Eyes to See, Ears to Hear

Archive for the ‘RV Life’ Category

I finished cleaning up the RV (1999 Jayco Eagle 302FK) this afternoon and it is primed for selling!  Actually, when I finished my last task of mopping the floors and had a chance to look around at it, I kinda wanted to keep it.  Only long enough to take it to the beach for a week!  Now that all of our personal day-to-day possessions are out of it, it once again has taken on full-form RV.

I washed it with RV Wash and wax mixed with some good ol’ Clorox.  I didn’t know it was white!  It is actually the cleanest it has ever been in our possession.  But, its gotta go.  Our first potential buyers are coming to look at it tomorrow so if you’re interested in it, let me know soon.  Here are some details about it:

These are the upgrades/additions we’ve made since we bought it in late 2006:
Standard Queen-size mattress and box spring
Closet rebuilt to double-level cross-bars making room for a lot of hanging clothes
Home-style shower curtain
Shower shelf system
Additional 20-amp circuit wired into entertainment center
Wired for telephone
Wired for digital satellite with prepaid dish and receiver
White wire shelving in almost all the cabinets
Entertainment center modified for larger televisions
Overhead RV stereo system wired to play as surround sound for entertainment center
Inline Watts water pressure regulator
Inline high-capacity whole-house water filter
New city water inlet
New kitchen faucet with detachable head w/hose
New 30-lb. LPG tanks
Vinyl tank cover
LPG gauge
Awning tie-downs
Vinyl wheel covers
Patio mat
Extended rain spouts

We’ve taken good care of it ensuring it has many great trips and years left on it.  The LPG floor-ducted heat will choke you it runs so good (you can keep it turned down) and the ceiling-ducted A/C will turn it into a 30’x’8’ refrigerator!!
Here are other highlights:
3-burner LPG stove & oven
LPG/110V Refrigerator
Microwave w/turntable
Anti-sway bars for stable towing
LPG hot water heater – gets it HOT enough for 2 good showers back-to-back
Dining room table converts to a bed
40-gallon fresh water tank w/high-pressure 12V pump
Detachable shower head w/hose

We’re sitting in the parking lot of the IT building at JAARS so we can get a wireless signal.

The RV is safe and secure at the missions house and we just returned the truck a STRANGER loaned to us!  Bout to head out of the lot… just wanted you hear that things are going absolutely splendidly in our move!  Thank you for your encouragement and prayers!

Today was the day! Our Mama Blue (female Eastern Bluebird) finally laid an egg after a hard week of nest-building. We also saw Papa feed her in the box for the first time as well. Here’s the footage:

Papa feeding Mama in the box – 38 seconds long

Mama lays her egg – 7 minutes 42 seconds long

Mama lays her egg – Long Version – 27 minutes 50 seconds

The word round town is that my 6th grade picture is showing up all over blogger.com…. just kidding. There’d be a witch hunt if that was true. We did get word today that we’re the current feature for Pastor Steven Furtick’s Heroes of the Day. Once per week he chooses a hero or heroes out of his life to talk about and commend on his blog. I’ve enjoyed reading about his heroes but didn’t think we’d end up being a couple of them. Honestly, I hoped we may have someday gotten on there because it means a lot to us to be encouraged in such a way. To know Steven personally, it really carries insurmountable significance to get this pat-on-the-back from him.

Now, here’s the funny part. About two weeks ago, Pastor Steven’s blog went down because of a domain issue. It was back online shortly and he was blogging away again a few days later. That is a great recovery story but we are in a unique position on our end in terms of our internet access in the good ‘ol box (RV). DSL internet service is provided in our RV site rental fee which means we are behind the JAARS firewall. There must be some kind of crazy cache (web page storage) that the firewall and/or JAARS server has because I can update our webpage and not see the update in a browser for a day, or two, or three… So, ever since we lost the feed off of Pastor Steven’s website last week, the JAARS cache hasn’t updated.

Bottom line = we can’t even read the blog on which we’re deemed HEROES! That’s right. Pastor Steven, sorry man. It’s killin’ me not to be able to read your blog. I hope to some way be able to see the post before we see you again but considering tomorrow is Sunday, that may be a stretch.

Actually, just remembered a coffee shop between us and church that has free wireless access I can get on from their parking lot. Ever surfed from your driver’s seat? See why I’m addicted to technology???!!!!!!

Occasionally Teddy (our bigger(?) dog) plays with his food. I have tried and tried to catch him doing it on camera but he either gets distracted by what I’m grabbing or the camera is MIA at the time. Those days are in the past now that I caught this on Sunday. Please disregard the loud NASCAR RaceDay on the TV in the background. (great show by-the-way).

Watch the Ted Meister

I have filled out two brackets for the RV Hoops ESPN Tournament Challenge group. Got one? Two? Twenty? Bring ‘em on! Join the group. I created it. Who else would take the route of a title referencing an RV?!

I love this time of year. The birth of Jesus is the only factor to vault Christmas over March Madness! Otherwise… no comparison. The Tournament Challenge is a safe, easy, fun way to enjoy the best sporting event in the world. (After only one World Cup experience for me, it is a close second place.) So, come on! Show me the grade you got in BRACKETOLOGY!!!!!

(Password is Tanzania)

All day Thursday and most of the day today was bad for bird real estate. There was nearby construction we as birdhouse developers were no aware of. The two RV spaces directly across from us got new concrete pads. Big loud machinery isn’t enticing to nesting bluebirds or even nuthatches. Bird activity was minimal but hang in there. We are committed to serving our bird community.

(In case you haven’t picked up on it, I’m being somewhat comical about our bird-ish neighborhood and situation. Tis fun!!)

A little over a year ago, Dana and I quickly grew fond of birdwatching. Call us old. Call us uncool. Doesn’t matter as long as you call us blessed. Watching God’s extremely detailed creativity in all of the different species of birds we’ve encountered has given us an even better appreciation for His handiwork. There are some marvelous pieces of wildlife He has come up with.

We began with bird feeders. Then bird baths. Then bird houses. Then an in-bird house infrared camera. Oh yeah. Got my gadget-junkie fix on that one, guaranteed! The camera enabled us to watch a Carolina Chickadee couple and an Eastern Bluebird couple raise a set of younguns each. The house with the camera in it was one of the VERY few things we kept and brought with us to the RV.

Nesting season is arriving and the birds are getting frisky if you know what I mean. That translates to a boom in the bird real estate market. I’ve recorded some of the in-house action (don’t worry… the egg-making isn’t done in the house) and edited it for posting. You’ll see from the second day of recording alone that within a very short period of time, the house was toured by a Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, Eastern Bluebird couple, and Brown-headed Nuthatch couple. The latter two species are actually trying to nest in it at the same time.

Enjoy the footage. I have only included actual bird activity in the clips so it is not actual time between each visit. I’ll try to keep you updated with new clips to see who wins the bidding war. I might have to call on my real estate buddy, Rob, to help negotiate the best deal.

Sunday, March 4th – Female Eastern Bluebird checking out the box

Monday, March 5th – Tufted Titmouse (BIG dark eyes), Carolina Chickadee (white & black striped head), Male (darker) and Female Eastern Bluebirds, and Male and Female (they look the same) Brown-headed Nuthatches

Tuesday, March 6th – Brown-headed Nuthatches, Male and Female Eastern Bluebirds

Wednesday, March 7th – Eastern Bluebird and Brown-headed Nuthatch

Okay, here’s the deal. If you haven’t been keeping up with our housing situation, you’ve missed out on quite a story. But, even if you have kept up with it, there are still some details you don’t know.

1. Five months ago, I made reservations for our RV spot through March 27, 2007 all-the-while knowing we’d be stateside until at least July.
2. Our plan has been to live in the RV until our time to leave for Africa.
3. The idea of possibly moving into a house or apartment until we leave just recently entered my mind when we were discussing our current support level with some partners.
4. This past Thursday, we got this e-mail through the JAARS Classifieds:
   1. Mill Grove United Methodist Church parsonage for Rent: About 45 minutes
      from JAARS.
      7307 Mill Grove Rd Indian Trail, NC 28079 Description of house: All Brick,
      four bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, dinning room, living room, den, kitchen w/
      breakfast area, and one car garage. Rent: $500 per month which includes
      utilities. School district: Elementary School: Hemby Bridge Middle School:
      Porter Ridge High School: Porter Ridge Contact: Pastor Earl Bradshaw
      Office: 704-882-3770 Cell: 704-301-1135 Available: Immediately. JAARS
      MISSIONARIES ONLYPicture of the house on the housing bulletin board.
5. We went to look at the parsonage the next day and decided to take it as our 30′ x 8′ RV is really taking a toll on us and even more my back.
6. We have been waiting for the pastor to contact us to inform us as to when we could move in.
7. Yesterday I e-mailed the missions pastor of our home church to update him on our current support level. In the same message, I inquired (mere curiosity) about the church’s missions house, occupancy policy and availibility. Here is e-mail exchange:
   1. —–Original Message—–
      From: Jonathan McCall []
      Sent: Monday, March 05, 2007 12:44 PM
      To: Airton Pupo
      Subject: Re: Update

      Airton,
      Dana and I have decided to come back on furlough every 2 years instead of every 4 years. That increased our expenses so our updated monthly need is $2,597. Last week, we reached 50.2%!
      What is the policy for missionaries on furlough being able to stay in the missions house?

      Tanzania Bound,
      Jonathan
      www.jonathananddana.com

      From: Airton Pupo <>
      Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 14:10:17 -0500
      To: Jonathan McCall <>
      Conversation: Update
      Subject: RE: Update

      Actually you guys can stay at the missions house if its available. If you know already when you are going to need the house we need the information as soon as possible in order to reserve the house for you. Thanks!

      —–Original Message—–
      From: Jonathan McCall []
      Sent: Monday, March 05, 2007 3:59 PM
      To: Airton Pupo
      Subject: Re: Update

      Is there any open time for it between now and the end of July?

      Tanzania Bound,
      Jonathan
      www.jonathananddana.com

      —–Original Message—–
      From: Airton Pupo
      Sent: Monday, March 05, 2007 4:02 PM
      To: ‘Jonathan McCall’
      Cc: Dawn Morton
      Subject: RE: Update

      I will let you know tomorrow. I have to check with Dawn and she is not here this afternoon. Thanks!

8. So, this morning I checked my e-mail and found this message:
   1. Hey Jonathan, It is actually open now but the bathroom is being totally redone! It is scheduled to be finished by March 23rd. but should definitely be finished by the end of March. And we had some missionaries coming on May 1, but yesterday they called and will not be coming until Dec. 1st. So, it is available until Dec. 1st.!
      Then it is reserved until May 2009. So if you know any possible furlough dates, please let me know and I will reserve them now. Let me know when you you would like to move in. Thanks, Dawn
9. The church’s missions house is provided for FREE to our missionaries and even though it still doesn’t seem like it is real, we are two of our church’s missionaries! Just in case your eyes passed over the ALL CAPS part in that last sentence, let me bold and italicize it for you…. the house is provided for FREE!

There you have it. God showing Himself off again. I spent most of the day holding back joyous tears because of who and how great is our God. I even recorded a video tour of the house with our little Kodak point-and-shoot.

You can watch the house tour here.

Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s are our days to volunteer at the offices of Elevation Church. Dana uses her oh-so-excellent accounting skills and I usually work on some form of audio project. Once we were finished with our tasks there and were about to leave, Dana (Ms. NON-spontaneous) asked me if I’d like to go next door to get a haircut. If you’ve seen me lately then you know why I’ve been wanting to go get one for weeks now. So, we headed right next door to the church offices to Family Hairloom to see if they take walk-ins.

We were welcomed with a warm, “Yes!” and immediately ushered to separate chairs. Dana had Mia layer her hair while Tom had the chore of breaking out the weed-eater for mine. My hair is curly so after Tom finished, he aptly diagnosed my hair to be in Scissor Shock. This is a term I have never heard before but totally made sense once he explained that curly hair loses some of its curl for a few days after a cut. The evidence was obvious as I gazed into my now-flat head.

So, if you hear of anyone using this term, you know the origin… Tom at Family Hairloom in Lake Park (Indian Trail), NC coined it while weed-whacking the bush on my head.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the best parts —> We told them all about who we are and what we are doing in life. Mia’s brother is an Associate Pastor at a church in the mountains and has a heart for missions… potential partners! Then they saw us out the door without charging us for either of our cuts! God’s gifts for us are coming in all shapes and sizes as we make this trek to Tanzania.

My heart is swelling with love and gratitude for HIM!

(No, my hair does not look like the above picture now.)