BYOCD

This is similar to "bring your own bottle" but it is bring your own chair and drink/ usually water. After the men finish working at 3:30 we gather for what we call Pop on the Patio. Since the weather is nice and no one has 10 chairs we gather on the pad/parking lot space in front of one of the couple's RV. And we don't expect anyone to furnish more then drink for themselves so, again, we bring our own. We gather for about an hour and share what the day has been like or anything else we have in mind. You can see there is another motor home just behind this one. We and one other couple are just to the right of this and one RV is just to the left of the picture. It makes for a cozy arrangement and the parking is free. You cannot see Wilmer and me very well but you do know what we look like anyway. Our group is only 10 people but a visiting couple joined us for a week, thus 12.

We only work 2 days this week and our month with the Florida Bible Christian School is over. However this project was 2 consecutive months so we start up again right here the following Monday. We are enjoying not having to pack up and move every few days like we did on our trip last fall. However that did make us a little more tidy because everything had to be put away so it wouldn't move or fall during the move.

This week was homecoming at the School. Each day the kids came dressed according to the proper emphasis for the day just like in many of your schools. However, if they did not or were not able to follow the code they had to wear their uniforms. That was really fun. Except one kid in my classroom was some fairy or something like that and the huge "wings" were too much of a temptation for the boy that sat behind her so the wings had to be detached. I had fun watching him from the back of the room but the teacher was not impressed.

On Friday morning the assembly was packed for the lip sync program. I swear those kids were singing while doing the actions and often I caught myself wondering how those high school kids could sing so well. Their choreography was fantastic and the lip syncing so well done. The entire school was in attendance and it was a noisy group with only the music of the performers being much louder yet. Made us think we should have invested in some company that makes hearing aides instead of pace makers or others we have taken a ride with.

On Friday afternoon they had a parade through and around the Church, School and parking lot. It was only 1 float from each grade from 7th through 12th. I happened to be one of the judges. They thought us RVICSers would be more objective then teachers or parents. It was fun but judging was difficult. One of the things to watch for was if we thought the students did the work or parents. Who knows?

Yesterday we went to a HUGE flea market. Not our first choice of how to spend a Saturday but other couples thought it was worth while to see. It was! Old stuff, new stuff, 14 outdoor movie screens, every fruit and vegetables you can imagine, optometrist and other services like that, and tons of people. It covered acres and we spent hours seeing just a part of it. It was fun but we decided we don't have to go again. We bought the best looking fruit and vegetables, especially tomatoes that actually taste like tomatoes, but we can get them closer to where we live at another flea market. The people around here must really like them because there are many.

I have had an exciting time with Facebook the last week or two. So great to get messages from so many of you. What a blast!!! I have much to learn but that will come.

We look forward to seeing Brian for a short time on Wednesday as he is coming to Miami for a meeting. Any others coming to this area?

This picture shows the women who one student guessed at being 100 years old. Ouch, that hurt.

Thanks for being interested in our experiences, thanks for the feedback (Kim).

We remember you all always in our prayers and thoughts.

Marilyn and Wilmer

Great kids!

Jan. 18, 2009 Yes, these are great kids and privileged as well. They are the students in the first grade that I tutor in. (that is not why they are privileged, they have access to a good Christian education) Well I probably do more teacher aide tasks then tutoring but all of it is fun because I feel I am helping in a small way to make their education all it can be. The school is the Florida Bible Christian School. The kids are not problem kids as were those at the Ranch in Orlando. Mostly they are from homes that are fairly well off financially but they also come carrying the blight of society in a large city. (I am generalizing, it is not always true) By this I mean that the home may be able to buy them most anything but it is short of time for the kids. It is evident in that they respond to attention with a passion when they know you make time for them. Many of the students, older ones especially, find it hard to believe that people our age would come and live on the parking lot just to help them. Probably the lesson of giving for another's sake is the most important lesson we can teach them.

This school believes in a tremendous amount of paper work. The stack of papers to correct each day is huge. The teacher finds it hard to fit everything in each day and often feels frazzled. I would suspect that it is not surprising to any teacher to feel that way at the end of the day. And, as always, just a few of the students take an abundance of time and that takes away from the others. Parental help is poor and I can see that when parents work outside the home, commute a distance and come home to their parental and household tasks that it is hard to spend enough time with homework but I know some of you reading this do just that and do a good job with it. I guess I have such super models in this family that it is sad to think some kids do not have that privilege.

Dad continues to work on various projects. I think it would be nicer if they had some bigger project to work on since we are here for 2 months but this year it is maintenance, painting, repairing and improving the baseball diamond dugout and bleachers, etc. Since he is a jack-of-all trades having been a farmer for so long they can put him on most jobs and he will figure it out.

Down here they think it is really cool (I have heard the word cold mentioned) weather since the evenings get into down to 50 and the days only to 70. We just tell them they don't know what cold is. We start the day with 2 layers and a sweater but throughout the morning we are down to just one layer on and then late afternoon we reverse the process. For Iowans it is a wonderful place to be.

We had a three day celebration of our anniversary. Tuesday night the RVICS couples had a pecan pie social for us. We then had to tell about some things that we appreciated in our spouse and some family history. Of course, we could have gone on forever if we had to go over 55 years but we did abbreviate it. Then on Wednesday night we entertained the couples after work at our RV for strawberry pie and ice cream. They couldn't believe that we would entertain when it was our anniversary, we shouldn't have to work when we are celebrating. That is how it goes, right? Then on Wednesday night and Thursday we enjoyed all the phone calls from you. Dad thought I had used enough words Thursday on the phone to last for several days. We thoroughly loved it and cherish the sentiments that were shared. We are so blessed to have such a great, caring, loving family and we thank you all for your concerns and support thru all our various periods in our life.

Then Thursday evening we tried to go to a steak restaurant but it was closed. We found, instead, a Melting Pot restaurant which is a fondue place. We had been to one in Omaha so knew we would love it. This time we didn't go as crazy with ordering everything and having to eat it all and then not sleep much. That place is so terrifically good from the cheese course to the chocolate finale.

This week is a historical week no matter how much we question the direction the country will go in the next years. It is not a "piece of cake" no matter who leads us so we will have to do our duty to pray for all those involved in the government but also not shirk our duty to uphold our country. Heavy stuff!

Take a look at the picture here. Talk about being brought up in a humble home and this was after a major remodeling project because the fire had destroyed a lot of the interior. After the fire the porch, bathroom (first in-door bathroom we had) and upstairs room was added. The fire was in 1945 go this would have been just a few years after that. What a dapper couple! Even now, at times I would just like to talk to them about something or even more to ask them about something. Those days are gone but they left a godly heritage for which I am grateful.

So, enough rambling for this week. Until next week we pray for you all that the sunshine of God's love will warm your hearts and souls.

Love,

Dad and Mom

Not all glory!

I know you are all saying, "why would they put that picture on the blog page? It certainly isn't attractive, inviting or even interesting. I assure you the picture really does glorify the scene. You don't see the dirt, the primitive setting or the makeshift door that must be locked even between the time we put something in the washer or dryer and when we come back to check on its status. But it does serve a purpose and it is free to use so, hey, we don't knock it but just poke a little fun of it.
Some have remarked that our "calling" to serve the Lord seems to always be where the weather is nice. True! The temperature gets over 70 each day and the sun shines most of the time. Granted the humidity is a little high but the church and school have the air on most of the time, I think, to keep everything from getting musty of the mold that could accumulate. Actually we are looking at trying to work in the California area next winter. Not bad choices for winter. Sounds a lot better than what we experienced in Iowa in Dec.
Just didn't want to have you think we are not without our minor inconveniences with some projects so I took this picture of the "Laundromat" which is available to us. An elderly disabled man lives in a small, dirty, messy RV just to the left of the picture. This is his washer/dryer that we can use. The little shed meant for just such a purpose is stuffed with stuff but the machines work well. The surroundings leave a lot to be desired as the man is in a wheel chair and is unable to clean up if he wanted to. We have a day of school off next week, I am going to see if I can clean up the laundry room. Will need permission from several people but I am going to give it a try. I am very appreciative of the machine after having gone to various places and having some negative experiences while trying to wash our clothes while on our trip last fall, for one thing this one doesn't take a pocket full of quarters. So much for the picture.
Wilmer's job this past week has been doing general repair work and remodeling. The Florida Bible Church really relies heavily on RVICS to do this sort of work. It is great because we volunteer our time but they contribute much as we park on a parking lot near the church that supplies all utilities. We don't have a manna truck here, bummer.
My work is in a first grade classroom. I really like working with the kids which I do at times but I spend more time copying, cutting, organizing, filing, etc. It is a big help to the teacher and she has 20 students so I am not complaining. She is very grateful for help in getting such tasks taken care of. But I still like the direct interaction with the kids which I do at times. I think that will get more as we learn each other's methods and I learn more about the level and type of learning each student is a capable. During the first week of such work I think the tutor, me, probably is more work, rather than less, for the teacher because she has to think of ways to keep me busy.
The 5 RVICS couples have such diverse backgrounds and expertise which makes us complimentary to each other. We as Caucasians are definitely in the minority here and that is a good experience. For instance, yesterday we took the Tri-Rail up to Boca Raton, a Jewish area. We walked a little distance until we came to a University. Interesting that there were absolutely no people around. Then we put it together that, of yeah, this is the Jewish Sabbath. So we just walked around the campus and enjoyed the immaculate grounds and buildings. The buildings were so high class and the surrounding grounds so beautiful. It was a joy to take in that time of peace and quiet and marvel at God's creation in the midst of a city that isn't known for its safety and peacefulness. On the train ride back we befriended a young man and we had an interesting conversation. Those experiences are precious.
Another great SS time studying Habakkuk. We have never had a teacher who was so good at taking each word of scripture and finding meaning in it. Today we looked at the first 2 verses of chapter 3. One of the RVICS women said she didn't think there was much in those verses but she had her mind changed during the class time. What a blessing he is to us.
Our hope and prayer is that each one may find joy in the Lord in whatever situation you are in.
We love you all and love to hear from you.
Dad and Mom

Fellow RVICS

This is the "motley crew" we will be working with for the next weeks. We are on the left, then John and Lola from West Virginia, Bob and Vicki from Montana, Earl and Nancy from New Hampshire and Dave and Wanda from Rapid City, S.D. So you see just interacting with our group from such diverse areas of the U.S. is an education in itself. After the picture was taken we attended the "traditional" worship service at the Florida Bible Church. Glad the sign told us the full name of the church because the way some of the group members and church members accent their words it is sometimes hard to get the full name right. Another interesting experience.
I believe all the couples except us are members of a Baptist Church and much to their credit they are very faithful in their Sunday School attendance. The teacher in S.S. was either African American or from another area they called "the Islanders". Don't know really what that means but they use the term often. Will have to show our ignorance and ask! The lesson was from the book of Habakkuk, sound interesting? Well, the way he taught it was so passionate and personal that we really learned a lot and appreciated his teaching skills.
The lead couple, Dave and Wanda the team leaders, had prepared a taco meal for us and after eating each couple told how they had found out about RVICS and then told a little about their families and their "skills" and a praise and a prayer concern. We didn't give a full account of all our family members and what they were doing and what school they attended, etc. like some couples but then they probably had no more then 5 grandchild so could give an account of each one. It was an interesting time and good way to get to understand each one and where their concerns are.
Our schedule is not rigid and extended but the men are expected to work 21 hours a week and the women 12. We are all done by noon on Thursday noon. Friday we try to tour something of interest in the community. Monday nights we are gathering to watch the Truth Project DVD's We have watched 3 of them and were totally engrossed in the lectures but they are so power packed we can see them again and continue with the other 9 or 10. On Tuesday evening we have a social time. Yes, I imagine we will play pegs and jokers again. It is becoming more fun as we learn the rules. Being the only ones who don't know them does not make chances very good for winning the game. On Wednesday night we have Bible Study at the Church.
This church has had RVICS come for close to 25 years and they say they wouldn't have the facilities they have if they didn't have all this volunteer help. It sounds like the women will have some sort of direct work with students and the men will do maintenance or building where needed.
The students range from age 2 through 12th grade. The minister who told us about the history of the school and church couldn't imagine what they did with 2 year olds, neither can I really but they must have some sort of program for them. This school is not for troubled young people like the Ranch near Orlando. The ethnic diversity is something we really enjoy so we look forward to tomorrow.
Our prayers go out to each one of you who read this. Being a part of the volunteer group is being totally immersed in how the Lord is working in each life, how we can give of ourselves to others and enjoying the study, learning and personal piety growth. What a privilege!
Mom and Dad/Wilmer and Marilyn (whatever)

The New Year 2009

We are eagerly anticipating the opportunities and challenges which lay before us in this new year, new location and new project. Our previous web site (which had the same name as this one without the s at the end) gave the highlights of our extensive trip in 2008 and the RVICS project which we worked on in Nov. Then we had most of the month of Dec. in Iowa. Wow, did we experience the brunt of Iowa weather. We had many inches of snow and such a cold wind that the wind chill factor got as low as -56 degrees. We did actually have one thawing day just before we left Iowa which made the snow pack enough so it can't blow around.

During the month we also watched Cindy regain her strength after having a feeding tube inserted on Dec. 2. How good to hear her laughter and see her strength come back. Christmas day was wonderful with a phone call from each of our kids. What a blessing that was. Then Brian, Donna and family came in the evening. It was a good day.

December 31 we flew back to Orlando to where we had left our RV when we flew home the beginning of December. After a time of prayer and fellowship (games) with the RVICS couples on Dec. 31 it was time for us to move on to the next project. So on Janurary 1 we drove toMiramar which is near Miami, Florida. We will be working in a Christian School here for the months of Jan. and Feb. have no clue what we will do but we will find that out tomorrow. We have a group of 5 RVICS couples, we have met them all and they are all great people to work with. All are retired, naturaly, as that is a requirement of being in RVICS. And each must have an RV.

We have already found the WalMart and Sams stores so we feel at home. Don't know if the "manna" truck will come each day as it did at the last project. Sure helps cut down on food expense and waste as well. The Publix stores let charitable organizations pick up food they no longer can keep on their shelves and after the organization picks out what they want the RVICS people can scrounge and take what they want. We coined the term "manna" because it comes on week days but not on weekends.

As always, the ability to be on the internet at these make-shift sites is an issue. At this one we can access a web site and we have the T-mobile contraption which also allows us to get on the internet so we feel fortunate. Email, along with cell phones, is very important to us as we find they are excellent in keeping us in touch with all of you. Of course, we can only do that if you email us, right?

We look forward to sharing with you every few days if possible. We praise God that he has led us to this ministry and that we had good health reports in December so we can take part in the projects as well as enjoy other activities in the area. 2009 lies before us and we look forward to seeing how the Lord works in our life and in each one of your lives. Our email is still mjrevmom6@aol.com and wrensin@mtcnet.net.

(This blog page is still a work in progress!!!)

Wilmer and Marilyn