Invitation to Send Off

Invitation to Send Off
Grace Community Church in Goshen wants to see us as an extension of the church and has asked if they could give us a send off. We are very excited about being on the road, yet still being a part of Grace Community Church. The send off will be June 3rd. If you can come it would be great to see you. I believe they will have a send off at each of the three services 8, 9:45 and 11:30 AM. The church is located on Indiana Avenue south of the Goshen Middle School on CR 36.
We are preparing for the trip and getting lots of loose ends tied up. Kim is doing lots of paperwork and I am getting the rig ready. We purchased a new twenty foot enclosed trailer last week and are getting it painted to match the coach this week. We have been spending time with family lately and that has been good. I have been speaking a lot lately and that has been rewarding.

Goshen Rally, Mold and Ministry

Kim and Sarah Brooks - Keith & Frank at Amish Supper

Rally in Goshen
We have a Holiday Rambler motorhome (MH) and have joined their club called the Holiday Rambler RV Club (pretty creative huh?). The club has many chapters including one called the Rambling Diesel Pushers. We joined the chapter and they have an annual event in Goshen that is a maintenance seminar. People started rolling in last week and it finished last night. I believe there were about 250 coaches and lot of people will be leaving today. One really exciting opportunity for me was that several days before the rally began we were walking around looking at people’s coaches and we stopped to talk with a lady. It turned out she was in charge of some of the planning for the rally and said the regular speaker couldn’t be here and asked if I would bring the Sunday morning message. I spoke to about 120 people Sunday morning and really enjoyed getting to know the great people here. Kim and I have never felt so welcome and accepted as we did at this rally. RV’ers are generally friendly people that enjoy conversing and getting to know others. Kim and I have about six open invitations from people in different states to visit them and hook up at their place when on our trip this next year. They want to show us around. Kim and I attended many of the seminars and gained so much knowledge. Our unit has many of the same systems of a home and there are lots of things to learn to keep things operating smoothly. I attended classes on inverters (an electrical component that converts 12 volt DC to 120 volt AC), toilets, refrigerators, air conditioners, heat pumps, leveling jacks, slide outs and many more. Kim’s highlights were the interior decorating class, two cooking classes and she took a driving class and drove a coach with an instructor. I know I’ll never get the wheel back now. Just kidding. Kim did drive about 20 miles on the way back from Alabama last week. She did fine but doesn’t really want to drive the MH much though. I can understand. It’s quite a bit to handle if you’re not used to it. Another highlight was when Kim and I went through Sarah’s MH. She taught the decorating class and has really done lots of things to make her coach feel like home. The one thing that Kim and I did to make the coach feel more like home was to go to Wal-Mart and buy a small round wooden table with screw in legs (for $5.88). We threw away the legs, placed the table on the steering wheel that tilts so the wheel is level. Then we put a tablecloth on it and a lamp. It really gives the coach a homey feel.
Mold
A few days ago we started to get a moldy smell in the coach. To make a very long story very short, after about five days we found the leak and have stopped it. It was the ice maker hose behind the refrigerator. Mold is a big enemy in a coach and I have taken steps to begin to go after it.
Since we’ve been back in Goshen we’ve been getting things around to leave in June. Grace Community Church, where we attend wants to give us a send off with prayer. Of course we welcome that. We see ourselves as an extension of the church and so does Pastor Jim. We have set a departure date of June 3rd after our church send off. We'd love to have you come and visit. Our first stop will be at Kim’s brother Matt and his wife Kim’s home in Kalkaska, MI. They are always fun to visit with and make us feel at home – and we laugh a lot.

Headed back to Indiana - Almost in an accident

Coming back from Alabama we had a real close call on 65 north. I was in the left lane with a safe distance between me and the next car. A pickup with a pickup camper towing a boat moved over in front of me in the left lane. A few seconds later we came upon an accident in the southbound lanes. It was across the median. About five cars ahead in my lane, someone decided to slow down to look at the accident. It started a chain reaction and the next thing I knew; there was tire smoke in front of me. I have antilock brakes and so I depressed the brake pedal as hard as I could. There was no way I was going to be able to stop in time to not hit the pickup pulling the boat. The right lane was not an option. Just then the guy in the pickup decided he wasn’t going to get stopped so he went to the median on the left. This gave me more stopping room, but I still wasn’t going to get stopped in time to not collide with the car ahead of me. I felt like a NASCAR driver who came through the smoke and saw the cars parting in front of him. Since the pickup went way left instead of just on the edge of the road, it opened up the apron for me. I kept the right side wheels on the asphalt apron and my left wheels were in grass in the median. I went left of the car ahead of me, missed him by a few feet and ended up beside him. We never did completely stop. We were very fortunate that no one collided. We pulled off at the next exit and so did the guy in the pickup. I thanked him for clearing the way for me and he said he felt very fortunate that no one was hurt. We were just blessed that we were all safe. The alarm install went well. We got done Saturday at 2 PM and left for home Sunday AM. We are at Taylor University tonight and took Hannah and Silas out for a meal. We plan to be back at the fairgrounds Tues mid-day.

Friday - We had a good day installing the security / fire system at the “We Care” Prison Ministry. Maurice, my father in law and I went with Ed to pick up three inmates from the correctional facility. Kenneth, an inmate helped me all day and was just great. He said “Yes Sir” after every sentence I said. Ed told me it was just a southern thing. I really liked working with Kenneth. We got all the wire run today and some of the devices placed. I don’t have some of the tools from back home that would make the job easier. Oh well, I just used my imagination to think of ways to get the work done. Kim, Judy and Maurice worked downstairs while Kenneth and I worked upstairs. Doris, Ed’s wife feeds us very well. We hope to finish tomorrow and head home Sunday.

Random Act of Kindness - Much Appreciated

We had the coolest thing happen last night. Kim’s parents Maurice & Judy are with us on our trip to Alabama and we parked the MH (motorhome) and took the Honda CRV out to find a place to eat. Trips are fun with Maurice & Judy because they are adventurous and like to try new places to eat. It all started when we asked a local guy where was a good place to eat. He said the best sea food in the area was “The Bright Star” restaurant (304 19th Street, Bessemer, AL). The restaurant was a town or two away and his directions weren’t the best so when I thought we were close we pulled in to a ritzy neighborhood and asked a lady walking her dogs and she was more helpful. The Bright Star is a great place! Jimmy, one of the owners moved us from a back room where we were seated to bring us into the 100 year old portion of the building where an artist from Europe has painted murals on the walls and explained that this was their 100th anniversary. He brought each of us a complimentary cup of gumbo and it was great. Maurice & Judy ordered an appetizer of fried green tomatoes and we each ordered something different from the menu. Everything was just great. The house dressing was garlic cheese. It was so good I asked to buy some and the waitress gave us a small cup of it.
During the meal, our waitress, “Buffy” asked what brought us to Alabama from Indiana. We told her about the new prison ministry office we were going to and that we were donating a security system. When we were done, she told us she had paid the check. We were shocked. She wouldn’t take no for an answer. We were all greatly humbled. This was no small thing for her. I’m sure the check was close to $100.00. We were splurging to eat at such a fine place. She said we were doing our part for God and she was doing her part. She also said that seeing us following our calling inspired her to follow her calling which she’d been putting off. We left a big tip and walked out very humbled. I’ve never had anything like this happen before and will never forget it. Isn’t it interesting how our kindness impacts others? Wow, what a lesson.

Alabama Bound

We hope to leave Goshen Tuesday or Wednesday of this week to head down to Alabama. Kim and I are going to donate an alarm system to a prison ministry called We Care. Here is a drawing of the new office building. "The purpose of this ministry, from its inception as New Life Foundation in 1970 and continuing in its present form as We Care Program, has been to answer the call of God to communicate His love to criminal offenders. The initial focus exclusively on incarcerated men in the state of Alabama has grown to include both men and women and has expanded into other states as well. " Check them out here. http://www.wecareprogram.org/index.html We found out about them when a friend, Anna Miller sent out a support letter because she wanted to volunteer there. She is the daughter of Neil and Emma Miller and has been involved in prison ministry there for several years now. It is in southern Alabama at a town called Atmore. It will be 838 miles each way. We will probably be gone a week or ten days. We will be taking the coach, a 20 foot enclosed trailer with our Mazda Miata and the alarm equipment we'll be installing. We want to get back to Goshen by the fifth of next month for a big RV rally. There will be 250 Holiday Rambler Diesel Pushers at the Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds where we are staying. No, we don't push diesel fuel. A diesel pusher is a motor home that has a diesel engine in the rear and therefore it is called a pusher. There will be lots of seminars, factory reps and even a driving school. We are looking forward to it.

Hobbies

Hobbies
I am an initiator and like to try new things. Once I conquer it, I like to move on and learn something new. Most hobbies have included something with an engine. Private Pilot, Powered Parachute Pilot, Motorcycles and ATV’s have been some of my hobbies. I also like to read and learn about most everything.
Kim likes to read and sometimes shop. She is a smart shopper and doesn’t spend a lot of money. Kim is an excellent wife, homemaker and mom. I have so much respect for her and appreciate her so much. We also like watching movies together. We have a stash of “Chick Flicks” that we enjoy watching.
Marriage
Kim and I just love being together –all the time – every day. In one of the books I read about full timing it said that the first thing to consider is if you get along well enough to be in a small space together every day. We’ve moved from a 3500 square foot home to a 400 square foot motorhome.