EASTBOUND AND DOWN

Do you know the song? Do you know the movie? Yup – “Eastbound and Down” by Jerry Reid from “Smokey and the Bandit” starring Burt Reynolds and Sally Fields.  (For those folks that don’t know it, link to www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHZJej98_T0  ) 

However, we’re changing the words to “Southbound and Down”:

Southbound and down – Loaded up and truckin’. We gonna do what they say can’t be done. We got a long way to go and a short time to get there. We’re southbound – just watch ol’ Bandit run.

We’re heading southbound to Arizona tomorrow. The summer season for us is coming to an end. We finished up our last MMAP project at Warm Beach Christian Camp in Stanwood, WA on August 22nd then came to Tacoma to visit our daughter and her family and connect with old friends in the area. Now we are headed south with stops at The Dalles, Oregon for a couple of days to visit with our friend Vonda. From there we’re going to spend 4 days in the Bend/Sun River Oregon area doing a little sight-seeing, then on to Grass Valley, California to spend a couple of weeks with our son Eric and his family. From there we’ll head to Arizona via Reno and south through the desert with a stop in Henderson, Nevada to visit with Jerry and Mary Ellen (our other MMAP friends), and a final stop in Kingman, Arizona to see our friends Sam and Mary. From Kingman it will be a quick one day sprint to Sun City. 

But the trip won’t end there! As soon as we get home (hopefully by September 28^th or 29^th) we’ll off load all the necessary items from the rig, take it to storage for a temporary stay, then repack our car and head to Ontario, California for my 49^th high school reunion. We’ll be there from October 2^nd to the 5^th then drive back to Sun City so we can get the rig and finish unpacking it. All in all we will travel 2263 more miles before we are back home for the rest of the winter.

Thinking about the entire trip - the things we have to do and the miles we have to travel - I am OVERWHELMED. I can feel my anxiety levels mounting, and my “worry meter” starting to rise. But wait…..doesn’t the Bible say: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ  Jesus.” (Philippians 4: 6-7)

How about looking at the trip in one day increments. From here to Vonda’s is 224 miles – an easy day’s drive. On to Bend is only 152 miles – and four nights to rest before we’re off again. It is a longer 402 miles from Bend to Eric’s – but we’ll make an overnight stop in Redding, CA (251 miles from Bend) and drive the other 151 miles the next day….simple! Anyway, you get the picture. If we embrace this trip one day at a time, it looks a lot less formidable. Whoa, I can feel the anxiety levels dropping measurably.

For those of you that  have followed our travels over the years, you know full well that each mile of our journey has not been trouble-free…..however, we do know that God has gotten us through a whole lot of difficulties. So, why should I go back to the worry mode? Will my worrying make the trip trouble free? 

Duh….of course not. Where is it written that our journey through life is trouble free? Each of us has troubles – vehicle breakdowns, financial concerns, physical problems, relationship issues, job disputes…..pick one (or more!) You know what I’m talking about. But if we approach any of these matters in prayer, presenting our requests for solutions to God, what’s the promise? PEACE… peace that surpasses our understanding!

We need to not get overwhelmed with life’s entire “trip.” We need to take life’s challenges in short sections – one day at a time.  I guarantee you’ll understand the “thanksgiving” part of the verse too. You can get through your life’s journey with peace and thanksgiving if you trust in God’s protection. Look for the positive things along the way. Try it – you may start to even enjoy the trip.

We’re gonna do what they say can’t be done!

****************************************************

For those of you that enjoy our pictures, following are some from the MMAP project we just finished, some from the outings we took with our MMAP friends while in Stanwood and some of friends and family:

The project at Warm Beach was a delight. No one cut off a finger or ended up in the hospital (sorry, Sam… don’t mean to be rude….just sayin’!) and the work we completed was beneficial for the camp. We  all felt like we’d accomplished some good things. It was Jim’s first full project of being a coordinator and he did a fantastic job. This was our second time working at Warm Beach. We were there in May last year. It’s a beautiful setting and a terrific camp that offers numerous programs to kids, adults and families.  (www.warmbeach.com )

 

We worked with three other MMAP couples – Bill & Shirley, Dale & Margie and Kerry & Judy.

Bill and Shirley are old friends. We’ve been on two other projects with them. They live in Port Ludlow, Washington, not too far from the camp. Bill is a retired carpenter and just had his 81^st birthday while we were on project.  

Dale and Margie live in Texas. They have been in MMAP since 2009 and have done several projects in the eastern part of the country. They wanted to see the west coast, so this was their first project in Washington.  We really enjoyed working with them and hope to visit them in Texas if we ever get to that part of the country on a project.  The third couple, Kerry and Judy are directors for MMAP. They are full-time RVers and were on their way to their property in eastern Oregon after finishing up their time working at the MMAP headquarters office in Calamesa, California. However, when they heard we were in need of workers on this project, they graciously took a detour to come help. 

 The men had one project…..PAINTING (Jim’s favorite thing to do….NOT!) The camp’s Program Center, a very large building was in serious need of an outside paint update. It took the four men all three weeks to complete the job. Dale and Bill really did a lot of work – but also took time to kid around! Kerry was a hard worker too….nice to see that a “director” can get in the trenches with the troops. (Just kidding!)

Anyone knows that the best part of painting is doing the trim….again NOT!! 

But Jim did a great job.

The camp had a variety of jobs for us ladies. We worked with another group of ladies from another volunteer organization called SOWERS. All of us cleaned two of the camp houses. We also worked by ourselves cleaning an old RV at the camp, washing the windows in the dining hall and helping with a mailing and putting together the catalog for the camp auction. Judy and Shirley also took a day to help the guys paint.

Warm Beach has many activities for campers- the standard horseback riding, hiking, games, etc. that other camps offer. But they also have a train ride for many of the special needs campers. This train is one the camp uses in the winter during their special “Lights of Christmas” program for the community. (Check out that program if you link to the camp’s web site. We’ve never seen it, but understand it is a spectacular outreach to people during the Christmas season.)

A very special thing happened when we were invited to the outdoor chapel service for the Special Friends Day Camp. (Last year you may remember that one of the jobs our MMAP men completed was seating for this outside meeting place.  The men built benches that allowed wheel chair access and suitable seating for people with special physical needs.) During this chapel service, the lady in charge of the campers introduced all of us to them and explained to the campers that we were the people responsible for the seating. It touched our hearts to see how appreciative these special folks were.

 

 

MMAP projects are not “all work and no play”! No project would be complete without some weekend outings with our fellow MMAPers. This one was not an exception. One weekend we all took a scenic drive up to Mt. Baker. 

The following weekend after church we all went to the little tourist town of La Conner for brunch at the Calico Cupboard, a little sightseeing, and then made the “necessary” stop on the way back at the Snow Goose Produce Stand for their famous ice cream cones.

We also continued to have a great time visiting friends and family in the Tacoma area, but failed to take pictures. I did get some video one weekend while visiting our daughter – it’s of me and her and Scott and one of their friends son riding the neighbor’s grass sleds. I also took a picture on opening day of football season – it’s of the flag that flies outside their home. For those of you who are not Seattle Seahawk fans, it’s the 12^th man flag. Jim also celebrated the day by watching the game in his newly acquired Russell Wilson t-shirt.

Until next time when we update our trip back to Arizona and my 49^th reunion – remember to be anxious for nothing. It really makes life so much more enjoyable!