April 4 – 30, 2023 SOWER Project # 27 – Phoenix Christian Preparatory School.

The beautiful colors we encounter while traveling….

Orange, Blue, Yellow / and the Red, White, & Blue, traveling through the country is always a new experience and leads us on to our next adventure! We’re headed to Phoenix, AZ!

At our overnight spot, we learned that the under covering of our rig became unsecured and had to removed. We were thankful for a place to park for the evening and the opportunity to remove the hanging chloroplast sheets. We will need to eventually replace the undercovering and seal things up – but it’s still drive able, so we’ll move on!

We just HAVE to route our trip and plan to see Alan & Karen Johnson every chance we get! They are continuing to build Chapel On The Rise – next up is their house! We were entertained by the amazing fishes in their Koi Pond and once again refreshed at their beautiful location – with all of Karen’s roses (1,000’s -?)

We’re here! We’re the first ones to arrive and we found our favorite spot on the track! We served here in 2020 when the Pandemic was is full swing – we’re back to continue helping the ministry of this unique school. We are assigned as Group Leaders for this project.

We arrived on Easter Weekend – and attended Phoenix Bible Church at their new location. What a glorious morning to worship our risen Savior with our new Sower friends!

Left to right: Us, Mark & Paula Best, Mike & Betty Buitenwerf, Larry & Gutlene Lokker, and John & Marion Peters.

OK – let’s get to work! Jose and Kevin shared the “To-Do list that Veronica had compiled for us. There were lots of little jobs as well as big jobs they had for us to do. The gals started out landscaping the perimeter of the campus tying up newly planted vines and then moved to the elementary campus to prep and paint a new office room. The guys started in the gym – pulling down unused cabling & started the process of refurbishing the bleacher seating.

In addition – we were given the task of creating daisies and butterflies for the up coming school event. Betty really made this happen with Lorree helping wherever she could. We also were given the task of cleaning and organizing the prop storage room – so fun!

We also installed a new cork wall on the exterior of the Art Room, removed a toilet from the “closet” of the Director Jeff Blake, and sorted/folded table clothes for special events.

Oh…and we definitely have a lot of fun! A couple of birthdays (Larry & John), games and fellowship each Thursday, and a Staff/Volunteer luncheon that really hit the spot!

We left the gym beautiful! clean and polished trophies, refurbished and shiny bleachers, a clean ceiling with no old lights and cords – just in time for a special Cultural School Assembly that we were able to attend and enjoy!

This was truly a special ministry assignment for us. We felt the presence of the Lord throughout the three weeks and our group of Servants accomplished everything that was asked of us. We are so blessed to be available to work with SOWER’s Ministry!

We’re headed out for a few days for a Juice Plus business Convention and a bit of scenic vacation and then on to our next project – Cross Bar-X Camp in Durango, CO.!

March 28 – April 4, 2023 Sower’s 40th Reunion, Alert Academy, Big Sandy, TX

When we left Fort Morgan, CO there was snow and ice on our truck. But, we were headed to a warmer place! Big Sandy, Tx. for the 40th Sower Reunion . We traveled through Amarillo, TX. and enjoyed the interstate highways – right!?!

It was SO fun to meet up with our friends from days and projects gone by. We relived many of our memories working with these amazing couples. It’s so good to have a time to just relax and have some fun together. There were opportunities to sit and share, eat together, and even play pickle ball!

We signed up for several educational workshops and participated in the group events!

The worship was so special – so many “mature” voices harmonizing together – chills!

There were RV seminars, craft opportunities, and Senior fitness classes along with WiFi tips and Trip planning options. One of our featured speakers was Dr. Lew Sterrett from Sermon on the Mount (OK-555) who shared a powerful Gospel message using the language of the horse.
He took a new unmounted horse and within an hour had a rider mounted and riding her – so amazing! The Biblical truths he shared penetrated all of us for life!

One of the “mission” activities we participated in was to assemble books of the gospel of John – these will be handed out as tracts to thousands of individuals searching for the Truth

We enjoyed a great time of singing and worship! We had a fantastic banquet and so many laughs at the skits – especially “Gomer Pile joining SOWER’s ” on his first project! So funny!

By ourselves we can accomplish a lot – but when we work together as a group there is so much more impact in this world! There are more and more couples joining SOWER’s ministry which means there are so many more impactful moments of God reaching others through His love! Looking forward to what HE has in store for us and His adventures!