French Camp at its Finest

And I thought October was busy in French Camp. Well, November was too. Only for different reasons.

First off, we celebrated our same day birthdays on the 1^st.  We had many people here at French Camp wishing us a happy birthday and during dinner at the dining hall most of the girls from the Griffin House went to the podium during announcements to sing Happy Birthday to us. So sweet! We also received a bucket filled with yummies from my co-workers in the Admin office. So very thoughtful. So very grateful. Bill received an early birthday present from our daughter and he thoroughly enjoyed setting it up for some bow hunting. Can you find it?

The very next day was also very special. I’ve always admired horses as beautiful creatures but I’ve been afraid of them (like I’ve been of most animals until Bill helped me overcome a lot of those fears). I’m especially fearful of riding. Two things I don’t like…being high off the ground and not in control which is  exactly how I feel when I’m on a horse.  What a blessing when one of the horse trainers (one of  my new best friends) here at French Camp offered to help me get over my fears. Sooooo, here’s the proof. She showed me how to approach, walk behind, brush, lead, and a bunch of other stuff. J  Then we “walked” the horse teaching him who’s the boss. (I can do that much better with people than I can with horses.) J  Finally, I got up on the horse. I hate to say it, but that’s still pretty scary for me.  I may try it one more time, but then again, maybe not. When you’re on the horse, you can’t see how big and beautiful it is and that’s really what draws me to them. Soooo, I’m thinking maybe I’ll just admire them from the ground. 

Bill was kept very busy in the fab shop section of the maintenance department…fixing, repairing, or making whatever anybody came and asked him to do. He loved it. In addition to that Bill substituted in a dorm two Monday nights. This meant he filled in for the dorm dad. The following Monday’s had him working with the Boy Scout troup helping them fulfill their badges in welding and metalworking for Eagle Scouts. Once again, this took him to the machine shop where he explained all the equipment and then helped the guys get started with their individual projects. He had three different groups of guys that he worked with spread out over several more Monday nights.  I kept busy continuing my work in the Admin Office helping record donations.  I admit it’s not my favorite thing to do, but I know how much they need the help especially during this time of year.

Bill was also able to engage in several sporting activities to support and encourage the students. (He just loves doing that.) We had a cross country meet right across the parking lot one Saturday morning. And then Bill travelled to the state meet while I stayed home and helped with a student activity (more about that later).  Bill also went to the football playoff game about two hours from here and I and my Mississippi sister did a little shopping in a town not quite that far away. It’s kinda funny, that here we are living a life of travel and I really hate being in the car more than a half hour at a time. That’s one of the reasons, I don’t travel with Bill to the “away” sporting events. Both the events he went to were about two hours away. I’d rather shop (even if I don’t buy). Although on this particular shopping trip, I did a bit of wardrobe updating which was long overdue.

I guess you know, you’re really a part of French Camp Academy when you’re asked to help with one of the weekend activities. Staff members rotate responsibility for student weekend activities and we were asked to assist at The Zombie Research Institute. Bill was going to help as well but as I mentioned above, he went to a football playoff game. It would take too long to explain it and I was too engaged to take pictures. Let’s just say, I find it quite amazing and inspiring with what the staff puts together for the students to have some fun, interactive activities. 

We love attending student events and the choral production honoring veterans was beyond wonderful.  

Sunset on the Gulf Coast

Visiting the Seabee Base

The school closes down for a week long break over Thanksgiving. So, Bill and I decided to spend a little time on the gulf coast. Last year we tried an Airbnb for the first time (In Memphis TN) and loved it. Affordable and relaxing with a great homey feel. Initially, we had planned to go for the three week days prior to Thanksgiving but Bill had just tracked down an old high school buddy that he had been looking for (in Wisconsin) for probably 20 years. He found him in Gulfport MS.  We ended up traveling to Gulfport the Friday before Thanksgiving in time to see, not only his old high school buddy, but several of his children and grandchildren that were visiting from Wisconsin. Bill was so excited to reconnect and reconnect he did. Besides renewing friendships, walking the coast, visiting various points of interest, and eating good food, we spent most evenings just relaxing in an Airbnb located in Ocean Springs owned by a young woman with two dogs and two cats. That could have been NOT fun but they were very sweet animals and fairly well behaved. I find it interesting, in two out of the three Airbnb’s we have stayed at, both were owned by single women with dogs who didn’t have regular television. Just things like Netflix, Hulu, etc. I admit, I know very little how these work, but I learned enough for us to be able to enjoy a show we don’t see any more. During those evenings “at home,” we watched the entire first season and a few episodes of the second season of Royal Pains. As Bill often says about me, sometimes it doesn’t take much to entertain me. This was one of those times.

Thanksgiving day we had the pleasure of sharing a great feast and good fellowship with another independent volunteer couple at the home of a French Camp couple . I prefer smaller dinner parties, so this was perfect…three couples and our hosts’ son. I brought pies…pumpkin and apple with crumb topping, of course. That’s tradition for us. It was real nice sharing the Thanksgiving celebration with new friends. God is good….all the time!

NOTE:  Sorry friends and family as I really meant to have this post done and ready to go by the end of November, however, we all know that didn’t happen. So here’s how things continued through December.

The week following Thanksgiving was our final “independent” volunteer week as a VMM (Volunteer Mobile Missionaries) project kicked off on Friday. Bill continued his work in the maintenance department and I found out I was in hot demand. J  It’s crazy how things work out. I mentioned before that I enjoy working in the thrift store especially keeping the books organized and tidy. I also like to help in the pottery shop applying the initial glazing on the various pieces. Well, both of them said they had work for me to do that last week in November. Problem was that as November comes to an end and December rolls in, it’s time for the annual bread mailings. Because these are tied in with donations, I was also needed to continue my work entering donations. Who would have thought I would be in such high demand. J It’s so wonderful to be wanted. J  I had to put the thrift store and pottery shop off for a bit as donations and bread take priority. Here’s why…the bread mailing is based on donations, so donations have to be entered before the mailings can be completed. Bread mailings??? For those of you who didn’t read last year’s post about the bread mailings, let me give you a quick explanation. There are two big mailings that go out the first week of December. The first one is to donors as a thank you. The second is referred to as Christmas bread. For every $25 donation to French Camp Academy, you can request that a delicious loaf of homemade French Camp bread be sent to anyone in the U.S. as a gift. There’s a lot of organization and detail to these mailings…which is right up my alley but it is a lot of work. I have aches and pains to prove it. But, it’s one of my favorite things to do while we are here. 

The ladies also helped with a much smaller mailing; this one was less than 500. I helped put decorative labels on boxes used for purchased Corporate Gift boxes one day. A few days later, we were filling them with more of that delicious bread along with jams, jellies, or special spreads. Yum! More aches & pains, but so worth it!

The actual project for the VMM guys was gutting one of the houses so it could be reconfigured into four apartments. They did that and then moved on to one of the other staff houses to paint the entire interior. I pretty sure Bill would have enjoyed the demo part in the first house; and I know for a fact that he was pretty happy to miss out on the painting. Bill was asked to continue his work in the maintenance department as his skills there have been so very helpful to so many. He has commented to me many times on how grateful people are for the work he is doing. Praise God for putting us exactly where we need to be. Hallelujah!

We did manage to have a bit of fun and attend some beautiful Christmas concerts and events. Here are a few pictures to speak for me.

Academy Choir Concert (this is only half of the group). They did an amazingly beautiful job.

Decorating for Christmas Historical Luncheon

Christmas Banquet for the Academy. It's a formal affair.

Choctaw County Christmas Parade, Akerman MS

A major Elvis fan owns a restaurant in Ackerman. A real southern culture experience.

A bit of home decorating to get in the spirit of things without the snow to encourage me.

Always a party to thank the volunteers hosted by some wonderful people of French Camp.

So that's that for 2018! In just a few days, I can hardly believe it, we'll be heading to Wisconsin to spend some time celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior with family and friends. But, we're not done with French Camp yet as we will return for one more VMM project in January. Our first time as crew leaders. I think we're ready. As I always say, be blessed and be a blessing especially during this CHRISTmas season! 

I was all done and getting ready to post and we heard singing. Look at this great bunch of dorm kids and adults singing Christmas carols at our door. What a special bunch of people. We are so very very blessed. Thank you, Lord!

Harvest Fest, Homecoming, Happy Days

October is a very busy month in French Camp, MS. In fact, that is one of the reasons why we chose to be here. Last October, while in French Camp, Bill noticed that there was no one working or demonstrating in the Historic Village Blacksmith Shop during the Harvest Festival and wondered why. And so, here he is doing his thing along with many other photos of Harvest Festival happenings:

Bill's blacksmith in training.

Auction crowd

Hand made quilts bring in some nice dollars.

Dressing the part.

Country Store

Oxen cart rides

Carriage rides

Making harvest garland. Look below!

Making sorghum

All God's Children Pottery Shoppe

Completed garland.

It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun. Bill was kept busy all day at the blacksmith stop but I was able to walk around and take in a lot of the activities (many of which are not pictured here). I did volunteer for awhile in the afternoon at the Welcome Center that also houses the best bread and cookie bakery anywhere. They sold over 230 loves of bread and I have no idea how many cookies and cinnamon rolls. I helped by bagging and sealing individual giant size chocolate caramel cookies as they were selling them faster than they were making them. I didn't even snitch except when I was all done. I couldn't resist. They are the yummiest.

The following weekend was homecoming. I love how they celebrate it at French Camp. There is a parade on Thursday night followed by an awesome and entertaining pep rally where the homecoming court is presented escorted by a classmate of their choice. The next night, prior to the football game, the court is presented again (after some awesome entertainment and that's another special event which I didn't get any good pictures of because I was too busy enjoying it). This time when they are presented they are escorted by a special adult male in their life (oftentimes a father, grandfather, house parent father, brother, special uncle, you get the idea) and this is when the homecoming queen is announced. Sorry fellas, there's no king. (And don't go getting all gender equity on me.) As they are presented, the first night, interesting facts are shared about the classmate escort; at the football game its about each of the girls. I can't say how its done at other schools as its been a long while since I've been around other homecoming events but I sure like the way its done at French Camp.

The day after homecoming the French Camp Academy radio station (WFCA) had their big fund raising event that included a silent auction (we didn't "win" anything), a craft fair (bought a few things to help out one of the dorms make a little money), and some live good country gospel music. Too busy looking, bidding, and buying to take pics of the silent auction or craft fair, but I did love relaxing and enjoying some country gospel. My favorite are gospel quartets like this one. 

For those of you who don't know, there is the sweetest couple here at French Camp who always hosts a gathering for the volunteers. Besides the great food and fellowship there is a sing-along led by our host on the dulcimer, the pastor on the guitar, and sometimes (this time) the chief F.C. baker.

I was also blessed to be part (the end part) of the ladies Bible study. That is something I really miss when we aren't in one place long enough to engage in group study of God's Word.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, I did manage to squeeze in some volunteer work time. Besides helping make the harvest garland, I worked in the thrift shop organizing and keeping the book shelves in good order, did some base coats in the pottery shop, and worked in the Admin office with donor data entry (God is so amazing to put me in a place that uses the same donor data entry program that I used for the past 14 years while working for His House Christian Fellowship).

Well that pretty much gives y'all a glimpse of what our October was like. All I can say is that Bill and I thank God every night for this season of our life and what He allows us to do. We are so very blessed!

Beautiful Fall Project

So after the craziness of being back in Oshkosh for three months of family, friends & fun-filled work and play, the Lord brought us to Camp Forest Springs in northern Wisconsin where we made a wrong turn on a road leading to the camp. With nowhere to turn around, we (Bill) had to take the car off the dolly, the dolly off the motor home, do a backwards “Y” turn with the motor home, reattach the dolly and head back towards camp with Share leading the way in the car. Other than that, the trip north was great. Love Wisconsin in September…as the Lord begins to bring vibrant colors to His creation.

Hayride tour for our group to view the expanse of the camp.

One of the first things we learned about this camp was that cell and internet coverage is practically non-existent. Internet worked pretty good up at the lodge and dining hall, but calls and texts were very limited. The good news: I was able to chuckle and wonder how that would impact our three weeks here. Some good, some not so good. But we  survived! J  In fact, the last week at the camp we found, totally by accident, a spot a short ways behind the RV parking area where several trailheads met, and cell coverage was good. Here’s where I was finally able to have an uninterrupted conversation

 despite the rainy weather.

Other than the internet/cell coverage challenge, this camp is amazing. Every staff person we encountered was more than friendly and to top that off, other staff members sought us out and made it a point of introducing themselves to us, welcoming us, and thanking us for what we do. It’s not that other places have been unfriendly, it’s just that the staff at this camp goes out of their way to meet and greet us. 

I told Bill when we signed up for a Wisconsin (home state) project, I wanted to treat it like any other. I wanted to explore the area we were in as if we had never been. I can now say that I have been to the highest point in Wisconsin. The hike up the trail wasn’t too difficult but climbing the tower was a huge challenge for me. For those of you who may not know, I’m not very fond of heights and I’m quite unnerved when I have to navigate over open slats.It took awhile for my nerves to calm down and my hands steady enough to take a few pictures. But, oh so beautiful!

Being in the northwoods of Wisconsin in September is a little bit of heaven for me. Fall has always been my favorite time of year and I have missed the color changes when we’ve headed south before seeing the fall colors of Wisconsin. We hiked many trails and crossed a bog on a boardwalk…God’s creativity is unending, always surprising, and just plain gorgeous! 

Now let’s get to the work we came here to do. The guys broke into two teams as two of the guys were electricians (and camps always have special projects for skilled electricians). The other three guys did what Bill loves most to do (NOT)…and that would be painting. I’m so proud of him for his willingness to do whatever is needed, especially when its his least favorite thing to do. The good news is that there were other projects as well. After painting one of the buildings they also replaced the fascia and then they removed the concrete slabs in front of 15 cabins and installed wooden platforms with grates so that the dirt would drop off and not be carried into the cabins. What a blessing to the camp as this was something they wanted done for, I believe, five years.There were a few raining days and on one of those they got to stop painting and help dismantle the old maintenance garage to make way for a new larger one. Now what man doesn’t like to help deconstruct? Bill was real happy about that opportunity. J

The ladies were kept very busy reworking over 30 duvet covers that

were turned into bedspreads. There was ripping, cutting, ironing, sewing, pinning, more ironing, more sewing, and final ironing. I stuck with ironing. We also helped with some mailings. One of which was three pieces to over 17,000 addresses. We had help! Or should, I say, we helped them. I was most impressed with the organization and helpfulness of all the staff members doing their part.

I learned some good lessons from my fellow VMMers. My favorite is the new meaning of WAIT. It’s always been a good word especially because the Bible tells us often the importance and the blessings of waiting on God. But the “new” meaning is almost as good, particularly for me: W.A.I.T.  or Why Am I Talking? So often, I wish I had held my tongue or wondered why I felt the need to share a particular story or opinion or just my thoughts. Now I can pray this simple word, WAIT, which, hopefully, will help keep me in check. To top that off, one morning when I was having my personal devotion time, I got out my prayer journal to write down this new meaning of W.A.I.T. to cement it even more in my brain and instead of writing Why Am I Talking, the words that came out of my pen were “What Am I Thinking.” I was totally blown away by God speaking to me through my pen in this way as in recent days, God had been working in my heart to renew my mind and think less about being a poor old “sinner, saved by grace” and more about “living and acting like a saint.” I love it when God surprises me this way and really drives His Truth in such a profound way. PTL!

While we were at the camp they were hosting a Primetimers event that included a Ladies Day. All the ladies were invited to participate in any of the sessions and several of the meals. What a delight and huge blessing. Jill and Stuart Briscoe were the speakers and our ladies chose to take a day off sewing to attend Ladies Day. Great idea! Did you know that your mission field is between your own two feet? J

In addition to inviting us to take part in events and meals already planned, the camp provided lunch whether there was a group at camp or not. What hospitality…as I said earlier, the staff at this camp is unbelievable. Our last week on project our entire group was invited to a different staff members home each night for a meal. That would be ten of us. What a delight to get to know the heart and soul of this organization through meeting and talking with dedicated couples in their homes. No wonder lives get changed here at Camp Forest Springs for all eternity. One little extra note is that one of the homes we went to for dinner was a couple whose wife was in the Mentoring Ministry at Community Church in Oshkosh that I was a part of for ten years. Love how God brings people back and forth across our path as we travel this great country.

Somebody had to entertain this little guy!

Great mini golf course at the camp.

And a ski hill

And a high ropes course.

As beautiful as this camp is, we did get away and visit some of my family (on my dad’s side) as we were less than an hour away from where he grew up. Our first stop was to visit my cousin who grew up and still lives on his family farm. I remember the old farm house as if it were  yesterday as many holidays and celebrations took place on this farm. My cousin has done quite a bit of remodeling over the years and yet I was still able to see in my mind how it was in my childhood. Great memories and now a new one of this  beautiful  home. He definitely maintained the beauty of the old but really enhanced the layout and made it their own. Going through his home, reminded me of some of the historic tour of homes we have taken throughout our travels. He had stories to tell about the changes he made, the decorating, the antiques, the some really special pieces. His home is truly a work of art and love and we so appreciated him taking the time to show us. (Bill actually never saw the old, but definitely loved the new.) 

In addition to that, he took us past the home where my dad grew up; his dad was a blacksmith and had a small farm but had died before I was born. (I don’t remember seeing it before but, I’m thinking, I either just forgot or, more likely, I was too young to care. J) It was quite a family history day as we also stopped at the country church where my parents are buried as well as many others from my dad’s side including my great great grandfather.  Hadn’t  remembered ever being shown that either. It’s amazing what becomes important to you as you grow older. (Not old, just older!!!)

We were able to celebrate our anniversary in a special way this year as it happened to fall on Bull Falls Brewery Oktoberfest celebration. For those of you who don’t know, this is owned by my cousin and is located in Wausau just about an hour from Camp Forest Springs. We had a wonderful time seeing more of my dad’s side of the family and, for me, experiencing an authentic German Oktoberfest. That’s my (much older) cousin singing. J  And, here's me and my younger cousin dancing the polka. 

After all that fun, we continued on to Merrill, Wisconsin where my dancing partner cousin lives and saw collections from all over the world. He and his wife were art teachers throughout the world for most of their teaching career. So in addition to all their own artwork (pottery, paintings, fabric art, wicker plant stands) they had lots of student art decorating the walls and floors. And, then there were all the various collections from all the various countries: Thailand, Korea, Mexico, Africa. But, wait, that’s not all…they have an art studio, a German room, a think tank room, a rendezvous room (they used to do that too), and a few other rooms I can’t remember. Their home, although quite large, was cozy yet very much reminded me of an amazing museum with amazing collections.

Sometimes we’re asked if we miss having a consistent “home” church experience. Well, we love our church back in Oshkosh and miss it terribly when we are on the road, however, God is faithful in providing us with wonderful places and opportunities to worship and meet with Him and His people. This time was particularly sweet. A church in Medford (about a half hour away from us) was one we had several connections with. Not only do some of the folks from Camp Forest Springs attend there but there are several connections to this church through His House Christian Fellowship (from where I just recently retired after almost 14 years). One of our campus ministers was their much loved and former youth pastor.  A His House alumni and dear friend of ours grew up in the church and was home visiting his parents and we were able to connect with him. Plus, we got to meet several people whose names were familiar because they have been faithful supporters of His House over the years. So it didn’t feel like a strange or unfamiliar place at all…in fact, we felt right at home. I love how our God blesses us in these unique ways.

As I finish up writing this, I find myself in our second home location: French Camp MS. We left northern Wisconsin on Friday morning with a stopover in Platteville to visit some very dear friends. Parked overnight in the local Wal-Mart lot, had a lovely dinner that evening and an unbelievable breakfast the next morning. Grateful that our friends transported us back and forth even though they were hoping we would spend the night in their home. We just feel more comfortable in our own bed protecting our home from those lurking in the Wal-Mart parking lot. J The real crazy thing about this is that the outside temperature when we woke up was in the mid 30’s with the inside our rig temp at 48 degrees. The good news is, I sleep really well when I’m covered with lotsa blankets. We arrived  in French Camp early Sunday afternoon with no problem. PTL! We are so very grateful when all goes well especially on these longer trips. Happy to say, we have been greeted very warmly upon our return. We do love it here at French Camp and continue to praise the Lord for His goodness in gifting and allowing us this lifestyle. 

Until next time, be blessed and be a blessing!