Blog

Posted on

April 26 – 30, 2022 Adventures in Arizona! From Lake Havasu to Grand Canyon.

We’ve completed three months of SOWER projects (Feb, Mar, Apr -2022) and have decided to take a break and see what adventures we can experience traveling through some of the National parks in Arizona and Utah. We were able to revisit some of the sights and relive some of the memories from years gone by while vacationing with our young kiddos . We love having the flexibility, opportunity, time, and resources to pause, explore, and stand amazed at the glories of God that are all around us!

After living/working for three weeks in the high desert…we found this beautiful State Park campground (Cattail Cove) just outside of the city of Lake Havasu, AZ. Lake Havasu was formed by the construction of Parker Dam in the 1930’s and has over 450 miles of beautiful shoreline. It was a great place to just unwind and rest a bit. Lorree dipped her toes in the water – pretty chilly – not ready for swimming yet!

One of the fun things to do in Lake Havasu is to visit the London Bridge! It was originally built in the 1830s and formerly spanned the River Thames in London, England. In 1968, an American tycoon bought London Bridge—all 10,000 tons of it—and moved it brick-by-brick to the desert town of Lake Havasu City, Arizona. (They have since built a new London Bridge in England). Around the bridge, they have created a small England style city square complete with the old fashion telephone booths. (Since times have changed and there was no actual telephone, Dennis had to use his cell phone!) Lorree added a pin to the visitor location map to represent Guffey, Co.

For one of our adventures, we took the ferry across the lake to a resturant for lunch. (We were constantly crossing between Arizona and California!) It was refreshing to get on the water and feel the spray, and we learned about lighthouses! Currently, there are 28 replica lighthouses on Lake Havasu from the East and West Coast of the USA and the Great Lakes and is the only place in the world that can boast of having this replica lighthouse program. (They’re continuing to add more every year!)

Not too far away, our next adventure was to camp at and explore the GRAND CANYON!

We are so glad we made camping arrangements almost six months ago! We were able to stay in the National Park at Trailer Village with full hookups. We walked and rode the shuttles to all the various stops and took so many photos. But we mostly just looked out over the grandeur in complete AWE! It truly is breathtaking – no way to describe the wonder – you have to be there and “try” to absorb it all. (This was one of those “relive the moments” from years ago with our kiddos).

Our first evening we HAD to go see… our first view…

“Oh Lord My God! When I in awesome wonder, consider all the works Thy and hath made…”

You have to go see it – “seeing” this captivates all of our senses! From years ago, I remember hearing my blind uncle Gil describing the Grand Canyon as he rode the mules down into the canyon and back up. He got it all right – and he’s blind! Be aware – this is one of those “I’ll never forget” experiences!

…and then there was this doe elk near to where we were viewing. Lorree just wanted to make friends but she wasn’t interested! It was another memorable moment of the day!

We traveled to the Desert View lookout. Perched on the edge of the south rim, what appears to be an ancient Native American ruin is actually the Desert View Watchtower, which was designed in 1932 by Mary Colter to overlook the eastern end of Grand Canyon National Park. The tower was closed but what a great experience to witness this amazing view and the sunset!

More views of this GRAND Canyon! For us it confirms the results of the receeding world-wide flood back in Noah’s time – breathtaking! [Very similar to the formation of the canyons formed at Mt. St. Helen’s… “the volcanic eruption event at Mt. St. Helen’s was just a small reminder of how the Earth’s present surface was formed – by a rapid and catastrophic event. On May 18, 1980 – Mount St Helen’s eruption created a small version of the Grand Canyon in just a few hours!”] It’s inconceivable to think that this was formed over millions of years by a seasonal snow melt fed river that’s only several feet wide and the wildly imagined erosion and weathering to result in the formation of the Grand Canyon. It’s is a mile deep, 277 miles long and 18 miles wide!

At the western end of the Rim trail we visited Hermits Rest. The main structure currently standing at Hermits Rest was again designed by architect Mary Colter. . Hermits Rest is the westernmost point on the canyon’s south rim that is accessible by paved road. It was built as a rest area for tourists on coaches on the way to the now-vanishedHermit Camp. The building was designed to appear to be a natural stone formation, closely tied to the land. There were several signs with scripture praising the Lord!

Along the Rim Trail, we hiked from Pipe Creek Vista to Mather Point (about 3 1/2 miles) with beautiful views along the way!

We hate to leave this amazing place – but there are more adventures ahead! Still thanking God for his beautiful creation and His glory that we see everywhere we go!

Now we’re headed to Page, Arizona – Lake Powell! We have some very fond and fun memories of our time with the family (renting a houseboat for a week) and with our CB-ROM Mission team from Crowley, CO. (Mission trip to Navajo Indian Baptist Camp). Lets’ see what it looks like now!

Posted on

April 22 – 25, 2022 A walk on the beach and a visit with family on the coast of California!

One of the things we decided to do in our adventures was to color in each state that we have camped in with our RV. This is our map so far – we got to color in California this trip! We have plans to cross the entire nation this year – we’ll be in the tip of Maine by August, we’re looking forward to all the adventures in between!

We took off one weekend while serving at Ironwood Camp and drove the 3 1/2 hours to Encinitas, CA. First stop was the beach – Dennis said, “it’s been too long!” It was a bit chilly to think about getting wet, but it was refreshing to see and hear the ocean waves crashing on shore. We enjoyed watching a mom teaching her young boy to surf!

Meet Gil & Becky! Gil (Gilbert) is my Dad’s brother – my uncle – and has an amazing story of his life being blind. Becky is legally blind – she can see very close up – thankfully enough to make breakfast for us! What a blessed time to be with them in their home in Encinitas. They share a house with our cousin Chellie (Richelle) and her husband Jamie. It’s been TOO many years since we’ve all had the chance to catch up with each other to share stories and laugh together! We’ll remember this visit for a long time to come!

We showed up on Easter Weekend – Jamie is a “home chef” and loves to cook! He did an amazing job on this turkey. Soooo Good! Chellie made all the “fixin’s”. It was a joy to watch them work and cook together – and we get to enjoy the results!

One of our highlights was just a walk around the neighborhood with Jamie, Chellie, Gil, and Harvey (Gil’s seeing companion dog). We met one of their neighbors and learned that he and Gil had a great relationship since they moved in down the block.

So my blind uncle Gil’s hobby is furniture making! I am SO amazed at his skill and and creativity in making fine furniture for their home, their children (and others!). This is his workshop – he knows exactly where every tool and scrap of wood is. I was introduced to his tools of measuring – he’s had them for years and they are very exact. Consider this: hearing power tools running -buzzing in the night when it’s pitch dark – scary! But it’s a normal day for him. Every piece of furniture is silky smooth and the joints are perfect!

And here is Easter dinner! I don’t have any pictures of the table setting or the overflowing plates of food – but you can imagine the wonderful scene. We are so thankful for the bounty and blessings that God has bestowed on us – we are so glad we made the effort to re-connect with family during this time! Another great adventure!

Posted on

April 1 – 22, 2022 SOWER Project #20 – Ironwood Camp, Newberry, CA

We are in the Mohave Desert – between Barstow, CA and Las Vegas, NV. This SOWER Project is literally in the middle of “nowhere” (see above)! But it’s here on purpose to bring Christ into the lives of adults and youth through a great variety of year round camping, and they are busy!

Lots of fun old western settings for a great time! We talked with Walt (one of the founders) and learned that he went to school with Del Fehsenfeld founder of Life Action Ministries. (We served as Missionaries with LAM for 11 years in Michigan – small world!) Chuck Chastain and Walt Brock, along with the help and support of their wives Sarah and Betty, founded Ironwood early in 1972. What a vision and amazing stories of God’s provision to transform this property from a cement block building into what it is today! What a priviledge and adventure to help with the building and maintenance of this special camp!

The RV sites were very nice with cement pads and this fire ring. We served with David & Laura (Clark) Pincus (GL) and Bernie & Andi McGovern (from Colorado). We had a great time right from the beginning sharing stories by a cozy fire in the 70+ degree evening!

During the week, we met with Sam the camp director (Walt’s son) and the camp staff at their morning meeting and prayer time. The camp staff also met with us during our morning break time. It was fun to get to know each other, learn all the inner workings of the camp, and the different functions of each ministry taking place. This is a well organized and well run camp with a history of helping other camps be successful as well. They have purposed to train their staff with personal development skills, life skills, and spiritual maturity that they can take with them throughout their life! A great investment into the lives of these young people!

It’s off to work we go…………..

During the previous month, the SOWER team remodeled this bathroom in the Art Building. Our first job was to continue with installing a vent and finishing the drywall. We eventually applied three coats of mud with sanding in between coats, and then painting inside and out.

To start with, the gals worked on sorting the laundry and getting it ready for the staff to begin the washing and drying cycles – everyone worked well and had fun together!

HA! The guys assembled the new toilet for the bathroom and Dennis had serious moment of thinking! We also helped work at the local church on the same property in their current remodeling project by installing drywall. They kept us busy with their construction projects!

Our ladies transitioned from laundry to upholstery! The camp is consistantly blessed by the abundant generous donations of so many people and businesses. These chairs were donated but the upholstery was worn. Our servant hearted ladies tackled this job even though it was a challenge and a learning experience. The chairs kept coming and coming…even different styles! They did a great job!

…also, several location and directional signs needed to be refreshed and some new ones made. Laura did a great job!

Whew! For the last two weeks of the project, the guys were assigned to the “Abilene” cabin. This is a two room cabin that is being reconfigured to include new bunk beds, bathroom, and showers for multiple guests. It had already been worked on by previous volunteer groups – we were assigned the task to finish up the walls and trimming. There were four bathrooms and lots of tongue & groove walls. We had fun as we worked with some of the staff. We also learned a lot of useful tips and tricks on this project that I’m sure we will use again.

Did I mention “The chairs kept coming and coming…even different styles!” Here are the additional chairs that the camp started to bring to be re-upholstered. They changed the look from a burgandy pattern to a solid blue. It was a lot of work to remove the current panels, measure, cut, and attach the new fabric. Lorree estimates that they completed 50+ chairs!

Laura posted this on her facebook page…what’s the difference in these two pictures? The mountain disappeared! YIKES!

There has been so much wind that the consistant blowing desert sand is blocking the view! We learned to live with the constant hot wind and fine sand drifting in everywhere – but definitely not our favorite environment. We were thankful it was still spring and not during the dry hot summer months!

SO . MUCH . FUN! We all went to Peggy Sue’s just 15 minutes from the camp on old Route 66. Great food, great nostalgia, great company – we’ll remember this little outing for a while!

Speaking of fun – we had a great time fellowshipping with our SOWER friends, the camp staff, and the campers. So different than when COVID was restricting everything. The leadership of Ironwood invited us to join in an evening served with bar-b-qe’d Tri-Tips and a staff talent show – it was great! The campers that we interacted with the most was during our third week when they facilitated their “Horsemanship Camp”. The high school age campers were taught how to cook using only dutch ovens and the menu? ….brownies and apple crisp – and we were the tasters! SO . MUCH . YUM!

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Ps 51:!7

This is the official registered brand of Camp Ironwood. No need to explain the broken “I” . (see God’s Word above). They have it branded on all of their vehicles, and we received this gift of a magnet for our RV. This was a great adventure for us – another experience that we will remember for a long time to come. We are so thankful that we joined this amazing SOWER ministry and we get to experience so many different adventures! I wonder what’s next?

Posted on

March 29 – April 1, 2022 A quick California Vacation – Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park!

Its been a long time since we’ve been in California! We honeymooned in California way back in 1972 – 50 years ago! (Just a side note – we are arriving upon our 50th year of marriage, so we’re planning a cross country trip from the bottom left corner of the US to the top right corner this year – stay tuned!) Currently California has some different regulations and significant cost differences – but we’re here to enjoy the United States however it looks! “This land is your land, this land is my land, from California – to the New York Island…this land was made for you and me!”

Yikes – whew boy! We thought we were paying the high price of 3.89 to 4.29 for gas in Arizona – but now we crossed the border! A full tank of gas for our truck will now cost approximately $200.00. Crazy!!! When we saw a sign for 5.49 we got excited!!??!!

Palm Springs, CA Lots of action and high living!

We stayed at a KOA just outside of Palm Springs. We made a trip into the city for a walk around, a bite to eat, and some ice cream! It was fun to see all the hollywood stars imbedded into the sidewalk and various statues along the way. We’re learning that 60+ partying is way different than 20+ partying – but we had a very fun adventure!

Our next adventure was to the Joshua Tree National Park – a very unique place to see!

What is a Joshua Tree?

The Joshua Tree is Not a Tree. Legend has it that Morman pioneers named the “tree” after the biblical figure, Joshua, seeing the limbs of the tree as outstretched in supplication, guiding the travelers westward. Some evidence suggests that the biblical figure Joshua, and the Joshua trees, represented the Mormon conquest of the desert. Instead of the branches resembling outstretched arms in prayer, perhaps the tree’s sharp, blade-like leaves brought to mind the arrayed forces of Joshua’s army. Overtime the name stuck and these yucca family plants, famous for its grotesque appearance, are now called “Joshua Trees”

…and there were these amazing bold gigantic rock formations in the Joshua Tree National Park! These were as captivating as the the trees – we hiked through the park and enjoyed all of the sights!

Amazing huge rock formations! It was fun to scramble up to this arch in the rocks.

So this is posted – as “science”. We laughed at the absurdity (but also sadened at the thought this is what is being taught). Wish we could have a few more “giant ground sloths” to keep the Joshua Trees thriving, but alas … no more Joshua trees for the future!

Yes! …we relaxed by the natural heated mineral hot pool provided by the KOA we stayed at. Wow – what a great way to spend a day – so refreshing!

Now we’re ready for our next SOWER project – Ironwood Camp. It’s in the middle of the Mohave Desert, what will that be like?!

Posted on

March 25 – March 28, 2022 RV Floor repair and family connections!

We have been walking on a “soft floor” for several months. The good news is that after a thorough inspection we determined that there was not and never was a water leak causing this. Dennis tried to shore the support up from underneath with additional bracing – but it never really worked. So after a night or two of attending “You Tube University” Dennis decided it was time to try the next recomended fix…it seems this is a common problem.

Here we go! Grab a sharp razor knife, cut the vinyl linoleum, peel back to expose the flooring. After cutting out an area, we confirmed the floor is made of styrofoam sandwiched between ultra thin layers of ply-board. When laminated together it creates a strong but very light floor throughout the RV. Ours had become un-laminated in front of the sink area and therefore “soft” when walking (or dancing?) across it.

Dennis drilled holes through the top layer of ply-board at every 6 inches both vertical and horizontal. We found that there was an air space between the ply board and the styrofoam.

Educated and determined, we were able to pick up some two part epoxy at a nearby Ace Hardware. Lorree mixed it up and Dennis injected the epoxy into the air space through each hole he had drilled.

In addition we added dowel plugs to seal off each hole after the epoxy was applied. This process re-laminated the wood and styrofoam together creating a strong bond once again.

After weighting it down and letting dry for 48 hours, Lorree cleaned it up and Dennis resealed the linoleum. It worked! It’s solid! It’s fixed! Thankful for a quick solution that we could do ourselves and for the information available on You Tube. We can once again dance-a-jig in our RV! (Hmmm…maybe that’s what caused it in the beginning? ! ?)

A quick trip back to Phoenix to see Josh!

We connected with Josh at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, AZ. After church we had a great visit over lunch together. We know God has a special plan for Josh and that he has a big heart as he serves and interacts with others. It was a great visit! We’re so glad the timing worked out before we left the area!

And… Mom’s special 94th birthday!

Three candles = One for all the Birthdays past, one for the Birthday, and one for the future Birthdays! We were able to face time with Mom and send her our love and wishes. She is amazingly well and active and continues to be full of the Joy of the Lord! Love you Mom!

Time to head out! We’re leaving Gospel Rescue Mission in Tucson, AZ – headed to California for a new adventure! We’ll do a bit of vacationing before our next SOWER project – be sure to check out our next adventure … in the desert!?!

Posted on

March 7 – 27, 2022 SOWER Project #19 Gospel Rescue Mission, Tucson, AZ.

We’re here at the Gospel Rescue Mission in Tucson, AZ for one more month! We’re serving with Ernie & Gail Schrock from Goshen, IN. We were each familiar with our hometowns (we lived in Niles-Buchanan, MI for 11 years). It was fun to compare notes and learn what we knew of each other – another example of God’s “small” world!

____________________________________________________

Meet Rebecca!

She was here with her daughter while we served at the Women & Children’s Center. We got to interact with her and her daughter during lunch times and passing in the courtyard.

Knowing she had to take drastic action to change her life, Rebecca came to Gospel Rescue Mission with her daughter. Rebecca took a leap of faith. She started going to church and recently was baptized. And, for the first time, has hope for the future! Rebecca believes that God brought her here, and she is determined to break the generational curse for herself and her daughter. She has been clean and sober for almost seven months! Rebecca is also attending S.M.A.R.T. school to get her high school diploma, which will get her one step closer to her dream of becoming a veterinarian. Her relationship with Christ grows stronger every day, and she is planning on staying in Tucson to be near her new family and friends.

God is changing lives here! We also got to hear one of the worship times of these women at chapel. The song (above) “You Say” by Lauren Daigle was sung SO loud, SO meaningful, SO worshipful., SO from their hearts…we still have chills! We have been impacted by the depth and sincerity of this ministry…and God continues to change us as we experience these adventures!

Week one was full of opportunities to help at the Center Of Opportuity! (See how I did that! LOL). There are many “completion” type jobs to do here after they recently reconstructed some of the buildings, courtyard, garden, and play areas. This one was a simple “pour a pad of concrete” to protect the water lines next to the building. Ernie knew what he was doing!

Another “simple” job was to plant four bushes and remove those vines against the building. Still at it two days later…we all learned what caliche soil was – it’s another name for cement! We had to use a pick & shovel – and eventually added a hammer drill to dig about an inch at a time. We finally dug as many vine roots as we could and drilled out enough of a hole to palnt these shrubs. (We did provide drainage holes and new soil for the plants – hope they grow!)

Another job in the same courtyard was to weld fasteners to the legs of these benches and tables and then connect them to the cement slab. Ernie and I got ‘er done!

We met up with Jim Brown – Director of Events. He showed Lorree & Gail the steps and explained the process of making Hygene Bags to be handed out at their next event – probably before or during the community wide Easter gathering in April. Dennis & Ernie helped Jim troubleshoot and repair a food-truck-trailer that they use to provide hot food at different events.

You want us to do what? Every once in a while we get an “off the wall” assignment. This morning Dave Velasquez, our GRM coordinator, looked a bit flustered – he just found out that a group of “boys” were going to be here in a few hours. He was going to split them up into different work groups. He assigned us the task of supervising about 10 of them in the cleaning and organizing of the kitchen and pantry as well as washing carts of stacked dishes. Gulp! We had never been in the kitchen yet! Were these “boys” Jr high? high school?

Turned out that this group of “boys” was the Baseball Team from Wheaton Bible College! These were pretty big guys – and worked hard! They never caught on that we didn’t know what we were doing – just two volunteer groups serving the Lord together in the kitchen!

On the weekends we ended up at a variety of great churches in the area. One weekend we traveled to Benson, AZ and met up with some friends of Ernie & Gail from Indiana. What a shock to us to also meet up with Alan & Karen Johnson at the same cafe afterward! Such a small world with a big God directing all of our life adventures!

Another weekend, we had a great mini reunion with other SOWER’s in the area. We met at the Golden Correll and learned of the adventures from other Sower’s and various updates about the SOWER Ministry from Wayne and Gail Feiler (Trustee).

Each day we checked in with Dave for our daily assignament. He even added a few that we had mentioned – I think he was grateful that we saw things to do and wanted to help with!

The gals were able to help prepare for dinner one day by cleaning the cafeteria and cutting up over 40 pounds of potatoes for potato salad. They were smiling the whole time (…right?)

Ernie and I were able to do more landscaping – this time building a retaining wall for a future “desert-scape” and area for bicycles.

We repaired and built about 12 screens for the Transition House and replumbed the drains in one of the kitchen sinks.

We repaired, bottom sealed, and painted the 60 upright support poles in the courtyard area of the Women’s Recovery Center.

We tilled areas, fertilized, seeded, mulched and watered several areas to grow new grass at the Women’s Recovery Center.

BUT – our favorite job of all (one that we suggested) was to deep clean the cafeteria/chapel at the Women’s Recovery Center. It had been a while since any attention had been given to this.

We received so many comments and “thank-you’s” from the women and staff. “Are these NEW tables & chairs?” Sometimes we all get used to living with what we have and not pay attention to the condition of our surroundings. A good sprucing up, deep cleaning, and fresh paint can change our whole disposition. The ladies and children had some new smiles & upbeat joy in their eyes as we worked to bless them. It was so fulfiling to us – and WE were so blessed!

…and then we looked up! We saw the vents and the sound accustic boards. The next day we attacked the ceiling with a determination to get these all clean again! We removed vents, to be scrubbed & washed, vaccumed the hanging accustic boards, and replaced light bulbs and ballasts. The room was literally changed in just a few hours! One of the guests shared that during worship, when she looked up in praise to the Lord, she was thrilled by the bright and clean sight. Little things do make a difference!

It was our joy to work with and be a blessing to these special women and the staff that serve here!

We’ll miss this place! God has moved our hearts in a special way while serving here. It wouldn’t surprise either of us if Gospel Rescue Mission will be back in our adventures again someday!

Posted on

February 27 – March 6, 2022 Arizona free time! Our projects, making repairs, great food, the sights, family & friends!

Lorree – she’s always making something happen! She continues to love her new oven and is now baking sour dough items like these wonderful loaves of bread! She has also been quilting all along – and just completed this warm-wintery-rag-quilt-for-her! She is so talented and full of ideas to occupy her “down” time!

Meanwhile… Dennis is underneath the rig trying to locate a leak in our gray water holding tank (Thankful it’s not the black tank!!) Looks like we might be able to do a simple JB Weld patch on this and make it go away!

Our Sower friends are still here for a few days and we’re always eager to try out a new food menu – how about going to the “Boxyard” and getting some bacon wrapped Percheron Burritos!?! [FYI: a Percheron horse (2,600 lbs) is bigger than a Clydesdale!]

A fun little lunch area downtown Tucson made out of shipping containers! Each spot (like several food trucks) offers a different menu choice: Vietnamese, Pizza, Burritos, and more. We arrived at 11:30 am. (they said it would open at 12:00 pm.) …AND they finally opened 1:00 pm! Yes, it was worth the 1 1/2 hr wait! (delicious…but couldnt eat it all – especially with the side order of cheesy french fries!)

On the weekend, we were able to face-time Mom Johnson. It’s always a special time to be able to catch up with each other and hear how God continues to bless her! She is doing so well – we love her smiles and the joy she shares with everyone! We especially appreciate Kay living with Mom and watching over her.

Somebody said that SOWERs only work Mon – Thurs because Friday is for RV repairs! Our friends Craig & Karen Burrell were leaving and they discovered their stairs didn’t close back in. It ended up in disconnecting and then strapping them up in order to leave today.

While doing some shopping, we were amazed at the plants available in the area for gardening – lots of succulents and blooming cactus. So colorful! (The tall one in back is my favorite rose! …ahh)

Sabino Canyon and Mount Lemon – Sights TO See!

We ventured out to visit the Sabino Canyon and do a bit of hiking. We learned a lot more about the native cactus and desert environment.

Love this picture – what a beautiful landscape God has created here in Arizona, whew!

We enjoyed a hike around the welcome center and into the desert nature area. We received some sage advice from Smoky and the Sanguaros! LOL! Amazing plant life to experience!

We rode the tram up into the canyon. Such a pretty view of the Sabino Creek. There was still runoff from a recent rain and some of the snow pack on top of Mount Lemon.

As we headed up to Mount Lemon from Sabino Canyon, we immediately had a view overlooking Tucson. In only one hour, we climbed close to 7,000 feet (from 2,300 to 9,100 ft) in about 9 miles. We learned of the four different life zones: at the base is the Sonoran Desert, going up is Semi-Desert Grasslands, Oak Woodland, Pine-Oak Woodland, Ponderosa Pine Forest, and Mixed Conifer Forest at the top. The pine and conifers reminded us of being at our home in the Colorado Rockies. Spectacular contrast in such a short time – the only place in the United States to experience this in such a contained area.

As we drove we got to see many “HooDoo’s” These are stacked rocks (of course billions and billions and billions of years of water erosion caused this LOL!) Beautiful views all along the way!

…from feeling the heat at 91 degrees at the bottom, to praising the Lord for the coolness of 59 degrees at the top. Amazing! At the top is a ski slope still covered with snow! We really enjoyed this adventure – if you’re in the area be sure to put htis on your schedule!

Enjoying friends and family!

We were able to meet up and enjoy a dinner out with our friends Rick and Sandi Gibson. It’s also great to share life and stories with friends as we travel – whenever we can!

And another facetime visit! This time with Ray & Sarah, Jeremiah, Asia, and Faith. Loving our family from afar – so thankful for technology!

We learned a new word at church this weekend… “theodidaktoi” …Paul probably made it up since it’s only found once in the Bible (1 Thess 4:9) and never in any other greek liturature. But it’s a powerful word meaning “taught by God”. We have been taught by God in so many ways and times throughout our life, and especially through these many adventures. Like our motto says, “Everyday with God is an adventure!”

We’re getting ready for our next SOWER project – and we’re staying right here in Tucson at The Gospel Rescue Mission! We’ll be joined by one other couple to serve for the month of March. Wonder what adventures God has planned for us next!?!

Posted on

February 6 – 26, 2022 SOWER Project #18 Gospel Rescue Mission, Tucson, AZ

We’re serving at the Womens Recovery Center located on Miracle Mile Road – perfect name for this location! Currently there are about 26 women and 10 or so children living here. They have been rescued by God’s grace! They have survived various challenging and destructive life styles and are now in various stages of recovery. We love the motto the staff have – to love them with Jesus and treat them with dignity and respect!

We are serving with two other couples this month, Tim & Cindy Klein and Craig & Karen Burrell. We’re sharing RV space in the parking lot – it works! Notice the shape of the buildings on the property – another reminder of the cross of Christ. There is much healing taking place on this campus!

First item on the list – The french doors on the Transition House needed to be replaced – the guys were able to remove the old doors without disturbing the stucco work on the exterior (how’s that for a plus!) The new door needed to be put in “backwards” so it would open to the outside. This added another challenge but we were succesful!

The first week the girls got to paint (surprise!) and help with some of the office work. They kept busy and cleaned everything as they went. Great job!

The H.S.Lopez Family Foundation Center of Opportunity!

One of the highlights of the project was getting a tour of the Center of Opportunity operated by Gospel Rescue Mission. A significant hotel in its’ day was purchased by the Lopez Family and sold to the Gospel Rescue Mission for $1. Since then the buildings and property has been in a constant state of refurbishing and remodeling – with a spirit of excellence. The vision is to provide opportunity to the homeless and broken in the Tucson area through various programs. The gospel is shared and the love of Jesus radiates throughout the staff and facility! We kept hearing that they strive to show dignity and respect to all guests no matter what background they come from. We had chills as we slowly toured the property and heard the stories of changed lives. Many of the staff used to be the “guests” and are now passing the love of Jesus on to others!

I think our work assignments were enjoyed and completed with a bit more heart in our work after learning how God was bringing HOPE to the lives of so many. More days of cleaning and painting in the administration areas. We worked as a team and made great progress! These weeks are going by so fast!

Each weekend, we’ve enjoyed worshipping at a variety of churches with our new friends and then going out to eat at some local cafe’s and even a food truck – serving the delicious Sonoran Hot Dogs! This is a Tucson exclusive: bacon wrapped fried hot dog with beans, and all the goodies – and a mild (hot!) pepper to go!

One of our SOWER highlights was meeting up with other SOWER friends and alumni at the Golden Corral – we shared and reminisced and learned a lot from each other at this mini-reunion!

The guys spent the last week serving at the Gospel Rescue Mission – Center Of Opportunity. We helped with the beginning install of a barber shop to help meet the needs of the men and families that are being cared for there. We also tracked electrical wiring (whew – that was a challenge!) and installed some new outdoor wiring for gate locks etc.

The ladies continued painting, cleaning, organizing, and building friendships with each other and several of the guests at the Womens Recovery Center.

…and just like that – three weeks of work were over! The time always seems to go so fast. Just like that helecopter’s spotlight is shining down from the sky, God has His eye and love directed toward this special ministry.

It was great to serve with Tim & Cindi Klein and Craig & Karen Burrell. We’re so thankful we’ve had this oportunity! We will remember the time, work, and fun we were able to accomplish here – this ministry will continue to be on our hearts and in our prayers..

AND … we are returning!

We’ll be here another month (March) serving with another SOWER couple. Wonder what fun and meaningful jobs we’ll be assigned. Check out our next blog for our next SOWER adventure!

Posted on

January 31 – February 5, 2022 Arizona adventures with friends and family!

We’re feeling great after our extended rest during January. We’ve booked 8 different SOWER projects for the year and its time to get on the road and see what adventures God has “booked” for us!

Our first “re-direct” …we planned to leave on Wednesday to arrive in Tucson, AZ on Friday. But over the weeekend we received a major weather warning: “WINTER STORM EXPECTED TUES – WED”. It’s no fun driving in wind, cold, and snow, so we decided to hit the road on Monday morning. Thankful we can be so flexible!

We spent Monday night at a KOA Las Vegas, NM and Tuesday night at the Hatch, NM RV Park. Yea! – just down the street was the Hatch Chili Marketplace. We bought some famous Hatch Chilies! So good! Another short but fun adventure that we never planned – thanks again God!

So now we had a couple of extra days ahead of us before we were scheduled to be at our SOWER project in Tucson, AZ. We got in touch with Alan & Karen Johnson (cousins) who live in Cochise, AZ (see blog from April, 2020).

They said, “sure! come on over!” So for our next two extra nights we stayed at their property, “Chapel of the Rise” in Chochise, AZ. Beautiful country!

Dennis was able to help Alan finish the install of the last end wall of the new shop. This is a great new addition to their vision for their property. The next projects will be a new house and the chapel. I’m sure we’ll be back to help whenever, wherever we can!

We had a lot of great conversations, sharing meals together, and playing games in the evening. It was such a joy to spend time encouraging each other, sharing our experiences walking with the Lord, and learning how God is so active in blessing each of us. We serve a great God!

On our way out we saw orchards of pistachio and pecan trees. We also had to slow down to let a family of javalinas cross the road – what a surprise to see! We learned that these guys can be ferocious. We also learned that they cannot raise their heads so if you stand on a rock above their line of sight they can’t see you! Hmmm, I’m keeping that tip in my “back pocket”!

An adventure at the [outdoor / living] Desert Museum in Tucson

We took a drive outside of Tucson to the visit the Desert Museum. The drive to get there was full of beautiful sights. We’re amazed at the desert and cactus landscape – such a contrast from the pine trees and mountains that we’re familiar with. The sign mentioned that there are “islands of mountains in the desert sea”. That pretty much says it all! (FYI: This adventure took place while we were serving with SOWERS at the Gospel Rescue Mission).

We saw more wild life than we thought we would! The Mountain Cat and the Rattle snake were behind glass but the others were all there for us to see. We missed the Raptor Falcon Flight presentation: they fly free out over the desert and come back to the trainer while the crowd watches.

WOW! There are so many different types of cactus – who knew? We spent about 3 hours just walking the paths through this outdoor living museum. It was facinating to see and experience the variety and creativity of our creator God! We didn’t take pictures of everything but these are a brief sample of some of the things we saw.

It’s Super Bowl Weekend! …and valentines Day!

We enjoyed watching the game and just relaxing after church. Look at that amazing apple pie Lorree made for me for Valentines Day. She is a very special love and a great cook!

This is my Valentine! Lorree has been growing her hair for a few months – look at the french braid she can do! (People pay big bucks for a look like this!) Love it!

We enjoyed a face time visit with Mom and Kay later in the month. She is doing so well – she’ll be 94 next month, what a milestone in life! Talk about adventures, she sure has had an wonderful journey with the Lord all these years! We are blessed to have her praying for us during our adventures!

Posted on

December 26 – January 31, 2022 At the cabin…It’s beautiful, it’s cold, it’s snowy, ….and it’s COVID. An adventure in resting!

It was a beautiful “homecoming” to our little cabin in the Rocky Mountains. Sunshine, blue sky, and snow on the ground. We saw so many tracks – wonder what wild life made all of these? We know there are rabbits, badgers, and chipmonks, also deer and elk – and even coyotes roaming through from time to time. The tracks leading up to our cabin were the most welcome – it’s good to have a home to come home to! Little did we know that God was going to change our plans from just a couple of weeks at home – to over a month!

Frustration No. 1 – no internet! We also had no cell service but we knew that going in. We had to call from the road and use walkie talkies to try to sync with what the tech guy on the phone was trying to tell us to do. It finally got to a point that he said it would require a service tech to come out and fix it. Ugh -OK – scheduled for 2 weeks out!

Frustration No. 2 – we were supposed to have results concerning Dennis’s sleep study. After appointments and visits at the three offices involved we learned that the results were never communicated to each other. We had to learn if equipment was even going to be available because of the Covid supply chain delays. Ugh -OK – scheduled for 2 weeks out!

What to do? We had planned to be back in Arizona in 2 weeks to serve at our next SOWER’s assignment in January. Now that wasn’t going to happen – so we canceled that assignment and decided to re-locate for January and remain in Colorado to get everything back in order.

But all of our “stuff” was still in Phoenix (1,450 miles round trip!) Yea -ROAD TRIP! So we left Colorado, spent the night in Albuquerque, NM. and landed back to our RV on the track at Phoenix Christian School We stayed a couple of nights in Phoenix and enjoyed some sweet SOWER fellowship with Mil & Linda, and Ralph & Lella for a couple of days. Then we hooked up our rig and headed back to Colorado to take care of all those loose ends.

Back at home! What a change in climate (1,000′ to 8,700′ elevation) from warm sunshine to cold and snowy. Both are beautiful…but the contrast within a couple of days, wow!

We had to make daily trips down to the road in order to connect with the rest of the world. If we parked in a certain spot at the end of our driveway we actually got three bars of cell service (I know – first world problems!) Dennis was able to get Century Link to set up land line service to the cabin. We had previuosly removed all of the old phone wires – so that meant crawling under the cabinets, drilling some holes, and running new wire to the box. Yea! It works!

We still didn’t have internet and the cell service would come and go. Lorree had multiple zoom meetings every week in the evenings so we drove the 6 miles to park in the Park County Library in Guffey. We made a lot of trips (but it worked and we didn’t miss a beat!)

And then…one of those nights, we came back home and stepped on our back porch. We just happened to look up – at the heavens – the beautiful Milky Way was right there above us. We were stunned – in awe of God and the majesty that we were seeing! The heavens DECLARE God is here and has all things together. It was GOOD! What a blessing to our souls! It was like God saying “Selah, Dennis & Lorree, Selah!” (Pause, Reflect, & Praise!)

Dennis had an idea, what if we installed the data booster system that we use with the RV on occasion. Maybe there is a cell “bar” floating up there somewhere, that we could magnify in order to get internet inside the cabin? YES! There was! We now have access to the internet inside our warm cabin. It’s not 100% …but look at the smile on Lorree’s face!

Oh, and we found a great little church about 10 miles East of our cabin. The Gospel is preached, the Word is taught, and the people are wonderful! Another blessing and it’s in our own “backyard”! We felt right at home – and home feels so good!

So, this poor little plant is suffering from a lack of strength and vitality that is normally coursing through its roots, stems, and leaves. Something very similar to the effects of COVID. We started feeling just like this plant on the counter – thankfully we were already quarantined – snug in our cabin, away from everyone else.

We were SO tired! We just wanted to rest, sleep, sit in our chairs, and lay in our bed. We had low fever off and on, a bit of congestion, some coughing, and serious fatigue! We never got tested, but it was pretty obvious. We did have some bright moments every day – like it would be gone, but only for a few hours. We had been building up our immune system with whole food fruits and vegetables and berries (Juice Plus) for years – now it was playing out to our benefit! Our bodies were able to fight this hard – just as God designed. So thankful!

So for the next TWO WEEKS – we didn’t do much. We shared that it was hard to “rest”. We are so used to moving and doing – this was not us at all! We read a lot, listened to the radio, ate soup, drew a few pictures, sewed on some projects, and watched some football. We finally started to feel our tiredness go away. Our days started becoming more active and engaged in life again. We know so many others have really suffered through COVID and we have lost friends to the deadly virus. We don’t discount God’s goodness to us – we are thankful for His healing touch! We pray for strength to continue to encourage and help others in the days ahead!

We had visitors one day after we were done with our ’bout of illness”. When Issac’s little hamster, “Hammer”, died he asked his Dad if he could bury it at the cabin. They stopped by and took care of that task. We had a good visit. We’re thankful that our kiddo’s have a godly perspective in these lessons to learn and we can share some of these times.

We enjoyed the beautiful snow fall that came to our cabin about once each week. We got our exercise sweeping the snow off our porch. It felt good to breath deep and take in the crisp cold air full of oxygen (well – we’ll take what we get at 8,700 feet!)

Then there were days like this! I know the picture is quite hard to focus on, but this is a herd of hundreds of elk – just across the road from our cabin & Selah Acres! (that fence line is at our road). We came home from church and just parked in our driveway – amazed at the sight. The elk are about 1/2 mile away and they just were standing – maybe just enjoying the warm sunshine on their backs.

…and then more snow! But guess what!? The Hughes Net satellite technitian arrived (4 weeks out from our initial contact) and was able to fix our service! He walked in the door, very nice young man, a great conversation, kept clicking on his smart phone, and finally said”OK, you’re all fixed and good to go!” Only 4 minutes had passed – AND WHAT DID HE DO? YES, we had internet again and all was good (So why can’t we fix this ourselves?)

Just a week to go before we leave to Tucson…

We had the fun of seeing Issac performing in the Shakespere play, “McBeth”. He was Macduff – the avenging hero who helps save Scotland from Macbeth’s tyranny in the play. It was great to see Issac on stage – he did great!

We spent the night at Nick & Rachel’s, it was wonderful to spend some one on one time with the kiddos! The next day, they put on a play in the living room for all of us – probably will be the thing to do for the next week or so! Mary just loved all of it!

We also spent some time with Carl, Beth, and Anya! It was fun to share life’s adventures and catch up on what is happening in their life. Anya, you’re so cute!

To wrap things up, we acknowledge that we are always at the will and guidance of God in this life. When we are serving in His Kingdom work or loving on our family, or just “resting” in His care, we are, “experiencing the adventure He has set before us!” We LOVE this adventure, with the ups and the downs! What is coming up in the near future??!!!

Check out our next blog!