It is official. Mission RV is the name chosen for our RV. For awhile I thought it was going to be George, but a few more people voted and that was that.
Today was a day of everything. We have set up meetings, we have met with people, we did some grocery shopping, and Andrew and I tried going to the library to set up an account. Much to our dismay, they were closed due to "budgeting cuts". Okay then.
As a side note, for any other RVers out there, if you stay in an area for a decent amount of time, you can probably get at least a temporary library card at your closest library. Just use the RV park address and that should be good enough (along with driver's license and any other info they may need). Think free DVD's, books, audio CD's, and more.
I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend!! Not sure what we will be doing, but I think it will be a cookout with our "pool friends". And it will also be my birthday, so a double fun day.
Blessings!
We are now in Belem, Brazil. Come join us on our Brazilian Rowley Adventures!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Settling In
Most things have been put in A spot (there is no guarantee it will stay there...), and schooling is more or less done for the day.
Our wonderful friends invited us for dinner last night, and their daughter made an AWESOME chili. She made it with beans made from scratch, which I think is why it tasted so good! I will try to get the recipe and maybe post it.
They also have a swimming pool which the kids thoroughly enjoyed, and hope to enjoy more during the time we are here.
Update on the "Name the RV" (we were supposed to get a name by last Sunday, but due to my illness and life getting crazy, well, we extended the time). We are down to a tie on 2 names: MissionRV and George. If you have a vote, leave it in the comment area. Otherwise, may the best name win!
Just a short note for now. Don't forget to check out my Couponing tab.
Oh, also pray for us to "make the most of every opportunity" and to "not be anxious for anything, but in all things, with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make our request known to God." (Phil. 4:6)
Our wonderful friends invited us for dinner last night, and their daughter made an AWESOME chili. She made it with beans made from scratch, which I think is why it tasted so good! I will try to get the recipe and maybe post it.
They also have a swimming pool which the kids thoroughly enjoyed, and hope to enjoy more during the time we are here.
Update on the "Name the RV" (we were supposed to get a name by last Sunday, but due to my illness and life getting crazy, well, we extended the time). We are down to a tie on 2 names: MissionRV and George. If you have a vote, leave it in the comment area. Otherwise, may the best name win!
Just a short note for now. Don't forget to check out my Couponing tab.
Oh, also pray for us to "make the most of every opportunity" and to "not be anxious for anything, but in all things, with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make our request known to God." (Phil. 4:6)
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Beach Life
We made it to a favorite little out of the way RV beach spot and have enjoyed all the things it has to offer, including swarms of mosquitoes and sunburns.
I did wake up early enough to get some sunrise photos on the beach. I just about didn't since our neighbors were up til 1:30am having a "good 'ole time". So once I bravely fought my way through all the mosquitoes to get to the car, I barely made it in time to see the sun just coming up.
I would love to get a real camera. We have a Powershot and it's pretty good. But there are details and shades and shadows and colors I know it's not picking up. I also know there are techniques that I need to learn. It would be neat to get some great photos in Peru when we go in August.
I will post photos when we get some real bandwidth. I tried to upload some but I only have one bar on my Internet connection.
OK, switch gears with me for a minute. I want to make an analogy of the mosquitoes and sin. Yes, mosquitoes and sin. Sin is such an irritating and destructive thing in our lives. Kind of like mosquitoes. And you can try to kill them one by one on your own but it's impossible to get them all. And they keep coming back day after day. And some can be deadlier than others.
Enter the mosquito spray. Wa la! You spray it on and the mosquitoes are repelled by it. Much like becoming a Christian. You become a Christian and it becomes much easier to repel sin, but the sin hasn't gone away. We still live in a world surrounded by sin.
Now, Christ has guaranteed our salvation so we don't need to keep asking Him to save us daily. BUT, we do need to keep putting the bug spray on. Or in this case, "take up our cross daily".
I just thought it was an interesting comparison. It's not perfect. I thought of all kinds of flaws with it, but it made sense for that part.
Well, we hit the road again and should arrive in Fort Lauderdale this afternoon where we will stay for a little while. I'm curious to see what doors God will open and close this time. It's never boring. ;-)
Photos:
Puffed up Pufferfish, .......and when he's not puffed up ----->
I did wake up early enough to get some sunrise photos on the beach. I just about didn't since our neighbors were up til 1:30am having a "good 'ole time". So once I bravely fought my way through all the mosquitoes to get to the car, I barely made it in time to see the sun just coming up.
I would love to get a real camera. We have a Powershot and it's pretty good. But there are details and shades and shadows and colors I know it's not picking up. I also know there are techniques that I need to learn. It would be neat to get some great photos in Peru when we go in August.
I will post photos when we get some real bandwidth. I tried to upload some but I only have one bar on my Internet connection.
OK, switch gears with me for a minute. I want to make an analogy of the mosquitoes and sin. Yes, mosquitoes and sin. Sin is such an irritating and destructive thing in our lives. Kind of like mosquitoes. And you can try to kill them one by one on your own but it's impossible to get them all. And they keep coming back day after day. And some can be deadlier than others.
Enter the mosquito spray. Wa la! You spray it on and the mosquitoes are repelled by it. Much like becoming a Christian. You become a Christian and it becomes much easier to repel sin, but the sin hasn't gone away. We still live in a world surrounded by sin.
Now, Christ has guaranteed our salvation so we don't need to keep asking Him to save us daily. BUT, we do need to keep putting the bug spray on. Or in this case, "take up our cross daily".
I just thought it was an interesting comparison. It's not perfect. I thought of all kinds of flaws with it, but it made sense for that part.
Well, we hit the road again and should arrive in Fort Lauderdale this afternoon where we will stay for a little while. I'm curious to see what doors God will open and close this time. It's never boring. ;-)
Photos:
It's hard to see, but there is a puffer fish by Robert's foot (puffed up).
Puffed up Pufferfish, .......and when he's not puffed up ----->
Hermit crab, without the shell.
You can barely see it, but there's a tiny crab on Andrew's thumb.
Sunset at the inlet.
We saw plenty of pelicans.
Messing around with the camera and seeing what kind of photos I could get. Liked the rocks.
Sunrise on the beach.
The road "home".
Sunday, May 22, 2011
On the Road Again
Well, no one got left behind, although each brother is wishing we had.... And the house is decently cleaned (it's still on the market).
We are on the road again and headed to Florida for a little while. But let me catch up on the last few days since my last communique.
We had great intentions on dotting our "i"s and crossing our "t"s, so to say, with our 3 page list of things to do before we left. Everything was going pretty well until I (Becky) got a 24 hour sickness which had me as sick as a dog. I was out. Until my stomach disagreed and I argued back. The stomach won and decided to empty its contents.
Needless to say, I was delayed in cleaning and packing but somehow we were able to put it all together. The house got cleaned, things got packed, mail was put on hold (except for this week - someone is picking it up for us - and if you are reading this, THANK YOU!), and all those little details.
There were quite a few humorous moments as we frantically scrambled to our deadline. I can't recall all of them right now (something to do with getting back to normal and finally relaxing), but there was one moment today as we were so close to having everything ready (imagine an RV full of Publix bags packed with food items and who knows what not and me trying to put them in their spots before new bags came in) when Joshua looks at me and with dry humor says, "You know, our life would make a hit TV show."
I burst out laughing. He was so dead on.
If you have known us for any length of time, you know we are anything but normal. Our lifestyle is so different than the average American that if our life was filmed you'd laugh with us, cry with us, wonder why on earth we made that choice and not the other one, be exhausted from just watching us, and who knows what else.
Well, the best I can do is write a blog and provide some photos for now. Although, I am glad you don't always get to see the worst of us. And aren't we all?!
I am SO grateful for God's mercy and grace. We all fail miserably at living life perfectly. At not making the best decision. At not extending grace to others. At not submitting to God's plan. Mostly because our minds argue with what we think is right and wrong instead of seeing it through God's wisdom.
Grace. Such an incredible gift. Even though sin entered the world because of our disobedience, God had mercy and offered His grace. We can either choose to accept it or turn away.
Well, I will keep you updated as I can. I REALLY do not want to get sick again. We hope to stop at a free spot tonight and at a beach area for the next two. Kind of like a mini-vacation. I get to take pics of sunrises!! West coast was sunsets, now we are on the sunrise side (which really isn't a sunrise if we want to be technical, but then again, "earth rotations" doesn't sound as pretty).
"Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John 1:16-17
We are on the road again and headed to Florida for a little while. But let me catch up on the last few days since my last communique.
We had great intentions on dotting our "i"s and crossing our "t"s, so to say, with our 3 page list of things to do before we left. Everything was going pretty well until I (Becky) got a 24 hour sickness which had me as sick as a dog. I was out. Until my stomach disagreed and I argued back. The stomach won and decided to empty its contents.
Needless to say, I was delayed in cleaning and packing but somehow we were able to put it all together. The house got cleaned, things got packed, mail was put on hold (except for this week - someone is picking it up for us - and if you are reading this, THANK YOU!), and all those little details.
There were quite a few humorous moments as we frantically scrambled to our deadline. I can't recall all of them right now (something to do with getting back to normal and finally relaxing), but there was one moment today as we were so close to having everything ready (imagine an RV full of Publix bags packed with food items and who knows what not and me trying to put them in their spots before new bags came in) when Joshua looks at me and with dry humor says, "You know, our life would make a hit TV show."
I burst out laughing. He was so dead on.
If you have known us for any length of time, you know we are anything but normal. Our lifestyle is so different than the average American that if our life was filmed you'd laugh with us, cry with us, wonder why on earth we made that choice and not the other one, be exhausted from just watching us, and who knows what else.
Well, the best I can do is write a blog and provide some photos for now. Although, I am glad you don't always get to see the worst of us. And aren't we all?!
I am SO grateful for God's mercy and grace. We all fail miserably at living life perfectly. At not making the best decision. At not extending grace to others. At not submitting to God's plan. Mostly because our minds argue with what we think is right and wrong instead of seeing it through God's wisdom.
Grace. Such an incredible gift. Even though sin entered the world because of our disobedience, God had mercy and offered His grace. We can either choose to accept it or turn away.
Well, I will keep you updated as I can. I REALLY do not want to get sick again. We hope to stop at a free spot tonight and at a beach area for the next two. Kind of like a mini-vacation. I get to take pics of sunrises!! West coast was sunsets, now we are on the sunrise side (which really isn't a sunrise if we want to be technical, but then again, "earth rotations" doesn't sound as pretty).
"Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John 1:16-17
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Counting Down
We have begun our Florida trip count down.
Toyota is almost trip-ready.
(Our last trip we took our SUV loaded on top of the trailer. This time we will be renting a car dolly to tow the Toyota and hope for better gas mileage.) Which, by the way, we were able to get gas cards from Publix a week ago or so and only paid $40 for every $50 card. Basically it comes out to 20 cents less per gallon of whatever the current price will be. Not bad.
Mail hold and whatnot are figured out.
Fridge is starting to get emptied out (which has made for some interesting meals...).
RV spot(s) have been reserved. We are "splurging" on a couple days at a fun spot we found off the beach in FL on the trip down. I get to see ocean sunrises!!!
I could go on and on and I am sure some of this stuff you wouldn't have thought about having to do. Things are a little different when you will be away from your home for longer than the usual few days to weeks. LOTS of things to think about and do. At times you feel like you have a split personality!
SO, to commemorate I have updated the blog (did you notice the new tabs? Check 'em out) AND I would like to have a poll to come up with a "name" for our RV!
Here's what I would like to do.
I will make a poll from the first 5 name suggestions I get. Leave a comment with your name suggestion for our RV in the comment area below and come back to vote once I get the poll up. Poll will close Sunday afternoon and the winner announced. (At least that is the plan.)
SO, get your brain juices flowing, be creative, and may the best name win!
Here's a few photos of our RV to help you out.
We will be leaving for Fort Lauderdale this Sunday. And Bill has created a 3 page "Before We Go" check list. Hmmm.... We will see how much gets done. I'm just hoping we don't leave anyone behind! And hopefully leave a clean house.
Hair cuts are done.
Mail hold and whatnot are figured out.
Fridge is starting to get emptied out (which has made for some interesting meals...).
RV spot(s) have been reserved. We are "splurging" on a couple days at a fun spot we found off the beach in FL on the trip down. I get to see ocean sunrises!!!
I could go on and on and I am sure some of this stuff you wouldn't have thought about having to do. Things are a little different when you will be away from your home for longer than the usual few days to weeks. LOTS of things to think about and do. At times you feel like you have a split personality!
SO, to commemorate I have updated the blog (did you notice the new tabs? Check 'em out) AND I would like to have a poll to come up with a "name" for our RV!
Here's what I would like to do.
I will make a poll from the first 5 name suggestions I get. Leave a comment with your name suggestion for our RV in the comment area below and come back to vote once I get the poll up. Poll will close Sunday afternoon and the winner announced. (At least that is the plan.)
SO, get your brain juices flowing, be creative, and may the best name win!
Here's a few photos of our RV to help you out.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Up and Coming
The 21st Century has brought a LOT of things into our lives. Technology has just exploded beyond anything I could have ever imagined. Shoot, I'm still trying to figure out how sound waves work, or the telegraph, or a sonic boom, or even a camera! Advance several years to now and the Internet is all the rage.
And I plan on taking advantage of it!
What an amazing communication device. Thank you military for creating the backbone of what we now call the Internet. By the way, or in today's Internet language, "btw", did you know (probably "dyk") that just about half the things we have today is due to the military? Yep, including duct tape. It was invented to keep moisture out of ammunition cases back in the 1940's. Check it out: http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/ducttape.htm
This is going to be one of those interesting blogs. You can tell already, huh? The fact that we are a homeschooling, mission-minded, been-through-all-kinds-of-things, recently-recovering-from-sickness-and-ALstorms kind of people may just have something to do with it.
So, let's get you caught up on what's been going on since my last blog. Which happened to be one month from the tornado storms that ripped through Alabama. By God's grace, we were not affected. We were about 10 miles from a tornado that went through the area Bill used to work in at Cahaba Heights. The other areas affected are a bit farther away, but we continue to see relief effort signs everywhere. In fact, our Cub scout pack will be having a car wash this coming Saturday, May 14 at the Advanced Auto off Hwy 280 in Chelsea, AL from 9am-2pm. So come out if you're in the area!
Since we've been back from Texas, we've been trying to clean a few more things around the home and in the garage. It's just a constant process. Also, we've had a few people come through and look at our house which is still on the market. However, we are trying to get a home loan modification which would allow us to stay. I'm hoping we qualify!
We also had several storms come close. For awhile there I thought the sirens would never stop. The first set of storms was about 2 weeks before the big ones on April 27. We did get tornado like winds from that. In fact, I believe a tornado did come pretty close that time but again we were spared. After that they just came every few days and our basement became "home base" for awhile.
The Wednesday after April 27, sirens went off at 10am and it was a clear, beautiful day. Due to the "Pavlov" effect from the earlier sirens, I began panicking until I realized it was their first Wed. of every month siren drill. The relief was enormous!
That following Sunday afternoon, I started feeling sick: sore throat, some nausea, and possible low-grade fever. Sure enough, it bloomed into a nice, fully exaggerated cold of sorts. By Wed I was out cold. Well, I had a cold, and I was out. But I wasn't out in the cold. That sounds like, "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?" And you wonder why people have a hard time understanding the English language?!
I'm just about out of my cold now though. Moving forward....
So, that just about catches you up to speed. One thing I didn't mention was we were able to have a ministry presentation at our church about Believer's Bridge. We created some videos which really help give a little more background to the purpose of our ministry. I will attempt to embed them in this blog. Which brings me back to our original thought.
I've been having fun trying to get up to speed on the latest and greatest, up and coming blog techniques. So, you may see some changes to the blog in the near future. Hopefully some good ones. To start off with, something you can do right now that I had no idea you could do is just add "/view" to the end of rowleybb.blogspot.com. From there you can pick a view in which to see the blog. It's kind of fun.
The other "up and coming" thing, which really is coming up, is our Florida trip. (Did you catch that? Pretty snazzy, huh? It comes from years of living with Bill...and those that know him understand.) We will be leaving in about a week + for at least a month-long stay in our RV. Speaking of, we should create a name for RV. Something like the "Rowleymobile", but better. Maybe we'll have a "Name the Rowley RV" contest. Stay tuned.
Well, keep up your prayers for us and the ministry. We have been encouraged by folks who not only support us financially, but have a genuine interest in the place that God has placed us "for such a time as this". It takes a village to mobilize a ministry, and hearts of understanding and grace to propel them forward.
"I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people." Philemon 1:4-7
And I plan on taking advantage of it!
What an amazing communication device. Thank you military for creating the backbone of what we now call the Internet. By the way, or in today's Internet language, "btw", did you know (probably "dyk") that just about half the things we have today is due to the military? Yep, including duct tape. It was invented to keep moisture out of ammunition cases back in the 1940's. Check it out: http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/ducttape.htm
This is going to be one of those interesting blogs. You can tell already, huh? The fact that we are a homeschooling, mission-minded, been-through-all-kinds-of-things, recently-recovering-from-sickness-and-ALstorms kind of people may just have something to do with it.
So, let's get you caught up on what's been going on since my last blog. Which happened to be one month from the tornado storms that ripped through Alabama. By God's grace, we were not affected. We were about 10 miles from a tornado that went through the area Bill used to work in at Cahaba Heights. The other areas affected are a bit farther away, but we continue to see relief effort signs everywhere. In fact, our Cub scout pack will be having a car wash this coming Saturday, May 14 at the Advanced Auto off Hwy 280 in Chelsea, AL from 9am-2pm. So come out if you're in the area!
Since we've been back from Texas, we've been trying to clean a few more things around the home and in the garage. It's just a constant process. Also, we've had a few people come through and look at our house which is still on the market. However, we are trying to get a home loan modification which would allow us to stay. I'm hoping we qualify!
We also had several storms come close. For awhile there I thought the sirens would never stop. The first set of storms was about 2 weeks before the big ones on April 27. We did get tornado like winds from that. In fact, I believe a tornado did come pretty close that time but again we were spared. After that they just came every few days and our basement became "home base" for awhile.
The Wednesday after April 27, sirens went off at 10am and it was a clear, beautiful day. Due to the "Pavlov" effect from the earlier sirens, I began panicking until I realized it was their first Wed. of every month siren drill. The relief was enormous!
That following Sunday afternoon, I started feeling sick: sore throat, some nausea, and possible low-grade fever. Sure enough, it bloomed into a nice, fully exaggerated cold of sorts. By Wed I was out cold. Well, I had a cold, and I was out. But I wasn't out in the cold. That sounds like, "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?" And you wonder why people have a hard time understanding the English language?!
I'm just about out of my cold now though. Moving forward....
So, that just about catches you up to speed. One thing I didn't mention was we were able to have a ministry presentation at our church about Believer's Bridge. We created some videos which really help give a little more background to the purpose of our ministry. I will attempt to embed them in this blog. Which brings me back to our original thought.
I've been having fun trying to get up to speed on the latest and greatest, up and coming blog techniques. So, you may see some changes to the blog in the near future. Hopefully some good ones. To start off with, something you can do right now that I had no idea you could do is just add "/view" to the end of rowleybb.blogspot.com. From there you can pick a view in which to see the blog. It's kind of fun.
The other "up and coming" thing, which really is coming up, is our Florida trip. (Did you catch that? Pretty snazzy, huh? It comes from years of living with Bill...and those that know him understand.) We will be leaving in about a week + for at least a month-long stay in our RV. Speaking of, we should create a name for RV. Something like the "Rowleymobile", but better. Maybe we'll have a "Name the Rowley RV" contest. Stay tuned.
Well, keep up your prayers for us and the ministry. We have been encouraged by folks who not only support us financially, but have a genuine interest in the place that God has placed us "for such a time as this". It takes a village to mobilize a ministry, and hearts of understanding and grace to propel them forward.
"I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people." Philemon 1:4-7
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