NOMADS Project - Hope UMC Tucson Arizona

(Tucson, Arizona) 68 degrees, clear blue skies

We left Quartsite last week and spent two nights in Gila Bend Arizona at the Holt's Shell RV Park.  It was recommended by bloggers Laurie and Odel's blog (We Called It Home).  It was a perfect place to clean up our RV and do a lot of laundry.  With Passport America the rate was only $13.50/night for a full hook up site.  I wish there were some before and after pictures to show you.  John did a great job cleaning the outside of our very dirty rig.  He uses The Solution to clean the rig and it is such a great product.  I was busy inside removing a whole lot of dust.  I tried a new product called Touch of Beeswax that was purchased at the Indio rally to wax our cabinets.  They look beautiful and it was very easy to use. 

Unfortunately we were almost lynched at the campground.  John inadvertently hit the water line when coming down off the ladder.  It came apart and water gushed from it at a very rapid pace.  He quickly contacted the staff of the campground and the water had to be turned off to the whole campground.  Rigs were arriving from Quartsite at a rapid pace in hopes of  doing their  laundry and cleaning their rigs.  But, there was no water...for a long time.  We both were tempted to hide in the rig.  We breathed a big sigh of relief when they finally were able to turn the water back on.  Sheesh!

Brown trim to be replaced by a beige color

We are now at Hope United Methodist Church in Tucson Arizona volunteering for three weeks with a NOMADS (Nomads On a Mission Active in Divine Service) project.  We are here with five other couples working on several projects for the church.  We are camping behind the church and they have provided for us a full hook up 50 amp service site. 

We met with the group the first night and our leaders Gary and Jeanne outlined some of the projects.  Our major task will be to paint the trim of the church and maybe the children's school next door.  There was a huge flood that went through this area last September.  Therefore, some of us will be involved with clean up from this damage.  There also is a back flow valve that needs to be installed. 

Bill helping out with the masking

Introductions were made and we have some very talented folks in our group.  One couple has completed over 30 NOMADS projects and arrived with so many tools.  We also have a licenced plumber, two nurses, and two postal carriers.  One couple is on a quest to hike the Appalachian Trial and has already completed 750 miles of it.  We were excited to find out our leaders live only seven miles from where we will be workamping this summer in Watkins Glen New York. 

Setting up the scaffolding

Gary and Jeff spray painting

This is our second NOMADS project and its amazing how quickly everyone bonds and friendships are made.  Our first week went by quickly and we are well on the way with the painting.  Three of us have also been busy trimming trees, removing tree stumps, cleaning up weeds, brush, and removing a lot of trash.  We work hard but have a great time together.  During our free time this week we also attended a  pot luck with the church and had a fun evening together watching a movie.  Today we attended church  and then ate out at a Chinese restaurant for lunch. 

Tonight we all got together to watch the Super Bowl at our rig.  We had a great time and enjoyed lots of snacks and pizza. 

Gary and Joyce

John, Gene, & Jeff (Bub & Midge back row)

Jimmy loves football too!

NOMADS is a volunteer organization that provides labor for all types of projects throughout the U.S. and many countries.  You work from 8 am to 4 pm Monday - Thursday and have a three day weekend off.  There is usually a three week commitment.  Last year we volunteered in Eustis Florida.  This organization is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.  However, you do not have to be Methodist.  We are Presbyterian and one of our leaders is Roman Catholic. 

Front row (Me, Jeanne, Betsy, Joyce, Phyllis, Midge) Back row (John, Gary, Bill, Jeff, Gene, & Bub)

John and I are from Indianapolis and we were so proud of our city.  They sure hosted a great Super Bowl. 

Indianapolis Circle

I'll end our post today with a quote from the sermon given by the minister today.  It was written by John Wesley and it seemed very fitting to what we are  hoping to accomplish with this service. 

"Do all the good you can.

By all the means you can.

In all the ways you can.

In all the places you can.

At all the times you can.

To all the people you can.

As long as ever you can."