Book Sorting - & Outings

There is no end to the books here that need to be unboxed, sorted, and repackaged to go around the world, including to the ships Logos Hope and Doulos Hope. Books open many doors, and the ships can get into countries that are otherwise not open. Several countries also get books from here for their Christian bookstores. Containers are filled and shipped.

Once on month on Saturday, the warehouse is open to anyone in the community who wants to come and help sort books. This was that day. We went in for an hour and then friends Joye and Steve picked us up to go shopping. We started at a farmer’s market. Such good looking fruit and veggies so early in the year! With limited fridge space we didn’t do much buying, but it was a beautiful day to be out and about.

From there we went to Lidl’s – a German based grocery store company. We saw the bin for German bread, but it was empty! However, there were plenty of German chocolates, so we stocked up. You can never have too many of those. And the seeded loaf of bread was also tempting – and has not disappointed us! Roger also found his favorite chocolate covered Expresso beans...just like Trader Joe's. 

Today we are being picked up for church and then Joye and Steve will join us for dinner in the R.V. It’s fun to entertain in our “little house”.

2 more days of book sorting and we’ll be on our way, heading north.

Arrived at OM

Easter Monday meant that OM (Operation Mobilization) was closed, so we took out time leaving cousins Jim & Nancy. The day was beautiful – sunny and warm – and we were not in a hurry. The roads have been very good; the wind has died down; life is good!!

We were glad traffic was light, as we have been driving through a lot of mountains – the Ozarks, the Appalachians, and the (Smoky) Blue Ridge Mountains. The roads are lined with trees – deciduous, evergreens and flowering ones of various colors – pink, yellow and white, changing, it seems, with the State!

One project was shopping enough for the week we plan to park at OM.

Tuesday we pulled into OM and parked at the R.V. spot that we know so well. We enjoy volunteering here and it’s good to be back. Friends welcomed us.

Resurrection Sunday

Although there was a 5:45 a.m. sunrise service, Roger decided that was just a little too early. So we went to the 7 a.m. service at a Church of Christ gathering. We were outside in the inner courtyard of a very large church. It was wonderful to be able to sing along with most of the songs – without any accompaniment! (They don’t use instruments in worship.) Then we were invited to their breakfast. The people were gracious and friendly.

From there we drove a couple of miles to the HillcrestBaptist Church, arriving in time for Sunday School. At 10:30, a large choir presented an Easter cantata, which was the reason we attended Hillcrest! Again, people were very welcoming.

We had lunch in the R.V. in the church parking lot, and played our weekly Scrabble game. From there it was an hour drive to Roger’s cousins, Jim & Nancy. 

It’s the first time we visited them in TN. They recently moved from IL, where we always spent a night! Their new place has a large, green backyard sloping upwards. The cardinals really like it here!!! So good to have family that loves the Lord. One daughter is still home. The sun shone all day, although it didn’t warm up too much! Heather was able to teach on Zoom thanks to their internet.

We slept well.

"Silent" Saturday

The generator worked great again – that means it not only runs, but also delivers electricity! – so we had breakfast/coffee in the R.V. The sun shone bright! The wind blew lustily…

At 11 Heather had to check into a meeting, so we tried for McDonald’s internet in Paducah, KY. They didn’t have open WIFI, so we moved to Tractor Supply. Theirs was great!

Leaving town, the R.V. acted up again. This time, the transmission dis-engaged. Steering and brakes worked, but not the gas pedal! We coasted to the side of the road and turned off the ignition. Once restarted, all was well. Every day we are exposed to “new” issues, but so far none have been deadly or even too permanent.

In the afternoon we took a break and stopped by Grand Rivers, KY. It's a tourist destination with lots of shops and eateries.

A Love’s truck stop welcomed us for the night and we slept well.

Good Friday

Good Friday – by late morning we were ready to pull out of CEF’s wonderful R.V. park and move on. Driving was pleasant – even the wind was tamed!

There is a super museum near St. Louis – trains, cars & all transportation. We spent hours visiting there – and can highly recommend it! Your ticket includes a ride on the street car. The famous “Big Ben” (largest ever locomotive) is there, as well as the largest ever built train tanker. Lots of “only” or “firsts”.  While in their parking lot, we had lunch in the R.V.

Heather wanted to attend a Good Friday service, so once we were on the road again, Roger got out his phone to find a church with a service. Mt. Vernon Central Christian Church had one at 6 p.m. We were right on time – but we had no idea it was so large! About 1000 people, and they were planning 4 more services – one Saturday evening, and 3 on Sunday. The preaching was right on, but, of course, the contemporary music style didn't appeal to us!

 They did sing 2 songs we recognizoed. The entire service was scripted, so it was all Resurrection Sunday focused – not Good Friday – since they do the same service all 3 days.

A few miles from the church, we found an excellent parking space for the night – at a Love’s truck stop.

The R.V. has had multiple random issues – sporadic things – so we didn’t use the lights once parked. The generator is one of those and it didn’t work right then. However, we were right beside a bright parking lot light, enough to play Skip-bo! It worked out well. & we slept well.

CEF HQs in Warrenton, MO

We arrived and got the R.V. hooked up Sunday afternoon. With weak internet, Heather had to move into the building to teach on Zoom.

Monday morning Roger was assigned to work in buildings and grounds while Heather worked in housekeeping. It was great to reconnect with Alexa, a neighbor from home who grew up in our Good News Clubs, who is now studying at the Children's Ministry Institute (CMI) training. She’s doing well.

Tuesday Heather was moved to DCC – Digital Communications Center – to do data input. That was very interesting because they are “harvesting” ideas from past magazines for possible electronic recycling. Heather’s job was to summarize and input key search  words that would help someone looking for information on a given topic. Roger has worked on various things - plumbing, sheet rock, raking leaves, etc. He likes working outside, so that was the fun part.

On Wednesday it was back to housekeeping, and Thursday to DCC. So, variety is the spice of life! 

Tuesday and Wednesday evenings were too windy to have a campfire like we like to do, but Thursday evening was just right for the fire. So as soon as Heather finished teaching her Zoom Good News Club we enjoyed a fire. It was our final day at CEF as they are closed on Good Friday. 

When we first arrived here the weather was great, but we had very turbulent wind on Tuesday night. There were tornado warnings; the R.V. rocked violently and branches came down on the roof. However, no damage and we slept well! The rain was also heavy during the night and continued in the morning. We used our umbrellas to get to work on Wednesday morning. 

We attended Worship On Wednesday (WOW) which was conducted by the young people attending CMI. They reviewed the 7 last words of Christ on the cross. What a great price Jesus paid for our salvation. That is what motivates us to continue serving. And it's inspiring to have the youth taking up the torch.