FRIENDS FELLOWSHIP FUN

The past week has included all of the above. Working so closely with people from MN, TX, MT KS and PA gives way to lots of comparing and sharing about our diverse occupations and living style. The one thing we have in common is our love for the Lord and how we can work for Him even in our more elderly years. By the way, I still have a problem thinking they are talking to me when they refer to an elderly woman. And I had that at the Sioux Center Hospital just before we left. Oh well, wish she could follow us around for awhile and she may see just how these "elderly" people live. See how hard it is to really identify with that term?

We finally made a visit to Arend and Verna Sandbulte last Saturday. They are always so much fun to visit with. As couples before either were married we and other couples spent many a Sunday evening together going to one of the "girls" house for fun and the girls always made sure that they had something in the house for a lunch for the "guys". But it never really was complete until the girls would find something unexpected to hide in one of the guys' food. (Seems those stunts were even tried in our own household thru out the years) That was a long time ago,we both have been married over 56 years, but the good memories continue. They have a beautiful home on the shore of Lake Superior in Duluth, about 100 miles from where we are spending the month of Sept.

On our way to Zion Lutheran Church Sunday we drove right past this lake and then decided we must turn around and take a picture as it will never look exactly the same at any time after. The peak of the colored foliage was last week. Even now the leaves are starting to turn brown and have lost some of their glory.

Riding past wooded areas it is hard to imagine there are so many people living in the midst of those trees but there are many, some bordering the shore and some further in. On a pontoon ride last Sunday we came across this beautiful scene. I don't have a clue who lives there but it is a picture I may want to enlarge. Hope they don't have legitimate claims against me if I use the picture.

Getting back to the church, it has stained glass windows the total length of the sanctuary behind the platform and pulpit. It tells the creation story beginning with the unformed mass and following the 6 days of creation. It is interesting how churches and all architecture reflects the resources of the area. Much use is made of large timber beams and they aren't enclosed but used to display there place in buildings. Thru the years timber has played a significant role in the industrial arena as has mining. We toured a iron ore mine as well. Of course fish is another item that is plentiful. Our whole team was invited to a fish fry last Friday night at the home of former RVICSers. They catch the fish right on the lake near their house - would be a dream for some people.

Acturally I can say I am enjoying the painting these last few weeks. To think we can do something constructive for kids and adults to enjoy while at this camp is great. Our twosome has some dedicated painting to do tomorrow and then we will be close to finished. We are leaving tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday) for a couple days at home so I won't see it totally done but close enough to give me an idea how it looks. The floor is a challenge but the improvement it makes is worth the effort. Really I wish we could stay a couple of weeks more so we could do some necessary cleaning in the rec room and other rooms but that won't work for now. The whole team is excited about the, nearly, finished product but not so much as to offer us some help. They had other jobs that needed doing as well. Dad continues his remodeling on the cabins. The latest challenge is the tile but they are making good headway on that. Funny the first weeks we work the end seems far away and we aren't so attached to the job but as the last week rolls around we realize and desire to get the work done. The way it has to be I guess.

We will be in Sioux Center Thursday afternoon until Sunday noon. Hope to see some of you in that time.

Love to you all, Mom and Dad Wilmer/Marilyn whatever fits

COATS OF MANY COLORS

We are experiencing colors all around us. As you know we love to ride in the country and see the foliage colors change. The colors are getting nice but the most beauty will come in a week or two. This picture is just a few feet from where we are parked. The day this was taken was perfectly still as you can see on the water. How could mankind ever duplicate this beauty - no way. What a riot of color it will be in just a few days.

Dad continues to break down and put up walls, floors, fixtures and more in the attempt to restore some semblance of beauty/tidiness to two cabins. Like always when a remodeling project is tackled unexpected obstacles show up. The obstacle facing them now is to lay new tile in the cabin, bathrooms, hallways and entry ways. Aside from the row directly down the middle all the tiles must be cut. Remember how old buildings are never square? Same true of these cabins. Age has taken its toll on the building, somewhat like age does to our bodies as we grow older. A creak here, a moan there, a sagging here or there, loss of strength in the extremities, etc. you get the picture. Wonder if RVICS could take care of some of these complaints, bet they would have more business than they bargained for. They better just stick with material restoration.

My group of 2 or 3 is still busy painting our coats of many colors. We should start on the floor tomorrow so that is exciting, we think. Most of the walls have been done with primer and 2 or 3 coats of paint. Believe me we know how to clean brushes and rollers. This room is the recreation room so gets a lot of traffic. We do hope those that use it will appreciate the work that went into it. But still, we were called to paint and the appreciation is just a neat benefit if it comes.

There was a women's retreat here at camp the past weekend. Not a large group but a very joyful group. We ate with them for 3 meals so we got to meet some of them. The first night we ate with them we sat by 2 young women. They asked where our "real" home was and the one was very interested in that. (I don't think she was playing dutch bingo) We came to know that her husband grew up in Inwood and his name was Ter Wee. After a few more questions we discovered that her mother-in-law was a sister of Harlan Kooima. Small world, yes? We have been emailing and learning a little more of each ones family. She had triplets almost 5 years ago. She was surprised we know as much about her at we did. Hey, grandparents do not let kids and grandkids go without talking about them once in a while. What could be better do than brag about our kids and grandkids.

We continue to have good health and enjoy (most) our work. The interaction and devotional times are such a blessing to us. Hope you are all doing well and enjoying the unusually warm weather in NW Iowa and SD the last couple of days.

We will be leaving this project a day early so will be leaving on Wed. Sept. 29 after work. We hope to be in Sioux Center by Thursday afternoon. We are leaving then so we can attend the Northwestern event. We plan to be home until Sunday noon if all goes well.

Love you much! Dad and Mom/ Marilyn Wilmer

OUT of retirement-again

The fall projects of RVICS began 2 weeks ago.. Our project took us to Grand Rapids, MN, yes that is Minnesota not Michigan. It is in northern MN, near Hibbing. For those who don't know we are scheduled to do our next project in Arkansas and Nov. takes us to Louisiana. We will stop at home when we leave here, home as in Sioux Center, for 2 days as Brian is being honored at Northwestern College for being chosen an Outstanding Alumnus. We are so glad that our schedule allows us to be in the area for 2 days because of transit time between projects. The banquet is Oct. 2.

Of course we couldn't just make a trip of 400 miles to N MN in one stretch. We really do have a self-made rule that we do not travel with the RV more than 300 miles in a day. Hey, we are retired. So we stopped and spent a day in MN, mainly spending a day at Mall Of America. It is such an interesting place to visit but we made a lot of steps for the couple things we bought.

This Conference Center is not very large and the spot where all 6 of the RVs are parked is just a few feet from the right of this picture. As always the camp provides the parking place and supplies all the utilities. And we do have Wi-Fi and cell phone coverage in the RVs. Granted the cell phone isn't always so predictable but we are trying a new sophisticated cell phone and we are still in the experimental stage of learning all its capabilities and that is also part of the problem.

The men are reconstructing a couple of cabins. Tearing up floor tile, knocking out walls, putting up dry wall, laying tile, doing a little electrical work, plumbing. etc. is what the men's work is all about. With 6 men with various backgrounds it is surprising how every one's expertise compliments the group. The women are doing sewing, stenciling, painting. Guess what, I got to paint. Actually it is kind of fun this month because one other female and I are painting everything in a high ceiling rec room. The room has at least 6 different types of wall board so that makes it interesting. But Nette and I paint over everything. And since money is always short at the camps we are using all the paint left over from previous jobs. I will try to send a picture when it is finished but for now you can just visualize this-little bit of blue, find a small wall, more red find a bigger wall etc. etc. We have put on red, blue, green, orange, yellow in several shades and a few others. It sounds weird but the room is looking better and we hope the campers that come appreciate it. Nette is the "roller" and I trim which is what I prefer doing. We can't do a second coat even tho that would be good because we use all the paint on the first coat. Next week we get to paint the floor! That should tie the whole room together - I hope.

The weather here is cool and we had rain several times. I guess I heard too much on TV about the floods, etc. because one night when it was really raining (and you really hear it in an RV) I thought all the RVs were going to float right into the lake. Nope, we stayed put.

Girls, we already found out where the buffets are located, the Chinese one is almost as good as the Sioux Center one and that takes a lot.

We appreciate the calls and emails so much. Please keep it up. We are healthy, in fact, Dad says the project work makes him stronger but after this summer with putting in egress windows and all I can't image this work being harder than what he did at home all summer.

Love you all, Mom and Dad/Wilmer and Marilyn or even Pa and Ma (right Cindy?)

P.S. So busy touring, socializing, Bible studies and of course work I have had little time to work on genealogy or scrapbooking but I do pick at it a little from time to time. Fun!

OUT of retirement-again

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Home for awhile

I did promise to blog once we got home but, guess what, we have been home for a month and no blog. Our winter with 3 projects after the first of the year was interesting and challenging. In Jan. we had 3 feet of snow. In Feb. we had to ride in water for a couple of miles to get to the site and in March we worked with just 4 people. Still, we feel like the work was meaningful and helped the staff at each project do more hands-on ministry with the campers. The work was just as varied as the conditions but we did learn some skills that helped us when we got home. Wilmer's "education" in construction really helped him as he put in egress windows in our house this week. We now can legitimately advertise our home as a 3 bedroom home. We are signed up for several projects for the coming year and look forward to that if health and other considerations allow.
We had special family events in California and that is why we chose to work in CA. We spent several week ends with Gary and family. So good to see the Andrew, Hannah, Renae, Michael and of course Lucy. What a bundle of energy she is and such a distinct and loving personality. Then we went to Ridgecrest a couple of times. We got in on Marie's birthday party. And got to spend time with her daughter Amanda. Again, she has such a sweet way about and that smile just melts the hardest heart. (not that I saw that happen, no hard hearts there) We also got to spend Easter with Linda and family and have the fun of seeing another great granddaughter. Linda's granddaughter Kenley is just over a year old and I don't think we have ever heard her cry. Can't beat that! Her learning continues at a fast pace. Such fun to watch that progression in those little ones. Since this is a platform to praise I will continue. We stopped by Jason and Shasta on the way home. Eli is almost 7 and he makes my wonder if kids just come smarter then when we were little or is it the TV or just more exposure to adult talk? Eli asks questions that I didn't know anything about when I were well into my adult life. When he explains how a solar panel works I know something isn't the same as years ago. Then coming home we catch up on Tekoah's progress. He is Donna's grandson, we had seen him in Feb. but he had changed tremendously. Again, few complaints from him. After seeing him in a tan pants, shirt and sweater vest I wondered why we always dressed little boys in such simple and pragmatic clothing - they just weren't available. Styles have changed a lot since our last baby boy 37 years ago and that is a change I can handle! Yesterday in my sorting and giving and cleaning I came across some articles of clothing that our kids had worn, some I had worn and some Wilmer and his family had worn as small children. Each of our kids will get a sampling of the clothing just to appreciate more what is available now. Not only the upkeep when the article was worn but the making everything and then the trimming of embroidery, crocheting and even knitting boggles my mind. Good old flannel homemade night gowns were trimmed, dresses where crocheted, blankets were crocheted around after making them with 2 layers of flannel etc. You get the picture and many of you have done such things as well. That is why I don't mind sorting thru boxes, I relive so many experiences and can appreciate where we come from and how we lived. I have come to the conclusion that we are pack rats or at least keepers. But it is a great way to remember and reminisce. We have been through several eras in our married life and each one allowed us to build on it to go on to do other things. Memorabilia from army life, new babies (20 years from start to finish on that one) farming for 46 years, college with 4 kids in school and living on a farm, Wilmer's involvement with many organizations (and he always assumed a leadership position quickly) 16 years in the Iowa legislature, foster kids, exchange students, seminary, chaplaincy, selling the acreage, humongous downsizing, and having 6 kids, 24 grandchildren and now 5 great grandchildren with one more due any day. Sounds like an obituary, right? No, we are extremely happy that we have had so many opportunities as well as challenges. We are so proud of our family.
We were so happy Kim could come for Dordt graduation. We never get done talking or "digging in the dust" for little tidbits about distant ancestors. Good thing her and Dad and my interest in such things is pretty much equal. Another project I have been working on is sorting pictures. We took a ton of pictures and having over 10,000 in the computer I thought I was pretty well caught up and organized - that was until I discovered hundreds of pictures still looking for a home. Project done for now!!!!
This weekend we went to the graduation of Amy from Central college. She and David graduated in Dec. but she decided to "walk" with her class at the graduation exercises. We took a couple extra days to see Jordan Creek Mall (love to look but rather pricey) and attend Lutheran Church of Hope in Des Moines. This church started 15 years ago and has grown so fast. The sanctuary seats 2500, Bible School enrolls between 2-3000 children, they have 4 services on a weekend and many ministry opportunities during the week. And they serve a buffet breakfast to whoever wants to come. the dining room was filled all the time and much camaraderie and friendships grew during that time. They really have a good location for such a church because they are located in West Des Moines in the midst of mostly new and up scale businesses and homes. People still need the Lord and Hope is cognizant of the particular needs of their locality.
Sorry about the lack of pictures, next time.
Hope you are all doing well and enjoying the vacation times.
Love,
Mom/Marilyn

Heading East

Our project at The Oaks near Lake Hughes, CA ended March 25 at noon. We packed up and headed for Kim and Harlan in Ridgecrest for a few days. What fun! What a lot of activity! In a few days I will post more of the family things we did, for now it is the road going home.

We had visited a church in Las Vegas in Jan. when we came through. We decided we wanted to worship in that church again. BUT some people thought it was just an excuse to see how many senior buffets we could eat at. Seniors wouldn't consider that in their travel plans would they? You make your own judgment on that but we did really enjoy the service at the Baptist Church again. AND we did enjoy a buffet at noon on Sunday as well.

Our favorite place to park in Las Vegas is at the Circus Circus KOA campground. It is fairly spacious for big rigs and clean. The picture shows how close we really were to the "action." We find a walk down the strip after dark is interesting with the millions of lights and even more people. It is also a reality check as to what so many people like to do with their time and money and we always come away with a feeling of sorrow for the people so addicted to gambling. We live somewhat protected from those realities but there seems to be no recession or lack of money for that entertainment.

I find taking pictures through the windshield somewhat challenging but often good pictures result. Taking pictures from the side window isn't so successful. By the time I focus and click the whole mountain has disappeared from view. Surprising the dirt on the windshield doesn't bother except if I focus in I get every rain drop and dust speckle on the picture. If we keep up with this nomad lifestyle I will have lots of time to hone in on the art of windshield pictures.

The trip through Utah is always pretty but we have taken that road in most every season of the year and each time the particular colors and scenes are seen at a new angle or the colors show up differently. Time of day also changes the view considerably. Very interesting.

We didn't have the Midwest snow to contend with this past winter so we still thought this snow was rather interesting. With snow still laying beside the road at car level you can imagine the temp wasn't that high either. However, we did have very good road conditions this winter when traveling from Iowa to Kansas to Oklahoma to Texas to California and to Iowa in between. But we did have cold weather in Dec. when we spent some time in Colorado. Zero degree temp in an RV means we better have 50 amp eleCristy and plenty of propane. Then we even got an electric blanket to add to our warmth. We got along fine but it didn't take long for the propane tank to be on empty - once again.

All in all the projects and traveling were very enjoyable for us this fall and winter. Getting the exercise at work seems to be good for us and working in a camp setting that influences and directs young people as well as adults has been fulfilling for us. We thank God for this unique opportunity at this stage of our lives. And because we picked projects in locations that were fairly close to our kids it worked for us to spend some time with them as well. We feel blessed.

Love and prayers for all of you. Dad and Mom Marilyn/Wilmer

The Crew at The Oaks

As I mentioned before we have a very small crew for this project. The project leader wondered how we could accomplish as much as was expected of us or as we would like to accomplish. We all wondered what it would be like to all working together all the time. As our leader said a few days ago, "most people get tired of being with me after 4 days". He said that in reference to touring together on Friday or just going our own way - which we did. It wasn't because we couldn't stand to be with him, it just wasn't as necessary to have that social time when we had worked together all week. So being small in number we still got the entire inside of the house painted, cleaned up and much improved in other ways. It was a fun project and part of it was that all 4 of us worked side by side and, also, we could see improvement with every new color and every possible fixture cleaned. No we don't plan to go out painting for a income but we do feel good about our project.

This is the double wide mobile home we have been spending our time in. I wish we could be here to improve the outside as well but that will have to wait for someone else. Many of the staff live right on campus. I am sure that housing is part of their salary. Many of the homes are similar to this one. Probably wouldn't quite cut it in Iowa or any other place in the Midwest but considering California climate these homes are adequate. Another retired man is putting down bamboo flooring in almost the whole house because the family coming to live in it have children with allergies. Makes sense to accommodate their needs up front.

The buildings at this camp all seem fairly new, they have a very active fund raising group. One building even is called the Como lodge because of the money Pat Boone gave to the camp.

Spring comes earlier here. The fruit and other blossoming trees are about at their peak. Many trees like this are on camp as well as all over the countryside. The desert flowers are also pretty this year because of the rain they had throughout the winter. The lupine can make an entire field look purplish blue. what a sight. they say the poppies are also pretty but we may have missed them. If I remember right they only bloom for a few days.

This camp as many trail and one night we ventured up one (with the pickup) and saw this beautiful sight. The road up was not as wide as I would have liked especially when we came to a locked gate and had to back up for quite a distance. Good thing dad is a good backer!

Speaking of Dad, he celebrated his birthday yesterday. About the only thing I did for it was bake a batch of brownies for the people working with us. I honestly did have a pretty good meal planned for supper but the camp was offering a supper of brisket and the trimmings so we saved the birthday supper for another day. They do barbecue brisket here frequently and it is so delicious.

Last Saturday we took advantage of the nearness we were to Gary so we drove to Yorba Linda for the evening and stayed for Sunday church and dinner. Hannah and Renee were spending the weekend there and Saturday afternoon Lucy was with us. We spent some time in the park and Lucy had it made as she had her grandpa and great grandpa following here all over the park. She loved the freedom to run and the attention her "men" gave her. What a blast of fun!

We are wrapping up this project and will head for Iowa making stops along the way. We have family not only across this country but in several foreign countries as well. Keeps us on our knees praying for the safety of you all and hoping that you are all well and doing what you feel called to do. Love you so much, Dad and Mom Marilyn/Wilmer