Tag: camp

A Taste of Heaven

Floyd, Iowa does not have a grocery store.  There are two truck stops and two antique stores.  This weekend there was a Gospel Music Festival with 20 or more groups performing at the concert in the park.  The Gospel Lighthouse Church has sponsored this festival since 1995.  The gospel sing brings in funds for the Christian school that the church also sponsors since 1988. 

This little town was booming.  People came from many states to attend this amazing concert.  Visiting with many attendees gives us much hope for our nation.  

On Sunday we attended Lighthouse Gospel church and heard Keepers of the Faith. Their harmony is heavenly and their testimonies rich. We think that we tasted a bit of heaven! The Farmer and I were truly blessed to be in attendance. The group are Hawaiians that have moved to Washington State.

UNW Football

Some football was on our schedule Saturday. I and the Farmer drove to St. Paul, MN and the University of Northwestern to see our grandson. He is a Freshman there and is on the football team. It was so great to see him and to take him out to eat. The Christian atmosphere there on campus was tangible. Josh picked a restaurant called Kahn. The Farmer was unsure about this kind of Mongolian cuisine. He did find meat and potatoes so all was well!

“Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. He surveyed the fence, and all gladness left him and a deep melancholy settled down upon his spirit. Thirty yards of board fence nine feet high. Life to him seemed hollow, and existence but a burden. Sighing, he dipped his brush and passed it along the topmost plank; repeated the operation; did it again; compared the insignificant whitewashed streak with the far-reaching continent of unwhitewashed fence, and sat down on a tree-box discouraged. Jim came skipping out at the gate with a tin pail, and singing Buffalo Gals.”

  • Mark Twain

It sounds like this week was all fun and games and it was. But we worked very hard. Four of us are painting the exterior of a two story dining hall. It was red but is now tan, trimmed in brown. We used 20 gallons of primer, 15 gallons of tan and five gallons of brown so far. Yes, there are some sore muscles. And yes there are some sorer muscles. Some of the area has been sprayed, brushed, and rolled.

From Red
To Tan and Brown

Jim and Cathy are our leaders and have really carried the load on this assignment.  

“All you need to paint is a few tools, a little instruction, and a vision in your mind.”

  •  Bob Ross. 

This is our last week to work here and we would sure like to see it completed.

What did the painter say to the wall? One more crack like that and I’ll plaster you.

Loaves and Fishes

Texas Bluebonnets

Heart of Texas has won my heart. When we arrived they told us many SOWERS wind up just staying. Now I understand why. The whole town is so friendly, the stores still understand customer service, the cowboy church we found was an inspiration, and the camp has made a difference in the Kingdom of God since 1946. The folks there wanted to take us out for lunch our first time there. Another big plus is there is a lot of green. They said they were dry but they are not as dry as home.

Pecan tree beginning to leaf

The camp was having a big Senior Day celebration with a special concert by the McNeil family. Senior groups came from many churches around that area.

McNeil Family

I was delighted to work in the kitchen again minus the chicken deboning. This time we made fruit kabobs. We had grapes, strawberries and pineapple. It made great looking fruit kabobs. We needed at least 200 of them. We had to ask the Lord to increase and multiply our pineapple. Because we were running short. We knew the Lord had experience in that from the stories of five loaves and two fish being used to feed the multitudes. We had enough and the kabobs were a hit with the Seniors. We also put together a Make Your Own Granola Bar. All the ingredients were in mason jars and was quite an attractive bar.

 

Kabobs

The McNeils put on a wonderful concert of many special songs.  They are a couple with ten children who are all very musical and gifted.

Granola Bar

It was a great finish to our month at Heart of Texas camp.

The farmer and I broke camp on Wednesday morning to pull the camper to Joplin,MO. We had planned to go to Big Sandy, TX for the 40th SOWER Reunion but I had received a phone call from my cousin who is more like my sister, with tragic news. Her 19 year old grandson was found deceased at his home,in his bed, from the onset of a sudden illness. His funeral was to be Saturday. We praise God that Clay knew and loved Jesus. He was in church every time the doors were open. This is the third time one of my dear friends has lost a grandchild in the last few months.

Earth has no sorrows that heaven can’t heal.

Thomas Moore

Grief is so difficult to navigate especially when it is a child or grandchild or a young person in the prime of life. We have hope and assurance because as lovers of Jesus we know His words are true and we will see them again.