Our First Week of Volunteering Has Been Awesome! (Details Here)
Camp of the Hills in Marble Falls, Texas, is pretty cool. 😎
We just finished our first week of work at our Roving Volunteers in Christ’s Service volunteer assignment, and it’s been great! It always feels good to give back in our retirement years. We are a small group of five, but we are mighty. Without leaders, Tommy and I have volunteered to be liaisons. I have to admit that having leaders to turn to for questions and instruction makes things go more smoothly, but we’re doing okay.
We worked with Bill and Sandy in Palacios, Texas, in February and enjoyed their company so much that we signed up for this project when we saw they were on it. This is our first time meeting and working with Bestie, and she is the perfect fit for our little group. She has many talents and is a hard worker. Sandy and I told her that she needed to be our leader. She isn’t interested in the job and keeps telling me I’m in charge when I ask her questions. We laugh and find a lot of joy in our work together.
The camp is large and spread out. If you’ve read many of my posts, you know that I get lost easily. I’m proud to say that I haven’t gotten lost once. There are plenty of hills and paths to keep me in shape here. There are three crosses at the top of one, where they enact Jesus’ crucifixion every Easter. The tomb with the large bolder in front of it is very realistic. I imagine the Easter service is spiritually powerful.
The folks who work at the camp are friendly and helpful. We joined our go-to guy, Landon, and his lovely family at his church on Sunday and followed it up with a tasty lunch. The service was excellent, with a compelling message encouraging parishioners to get out and vote using wisdom from scripture. The pastor never told us who to vote for. He did a deep dive into the issues that should concern Christians and talked about the importance of the votes of God’s people. It was the message I’d been looking for in a church.
Afterward, we met Landon’s family at a Mexican restaurant. We were amazed by how well-behaved four children under the age of four were. We enjoyed a tasty meal with excellent service and had plenty of leftovers to take home.
The first day of work on a new project is always chaotic as we try to get the lay of the land and determine which projects to work on. There is enough work here for a crew four times our size, but I know we’ll put a good dent in the projects before we leave.
We, ladies, painted shelving in the massive kitchen, painted an office wall, pressure-washed and stained five rocking chairs, and washed, sorted, and rolled hundreds of t-shirts. Bestsie pressure-washed the railings on the deck outside the dining room; we will stain them next week. I’m glad she had headphones because that puppy is loud! While staining the rockers, I had my earbuds on, listening to worship music on Pandora. I had to turn my phone’s volume up as loudly as possible.
It feels like we haven’t made a dent in the stacks of T-shirts that need to be washed and sorted. One of the neatest things about this camp is that it serves underprivileged kids. The kids who come here can’t afford to go to summer camp. They are foster children and those from poor families.
Donations cover all of their expenses. They get a lot of clothes donated, and they try to send the kids home with more than they arrived with. The mountain of clothes and bedding donated would blow your mind. We’re only here for two more weeks, and I’d be thrilled to get the piles down to knee-high.
I finally got some pictures of the guys today when they were working in the shop, and we ladies were working in the nearby laundry. Tommy and Bill have a lot to accomplish. They work great together.
I can’t express how fulfilling it is to volunteer with RVICS. There is a need for more of us. Many projects have been canceled because there aren’t enough participants. We are only the second couple to work as liaisons because there aren’t enough leaders. Our little group works out pretty well, but it’s more manageable and more organized when we work with leaders who have been through the training.
If you are wondering why Tommy and I don’t become leaders, it’s simple. Tommy says he’d have to tell people like him what to do, and he doesn’t want to. After running a bar and grill for over twenty-two years and telling a lot of people what they should be doing, I just want to be pointed in the direction I’m supposed to go.
Are you looking for purpose in your retirement years? Do you want to live longer by doing something physical instead of melting into your recliner and letting your body atrophy? Consider becoming an RVICS volunteer. There are projects all over the country, from California to Florida. We’ve done projects in Florida, Nebraska, and three in Texas. Next year, we’re doing one in Montana in July and Idaho in September. I’m sure we’ll add another Texas project to the list.
Thanks for coming along. Stay tuned for more camp adventures. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about RVICS or the camps they contribute to. I’d love to share our experiences with you.
God bless you, and God bless America. 2025 is going to be epic! Â