We’ve been keeping busy since our last update. I think I could probably begin each update with the same, if you know what I mean!
We’ve had a few friends show up to help us since my last update. Rolf and Emily from Lyons, CO came and hung out for a few days. Rolf helped me do more work on Tiffany’s trailer, which was a huge help. It’s good to have someone help me who likes to gittir done! Emily helped Mary Jo with some gardening and landscape stuff, and we all took a drive on Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah Mountains for some sightseeing. We had some good morning devos while they were with us as well.
On their final morning our good friends Michael and Lucia from CC Carrollton, GA joined us for an overnight. Michael is even more of a coffee geek than I am. He brought about a dozen different beans and we did a tasting of a half cup each with my Chemex and then finished off the tasting with me breaking out my vintage vacuum pot! In all I think we brewed 12 pots of coffee between us, so about 6 cups a piece! I couldn’t sleep for a couple of days!! He even left us with some good coffee to brew after they left!
Shortly after that we had the 7th and 8th grade classes from our home church, CC Sarasota, come to spend a few days serving with us. There were about 25 kids and adults and these guys really worked hard. It’s always a blessing to serve alongside others who really want to serve and grow in The Lord. I was blessed to be able to share at one of the team devos and several folks came up afterward saying they really enjoyed my teaching and had some good takeaways from it. Pray that God’s Word sticks with all of them so that they can continue to grow in The Lord and live out loud for Him!
A new friend, Steve, from CC Bangor, ME, joined us for a couple of weeks. He’s a retired CG rescue swimmer and has been going through some different changes in his life. He’s old like me with some physical issues, so thought he’d come out and see what we do at the recommendation of his pastor, Ken. Wasn’t what he was looking for, but we enjoyed morning devos together and he was a huge help around the ranch. Keep him in your prayers, he’s in TX now checking some men’s ministry stuff out.
Next, we had our good ministry friend Rob from St Louis come out and serve alongside of us for a week and a half. Rob is a dear friend and brother in The Lord who’s served with us several times. We had some great times in morning devos and other times just talking about Jesus! He was also a huge help with a lot of things around the ranch. We even got a few things done on our equipment and he did some work on Tiffany’s trailer, and no we aren’t done with it yet! He took us out to dinner a few times because he knows that Mary Jo’s favorite meals are the ones where she doesn’t cook! She always takes care of us with breakfast, lunch, and dinner and rarely gets a break, even when we’re away for a few days!
Shortly after that we went to Philly for the CCEC Pastor’s conference. We stayed with some friends and Mary Jo was able to help serve alongside of some of her crazy girlfriends there while the men sat in some great teaching! Always good to hear from some of the younger and older CC guys! It was also great to catch up with a lot of brother’s and pray with and for each other.
During our time there we went over to Staten Island to look at a house that we helped rebuild after Hurricane Sandy that recently had a small fire inside that has resulted in needing a full fire and water remediation and interior rebuild. We assessed the damage and all that is needed for the home to be put back. It’s a long story but involves a recent widow who felt that she needed to “fix” the issue that her recently deceased husband was involved with. We were able to help her understand that this was not her problem and she just needed to let it go. Thankfully she took our advice and is now helping the owner sell the property which will not result in a loss especially considering it was rebuilt for free after Sandy.
We then headed back to the ranch and only had a couple of days before the first camp session started. Most of the about a dozen kids who serve there for the summer had already arrived and were going through their training. Not much changes for me in regard to camp, but Mary Jo helps here and there in the kitchen when she can.
The first 2 camps are 2 weeks each, with a week in between. Four of the kids chose to do both camps and the week in between for a total of 5 weeks. There were about 40 Jr and Sr high school aged kids there. They each helped out with some ranch work for about 10 hours during their 2 weeks, had lots of fun and games, a canoe trip, and a hike into the woods to a waterfall. Most mornings they do devos together and I was able to join them a couple of times. Each evening, they do a worship and teaching and I was able to teach for 2 of those sessions.
This is currently the week in between those camps and the 4 that stayed are going to be serving in the community at a home where some older folks live that can’t live on their own. The people who run the place go to church at the ranch.
I’ve been able to get some work done on our own equipment, but I’m still way behind. Just too much to do and I’m still supposed to be on light duty and I still have no clue what that means!
I’m in the middle of replacing all the diesel fuel injection system in my red truck, which I’ve needed to do since last fall! I got everything put back together, but it still is having issues. I need to find someone local that knows how this old engine works and can help me adjust two different areas involving timing and hopefully that will resolve that. Otherwise, it seems that everything is running as it should for now! Pray it would continue to do so! Still have maintenance to take care of on both RVs and noticed a few things that need done to the tool trailer.
We’re still plugging away with our physical issues and covet your prayers for us for healing and recovery, and if not, then always God’s grace to carry us through and His wisdom to know what we can and can’t do! We do our best to stay faithful to our exercises and stretches and now that the pool is open at the ranch, we try to get in once a day. I do exercises and Mary Jo swims her laps. Lots of decisions need to be made in regard to our future, so please keep us in your prayers as we know you do!
Feel free to reach out to us if you want to come and join us as I can always use the help! We also like the time we get to spend with other believers in God’s Word and fellowship so just doing that with us would be a blessing!
If you’re interested in growing in The LORD as you selflessly serve others alongside of Calvary Relief for future disaster relief or at Cedar Ranch, please let us know! For more info on joining us, click here.
If you’re interested in helping with any of the expenses with Calvary Relief, please click here.
If there’s ever anything you need prayer about or just need to talk to someone, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We'd love to pray for you and help disciple you in any way we can!
Here to serve and disciple until He calls us home. Love yas,
Curt & Mary Jo
