The blog continues even though I have left! The content below is from another team member, Dyson Clapp. Today we cleared a 100+ year old live oak blown over in the front yard of Danny, a retired military man. The tree’s huge upended rootball revealed how the hurricane winds toppled this giant oak: the rootsContinue reading “Hurricane Isaias Cleanup Day 8”
Category Archives: Other
Hurricane Isaias Cleanup Day 7
My last day 😞. Unfortunately, I had to leave early from this deployment to head out on another adventure. It was cool to end on a high note. After a slow start doing an easy cleanup job, we moved next door. That homeowner had been helping lots of his neighbors so it was great thatContinue reading “Hurricane Isaias Cleanup Day 7”
Hurricane Isaias Cleanup Day 6
The first night in our new dormitory thankfully resulted in a good night’s sleep. The longer walk to get coffee from the kitchen allowed time to reflect. I love being outside for the dawn, and as I heard the birds twittering, I just wanted to go birding with my camera. Or walk under the starsContinue reading “Hurricane Isaias Cleanup Day 6”
Hurricane Isaias Cleanup Day 5
We joined the host church for Sunday morning worship. The congregants were asking each other how they had fared in the storm, how long they were without power, and how they were managing to communicate without internet or phone lines. This represented the community. I felt that it was a privilege and honor that weContinue reading “Hurricane Isaias Cleanup Day 5”
Hurricane Isaias Cleanup Day 4
Today, the weather changed to cool and crisp while the opportunities to serve remained. We cleared fallen trees at two different houses, one of which belonged to a mass-feeding volunteer and another to a family who had just moved to Florida from Arizona. Today’s work was satisfying. The cooler temperatures helped, but this was amplifiedContinue reading “Hurricane Isaias Cleanup Day 4”
Hurricane Isaias Cleanup Day 3
Today was a long one but good one! We are blessed to be a blessing to others, and it was a blessing when we could bless others. We start each day without knowing what each day will bring or what surprises will come our way. Today’s work was about a bunch of big trees andContinue reading “Hurricane Isaias Cleanup Day 3”
Hurricane Isaias Cleanup Day 2
When tens of thousands of people are impacted by a hurricane, I have wondered what one crew of volunteers can achieve. Today we found out! We didn’t move mountains, but we moved some trees! We returned to a house that we visited at the end of the previous day. The single mom’s daughter was gettingContinue reading “Hurricane Isaias Cleanup Day 2”
Hurricane Isaias Cleanup: Day 1
I had relaxed when the Houston weather feeds confidently claimed that Hurricane Isaias would not impact Texas. However, on Thursday October 8th, my Texans on Mission Disaster Relief Chainsaw team leader, Marcel, put us on alert. I did not think much of it until the reports of a Category 2 hurricane making landfall near PensacolaContinue reading “Hurricane Isaias Cleanup: Day 1”
SWCP Day 11 Falmouth to Portscatho
These days have been like Forest Gump’s box of chocolates. We started off each day, unsure how it will turn out, though with some certainty that it would be pretty good. There have been a few surprises, but mostly on the good side, and all of them add flavour to the journey! We had beenContinue reading “SWCP Day 11 Falmouth to Portscatho”
SWCP Day 8 Coverack to Porthallow
In my planning for this walk, I thought of this day as our day off. At just five miles, it would give the legs some rest. However, we have found we are not very tired. The hikes so far have been 6.7, 9.4, 7, 11.2, 7.5, 9.7, 8.8, and today’s 7.2 miles. The distances hideContinue reading “SWCP Day 8 Coverack to Porthallow”
Summer ‘26 Trek: Day 19: First Generation Missile Silo and Oz!
Odometer: 3,069 miles. Today: 414 miles. Part 2 of crossing Kansas was fun! We spent the night at the Atlas Ad Astra missile silo that was built in 1959 and was active through 1965, including the Cuban Missile Crisis. The silo cost $120 million to build in today’s dollars, and was one of 70 builtContinue reading “Summer ‘26 Trek: Day 19: First Generation Missile Silo and Oz!”
Summer ‘26 Trek: Day 0: Tomato Soup
Trip odometer: 0 miles “I’m so excited that we are going on another trip that I can’t stop running around.” That was Saydee’s perspective yesterday as we prepped the van. This morning, she was waiting expectantly to head down the road with her humans. I was hesitant. Will this long RVing trip be fun andContinue reading “Summer ‘26 Trek: Day 0: Tomato Soup”
Reflection on Peru with Compassion International
“How was Peru?” we were asked after spending a week there with Compassion International. Adjectives or sentences cannot adequately describe our trip, and I attempt to answer the question below. The trip was tremendously emotional, seeing such poverty, yet equally joyous to witness the positive impact that Compassion’s programs are having on children in extremeContinue reading “Reflection on Peru with Compassion International”
Peru with Compassion Day 6
Our schedule labeled this day as a cultural-experience day, though I saw its main purpose as a chance to decompress from five days in poverty. It allowed me to start reflecting, and to realize that a well-dressed touristy facade or rich business district can hide extreme poverty just a few blocks away. We had hopedContinue reading “Peru with Compassion Day 6”
Peru with Compassion Day 5
Janet and I welcomed the one-hour ride in a comfortable coach to our first stop of the day. We were both feeling emotionally exhausted, with this trip building on top of our daughter’s wedding two days before we left. Our first stop was to pick up one of Cynthia’s sponsored girls, and we were advisedContinue reading “Peru with Compassion Day 5”
Peru with Compassion Day 4
Today was lighter, yet still full. We headed out at 9:45 because the church, Lily of the Valley, was close to our hotel. The area is known as Banos del Inca as it is around the hot springs by the hotel. It is quite touristy, but the more affluent facade hides poverty one or twoContinue reading “Peru with Compassion Day 4”
Peru with Compassion Day 3
After two amazingly full days, we were happy to have a late start at 9:45, but the rest of the day made up for it in a remarkable way! I made the most of the late start to check out our hotel grounds. We are staying at a hotel in central Cajamarca at the siteContinue reading “Peru with Compassion Day 3”
Peru with Compassion Day 2
We met at 6:15am to catch our 1.5-hour internal flight from Lima to Cajamarca, and then drive straight to one of Compassion’s church partners in the city. The city is at 8600 ft and we could feel the altitude. On arrival at the church, we were greeted by the church staff and participants in Compassion’sContinue reading “Peru with Compassion Day 2”
Peru with Compassion Day 1
Janet and I are visiting Peru with Compassion International on a Vision Trip to learn about their front line operations. Compassion’s mission is “Releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.” In the US, we had primarily just seen their efforts to get families to sponsor one of their children. The goal of the trip isContinue reading “Peru with Compassion Day 1”
The Thames Path Day 1: Pangbourne to Reading
Day 1 of our hike along the eastern half of The Thames Way from Pangbourne to Reading.
