(This was written April 24, but isn't being posted until May 3rd because we've been without laptop access until now. Sorry about worrying you....Vicki) (Leaving Shepherd’s Hill Farm) The comment has been made to me that I haven’t mentioned much about the work we do with RVICS. We are maintenance missionaries, rather than evangelizing missionaries~~we do some of the physical work to leave time for the ministries’ we’re working for to do the preaching and teaching. This project had four couples; we were scheduled to have six, but John got hurt in Florid [View Full Entry]

---

---

(Shepherd’s Hill Farm) I think I've explained that the equestrian program here is run by a private company, a couple who needed a place to keep their horses and do their program. They work with the SHF kids, but also with different programs, many of them involving special needs kids. One special ed class comes out every Wednesday morning, and there is program for some emotionally disturbed kids. Saturday a Girl Scout troop was out here trimming hooves (not an RVICS job!) and earning their horse badges. The group (Reins for Life) owns 26 horses, plus six that SHF owns = [View Full Entry]

---

---

(Shepherd’s Hill Farm) One thing I know for sure: Georgia’s weather isn’t as pleasant as Florida’s! This is more like spring, as we know spring, although it’s occurring in April rather than the beginning of June! But we get a couple days of sunshine, and then more days of rain. We spent two hours in a storm shelter (aka: the girls shower room) Friday night because of tornados in the area. At least one twister touched down three and a half miles from here, and lifted (according to the broken trees in its path) less than a mile from the camp. [View Full Entry]

---

---

(Shepherd’s Hill Farm) Before I begin our new camp details, let me tell you about John from our Park of the Palms project. He fell off a ladder while we were in Miami and knocked his head against the wall, but the worst part seemed to be the scrape on his arm. The Monday after we left the Palms (there were two workdays left~~we left early because of leadership training) John fell again, and they took him to the nurse’s office at the Park, and she sent him to the ER because his blood pressure was too high. They checked him [View Full Entry]

---

---

(Park of the Palms) I told you that we’d tried kumquats, and now I’m hearing that people really do eat them! Rose ate a couple, as did Earl, but they like sour things; the rest of us couldn’t even choke down one bite. They kind of suck your throat inside out, they’re so sour. (and who wants an inside-out throat?) They’re almost painful! Anyway, at that same pop/patio, Dave brought boiled peanuts (“bowled” peanuts if you’re from Tennessee!) You can’t drive very far in any direction without seeing a sign beside the road advertising b [View Full Entry]

---

---

I just realized that I haven't even introduced you to Park of the Palms...what's going on with me anyway?? So here goes~~random thoughts in random order! All of us have been together for three months that we’re in and out of each other’s campers continually! We work together, play well, pray together, and laugh together. It has been a fun three months. I wasn’t going to tell this, being in Florida and being retired, we played shuffleboard two weeks ago, and have become hooked on it! I hear you laughing, and I don’t even care~~it’s fun! And Bob and I are [View Full Entry]

---

---

(Park of the Palms) I don’t know how it could have been ten days since I blogged. And, again, I have so much to tell you about, but HIGH on the list is that we watched the liftoff of Discovery Space Shuttle! Five of us drove to Titusville (135 miles), and got a wonderful spot just across the Indian River from the launch site! The whole town had sort of a carnival atmosphere, and the event was made even more magnificent to be viewing it with other people that were so excited~~both people we knew, and people we didn’t! We got [View Full Entry]

---

---

(Park of the Palms) Our tour today was to the University of Florida Museum of Science and Natural History. We learned more about the Florida Everglades (for instance, they are the only everglades in the world, and the only place on earth where alligators and crocodiles live together peacefully.) It was hugely interesting, and I know I couldn’t add a description that could relay that to you, so I’m going to move on to the part in pictures. After lunch we went to the butterfly house, right at the University. This had five thousand butterflies inside a room about 50’ [View Full Entry]

---

---

(Park of the Palms) Happy Birthday to my Grandmother! We’re 350 miles north of Miami, and it’s like an entirely different country (man, how many times have I said that???) I wish I had a way to explain the differences in areas of our nation; we’re back in a small town, with other small towns nearby, and not attached…there’s empty land between the towns. It’s been a really long time since we’ve seen that! And there are dirt roads…only 1 ½ lanes wide (total, not each direction), without overpasses or turning lanes or bus stops. But I mu [View Full Entry]

---

---

(Titusville, Florida) We left Miami on Wednesday, and plan to arrive in Keystone Heights on Saturday. We spent the interim at Titusville, just across the river from Kennedy Space Center, in Titusville. We were on our way to Kennedy Space Center, with a quick stop at Merritt Island, which is a wildlife preserve just off the KSC property. We didn’t think we’d want to spend much time there, but we were wrong, and several hours later we decided KSC would be a trip for the next day. Merritt Island is open to the public except during launch days. They’ve developed [View Full Entry]

---

---