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)

Harvest Time Bible Camp – June 2014

We left the hot sunny days of Florida near the end of May and made the long trip up to Ellenboro, NC which is near home.  Little did we realize that the days are getting warmer and warmer in NC as well!  We will be working this project for the months of June and July. It is a summer camp ministry that serves the youth of the area and surrounding areas.  We have as many as 140 children (which includes the counselors) a week.  I tell friends over and over again, 40+ years of working a desk job is bad for your health.  These 9 hr. days of being on my feet on concrete floors is wearing me out!  My brain may not be as active but my muscles sure are and we are in and out of air conditioning so dealing with heat is new as well. We have gone from a job where you take a shower in the morning to prepare for work to taking your shower at night or your spouse won’t let you in bed.

VBS drama set construction this year was minimal for us so we were able to devote more time to the Bible Camp here in Ellenboro.  We really appreciate Paul Keener and Jason Raynor who did the bulk of the decoration in the auditorium this year.  Paul and his wife, Betty, also do some of the rooms used during the VBS as well.  They are really great servants of the Lord and we are thankful for them.

This camp experiences on average 80 decisions for Christ in one summer – it is exciting to be in an atmosphere where God is working and meeting Him there.  Not only are we physically working hard but enjoying the “farm life” has been an adventure that we were not use to!  Lilly, our grand daughter has come out 2 weekends and it has been so much fun running around in a golf cart showing her horses, chickens, pigs, frogs and rabbits!  Her face lights up at just the mention of “you want to go for a ride”?!!!!  Simple pleasures of life are still the best – ok, maybe not the dead skunk in front of the dining hall this morning! 

Wayne is the girl counselor’s hero – he repaired a hole in their cabin so Mickey Mouse can stay outside instead of visiting them all hours of the day/night!  His work has been helping at meal time, but replacing light fixtures, repairing fences, cutting down trees, installing poles for clothes lines and other general repairs.  The days are full.  It is good to do a lot of the work so brother Stephen can concentrate on the spiritual side of the camp.  I really appreciate how he is trying to train the summer counselors in their spiritual life as well. 

Ms. Donna is the camp dietician (!) – we are in to corndogs, pizza and all kinds of camp food.  The kids light up when they read the menu board – after 20+ years she really knows what floats their boat!  The giant slip and slide that Stephen & Wayne constructed has been a real hit, especially when baby shampoo is added to the water (below is video)!  The first counselor, Dylan, turned his ankle trying out the new toy.  The taller they are, the harder they fall.  Red, white and blue decorations were placed in strategic places today – just a reminder that July 4^th is only next week.

Gail has worked in the kitchen the whole time.  Again God’s providence is amazing.  Donna had two relatives die within a few days of one another of cancer and she needed to be away.  By then Gail had enough experience with the help of some of the counselors to just keep things rolling.  God is truly great and in control. Often we try to arrange things, but God has it all figured out from the beginning.  RV Crazy? We need to let God lead and listen closely to the Spirit’s leadership.

We now are able to let out our news – Sarah, Vince & Evangeline will be having an addition to their family in January.  Wayne and I are secretly hoping for twin boys so we can say we have 2 of each!  Sarah said the ultrasound confirms only one, but God may have a plan up His sleeve!  Snicker J.  So in August we are planning our slow meander across the U.S.A. – first Missouri, then New Mexico, then California and then the waiting game in Arizona for G’Baby #3.  EXCITING!

May 2014 – Hope Children’s Home, Tampa, Florida

Working here at the Children’s Home in Florida confirms what we thought this ministry (SOWERs) is all about.  Our physical labor here has been intense but extremely rewarding.  Wayne worked several small re-construction projects and was a great overall handyman for whatever was needed.  Some of the work included putting a passage door from the carpenter shop to the motor shop, painting basketball goals, drywall repair from a leak, pressure washing decks, repairing rotted wood on a door frame and re-constructing a back porch on a resident home for one of the staff.  Gail spent at least 6 hrs/day in the kitchen at a high paced speed!  Preparing 3 meals per day for approximately 120 residents/teachers/employees was an all-consuming project but fun and sometimes harried – she will be able to add several cooking projects to her resume to include deboning a turkey in a matter of 10 min. and washing cook pans the size of washing machine tubs!  Of course Wayne is finding new tools he needs to add to his arsenal like an impact driver and a vibrating tool. Whoops, scratch the impact driver, I went out and purchased a Ryobi impact driver (and a drill – they came as a package deal) this weekend.

Wayne also got some experience with putting up James Hardy siding, so he learned some new skills. The painting of some of these repairs will be left for some of the kids.  Just had more to do than time to do it.

We had our reservations about working a project all by ourselves but found that it was somewhat fun – Wayne was the Group Leader and Gail was the group!  We found that because it was May it was the end of a school year so the air was electric – kids excited about school coming to an end.  There was one day when they had divided all the kids and staff into four teams and had games for the day.  It was good to see the older kids and younger kids playing together and cheering each other on.  Just minutes ago the 7^th-12^th graders went to their “Junior/Senior”.  Beautiful kids – pic below.  A local company takes it upon themselves to provide this for them and they do not hold back on making them feel extra special.  The Juniors and Seniors are transported by a limo while the others ride the Home bus.  They do not know where they are going!  How special – I have heard it is a renowned restaurant located in downtown Tampa.

We have been able to ride some awesome rail trails on our bikes while visiting here – approximately 83 total miles over 3 weeks.  They cater to bicyclists here – their “rails to trails” bike trails are the width of a single car lane, wide enough for 2 bike lanes and a lane for walkers and roller bladers.  In addition, a lot of the streets have bike lanes.  I guess having a state where there are not many hills draws a lot of bike riders.  We were even able to ride out on the Dunedin Causeway to watch the sunset one evening.

Well, we have swept and folded the rugs, pulled in lawn chairs, loaded the bikes on the car and are ready to pull out in the morning for a quick trip to Camping World for a new awning to be installed on one of our slides then off to Ocala for a visit with Wayne’s siblings for Memorial Day Weekend.  We didn’t want to go all the way back to NC – not fond of traveling on holidays especially with a NASCAR race in Charlotte.

It will be somewhat emotional pulling away tomorrow, these kids need loving smiles and caring words.  They are happy and well cared for physically, emotionally and spiritually.  We are grateful that God has this Home in existence for these children otherwise where would they be?

Next…………to NC to work at the Harvest Time Bible Camp just outside Polkville for the months of June and July.  Should be just as exciting and busy, busy, busy!  Who said retirement is boring?  Not at the Fieler household, we are taking Ibuprofen every night just so our weary bodies can rest!  RV Crazy? I reckon, but so grateful God has allowed us to do this………..serve Him as long as we can.

Sunset at Tampa Bay Causeway

Field Day

JR High through Seniors

Rebuild of Screened in Porch

Bittersweet April 2014

We are now in Tampa, Florida having completed one week at the Hope Children’s Home project.  It has been a while since out last update, but we had a few computer problems.  We are the only Sower’s on this project but that’s because we chose to vacation for 11 days of April in the Cayman Islands with Sarah, Vince and Evangeline.  The Cayman Islands are everything you have heard that it is!  The water is so beautiful and the weather was perfect.  If you are an avid snorkeler or diver, Cayman Islands are calling your name.  We were able to visit the Botanical Gardens, ride a glass bottom boat, visit the Island Museum, watch windsurfing and sailboarding, and experience many “firsts” with Evangeline while we sat with her when mom and dad were diving!  She loved riding on the back of G’Pa’s bike and running through the water spouts in the outdoor mall with G’ma!  She ate her first gelato and slurped her first milkshake!  So much fun and beauty surrounded us for eleven days.   It was a bittersweet vacation because when we left Edith, Wayne’s mom, was literally struggling in the later days of her battle with cancer.  We never expected to come back to Florida to find her still living but she did and we were able to spend one more precious week with her and Wayne’s family before she passed on Wed., April 23^rd.  Watching her in the last days was tough – her family was so loving and gave her the most sacrificial care during those last months and days.  During those last two weeks of April we continued to help out at Camp Horizon, Wayne mostly as he was deep in a plumbing project for the lodge.  He was able to finish the tiling of the wall and floor of one of the bathrooms as well as some sheet rocking.  The last weekend at Camp Horizon, Wayne’s family was able to drive down for a cook out and a relaxing day by the lake.  We were thrilled that his cousin, Rick and Kelly came from Cincinnati and spent some time gator-watching from the dock.  How many pictures did you take Rick? J

Now here we are in Tampa at the Children’s Home – whew!  Gail has worked in the kitchen/cafeteria since Monday for an average of at least 6 hrs/day.  It’s hard continuous work but these children’s faces when they come through the line for their food is worth it all.  Many look you right in the face and say “thank you for fixing my lunch today”.  These kids are so polite and never take anything for granted.  They are well groomed, clean and very happy.  Wayne has worked various jobs this week from cutting a hole in the wall and installing a door, rerouting the electrical conduit that was on the wall where the door now is, well chemical checks, sheet rock repair, applying molding in the bathroom foyers of the gym and painting of the basketball goals for an average of 7 hrs/day.  Today Mr. Stan took us on a formal tour of the campus – we were “WOWed”!  The cottages that house siblings are grand – reminds me of plantation homes.  Dormitories were spotless and well kept, neat and everything in its place.  The kids were still in school as we toured their living quarters – we were told that school does not start until 9:00 a.m. in order that the children are able to do their chores before leaving for school.  They do not finish school until 4:15 p.m. – their school is on the same campus.  This is a top notch operation, after 45 years I think they have this well under control and everything works like clockwork.  Even the day care area was under control with 2 babies napping while others were doing crafts and watching an educational video.  Happy faces and even the teachers and house parents were smiling.  In just four days in the kitchen Gail has been able to experience “George Mueller” moments.  Everyday a van comes by with donations from 2 grocery stores, and 1 health food store.  A truck owned by the home picks up donations from individuals and businesses, brought to the Home for needs (clothing, toys and furniture) and then the remainder is taken to their 2 stores similar to Goodwill or Salvation Army.  The proceeds help to support the Home.  Occasionally the children are taken out for public appearances as advertisement for the Home and to greet business owners that support the Home.  These children come from all walks of life and it is a blessing to watch others devote their lives to help grow them spiritually, mentally and physically.  They are well loved and cared for in this place.

Florida is finally getting hot!  Next month we will return to North Carolina to work at Harvest Bible Camp during the months of June and July.  Our son, Philip should enjoy a reprieve from the yard work that he has been doing the past couple of months for which we are grateful and know that our home is in very capable hands.  Grannie and Grandpa need their Lily fix – the only downside to this constant travel, we are without either grandchild to help us laugh!  We will definitely kidnap Miss Lily for a few days and show her camp life at Harvest!  Hopefully we will get her on one of those horses before July 31^st!

Camp Horizon project completed............

Camp Horizon project finalized, March 2014

Isaiah 40:31

Done!  We survived and they survived our first project…….Camp Horizon on Lake Harris in Leesburg, Florida.  Working with Sowers was exactly what we expected but the benefits greatly outweighed the expectations.  We were part of seven SOWER couples that worked this project in March.  Other couples were from North Carolina, Pennsylvannia, Illinois and Wisconsin. We have met lifelong friends while laboring daily side by side – all of which we hope to work with again in the future. One of the couples, the Bowlings, were the ones who first introduced us to the SOWER ministry. 

Our RV remains at Camp Horizon while we continue to visit with Wayne’s family in the area and we will do odd jobs at the Camp while we park there.  All of Wayne’s siblings were here last weekend and posed for pics with Mom, Edith.  The sparkle in her eye never diminishes regardless of her physical state.  We are thankful that we have been able to be close as her health gets worse.  The Hospice nurse says that she may have about another month on earth.

Warm weather in Florida is late arriving this summer as is all over the nation this year.  That is fine with us since we will be here till the end of May.  We have had highs in the 60’s and 70’s with lows in the 40’s to the low 60’s.  It has been good weather to work in, so we have been blessed.

Our home church will soon have a home project for us located at Harvest Camp outside of Polkville, NC.  Hopefully the paperwork will become final soon and we can sign up for the month of June to help the Brackeens.  Then we will start making our way west for the Fall.  Unbelievable that at our age we plan so far ahead!

It is hard to believe that we have been retired for a month now.  We do more physical labor now than we did in our normal jobs.  That should help us keep fit.  We definitely are not putting as many miles on our vehicle.  Since we live at the sight of the project we don’t have to drive anywhere except for groceries or any sight-seeing we want to do. Thus far, most miles have been to visit with my mom.

We have met two couples who have done projects for 19 years.  I don’t know if we will last that long, but this first project did not diminish our goal to keep going.  There still have been a few challenges such as getting our mail on a consistent basis.  Still working out all the logistics.  Much of that will disappear once our house sells.