In Need of Inspiration

Many of you have asked when I would begin blogging again. I’ve been in need of inspiration and I’m happy to report that inspiration is brewing.

An overnight near Waco made a visit to the Magnolia silos possible. I called my decorator friend, Susan, to tell her I was in her happy place. With a couple more one-night campground visits, we landed at our first SOWER project in Palacios, TX on January 6^th. 

How would I describe Palacios you ask? One word. FLAT. Thankfully, the Texas Baptist Encampment where we served with SOWERs was on the Tres Palacios Bay affording visual relief from the flat terrain. When planning this trip, Skip was emphatic that we would be experiencing the Gulf Coast. We were right on the coast. We enjoyed weekend excursions to see more of the Gulf, including Galveston, as well as Port Aransas and Corpus Christi. We celebrated the lunar new year at the local Vietnamese Catholic Church with other SOWERs and with most of the population of Palacios. As with all SOWER projects, we enjoyed working side by side with people eager to serve God’s kingdom.

We completed our three-week project in Palacios, packed our bags, and headed to the Houston airport. We flew to Sarasota, Florida, to enjoy four glorious days with Erik and his lovely wife, Haley. Oh, what joy! We returned to the rig, packed up, and moved a couple of hours north.

For our February project, we served at Tejas, a marvelous Christian camp and retreat center just south of Giddings, TX. The property was expansive, nestled amongst family ranches in rolling hills. The RV parking at Tejas was adjacent to a neighbor’s ranch. We could see cattle grazing nearby. I enjoyed hiking the country roads, especially one private road that carved a path through loblolly pines. We worked with a delightful group of SOWERs.

Weekend excursions have included visits to local painted churches, the Bullock Texas History Museum as well as three presidential libraries: George H. W. Bush in College Station, LBJ in Austin, and George W. Bush in Dallas. Stepping back into the time period when each served as president has been fascinating. The weight of the presidency was palpable as we watched the videos that portrayed the challenges each faced, especially revisiting the Vietnam War and September 11th.

We are now serving at the Riverbend Retreat near Glen Rose, TX, perched atop a bluff overlooking a bend in the Brazos River. Hiking trails abound here, with dramatic vistas across a deep ravine down to the river and across to the opposing ridge. Notably, Glen Rose is renowned for the discovery of dinosaur tracks in the surrounding hills and creeks. When the creek beds are dry, giant dinosaur tracks are clearly evident.

Many of you have asked what work we are doing with SOWERs. Here’s a sample. Skip: sheet-rocking, taping, fixing guest room fans, and framing and wiring a pool pump house. Anne: inventory of all cleaning supplies, wiping down and repairing bunk bed mattresses, draining water heaters, scrubbing teak chairs, scraping paint, painting, staining, and folding laundry.

As a finale to this post, here’s a bit of recent inspiration. The Fossil Rim Safari here in Glen Rose was a fun excursion this past weekend. Driving 15 mph on a winding road on an expansive property for 7.5 miles, we saw God’s creativity on full display in numerous species of four-legged mammals, including: blackbuck, aoudad, cheetah, Arabian oryx, common waterbuck, dama gazelle, fallow deer, gemsbok, giraffe and zebra. Here are a few pictures from our adventure. I loved the variety of antlers / horns.

We will finish our SOWER work in a few days, relax for the weekend, then prepare for our adventure. My next post will be written when we have visited San Antonio. Hope you’ll come along for the ride!