Month: November 2020

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November 20 – 25, 2020 A special trip to get away ended up as a “quarantine” adventure!

We decided that a trip to San Antonio between our November and December projects would be a great way to relax and see some sights so we made arrangements at a beautiful resort hotel, the Eilan Hotel And Spa just outside of San Antonio.

BUT…on Thursday the last day/evening we spent at Heart of Texas Camp with our SOWER friends, Tim was not feeling well. He tested for COVID on Friday morning. We got the call as we were traveling that he was positive for COVID.

So we went into quarantine at the hotel! At least we had a great place to do nothing but rest. We never had any symptoms – praise the Lord for our healthy immune systems (many years of Juice Plus) and for His protection from the virus!

The first thing we did was contemplate our situation. The hotel had very few guests (at least we rarely ran into anyone in the halls or lobby). The pool was beautiful, quiet, and had plenty of space to spread out. Our room was very comfortable AND we had packed plenty of food for lite lunches and snacks. We didn’t need to “see the sights” as we could always do that another time. So we decided to stay put and enjoy the days ahead – it was nice!

So our experience in quarantine was not like so many others. We just enjoyed each other and the rest that God provided.

As you can see we had some great sunshiny days – and the pool all to ourselves! We took advantage of the ultraviolet light that kills viruses – even got a bit tan! We felt great the whole time we were there!

When we were not at the pool or walking around the campus, we worked in the room. We both read books and watched a few movies. I caught up on some blogging and organizing pictures. Lorree worked (in bed!) – what a week, life was really tough!

Everyday I could look across the highway and see the Bass Pro Store – just sitting there. Finally I suggested we go on a shopping trip, and guess what? Lorree bought me a Christmas present – she’s so sweet, what a surprise! Now I can get them varmints at our Selah Acres / Colorado cabin!

Time to head “home” back to Brownwood, TX. We need to get to our next project. Our quarantine lasted 7 days (just right according to CDC having no symptoms).

We stopped at “The Coming King” Scripture Prayer Garden in Kerrville, TX. What a beautiful and serene place to find – and no fees. There are a variety of sculptures depicting various scriptures of Jesus ministry and His soon return. The cross was amazing!

….and one more stop at Fredericksburg, TX.

It was a nice day to stop for a bite to eat and enjoyed walking the streets of Fredericksburg. This is a touristy German town that is all geared up for Christmas.

We had a great week in spite of the idea of being quarantined. We’re thankful for our health and continue to pray for God’s protection. Psalm 91 is a great passage of scripture that shares God’s protection and love for us – it would be a great read for your next quiet time!

Looking forward to relocating to Camp Tejas in Giddings TX – what adventures will we have?

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October 29 – November 19, 2020 SOWER Project #9 at Heart of Texas Camp – Brownwood, TX

We arrived on Thursday, October 29th. The camp is located just a few miles outside of Brownwood and has access to Lake Brownwood, a popular fishing and boating area. As we walked around the camp to get oriented, we noticed several sculpture carvings around the property. We learned that the Director, Rhonda Roberts, was an artist – and so were other staff serving there. It was going to be fun adventure here!

We served with Tim & Leslie Wacker, their third project. We also met up with Rob and Shana Carman – SOWER alumni who were now working as staff at the camp. They shared our three weeks with us in work, devotions, meals, and church – they were great!

You want us to do WHAT?

It was Monday morning, our first day at our new project, when we all meet to learn what our assignments will be. Rhonda explained that they are going to host their 2nd Annual Fall Festival outreach for the local community “this weekend”. They wanted us to help set things up for that. “So, we’d like you to help put together a corn maze using corrugated plastic panels and make some candy corn out of some giant foam blocks for one of our photo ops”. Our SOWER group of four were incredibly quiet as we looked at each other and then back to the Director.

Rhonda carved out some triangles from some giant used boat dock foam blocks – the girls painted them to look like candy corn. So creative – they turned out great! This is what you get when the camp staff are creative visionaries and artists!

Heart of Texas Camp takes “repurposing” to the extreme. We used the donated campaign signs of someone running for an election several years ago, along with T-posts and zip ties to create a “corn-maze-without-the-corn” in the center of an open common area. The college baseball team came in to give some umph to the planting of the t-posts (so thankful!) and then the guys used black paint and  zip ties to create an awesome maze for the Family Fall Festival!

It was a great week getting thing ready and then helping at the Fall Festival event! We had a good turnout, lots of smiles, laughter, and fun! We realized that this was the first camp project we had served since joining SOWERs that had clients on campus to serve and interact with! This was definitely a different SOWER assignment for us but we really enjoyed it!

One of the highlights at the Festival was the camp’s Zip line!

Doing a new thing in Texas! Lorree says I “screamed like a girl” (that was her I promise! ) 😳 😂

Sitting on the edge of the 35 foot high deck contemplating about what the guides said, “just lean out and scoot off the deck” was very stressful! As we looked down it was pretty much terrifying! We can still feel that sensation every time we think about it. The green rocks below us spelled out “Fear Is A Liar”. I can’t say this truth helped, but after dropping off the edge – it was SO FUN! (I have to admit this was Lorree’s idea and she was determined to overcome the fear – I’m so glad I went with her!)

Oh, we had a list of other jobs lined up as well!

There were lots of other projects that we accomplished working together with the camp staff. We seemed to have gotten a lot of projects done in spite of few hands. We’ve learned that God multiplies the efforts as we make ourselves available!

We really enjoyed getting to know the staff as we worked, played and met together every day – so many stories! In addition to Rhonda (Director) we had Tom & Mary Dunn (Maintenance), Rob (Chef) & Shana (Housekeeping/Gift Shop), Carl (Grounds) and Brandon (Assistant Director).

The camp was blessed with five buildings that were moved to this great spot on the camp property. They are making them into mini condo type units – very upscale design and furnished inside! They call this area The Village. We worked to get a couple of the empty ones level so the next crew can start to finish them next. What a job – I learned a lot about leveling buildings using hydraulic jacks with cement blocks and wooden beams.

Oh….and we also tried out jumping real hard in one corner to lower it just a tad! Well it didn’t make much of a difference – but we had a great time and laughed a lot, great memories!

We enjoyed our 3 weeks at Heart of Texas! Just like every other project the time goes by so fast. We were a small group but very active and kept each other challenged and encouraged with spiritual truths as we worked.

Yes that’s us playing music together! We were talking one day and learned that all of us played instruments! So we met at the tabernacle one Sunday afternoon and had a great jam session playing hymns. Tom played his harmonica (not pictured).

We also took time to play games and eat together. It was a great three weeks serving with the SOWERS ministry. We’ve commented several times that it would be a great place to come back and serve at again. We’ll have to see how the Lord directs our path, we know it will be an adventure!