A Simple Life - Fall 2011

Summer is over; the leaves are falling; and it is time for us to head South.  It has been a great summer on Lake Henry in NE PA.  What a special place Clayton Park Campground is - filled with special people and some great memories and friends for us to relish.  If you are ever in that part of the country and want a "Golden Pond" type of experience - be sure and spend some time on Lake Henry at www.claytonpark.net.  Bring a fishing pole, some good reading material and enjoy the abundant tranquil, peaceful atmosphere.  Tell Sonja and Maurice hello from us - we know you'll fall in love with them as soon as meeting them.

We are currently spending some time with the Amish in Lancaster County, PA.  As you can see we are parked right across from the family's barn, and it is harvest time.....which makes me feel extremely lazy!!!   The Lancaster County Amish are known locally as "The Plain Folk"; their simple, slow-paced lifestyle is very enticing - until you notice their workday begins before sunup and runs past darkness.  But it is certainly fun to watch their family interact and work the farm.   Their major crop is tobacco, but they also have their own dairy and raise all the crops needed to support that enterprise (corn, alfalfa, etc....).

 That means all of the children, regardless of age, have duties they are responsible to perform.  Notice the six year old boy hitching up a mule team and getting them ready for a days work in the field.  It is almost comical to watch such a little person lead around two huge animals; however, he takes his job very seriously and the mules follow him wherever he leads!  Other times in the day "Josiah" kicks his heels up while having fun racing his 10 year old brother, who is driving a corn harvest machine and wagon home from the field.

Some people describe heaven as just a place where everyone will be sitting around singing songs and praying all of the time.....to be honest - that always seemed pretty boring to me - however, I hope it is not quite as busy as what happens on an Amish farm!!!  Somewhere in the middle would be just right!

Speaking of the Amish, I took advantage of this week to study the history of Anabaptist - which includes the Amish - and includes most of the denominations that are prevelant in mid America.  Ana-baptist is translated as Re-baptized.  The original movement did not agree with child baptism and instead taught that one should be baptized when old enough to make a decision to become a Christ follower as the central focus and purpose of their life.  Of course, not all of us decided to do without electricity and ride in buggies wherever we go, but underneath all of the outward appearance, we found we have much in common with the Anabaptist movement that we were not aware of.

                                                                               Tomorrow we must say goodbye to Pennsylvania as we head South through the Appalachian Mountains, West through the Smoky Mountains and eventually end up in Mountain Home, Arkansas where we will spend the weekend with Terry's youngest sister and Husband.  Then on to NE Oklahoma to be with family through the end of November.  December first is our next commitment at the campground where this all started in Kerrville, Texas.  We will spend the winter there and then head west to help in a New Mexico church camp next spring and summer.

So.......that catches you up with us........how are you doing and what is going on in your life.  Please send us a note, we would really like to know.

Oh......and by the way....... Happy Birthday to our new great-neice Kylee

my sister Kim's first grandchild.  Born 10/6/2011

Looks just like you Kim!!!  Hopefully she has Chris' brains!!  :-)

Settled In Pennsylvania

Well, you can almost see our rig - we are setting on Lake Henry (honest!) in the beautiful tree covered Pocono mountains of NE PA.  (Just East of Scranton)    After spending the last year in South Texas, we are working hard on acclimating to the new temps.  Here it is June 4th, with  44 degrees last night for the outdoor movie - which is shown on the lake front with the cool breezes caressing us!     Refreshing!!!! 

We are camped for the summer in this family owned campground which reminds us of the old movie - "On Golden Pond".  Very relaxing and soothing to the spirit.  We are learning our duties which include = camp store coverage, cleaning bathrooms, rental units and tent camp sites, picking up trash that is loose on the campground, lawn care, flower & vegetable gardening, helping with activities, "Honey-Wagon" duties [if you have to ask - don't]  :-)  and any thing else needed to help the team.  We are enjoying new challenges and learning new skills - but most of all enjoying spending time together outside as we accomplish our assignments and develop new relationships.                                                                          

                                                                      Clayton Park Recreational Area (http://www.claytonpark.net/) is basically a summer fishing community, where over 75% of the campers are "seasonal" - which means they are here all summer long.  Some come in on weekends and some stay out here all of the time, with children and/or grandchildren along.   For those who love to fish - they mainly catch Pickerel, Calico (which is an enlarged crappie) and small mouth Bass.  You can rent a row boat or canoe, fish from the shore or just take a swim and lay on the beach.  It's a tough life!

We will be here through early to mid October and then on with our Journey.  We are already falling in love with the people we are sharing life with this summer - - - oh, and Terry already has some tomatoes and other veggies in the ground - - - so if you are in the area mid summer, stop by and check it out!

Terry and Connie getting the Veg. garden up and going.  Looks like it is going to be a "yummy" summer!

One Year Later & Still Smiling!!!

We have intentionally taken a years' hiatus from posting on this blog - as we wanted time to mature and "cure" under God's purpose and timing without injecting any of ourselves into the process. Per our last posting - our trip to Costa Rica was greatly enjoyed; however, no doors opened and extended any long term possibilities, so we returned to the states and decided to discontinue our roles as "Houseparents" at the children's home. Within the same week an opportunity (door) opened to experience life as full-time rvers and workampers at a RV resort in Kerrville, Texas. So within the week, we purchased an RV, packed all our belongings from the Children's Home into the RV and "hit the road".

We have now been living the full time RVer lifestyle for almost a full year and are so happy we made this decision. The picture at the top shows us sitting by a branch of the river (with our Niece's puppy dog - Abby) at the campground we have worked at this past winter
(http://www.bytheriver.com/).

It is always interesting to see whom God crosses our path with and how He orchestrates the relationships to benefit and challenge each one of us spiritually. The lower picture is of a neat couple we are currently "workamping" with - Bill & Cheryl Fitch. They are retired Christian Counselors and we help keep their Psychology tools sharp as they get to know us better! :-) They have been a real blessing and a lot of fun to work and grow with. And some times we actually get a little work done around the campground!

We will finish our year in Texas campgrounds this April and depart for a summer and fall season in the Pocono Mountains of NE Pennsyvania. Not quite sure what our plans are for next Winter, but are excitingly looking forward to see which doors open and what they contain! We will try to do better at keeping you in the loop during our travels.

Thanks for hanging in there and tagging along!!!

Remember - - - our only truly security lies in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is soverign and knows what our true needs are and how to meet them - - - if we will only trust Him and let go of the controls.

In His Service-based Love,

Henry & Terry