Camp Oro Quay - 1st month completed

Our first project month at Camp Oro Quay just outside of Albuquerque, NM (Sandia Park) is complete.  Now we are eagerly awaiting our second project month - October.  This past month included the men retiling the girls dorm bathroom and framing out windows and doors in the main dorm buildings/chapel.  The women stained and painted wood stalls/cabinets in same bathrooms, pruning of fruit trees, dividing flower bulbs in flower beds and moving to bare beds, and sewing of animal cage covers to be used for show & tell days in the public schools.  While the youth camps are over for the summer, just about every weekend are retreats of some kind.  I personally am really looking forward to a quilt retreat the end of October - what an added bonus.  Our month with John & Sherry Davidson and George & Nancy Reid was so much fun.  They enjoyed stories about the South from us as much as we enjoyed learning the MidWest Ways.  They are terrific and fun Sluff players.  Honestly they have shown Wayne & I just how much spicy heat a stomach/throat can really endure!

John & George framing out a picture window

Nancy painted, the men retiled

L to R:  Nancy & George Reid,

John & Sherry Davidson,

Gail, Evangeline & Wayne Fieler

Enjoying the beautiful weather.

New Mexico has provided much entertainment in the way of sightseeing for all three couples as well as a steady dip in temps during the month.  We are now needing to take the chill off in the mornings with the space heater and wearing warmer clothing soon shedding by noon when the sun quickly warms things up.  Since our last post we have visited the Balloon Museum, biked in Santa Fe through downtown on to the rail yard, hiked parts of the Petroglyph National Monument; peered over the Sandia Crest (2 miles high), and attended the Annual Pinto Bean Festival in Moriarty (yes, really)!  Now we are contemplating beefing up our walking workouts so that we can tackle the 14.5 mile hike from the Sandia Crest to the bottom of the mountain.  First we will take the tram up the mountain and hike back down.  Next week is the Annual Balloon Festival in Albuquerque, can't wait and will post pics of that later.

The field where the balloons will ascend next week

Aspen starting to turn colors

Sandia Mountains

One of the highlights of this month was our granddaughter, Evangeline, came to visit with us for 10 days while Sarah & Vince took a hiatus before the next baby girl arrives.  We found out how small our rig is with a 2 yr. old aboard but memories to last a lifetime.  Evangeline greeted Mercy the cow, the donkey and baby calf each morning after making sure the windmill still existed right outside her "bedroom" window.  We took her to the Bio Park near the zoo to feed ducks and swing for at least 1 hr.  She enjoyed the Pinto Bean Festival "so so" BUT the bounce house at the Fall Festival at our host church was the bomb!  We asked the bounce house monitor if she was too young to go in and he quickly pointed out that another child inside was only 18 months old.  When the wind whipped up and the monitor asked everyone to get out, we had to send a small sized adult in to get her out - she was determined this was her very own special playhouse!  Halarious.  Later we asked her mom and dad if they had ever put her in one, oh yes, SHE LOVES BOUNCE HOUSES!  Evangeline took her first hayride with G'pa and can you guess how long it took for her to fall asleep on the way home?  Less than 5 min.!  Fresh air and bouncing will do it every time.

Evangeline swingin, swingin, and swinging!  Ready to go - NO!

hayriding with my g'pa

g'parents wear me out!

What can I say about the existence of NO HUMIDITY?  My skin is shriveling up, my lips and eyes feel like sandpaper and I really need to buy stock in Bath & Body Works because I can't put on enough lotion to make my skin not feel like alligator hide.  So far my nose has not bled but it won't be long.  We have also experienced what "arroyos" are for.  The other day I heard thunder and what I thought was heavy rain, looked outside the bedroom window of the RV and there was a 2 lane river within 20 ft. from the back of the rig.  When they say flash floods possible you best not be in a arroyo.  Scarey to say the least because it may not be raining around you but you or your vehicle could be in water in a matter of just a few min. because of runoff from nearby mountains.  The next day it was almost dry as a bone, crazy.

arroyo moving behind the RV

Ok, now we have had the RV aligned and new tires mounted.  Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Valentines Day, Happy Birthday, Merry Thanksgiving, Happy Columbus Day for the next 10 years!  Good grief.......and to think we will probably have to put on at least one more set of tires before we really retire.  Oh well, it's only money a good friend, Donna Crotts, told me one time!  These tires are taking me places I never dreamed existed and places to serve beyond my imagination. RV crazy or what?!  We are and we don't care!

Normal? Maybe where you live!

First you buy the chili's (mild or hot) - not a few in a poke, but a box full - as in at least one bushel.

Put them in a roaster or have your neighborhood grocery store do it for you.  Do the hokie pokie and turn yourself around - that's how you prepare your chili's in August in New Mexico for the upcoming year.

Detach skins and remove seeds, then either freeze in ziploc bags or eat.  Hotter than you can imagine but these New Mexico people eat them in soup, omelets, stuffed, as a condiment on a sandwich, the possibilities are endless!  Considering how hot they are, I wonder if they are putting them in their gas tanks!

A New Mexico water tower or an oversize golf ball?

Now that's what I call a big sunflower - enough seeds for one entire baseball team!

Just catching a few New Mexico normalities........what's your norm?  RVcrazy, or what?

Camp Oro Quay in Sandia Park, NM

After traveling through Oklahoma City and Amarillo we landed in a small town just over the border in New Mexico, Tucumcari.  This town is so very interesting as it primarily exists only because it is on Old Historic Route 66.  We stayed 2 nights and rode our bikes through this town awed by the 40+ hand painted murals and the windmill constructed at the Wind Research Center at the local community college.  If you can pull up information on how one is constructed and erected you will be amazed.  Just outside of Amarillo, TX we encountered approximately 50 miles of windmills all along the north side of I-40.  The cost of just one must be phenomenal - can't image 50 miles worth.

One of 40+ murals in Tucumcari, NM

Windmill at Wind Research Center in Tucumcari, NM

One week finished at Camp Oro Quay in Sandia Park, NM just outside of Albuquerque - 2 to go!  The men are retiling the boys bathroom in the boys dorm and the women have been pruning fruit trees, staining stalls to go back into the bathroom once the men finish the tiling project and working in various flower beds to divide bulbs and replant in new locations.  This camp is obviously finished as far as summer camps, now they are catering to schools for orientation days off campus and various weekend retreats.  The camp is definitely Southwestern flair with a western town for events and chuck wagons.  Animal hosts include chickens, goats, cows, pigs and of course donkeys for gold digging events! This camp is currently being operated by a second generation family.

John Davidson and Wayne laying tile

working in the flower beds

This coming Friday we will be meeting Sarah, Vince and Evangeline in Gallup, NM to pick up Evangeline so that she can experience camp for one week while her Mom & Dad have a much needed vacation before baby sister gets here in the dead of winter!  Then the first weekend in October will be the Annual Balloon Festival here in Albuquerque - from what we have been told words cannot describe the event.  Stayed tuned for pics.

We have also been able to ride our bikes the past 2 weekends along the Rio Grande River.

Would you believe we crossed over the river here with our horses?  You're right we did not!  RV crazy?!

Temps are getting lower at night and today we experienced hail & rain.  Winter's comin'.......hopefully  the next blog post will not include any other precipitation!  Till then.......

We really do work too!

Some of the projects (and fun) at Camp Barnabas.........(Purdy, MO 8/23/14)

Repairing signs on campus

When you have a boat load of rice krispie

treats to make you need a paddle not a spoon!

Jim & Wayne degutting the BDL House

Curtains made for the 

parent/sibling suites

Canning peaches

Organizing the skit room

Installation of watering station

Hats have to be organized too!

Ladies outing on Roger & Kay's houseboat - 

Somebody's gotta do it!

Shop work - preparation of curtain installation

Campsite for Sower rigs

L to R

Wayne & Gail Fieler

Feryl & Jim Laney

On the road again……Aug. 23, 2014

Finished at Camp Barnabas on Thursday, it is now Saturday and here we are resting (really) at a small campground 2 hrs. from Oklahoma City.  We left Purdy, MO yesterday morning in route to Springfield to have our RV power system checked out and then we were westward bound by Noon.  With Sandia Park, NM in our GPS we only made it to Checotah, OK.  We will be spending 3 nights here just to recoup and meditate primarily because God has said so!  Our car needs a new catalytic converter (not a Cadillac conversion) and it has Gail leery of sightseeing via car.  We couldn’t figure out why she kept having blowouts on her bicycle until ~ DING DING DING ~ too much hot air (exhaust) coming from the car whenever we transported it for a trail ride!  Ok, so it is Saturday, no muffler shops open – we are forced to relax, inside as it is a mere 100 degrees outside.  Guess it probably would have been too hot for a ride anyway!  Monday morning we will set sail for Oklahoma City to have the Cadillac conversion and then be westward bound again hopefully by noon (they promise, one hour out repairs – yeah, right) – what is it about noon?  Maybe the Lord is saying, don’t wake up till 11:00 am and get on the road by Noon!  Who knows!

Here’s the last picture we had taken of us at Camp Barnabas – when the weather is high 90s – you just have to make the best of it!

Cooling off.......Gail won!

We already miss our friends Jim and Feryl…………they taught us so many things we will need to know about Western Sowing!  I think we will have to buy boots and a cowboy hat and just sit on the porch and watch roadrunners on our 3-day weekends!  Albuquerque and Dude Ranch here we come.  That should take us through Christmas and a new grand baby.........

Think I'll take a swim and get the pork loin on the grill...........ho hum........

Camp Barnabas, Aug. 12^th

Half way! Time is going way too fast.  We have enjoyed our new friends that we are serving with here at Camp Barnabas - Jim and Feryl Laney.  They have given us information that we will need when we drive westward week after next since they are from Oregon they are very familiar with that part of the country and all the projects on that side of the U.S.  Jim is a retired Marine and his dear wife, Feryl, is a retired housewife!  She has taught me many new cooking tips (with Western flair) and is currently teaching me to card stitch.  Not sure my eyes will be able to do this for many more years but it is a beautiful way to personalize a card or letter to send to someone. As much time as it takes to make one I will pick and choose my recipients carefully and no one best throw it in the garbage for at least one year! Wayne has acquired another jig saw puzzle so needless to say he is spending all his spare time putting it together.  This project was the recipient of an “Extreme Makeover” on its director’s house in 2006 and since they have moved on to another camp this building is used for the camp for offices, meetings and special events.  Camp was officially over for the summer last Friday so we have been able to use the building for our own projects (sewing curtains) and for game nights as well as laundry facilities.

We are eagerly awaiting the details of the next grand baby – sex will be revealed first week of September.  Boys, boys, boys!  But we would love another little girl just like the other two.  Someone has got to carry on that Carotenuto name.

Ok, so after 5 ½ months are we coping living with limited space in a 40 ft. motor home and on top of each other when we are together?  Yes, and yes.  Really we don’t spend much time in the RV.  We try to sight see on the weekends (3 days) and other times we are gaming with other SOWERs, catching up on paperwork and determining our next plan of action, i.e. where to sign up for the next project.  Planning 6 months in advance is not always easy but we can cancel at any time if need be and head in another direction if needed.

We were only able to watch this camp in action for one week of which Gail worked in the kitchen for about 2 hours per day then on to sewing privacy curtains for the bunks located downstairs in the dining facility.  These bunks house relatives that come along with the campers and are available if their child should need them during the week.  Sometimes it is just too far for the parent to go home and come back to pick them up at the end of the week so they stay.  These types of camps (for disabled children) are few and far between so they are from all over the U.S. and in some instances they come from out of the U.S.  The children have such a great time that it is hard to conceive what it must be like when they go home – one of the staff members here slept for 4 days just to get revived!  Archery and riflery, canoeing (elevators for wheelchairs that deliver them to the platform to get in the canoe), ropes courses, pool with slides (zero entry for wheelchairs) and with all types of water fun, every night is a different themed party, pottery, zipline (yes, even for the most disabled), gardening, putt putt course, and a few animals.  There are numerous doctors and nurses located in their own “Well House” and each camper dictates that 2-3 volunteers be available for their needs.  It is an incredible run organization which is rapidly gaining popularity.  At the end of each week they allow the campers to pre-enroll for next year and already there are weeks at full capacity.  They have acquired another camp on Table Rock Lake about 1 hr. away that is quickly filling up as well and they run another camp for  disabled adults to teach them to live on their own someday.

More than anything I am amazed and encouraged by the young adult volunteer staff here that works tirelessly with joy written all over their faces every minute of every day.  They often do not sleep a night through for turning children over every 2 hrs or cleaning them from head to toe in the middle of the night as one may have had an “accident”.  The hills alone that they are seen pushing wheelchairs up are grueling but never once have I heard one complaint.  Sometimes they are writing parents details of their child’s day, sometimes they are sitting with them while they are being tube fed at the “Well House”, and sometimes they are just dancing with them at a party.

Appreciation Brunch for Volunteers/Staff

Teas House (Extreme Makeover 2006)

Dining Hall

2 of 9 boys bunk houses

Add caption

Pool

Pool

Well House

3 of 9 girl bunk houses

Baby goat

Entrance

Entrance Gate

The Silver Lining - Extreme Makeover 2006

Barnabunk - Extreme Makeover 2006

The Fish House

We are so thankful that God brought us here to Camp Barnabas.  God is working here and we love watching Him do it.

Harvest Time Bible Camp – July 2014

Harvest Time looking toward lake

Whew!  9 weeks and we have survived!  It has been hard work mixed with connections with family and friends for 9 weeks.  Many completed projects and new additions to our resume’s – reupholstering of 2 golf carts, complete control of the dining hall during absence of Mz. Donna, reroofing 2 “A” frame cabins, and rebuilding pump for well house.  The best part is that thus far there have been 99 children who have accepted the Lord as Savior.

It was hard to say goodbye with 2 more weeks of camp to go through but this has allowed us to work a project in Purdy MO (Camp Barnabas) – a camp for disabled children. 

While at HT our granddaughter, Lily, was able to spend 3 weekends with us all of which I think we were blessed just by watching her enthusiasm on the “farm” as much as her parents were blessed with some “alone” time!  Lily loved those hourly visits to the pigs, chickens, horses and just riding around in the Toro with her Grandpa!  Skinny dipping in her small outside wading pool was grand and water activities at our house were so much fun for a 19 month old (grand parents too!)

Left to right:  Noah, Lily & Naomi

When your “check engine” light comes on in the motor home, it can be slightly unnerving to say the least.  This happened when we were about half way to our project in Missouri. After computer diagnosis we were set up for repairs in Springfield at a Cummins service center.  Only a loose wire from a sensor and a cracked exhaust manifold to the tune of $1,700.  At least we were able to still continue driving although going up some of those huge hills in Missouri proved to be laborious for our rig.  Loose wire fixed, manifold to be fixed next week after parts arrive – praying that the repair goes easy and without incident.  BUT thank you Lord it happened where it did to get this rig worthy of the long haul to New Mexico next month – it’s all in His perfect timing.

Let us throw in a short advertisement for the production of "JONAH" at Branson, MO.  It is a must see especially for those who are intrigued by drama sets and "how did they do that" concepts!  The message was superb and right on target.  We were able to spend 2 days in Branson with our good friends from Charlotte, John & Myra.

It’s amazing how every task in service for the Lord is meant to train you for the next one in line.  Gail has been working in the kitchen for the past 3 months – each camp increasing in camper volumes, 75 then 140 – now that we have arrived in Missouri where she will have one more week serving in a kitchen that cooks for approximately 400-500 twice for each meal.  OK Lord, that will be my max!  Kind of like “don’t pray for patience”!  Gail is eager to see just how this is going to happen………stay tuned – are we crazy or what?  Wayne will be working on installing a water station near the ropes course for the campers to fill their water bottles without having to go back to their cabins.  Then he and Jim (other SOWER) will be going about 50 miles to Branson to work at a sister camp that needs hydraulics rebuilt on a back hoe.  Amazing that God thinks we are capable of these new endeavors – just be willing and available – He will provide knowledge and wisdom in His timing.  We’re counting on it!

OK, from Harvest Time (NC) to Camp Barnabas (MO).  How exciting – almost like living a mystery bus tour – are we crazy?! (harvesttimebiblecamp.org) (campbarnabas.org)