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