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