AH! August in South Dakota

We have finished another project month here at Sunshine Bible Academy and boy did we get some things done.  We had a great crew here and we are thankful we didn't have any serious injuries with the work we had to do.

                                    

Here we have the August crew, ready to go to work.



We have some more work to finish the painting on the bleachers---

 

---and the crew dug in to complete them in the cool and wet morning.

 

Then the ladies moved into the wood shop to finish up some painting.

 

See this steel Behlen building.  Between the bolts is 41 inches and the window is 48 inches wide so we must take out two sections of steel wall (plus the sheet rock wall inside) in order to add a 48 inch window.

 

And here it is. 

 

Then there is the repair of the sheet rock in the inside---

 

---and the finishing touch by the ladies.

AAAAHHHH!  Sower break time a time to regroup and have a snack and cup of coffee or tea.

There are a few ceiling tiles in the boys dorm that need to be replaced.

 

 

The concrete is poured and the guys have put the new benches together.  The dirt pile is the 4th of 11 semi loads needed to level the sight.

Time to stand the new poles.  The two outside poles are 30 feet tall and the center one will be 35 feet tall.

In the middle of it all, Billie has the opportunity to meet her friend Dee for lunch in Redfield.

Well, the blue mower is out of commission and now this one has blown a belt.  It has to be fixed or we will be faced with mowing 30 acres with a 21 inch push mower.

Since the old music room is becoming the art room, the music awards need to be moved to the hallway outside the new music room.

With the painting done the ladies can concentrate on preparing vegetables for the students.

The poles are up, the flags have been raised and the 11 loads of dirt have been leveled.

 

The view of the front of the school is great with the new flag poles in place.

 

Night time brings on the lights which were installed on top of the poles.  They are powered by solar cells and batteries. 

With that all done we bid you a good night with this spectacular moon shot.

God bless you all.

 

 

 

This has been a long two and a half months!

It has been a very long time since we have posted any updates for you.  We were not sitting on our hands or snoozing, we have been running.  To begin the tale we were sitting in our home at Camp Barnabas one evening when the lightning struck near enough that we heard it and saw it at exactly the same time.  You know your too close when that happens.  We lost our satellite receiver and radio.  That is the first things we noticed.  A few days later we pulled up the anchor and headed to the farm in Kansas and when I turned on the ignition the backup lights and backup camera came on while we were still in park.  We were able to drive it away but there were things which weren't right.

We got to the farm and parked as the power went out at the farm.  No problem, just start the generator.  HaHa.  It would not run.  Add that to the list.  Oh well, no time to check anything now as we must make a quick trip to Denver for our grandson's high school graduation.  So off we went. 

Here are the grand children.  Not really very "children" any more.  The one in the center is the graduate.

 

This is the whole family.  We were having  picnic at a park prior to the  graduation activity.

 

The school is a virtual school and is done on line.  This four students were the first group to begin and complete the K12 schooling in Colorado.

 

 

 

Little sister and grandma are putting up decorations for the graduation party.  All went well and the party lasted much longer than Grandma and Grandpa did.  then we took off for the farm.

 

There was a lot of honey-doo things to be done but first we had to find a place which could work on our home.  We finally found an open spot at the Camping World in Columbia, MO.  We delivered it there and went back to the farm praying it would be done before the beginning of our July scheduled project. 

The winds on the knob (the affectionate name for the hill the farm house stands on) they get pretty bad and it is up higher than most things around so there is nothing to stop it.  Over the years the wind had removed a great many pieces of the soffit and fascia.  The ladder I am standing on is 40 feet long and it is one wrung from being fully extended.

We also cleaned and "landscaped" the front of the house.

Then July came around and so did the fireworks.  This excited crew is my (Bob's) big sister and my brothers daughter and children.

Of course the "kids" had to make a lot of noise.

We also was blessed to watch this beautiful Orchard Oriel. 

Just below the two walnuts you cam just see a part of his nest.  I guess the walnuts look enough like fruit to warrant a nest.

 

We were finally able to pick up the motor home after they replaced the satellite receiver, the CD player, the radio, the back up camera and repaired the transmission, the generator and the anti lock brake system.

We finally got to Sunshine Bible Academy in Miller, SD.  We were nearly two weeks late but we got there.  On the way we found that the lights to the tow vehicle (the pickup) did not work and the cooling fans for the refrigerator were not working.  Also, the bedroom vent fan and the TV in the bedroom do not work.  Oh well.  If there were not bumps in the road, how will we ever build character?  The other couple in the photo were already at SBA working and we gladly joined them.

 

It cooled off shortly after we got here and Billie had to wear a jacket to paint the bleachers.  She is up high....

 

... and Candi is painting down low.

 

Meanwhile Don and myself installed a door between the art room and the storage room---

 

---and assembled six sets of risers and carts to carry some of the equipment around.

By the end of the project we were ready to sit a spell.

 

 

Very active time!!

It seems like a very long time since we have updated our blog.  And it has.  Since the last update we have made a 2,350 mile trip to our daughter Rhonda's graduation from Western New Mexico University as a Occupational Therapy Assistant and done a lot of things around Camp Barnabas.

On an outing to Joplin we came across this stunning outfit in a Hallmark store and the model is gorgeous!

The weather had been very warm then the cold front came through.

We had some wind, rain (3 inches) and lightning (three feet).  Unfortunately we have not found out the cost of the storm.  Let me put it this way, we have no TV, CD player or radio to date and there are a couple of things not right with Alfa.

After the storm we were blessed with another of God's great signs.

 

We finally got the spot for the rifle range raised and leveled and started the task of ---

---leveling piers.

Then it was the beginning of the build.  First came the deck frame---

 

---then the posts for the roof---

 

---then the deck---

 

---now the roof.  The item on Roger's right hand is a 25 foot tape which just wouldn't extend to 28 feet.

 

After the roof then the building began on the shooting stations.

 

Of course there has to be time to answer everyone's questions (except for Jackson the dog who is just tired of it all).

Shooting stations are done---

 

---and so is cleanup.

 

Before we left we had the privilege to watch the first week campers utilize the new range.

 

Of course the ladies were not sitting idle.  There was a lot of scrubbing to be done in the Tea's house before camp opened---

 

---so the pitched in and cleaned the whole house---

 

---including the flower beds.

There was also a few finishing touches to be made on the BDL.

 

The guys had to cut trim to fit each individual window---

---then clean up the area too.

 

 

Inside there was trim and baseboard to be installed.

 

Meanwhile, we were always being carefully watched.

One last thing.  A falling tree had made a mess of the fence around the dumpster---

---but with a little wood and work the fence is upright once more.

The summer staff has been busy training for the arrival of the first group of  campers.  What you see here is a standing ovation.  For a lot of the campers, they cannot stand for a standing ovation so they have the special "O" sign which they give from wherever they are.

The crew keeps getting bigger as the first group of high school volunteers join the summer staff.

 

Finally the big day arrives.  The campers are here and everyone is sooooooo excited. 

 

 

The campus itself is a very pretty place.  This is Lauren's Well House which serves as the hospital during the summer.

 

This is an early morning shot of Shoal Creek from the dock---

 

---and this is, of course, the dock.

  

One of the weekend adventures we were blessed to take was a trip to the Crystal Bridges, an art museum supported primarily by Sam Walton and family.

This particular day was the last day of the traveling art exhibit by Norman Rockwell.  We had no idea that one was supposed to purchase tickets in advance so we were really bummed out when we found that they were sold out.  As we were telling our story to the nice lady at the information counter about what we do and that we didn't know there were advance tickets required, she told us to wait a minute, walked over to the ticket counter, returned with this ticket and told us to go to the 11 am showing which was just going into the exhibit.  Isn't God good. 

 

You may recognize this painting of Rosy the Riveter.

There were also a number of other works of art and we spent the entire day there.

 

 

There were also a number of beautiful walking paths around the grounds.

I was able to convince my private model to pose for me on a stone bridge.

 

The flowers on the grounds were stunning.

 

 

On another day we took advantage of a visit to Neosho to the National Fish Hatchery.

 

Their office building was a piece of art itself---

---and the trout were about ready to release.

 

Last, but certainly not least, we made a trip from Purdy, MO to Silver City, NM to attend the graduation of our daughter Rhonda.  One of the places to visit in Silver City is a park and trails.

Our grand daughter is amazed by the flower stem of the yucca plant.

Of course our daughters were so excited to see Pa.

The ladies had a great old time together---

---and Kirk entertained us on his vibes.

We ate and laughed and then, finally, the ceremony.

 

 

Here is Rhonda's class---

 

---and the congratulations afterwards.

 

Mom and dad are very proud!