventory in the smaller gift shop.

So ends my praise for the Camp Tejas. I don't get to see staff very often and Dad only sees those who direct the men's work. We would like more interaction with them but if we don't eat with them the time to mingle and see their families is seldom.

A couple of days ago the pickup started making a strange noise. Dad took it to the Ford dealer and was told it was something with the springs and front suspension. They are going to work on it tomorrow. We hoped they could get at it quick because we are planning on spending Wednesday evening until Sunday some time in San Antonio. Then back here to work next week until Thursday and start home on Friday.

One more thing to share, they have a few of what are called painted churches here. When the German, Czech, Austrian, etc. people came over in the 1800's they wanted the ornate churches they had in their homeland. Of course, they couldn't afford it so they hired a decorator who painted in such a way that the decor in the church looked like marble. Most of the churches are Catholic, I still like the more ornate churches and feel a certain reverence in them. This second picture shows a small portion of the ceiling. It is totally painted over wood and in some instances they painted on wall paper and then hung the paper on the ceiling. Even the pillars in the church looked like marble but were wood with a special kind of painting Kind of reminds me of the processed layer over cement that some people do, right? The chandelier was from another era for sure. No it wasn't painted. We only visited one church but understand there are more around here. There must be over 20 stained glass windows and as the sample shows they are very ornate. Beautiful!

One more item. As most of you know I spent a few days in Sioux Falls with Cindy going to the hearing of the young man who has been molesting children around Sioux Falls. At the trial he pleaded guilty and will be incarcerated for a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 15 years. Cases like Lex were not addressed at that hearing but hers and others will be brought to the attention of the judge before sentencing. What a relief to hear him plead guilty but what a sad past and dismal future he was carved out for himself. He is only 19 now.

We are both doing well and enjoy the more temperate weather although home has very mild temps as well. I guess the cold is waiting for us. Well we enjoy the green grass and leaves on trees that we have here. Hope you are all doing well, knowing some are traveling and some are in foreign places but our prayers cover all. Appreciate the contact via whatever tech means we have available. Our love and concern covers you all.

Dad and Mom Marilyn/Wilmer

60 volunteers!

The title refers to how many people volunteered at the Community Food Pantry on Friday. When we attended the First Baptist Church last Sunday they talked about the monthly food pantry that the community puts on. First Baptist does the major part of the work and it is held in their parking lot but the pantry is worked by people from the community and welcomes recipients from the broader community as well. We were invited to help so our whole team, except the one with the broken arm, went and worked from 9-12 Friday morning. When we got there the line was already long even though the actual giving did not start until 10. Some people had stood in line over an hour already waiting for some food. We wondered why people came so early when the basket would contain the same food for those that came at 11 or later but the answer was that some were hungry and were anxious to eat. It is hard to imagine that was the case but the visual of seeing long lines waiting was a humbling experience and really hit us that we have so much to be thankful for and are so blessed. Working at that food pantry was a blessing to all of us and we would do it again in a second. It topped any tour we could have thought of going on.

The distribution was very well organized. A sign up was required but it was on the honor system, nobody was going to police who got or didn't get food. One lady told me that God had not appointed her to be a judge in who should or should not get food so all that came were treated equally and received equal amounts.

Dad was working somewhere in the middle of the whole operation. Behind him people had put cabbages in bags, grapefruit in bags, 4 bags of rice and 2 navy beans in bags, carrots and other fresh vegetables in bags and many more things. Just ahead of him some put canned goods in a bag, 2 pounds of hamburger and several pounds of chicken in bags toothpaste samples, and, again, more canned goods in bags. We think every household would have mandarin oranges for while. Toward the end of the line the boxes were filled with 4 or 5 loaves of bread, tortillas or other bread products. Then they all got a package off the sweets tables which contained decorated cakes, doughnuts, sweet breads, cookies, pastries and other goodies which are pictured with the lady/ladies in the red shirts. The third picture shows the boxes on the right of the picture which contained bread products which had been taken from "huger" boxes where the bread had all been dumped in . They were added on top of the boxes just before handing out. The next picture shows the size of the plastic tubs or boxes that the people got. They were so huge that volunteers used grocery carts to help the people haul their boxes to the car or whatever mode of transportation that had come with.

This is the line of all-ready boxes waiting to be picked up. You can see the line of people waiting at the church door waiting to register in order to be eligible for the food. As you can tell we were so excited to be involved in helping people out in this way.

But really, we only helped in one aspect of the pantry. The planning and organizing had all been done by Friday. Stores donate, food is bought (for a dime a pound) from the food bank in Austin, trucks pick up the food and bring it in, estimates are arrived at as to how many people will come, items accumulated must meet the health requirements, the system must be laid out for convenient and efficiency, etc. This Friday and for an hour Saturday morning 420 people received food, that in a town of 5050 people. That was the biggest number of recipients ever. But still more people were coming and some had to be turned away with less. That was hard!! The whole system is being ramped up for next month. Sixty people helped on Friday and Saturday from RVICS, Sunday school classes, inmates from a detention center, scouts, families, etc. And of course their were a few people who maintained the system that had been working for several years by "directing traffic". The different products I mentioned were all put in different color plastic bags so the end "inspector" could see at a glance if the boxes were all complete. We went away from church totally happy with it all. I know many of you have worked at such projects in the past but it was the first time we had such first-hand experience. Wonderful.

Then Saturday we drove to Johnson City where there is a small museum of Johnson in a National Park. we then drove beyond the Park to visit the ranch, farm home, parents home, school, Texas White House and church of Lyndon Johnson. I told you about Lady Bird's museum last week but now we got a still bigger picture of the president's life and accomplishments. It was a long ride but well worth it. Interestingly, you probably remember, in 1973 we were vacationing in this vicinity and the radio kept telling about the funeral that would be held for Johnson that morning. Being inquisitive and bold we rode to the area. Since we had a small baby with us I stayed in the car but Dad went out and stood very near to the actual grave, to Billie Graham who gave the message and to Anita Bryant who sang. The picture is small but you can see the tallest gravestone is that of President Johnson. To the left of Johnson's stone in the picture of the cemetery is where his wife is buried but they don't have a headstone on the grave yet. It was a somber reminder for Dad of how he had been there for such an auspicious occasion. The ride around the ranch was again great for seeing how the land and environment shaped Johnson's legislation. We did not hear specifically about his biggest challenges but they mentioned often the emotion toll the presidency took on his life. That probably attributed to his life style which included working almost day and night and drinking heavily. He had his third and final heart attack when he was 64 years old. He had served most of his life as a public servant and never forgot his roots and came back to the Ranch often for respite in some small way.

Back at Camp Tejas we are doing about the same work all week. Dad and the guys are doing more revamping of buildings and gals are still painting boards and still having fun moving them from place to place. It isn't nearly as mundane as it sounds. We have a good time

Love you all and hope you are all doing well. The week ahead promises to be a heavy one and one that will take total dependence on the Lord for strength and love. He is faithful!

Mom and Dad Marilyn and Wilmer

Camp Tajas, Texas

At the end of each project we find ourselves reminiscing about the past 4 weeks, this time it was at New Life Ranch in Oklahoma. In spite of our first impressions of a muddy, soggy place to park and a rainy day we got won over by the friendly, helpful staff at the Ranch and the impact they make on young and old alike who attend the Retreats and Camps at New Life. I was fortunate to do data entry the whole time we were there so could read the response cards and get a good idea of how the camp had effected the attendees: Sooooo positive. Life changing. New commitments to God. Drawing nearer to God. What a blessing New Life is to the people who come. It was a joy to work in that setting. So our feelings were something like the picture to the left. We enjoyed the setting but it was time to move on to another day leaving some new found workers/friends and making new ones at the next project.

We arrived at Camp Tajas on Friday. Tajas is Spanish for Texas which means friendly. Our first impressions here make us believe it is a fitting name. But before we got to work we took some time Saturday to see sights in Austin which is about an hour from the Camp.The camp is listed as being in Giddings, TX although it is out in the country.

This picture is self explaining. Why do we always try to see State Capitals? We saw both Chambers and a doorman explained the Texas Legislative process which was interesting. Dad, of course, could ask intelligent questions and the man appreciated someone being interested in the process. We then saw the LBJ Library and Museum. We also tend toward the Libraries and feel like we may not have totally endorsed the man who the library was build for but we like to honor the office of the President. And we remarked after seeing it that every president has initiated some positive legislation. And as we reminisce about our life we hope that positive feelings may emerge about us even though feelings differed at times. (broccoli soup) We really made the run to Austin to figure out just how to get to the airport. On the 18th I will fly to Sioux Falls to be with Cindy and Lex as another court hearing will take place. Please pray for all of us and for the "situation" involving the molestation charges. If all goes well, I will fly back on the 21st.

This picture isn't great art, necessary, but it does show how the women will use their creative touch by painting boards to be used to finish a new building. We first sand them with an electric sander and then prime them and later will paint them. Oh I forgot, I think we have already moved the bulk of the hundreds of boards to 3 different places as they need drying before sanding, before priming and before painting. That is the creative part. We must have a dozen saw horses with boards at various degrees of dryness.

This is also not a stunning picture but it depicts a small portion of the boards that we have been moving and working on. The ones in the background are drying in the Texas sun. The others we had already moved a time or two. I am not poking fun of the work. Sometimes the question arises as to the importance of painting or doing dry wall or pounding nails. At times it seems like it is a long way from mission work which they call what we are doing. I think the prime example of how we are working with and assisting the mission work of a camp or school or church was shown at New Life Ranch and others as well. We are doing things to enhance the work of the Staff people and doing things that they just don't have time for. Sometimes we improve, sometimes we build, sometimes we prepare boards to be put on buildings or sometimes we work in the office. The project people continually say the volunteers are what make the physical camps and what allows the staff to do more of what they are equipped to do. We are support people. That is why we continue to be involved with RVICS. And you wouldn't believe how amazed most of the people are that "old" people who are retired do such work and even the staff is surprised we can get as much done as we do.

I had to show this picture to show you that we are back in green grass and trees with leaves on them. I don't think they have a colorful foliage time but we will take the green and the warm temps of high 70's or higher.

Hope and pray you are all well. Love you all,

Mom and Dad Wilmer and Marilyn

Tour days

Just a short update of what we are doing. Actually, we didn't do much different for work this past week so will tell you a little about our Friday tour day.
It is interesting to come up with some local business or attraction to tour in each project area we work in. Since we are on the tour committee it became even more interesting, or should I say difficult. There were many interesting places that groups before had toured but through the years with all the safety precautions many places no longer commit to giving tours. The Day Spring Card company is located here so that was a must but, no, they have down sized so no longer can accommodate tour groups. They do have a good outlet store in Siloam Springs which Dad and I visited on our own and they have good Christian goods with very reasonable prices. There is a huge Allen Cannery in this town as well which looked great for a tour but they have discontinued tours as well. So we toured the LazBoy factory. That was very interesting and not a bad substitute as all. The whole factory is set up in cubes with each cube having 4 or 5 workers. They start the piece of furniture from the first frame boards and each person in the cube does his/her thing and when it has gone full circle the furniture is a complete, ready to sell chair/sofa or whatever. Each cube has a quota and they go home when they have reached the quota. The system fosters good cooperation and workers encourage quality work in each of the cube people as it reflects on the whole cube. A defective piece must be redone and extra hours put in for all of them. We had never seen such a system but it works. Then on Saturday Dad and I went to a LazBoy Galleria. I don't know how we would pick a chair/sofa because they had hundreds of them in every possible style, color and material.
On the Ranch where we are working we hear most of the staffers saying they went to John Brown University. We had never heard about it so decided to try to tour the campus which we did also on Friday. It was started in 1919 by a man named John Brown. Ironic I know. It is Christian with a strong emphasis on mission work and ministry. The campus is beautiful and the
buildings have a stately and elegant look but not pompous. Everything is so wooded and hilly around here and the campus grounds have those same features. Interesting how they incorporate those features into the layout of the campus instead of getting rid of the natural beauty. We were impressed with what we saw.
So the tour day turned out to be fun and informative. Actually RVICS encourages teams to tour so they learn about the area and are then better able to see how the project fits into the whole community effort. Good thinking and it fits so well into the way we toured Canada and the Eastern US last summer and fall.
Tonight we went to a little church in the midst of the woods. It is small in size but large in other areas. They sing old time hymns for 30 minutes and they give it "all they got". It probably isn't so necessary for everyone to be on the same key but volume is important. They sing from the heart and sing like they mean it. Then the pastor, who has been singing lustily in his bass voice, gives a powerful message. He is standing beside a oil stove in the middle of the room that has a chimney pipe going up through the ceiling. That brought back memories as all of us can remember having such a stove in our living rooms when we were young. By the way, that stove was only used when company was coming as we didn't use the living room just for ourselves. His sermon was as heart-felt as his singing. What a great experience that was.
Dad continues to work on the remodeling of a pastor's retreat building. I continue to work in the office on the computer and if we time it right I think we can stretch the work out until we are finished here on Tuesday. Wouldn't want to start cleaning bathrooms and doing windows at this late date. Really we do have more work left than what we can do before we leave here.
Yes, our time here in Oklahoma ends Tuesday at 3:30. We are staying here Wednesday to see a few more community things and then leave on Thursday heading toward Smithville, Texas and another project. Smithville is near Austin. We will get there on Friday and start work on the following Monday. It is amazing how fast the months fly past and we move on again to another project. We finish the Texas project on Dec. 3 and our Dec. is still undecided as to exactly what and where. No project in Dec. We will get to Sioux Center for some time and to Colorado for visits and the wedding. Exact dates are still in limbo. The Lord willing we will begin a project in California in January.
We give thanks for the work we have to do, the opportunities we have and the many blessings we have received. We thank each one of you for your prayers and concerns and pray we will see all of you in the next few months. Our love and prayers go out to you and know God will walk with you through the mountains and the valleys of life. We love you all.
Mom and Dad Marilyn/Wilmer

Too much of Oklahoma?

Our work week ends at noon on Thursday so we decided to take 3 days to go to Branson - we had a time share that needed using. Of course, we spent time at Silver Dollar City. I know some of you are thinking we are obsessed with that place, yes we do like the entertainment and craft emphasis they were highlighting these weeks. But when we were sitting to listen to this pick'in' and grin'in' group (my title for them) I wondered how many of you would think this was a complete waste of time as well as a strange choice of entertainment or just that your parents were really loosing their bearings. Probably it was a little of each! I will admit it is not our/my favorite form of entertainment but it is a part of the Ozark heritage and Southern Country music and humor so we wanted to honor it. There were other entertainers as well as many crafts being demonstrated. We always still enjoy watching the glass blowers even though the two young guys had a problem with the piece they were blowing and thought it would eventually end up in a heap on the floor. No one is perfect or just like someone else even as no blown glass is like any other piece, we all have our own unique shape and function.

The decorations are always tuned to the theme of SDC. Naturally, these weeks are all done in harvest festival style. This picture is at the gate but all of SDC is decorated as well. Nothing, tho, compares to the Christmas Season when they have 4 million lights lit.

Work went well this past week. I am thankful I could continue to input data into the files of Retreats and Camps which were held over the last year. Like we were told, really this job is never finished as several new camps are held each week. Even some public schools bring kids here for a day or for longer. Interesting since this is definitely and openly a Christian Camp/Ranch. Reading the comments found on the cards is interesting, complaints can run anywhere between "awesome, I committed my life to Christ" to "the mats in the shower room were wet"? What did she expect? Even the comments on the food could run from "awesome" to too many carbs, not enough variety, or helpings too small. I think the expectation of the camper has something to do with the comments. One group came who were from an upper middle class area. The complaints were almost laughable as well as disgusting. Seems the kids had never had to put any effort into anything and thought this place was here to serve them. The Ranch leader to student ratio is very favorable and they are dedicated to making the Ranch experience very worthwhile, however, the responses reflected what the camper was expecting and, somewhat, on the context the student had come from. Thank goodness the vast majority have very high praise for the Ranch and that makes all of us happy. It is such a joy to put in a response that is all 5's even though those are kind of brainless for us, it does bode well for the staff. So putting data into the computer has its joys and makes our work at a Ranch extremely worth while.

Wilmer's work hasn't changed much either. He does restoration work on the same building I pictured him in last week. Altho he doesn't have a lot of different saws and other tools along he certainly is getting to use many of them as several of the RVICS people have quite a stash of tools. I guess when they have worked on dozens of projects they find what is useful and helpful to bring to a project.

This is our Oklahoma Group. I will not name them but give their home state: Missouri, Montana, Rochester, Minnesota, Missouri, Iowa and the front couple, a retired minister, last lived in Pennsylvania and has a place in Texas where they are retiring. Other then one couple we hadn't even known about the others until we started working together in Sept. or Oct. Now I can say we are a good functioning group with a lot of common values as well as a common work ethic. Great experience.

Pray you are all well, let us know how you are doing. We have internet now but spastic cell phone. Try anyway, we will get back to you.

Love you all,

Dad and Mom - Marilyn/Wilmer

The Hills Are Alive

Truly, riding around in these Oklahoma hills it does seem like they are alive. The foliage is changing color, the air has a real nip to it and the camp ground is filled with the sound of children and adults having fun on the various forms of entertaining equipment provided. Even though this part of Oklahoma is normally about 20 degrees warmer to most of us this seems like real October weather. (there was frost on the grass this morning here) This Conference Center, New Life, has various size groups come all through the year and this weekend the groups included students from several area church and a women's retreat group. We get to see them because we have been invited to eat in the dining hall with them. We try not to eat more than one meal a day in the dining hall but when we are encouraged to stay we do and find it a great place to make friends. And it is open to all without cost. We will leave a donation when we leave.
The tree pictured is unique to us. It is a Pine tree, evergreen, but about 1/3 of the needles turn brown in the fall and drop off like a deciduous tree. We had never heard of a pine tree that sheds like this one. Actually it makes for a pretty tree if you get past the idea that the tree is dying. One of the couples here had such a tree and frantically tried to restore the tree in the fall because it must be dying because the needles were brown. Nope, just a normal habit of this tree.

The whole Ranch is built on hills and valleys That is why when we came a week ago after a big rain the creek had overflowed its bank, all the land around it was soggy mud and the trees were still green. We have seen a big change since that day. Now the creek is flowing gently and the water is clear instead of a muddy brown. It takes a lot of energy-burning activities to keep junior high and high school kids busy and they do it.
You know I can never pass up a stream with a view, therefore this picture. The creek is on the Ranch so is used for water activities like I mentioned before.

Oh, that is right we came here to work. The women had it easy this past week with Vicki and myself putting data into the computer of the students who had been at the Ranch the past few months. We also did a ton of filing. The interesting part of that was getting use to names that we were unfamiliar with. Often the names that sounded alike could be spelled in about 5 different ways. Made filing a bit more of a challenge.
Then the mailing we did had to be sorted into zip codes. We must have come up with at least 75 different zip codes. The area around here isn't that densely populated plus campers come from quite a distance, therefore, more zip codes. We have more computer work to do, hope it continues, if not we will be giving the dorm rooms a thorough housecleaning but with a group that usually is fun too.

The men are remodeling two units that will become a place for visiting pastors or speakers to stay. They are also making a huge deck around the cabin. In the project the windows had to be moved, the air conditioner had to be moved, the light fixtures had to be moved and wainscoting put on the ceiling. They don't have to do dry wall even though they have become very good at that.

Our tour took us to a couple of RVICS people who live 70 miles away in Muskogee, Oklahoma. They served us a delicious supper and it was fun to get acquainted with them as we all have lots in common when we share the experiences of RVICS. We are such new comers while some on this project have worked 60 projects. We are on our 6th project.

Hope this finds you all well. We enjoy good health and hope to hear from you soon

Love, Dad and Mom/Marilyn and Wilmer

First Impressions

How often has your first impression been wrong? or right? It is often better to wait a bit before getting all bent out of shape because of a first impression. Such was the case with us when we drove onto the New Life Ranch grounds last Friday. We drove the 150 miles from Branson, Missouri to get to the Ranch. It had rained several inches Thursday night and the weather was misty and drizzly the whole distance to the Ranch in Colcord, Oklahoma. But we were looking forward to again becoming RVICSers after a leisurely week in Branson. There were 5 RV's already hooked up when we got here and the plan was for us to back into a spot between 2 of those big rigs. The spot was narrow and close quarters isn't necessarily our idea of a good spot even though Dad is a good backer. When both rigs would put their slides out we probably would have been able to pass food back and forth without getting out of the RVs. The Ranch had finished 2 new spots around the back of the lot so we were told if we could ride around the back of the rigs we could drive into a new spot. Only trouble was, with all the rain ALL ground was like a sink hole. But with the pickup in 4 wheel drive and low gear we did manage to make it up on the pad, however, not without making a mess of the grassy and gravel approach - thus the picture. The picture of the tires is just to prove just how deep we had to go to get up on a gravel lot. Needless to say we were not impressed with the place because it seemed they had not prepared well for volunteers. We joking say " is this what they say is suffering for the Lord?" No, I don't think that explains it at all, the sky had just broken loose with buckets of water after a summer of above average rainfall and that made conditions poor. In addition, a creek was just a little distance behind the RV and it was swollen out of its banks and was rushing over some little falls so that it made a tremendous noise. Why are we here?

The next day the sun shone and everything looked better. This is a camp something like Inspiration Hills but on a much bigger scale. Just this summer alone they had various camps with 1800 kids attending. They also have retreats and seminars and other events for adults. The camp covers 1000 acres of mostly rocky ground and has up to 80 employees at various busy times. They have 40 horses, many water activities and various other forms of entertainment. They can sleep 400 campers in bunks. Many of the cottages with bunks are in good condition and well equipped. The water right now has gone down to within its banks but no one is allowed in the water because of its filthy condition which comes with such a big rainfall.

It is always interesting to find out what we will be doing at a new project. As is often the case the men will be working on remodeling a cabin which will be used for a B & B for visiting pastors. If all 6 of the men work in a room or two they could get in the way of each other - than there is a building which is under construction which they can help with. Our project leader said the women had luxurious jobs which include office work, kitchen work and some sewing. Sure beats steaming wall paper off a ceiling. I had just purchased a few tools for more physical tasks and now I can trade them in for office equipment. Good trade.

There are 5 couples here now but another couple will come the end of the week. With 12 people we can get a lot done. We were with them all last night and, yes, Dad is still the oldest man in the lot. But not by much. I would still pit his quality and quantity of labor against anyone of them. Just hope he doesn't have to pull any more wainscoting off a ceiling in a 4 foot crawl space. We are so versatile, right?

We attended worship service and Sunday School at the Fellowship Bible Church in Siloam Springs and then we all ate at a Mexican restaurant. Good fellowship! This picture shows the creek just a little way up from the area of the dock, etc. The water was still flowing fast but in its bank. The natural rock of this area makes for some pretty pictures. We will have to do more exploring because there are many hiking trails. The weather here is way below normal in temp and will continue throughout this week but then it should be warmer. Normal is 70 for a high but it must be close to 20 degrees below that. Our little electric heaters have been going full blast for days as it was cool in Branson as well.

So first impressions aren't necessarily how things are. We are anticipating a good, purposeful experience here and pray we can contribute to the ministry of New Life Ranch.

Pray for you all as you are scattered geographically but hopefully not in spirit. Love you and hope to hear from you soon.

Mom and Dad/Marilyn and Wilmer

Relationships

After reading blogs from all over the world I wonder what interest anyone can have in Kansas. But I know each one of us has been placed in exactly the right place and for the last 4 weeks our place has been in Rexford, Kansas. We have been working feverish to get as much done on the Houston House at Shepherds Staff as we could. But an old house brings its own peculiar issues so it takes a long time to totally refurbish it. This past week the men restored doors, painted or varnished them, puttied windows, laid flooring, did more plumbing, and took down and reinstalled some wainscoting. The women continued painting, priming, hanging wall paper and always cleaning. Didn't get the house done but 4 weeks of work did improve it much.

However important these jobs may be the best life skill we have learned is that of building relationships. Working for 4 weeks side by side and almost always with a partner, as I shared last week, is a great way to gain an appreciation of the people we work with. It also helps people like me to have patience with those who have a different but not necessarily better way of doing things. Okay, sometimes they are better! The lady on the left in the picture is Joan. She is the director of Shepherds Staff and oversees and directs what has to be done and how it is done. She has the skill of helping each person feel their job is important and of encouraging them to do it to meet the expectations of her Shepherd's Staff board. Great gift to have. She has become a great friend. Her son-in-law also worked here in Rexford while we were here. His insight of the philosophy of people on the Kansas prairie was of great interest to all of us as he shared it with us on Tuesday night. He, and Joan, feel the tug of the Lord to use energy and time to bring spiritual renewal to the people here who often feel isolated. We pray that by helping to make the Houston House more accessible and inviting to people that Shepherd's Staff will truly become a refreshing and revitalizing place for area pastors and their families as well as other groups or even individuals.

Relationships were also deepened with our daily devotions.

Sharing prayer concerns and spiritual truths drew us together and, again, helped us understand one another as we had very diverse backgrounds and had taken various paths to get to a conversion experience. But our belief is based on the inerrency of the Bible and a trust in one God as well as a personal relationship with Jesus. When a group starts out with that premise it immediately gives a unity of spirit and a common bond.

We left Rexford on Thursday and are now in Branson, Missouri. We worshipped in a Baptist Church this morning and were truly blessed. Branson's theme at all of their shows is God, family and country and I think that is why we always like to come here. Wholesome entertainment, although the price of shows on the strip has kind of skyrocketed, is so good and hard to find now days. Silver Dollar City continues to be our favorite and the one-price-for-all is what we prefer. They have different shows throughout the day and many displays which are interesting. The emphasis in the fall is country crafts and gospel music. Can't really go wrong on that. We start in Oklahoma next Monday.

Hope you are all doing well. I know there are some rough spots and we certainly are praying for guidance through them. Email is working now as is the cell phone so would be happy to hear from you. Love you all,

Mom and Dad/Marilyn and Wilmer

Work and Worship

Only 4 days of working on this project and we will move on. Since our project in Oklahoma doesn't start until Oct. 11 we have more than adequate travel time so we are planning on taking a little break and going to Branson, MO for a few days. We will leave here Friday, the 2nd, arrive in Branson on the 3rd and leave there on the 9th for Colcord, Oklahoma. Start working again the next Monday. Some of you have asked about our immediate future plan, that's it.

We've made a lot of headway on the house but will leave it far from finished. We usually work in pairs, probably that is so because none of us are experts in what we do so we have a buddy check before we actually go ahead and do something.

One job I mentioned last week was that Dad and Bob had to work on plumbing under the house and since it was moved in it no longer had a basement. You can see on the picture what working conditions they had for a few days. Dad got a scratch on his head from meeting the beam above him too suddenly but aside from stiffness in neck and legs they did very well in their limited space. But part of the work involved first taking the wainscoting off of the "ceiling". This picture shows what I tried to explain last week when they took it down and the years (the house is 105 years old) of dust descended on them. Couldn't help it, we all burst out laughing. Thank goodness it was not oil as it looked but dust that came off fairly easy. I am sure some of you would have coughed and sneezed and blew your nose for hours if you would have been exposed to so much old dust.

The kitchen cupboards needed to be relieved of layers and layers of old paint. Not an easy job. For some reason that I don't understand no paint remover was used but the layers were sanded off. I started with this group and we all had sandpaper. Well that seemed like a job that could take the whole 4 weeks. These ladies had been promoted to electric sanders but it still was an arm muscle building job and a dusty one. I soon found I could better use my strength somewhere else. They painted the cupboards a creamy color after sanding for hours and they really do look nice now. The integrity of the cupboards was maintained while giving them a face lift.

I did not get on the scaffolding when they asked for people to paper the ceiling in some rooms that were 10 feet high so I ended up being the resident paster (not even close to being a pastor) and measurer - feet on the ground except I pasted downstairs and they papered up stairs. Oh well, good for leg muscles to be strengthened. Seemed ironic when yesterday we went to McCook, NE just to see what that town had to offer and I find myself on a Saturday afternoon checking out what kind of professional tape measure I wanted. Of well! The lady in yellow in the picture is the director of Shepherd's Staff and she and I work very well together. She really lives in Texas but comes up here a majority of the time. She doesn't move up here because her husband wants to stay living in a city. So he comes up here for some months and she goes to Texas for other months. Her husband was an MD and has retired but still likes to live in that area. Can't say I really blame him, this town doesn't exactly provide everything socially and culturally that some of us think is quite necessary. Say like cell phone coverage and access to the Internet from our RV's. Actually this town has no commerce at all. It has one gas station that, according to the sign, sells gas, beer and cigarettes. That is it.

Since RVICS is for retired people our hours are pretty good but I am glad we are not getting paid by the hour. Of, that is right, we aren't being paid. By Thursday noon we are both done for the week with work. Then we tour. This week we toured a sun flower processing plant. The guide was excellent and the information fun. They bring in sunflowers from hundreds of miles around. The plant is old but the technology of cleaning, drying, processing into mostly edible product and bagging is mostly automated.

Many times during the week before we travel or after devotions, etc. we circle up. and that is what the picture depicts. no matter where we are we join hands and one of the group leads us in prayer. We think this would be a wonderful thing to do in other settings as well in RVICS.

At other projects we had pop on the patio. Three thirty, after the guys are done working, we bring our lawn chair and drink and set for a spell. Good way to rehearse what the day had brought and we just have a social time. Another good "habit". One couple was missing when this picture was taken.
We worshipped at the town church again this morning. We have grown to love the people and that is something that is more possible because of the small size. They will host a dinner for us on Wednesday night, that will be fun. Then on to whatever the Lord has for us to do in Oklahoma.

We really enjoy working in this capacity but also miss being closer to some family and friends. We pray we will be open to what the Lord has in mind for us in the months ahead. Our life has never been one steady course for years on end so often we examine the road and try to determine which direction, which road, we are to go on. Covet your prayers for that direction.

We appreciate the blogs, emails and phone calls we receive. The phone calls are not always clear or without disruptions (right Cindy?) but we can get some conversation in. We could not function without knowing how you all are doing.

Love to all.

Dad and Mom

Big businesses in small places

The "big house" looks a lot different and better than it did last week. Dad and Bob have most of the plumbing work done that they can do. No. their work doesn't really show the improvement but it is a vital step in the process anyway. The rest of us are continuing to scrap, prime, paint, restore old doors and even do wallpapering. So after relating the scaffolding option last week I got some resounding reprimands about getting on a scaffolding so the morning they asked me again if I would put ceiling wallpaper on from a scaffold and ladder I told them I had orders not to get on the scaffolding. So I measured and pasted and two men put the paper up. They have the ceiling on in one big room so we are anxious to start with side paper. That will really make those rooms come alive. Don't think we can wrap it up in the 2 weeks we have left here but we will definitely have made a big dent in the work.

On Friday we tour but the tour committee has to be creative to find interesting places to tour in this place. Have to admit that when they came up with a book binding company in a little town a few miles away from Rexford we almost yawned. But the tour committee (one couple) do a lot of research on such things so we all went to Selden, KS. The buildings were not impressive to say the least but when one of the owners started explaining the process and what they all do we had to admit it was awesome. The address on the web is kbindery.com and that gives a better picture of their work than I can write in this blog. (even though it will be shorter than last week, I think). They bind books by sewing which is not done much anymore but it is much stronger than the glued method many use nowadays. They will redo old books such as family Bibles, personal Bibles, text books, etc. as well as add new covers, emboss or stamp them in unique ways as well as bind entirely new books. The tour leader was one of the bosses and he was a very amicable person and made the tour very personal. Then have been in business for 40 years so have some credibility. Because of the method of binding they get orders, large or small, from all over the country.
On Saturday Dad and I did some of our own touring in an occupation we are familiar with. This picture is of the road sign of the Thomas County Feeders, Inc. feed lot. Don't think you can read it but it is all Certified Angus Beef, they co custom cattle feeding and their capacity is 18,000. Looked to us like every yard was full with black Angus with the exception of one red Angus. We could not get up close to the operation but we appreciated the fact that in the middle of what seems to be pretty much only crops and not much else for farming that a feedlot of this proportion was out here on the Kansas prairie.

Then just a tad down the road was this dairy that we had seen from a distance on the road into Colby. We took the opportunity to drive on the yard and look around. While the picture is not especially impressive the talk with the young owner was. They have had this dairy up and running for about 10 years. They come from Lancaster, PA area. As some of you know, milk production is not profitable right now. In fact, some people are selling "cows for cash" a government program which enables you to sell your cows with some definite guidelines involved which I won't attempt to explain. This place milks 1700 cows and I was told they milk 3 times a day. ( that detail I heard at the beauty shop) With the price of milk right now they lose $100. a cow a month. Figure that times 1700 cows. Dad told one of the RVICS people that figure and he thought the dairy should fold right now. Could tell he had always lived OFF the farm. (he is a PK and also a retired Pastor) Anyway, the young dairyman was the typical optimistic farmer who remembered when they PROFITED about that much and hoped the prices would rebound and make up for these loses. The same family has a dairy 40 miles from here and milk 2100 cows. The two sons run the operations now but have set up precautions to protect their parents from financial disaster. They were cutting silage the day we were there and both parents were working in difference capacities so they are still physically involved but financially protected.

Because of an abundance of rain this summer the crops look very good. A large area had hail some time ago but it must have come too late to hurt the corn. However, most years the irrigation rigs have to be used. The rigs still stand in the fields and make a great resting place for birds that are migrating from the area. I hope you can see that all the black spots are birds. The picture shows only about 10th of the rig and most of it was covered with birds.

So our Friday and Saturday tours of Kansas Prairie enterprises were enjoyable.

Everyone of our group has really put a lot of effort into this project and we are all starting to take possession of the project. We have a better understanding of the necessity of the house and have really gained in our appreciation of diversity of abilities of each group member. In our group devotions Dad and I have used our family as an example of how diversity brings learning and appreciation of various abilities as well as ethnicity. That is one lesson we have tried to learn as we toured the country the past year as well.

We are doing well, enjoying the almost perfect weather and praise God for this opportunity to work in this particular area assisting an organization in reaching out to people in a unique way.

Love to you all,

Dad and Mom

Prairie Project

Riding through Nebraska has always been kind of a sleeper. Well, the western side of the state of Kansas is much the same, that is if one just rides through it and doesn't stop to get acquainted. We have started our "acquaintance" process with Kansas and find it has much to offer even if it is different than the states our group members come from. We do have a Kansan in our group so she fills us in on some of the finer aspects of this state.

Last week I sent a very dark picture of our campground. This picture will give you a "clearer" view of what the campground is really like. Sorry I didn't take the time to straighten up the elevator before I sent the picture. It really does stand tall. We have added one couple to our group and they come from Cambe, MN so they live less than 100 miles from Sioux Center. Dad has been the oldest male in our group and he thought this man probably beat him in that competition but find out he is just 3 months younger than Dad. Afraid I still am the oldest female. Not necessarily a contest I wanted to win but then again I can always play the age game when it comes to putting on ceiling paper, climbing on ladders, etc. Actually the whole group is well aware of what we are comfortable doing and we feel free to say where our limit is. NO putting on ceiling paper from a scaffold.

This week Dad and Bob were busy with updating the plumbing in the house shown. It was built in 1905 and was recently moved into town from 30 miles away. It cost $30,000. but they did it all in one piece so they had a very experienced house mover. Not even cracks in the plaster. The plumbing will take them a least another week. Some of the work is done beneath the house in the 4 foot crawl place. They don't have to crawl so that helps but when removing wainscoating from the under side of the house (which would have been the basement ceiling when the house had a basement) they were so dirty that they actually looked like black men. Sweat and dust is not a pretty sight. I and another person spent our time steaming wallpaper off ceilings and walls and then priming the walls. Of the 7 or 8 rooms in the house we got less then 2 finished. Since we now have another couple we will have 2 or 3 people papering and then 1 or 2 will continue steaming and priming trying to keep ahead of the wall paper people. Sometimes we think it is a stretch to think this is a mission project but we realize it will be an added attraction for people who come to Shepherd's Staff for retreats or even just to visit. The house will be decorated in the style of the era when it was built. Flowered wall paper, etc. I can almost hear some of you cringe thinking about the decor. However, the dishwasher and garbage disposal will expose its recent refurbishing

Our Thursday tour was to the Prairie Museum at Colby, the biggest town around here and it boasts of having 6000 people. The Museum was even greater than the publicity about it. The spark which started the collection was kindled when Nellie Kuska, at the age of 7, received a bisque doll for learning her multiplication tables. The Kuskas lived in California after marriage and she continued to collect dolls and various other things until her death in 1973. The artifacts were moved to Colby in 1975 and the Smithsonian appraised the collection at a value of more than one million dollars in 1975. Imagine the worth now! It took 3 moving vans to move the seventeen tons off artifacts to Colby.

The one part of the Museum I was interested was the large genealogy room. They like their history and many families had researched and printed the family tree. It was good for me to see the different ways a family tree can be constructed to be interesting and still hold to the facts.

I cannot begin to describe the museum pieces but the heritage buildings outside were interesting too. The only discouraging part is that Dad and I both remember seeing or using the building they considered heritage buildings.
The one building we had only heard about but not lived in was the sod hut. I recall hearing that those in Sioux Center had dirt floors and ceilings. This one had to be modified enough so people could see the development of sod houses. It also was furnished in a style later than the actual sod house. Such ingenuity those homesteaders had. The hut was built of sod blocks 1 foot by 2 feet by 4 inches deep. The walls could be plastered or newspapers (wonder where they got them) could be placed on the walls. Muslin was stretched across the ceiling to catch the dirt, bugs and an occasional snake. This hut had windows so some day light could be seen. Still I think depression would have been a problem for the wives especially as they were in that dark, damp house so much of the time.

The Cooper barn is the largest barn in Kansas measuring 66 wide', 114' long and 48' high. It is now used for the bigger displays. It also was moved to the site in one piece. Some of the things like hay mow, grain bins, stanchions etc again reminded us of activities we had done years ago. The metal "leg ties" put on cows legs to get them to stand still we remember vividly because when milking if you didn't get the cow's tail tied in with his legs you might get that dirty tail come flying around your face as you sat and milked the cow. And those were the good old days? Some of you recently romped around in a hay mow. Imagine trying to pitch hay down out of this mow, had to carry some of it 144 feet to the opening and then still throw it down to be picked up and brought to the cattle bunks. Diets usually weren't necessary in those days. Of course, first we did chores and then we continued the day with fried eggs, bacon, bread with fat and syrup and drinking whole milk, we had a lot of heavy food to burn off.

My favorite building is always the one room school house. This one is small and all the desks are made for two people. That is close company if you ask me, we always had our own private desk. We also had a furnace instead of the oil stove in this picture. Ours was coal burning so the teacher always had to go to school early and start the furnace before the students arrived but they could easily do that on the $40.00 a month they got (according to a teacher we had with us), right? I remember taking a potato to school and laying it on the ledge where they scooped the coal into the furnace. At noon that potato was just done and actually was a warm food which we could eat. Else we could take a tin of soup and set it on the furnace register (one in the floor) and have a warm entree for lunch - unless some clumsy person came along and tipped your soup container down the register. Still those days were good because we didn't know any better. Even wearing the same underwear for a week and long stockings in the winter and dresses made of feed sacks. What memories.

We pray for all of you often. If you have a specific request let us know and we will intercede for you in that way. We love you and enjoy all the means we have of communicating even though ours aren't totally reliable here we usually get through.

Love, Dad and Mom