KEEPING TRACK OF ERWIN & GAIL: December 2014

I’m sitting here trying to find a way to tell you all about the things that have happened to, with and for us since I last blogged, without it sounding like I’m bragging about being someplace somewhat warmer than most of you are on this, the day before Christmas. I don’t want it to sound like, as someone suggested, Blah… Blah… Blah, we’re here in the warm shirt sleeve weather and the snowless driveways and you’re not, so get over it, like suck it up princess, play the cards you’re dealt. No, no, I don’t want it to sound like that at all, but, I just want to explain, never in our wildest dreams would we have ever dared to imagine a year in our lives like the one our mighty God has laid out before us. 2014 will be a year we will not soon forget, and that’s a lot to say, since we are both approaching that age when forgetfulness is often a fact of life. So, now having bragged about our life on the road and before you quit reading in sheer disgust, let me tell you what has happened since we last bragged, I mean blogged.

The fourth week at the Gleanings we spent filling, leveling and forming the basketball court. We were slowed up by some much needed rain and the amount of help available was limited, but, with the help of my awesome wife and a couple of other wonderful volunteers, we managed to get it all ready with the rebar in place before the week was over. The following week our concreate specialist and his boys were back and with all the help we could muster up we poured the first half on Monday morning and the second half on Tuesday. They were real long days for the finishers but when all was done it turned out to be a super job and a job well done. We striped off all the forms, cleaned up the area on Wednesday and got ready to make our escape.

Thursday morning right after breakfast everyone gathered around us and prayed us off and we headed to Las Vegas. No, no not to gamble, although just going there could be a bit of a gamble. We camped at a KOA camp ground next to a casino, now let me tell you, if you are anywhere in Las Vegas, you are next to a casino. Four of our children and two grandsons met us there for an awesome buffet meal in the casino and the next day we all spent time on the “strip” where we had an awesome kind of pre-Christmas day together, including a gift exchange. We said our good byes and the next day we moved out to Mead Lake where we spent a week camped. We saw some awesome sights like, The Hoover Dam, the Valley of Fire, the Red Rock Canyon and the Davis Dam. We walked on the old railroad trail that was built to haul material to build the Hoover Dam, with its tunnels and its awesome views, especially the views of Mead Lake, the lake formed by the dam.

Saturday morning we moved from there to Yuma, where we are right now, and set-up camp at an RV resort called the Arizona Sands. The first night, we went to the annual Christmas bonfire and met many of the guests here, including many Canadians. We have seen many of the sights around Yuma and made a trip into a small town just across the border in Mexico and bought a poncho, the price was a hundred US dollars but after all the dickering, I bought it for $15. The lady explained that her children were going to have to starve because of my cheap-skatedness, but because it was Christmas she would forgive me. We bought a couple of other things we didn’t need, far below the asking price, just because we had the power to starve children. J It was probably the least expensive sightseeing trip we have made up to this point. We have several other points of interest to visit before we pull out of here on Saturday. Tomorrow we have signed up for Christmas potluck dinner with the other guests and staff of the resort and that will be the extent of one of our few Christmases away from our children or a place we call home.

Now, let me tell you some of what the near future has in store for us. As I have said before, planning is something we have tried to avoid doing too much of during this time away from time, but we stepped out in sheer courage and made some plans. We had been invited to volunteer at a Christian retreat centre in Florida and planned to make a slow trip across the south of this great nation, taking in some of the sites along the way and enjoying the warm weather as we travelled. But alas, “mighty are the plans of man”, due to some delays in communication, the RV sites at the place were all booked up and there we were, with a good plan and no place to put it into action. So, without suggesting that we are making plans,it appears that we may head back to the Gleanings for the Hungry before we make our slow trip East. Don’t hold me to that and if it should change, or even if it doesn’t, I will keep you posted.

If there is a chance anyone of you should not be able to avoid reading this blog, would you drop me a line and let me know what you think, good or not so good, so I know I’m not just talking to the wind.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! God Bless. With love

Erwin & Gail