Cabin Fever
I was away in West Virginia and Pennsylvania this weekend for services. I had heard of both churches often before, but wasn't familiar with their locations, so I was very surprised to find out how far away I would have to travel. I made a quick reservation at the district campground for Saturday and Sunday nights, hoping to break my journey into more manageable travel.
I have friends who live on the campground, Bobi and Nancy Arsenovic, who are retired missionaries now filling a role as the missionary representatives/liasons to the district. It's a long job title that is even more puzzling when you add their job description: they pick us up at the airport, host going-away parties, organize the housing of missionaries on the campground, listen to our complaints and fight for our rights when we need an advocate. They're doing a marvelous job!
I'd been invited to visit their cabin on the campground months ago, without ever really having a chance. This weekend, we finally got our schedules together. I had breakfast with them yesterday morning on the lovely deck they've added to their cabin. Bobi gave me a tour of the cabin, including all the improvements he's made--Bobi is a genius! He did things in that small cabin that I could never have imagined! Nancy made a great pancake breakfast that I thoroughly enjoyed and then we toured the campground to see the other missionary cabins.
There are many cabins at camp; some are in disrepair and others are tiny mansions. In the past few years, people have gifted the camp four cabins to be used solely for missionary housing. Nancy and Bobi have headed up the renovation projects. I got to see three of them: the Americana cabin (decorated by a Manassas, VA couple in red, white, and blue), the Tropical cabin (decorated mainly by the gifts of Rodney and Aida Stine, missionaries to the Phillippines), and the Asian cabin (still being renovated and decorated).
Each cabin had its unique positive features, but each cabin could use more work! In the Tropical cabin, the kitchen linoleum needs to be replaced; the windows are poorly designed and need replacing. In the Asian cabin, the bathroom needs a total overhaul (paint, fixtures, cabinets, etc) and it needs furniture for the office and the living/dining area.
Only two churches in our district have sent any money toward the "Cabin Project" but I'm proud to say my home church, Pasadena AG, was one of them! In fact, the gift that they sent is still being used as Bobi does cosmetic work in each cabin, including adding closets and other necessary features. One church sent their ladies group to paint, plant flowers, and help tear up flooring. In addition to their physical labor, they left enough money to put in laminate floors in the Asian cabin that Bobi finished this past weekend. I got to walk on that beautiful floor and I could appreciate how much work is being done to offer missionaries a furlough house that can be a true home for the year we're raising support.
I'd love to see more people donate money or time to this worthy project. As a missionary, I'm allowed to live in one of the cabins if I choose, and I found out yesterday that it's not such a bad choice. The rent is extremely cheap; a pool is available two days a week in the summer; the atmosphere is one of prayer; and the accommodations are improving constantly as Bobi and Nancy keep working on these cute little cottages.
I have friends who live on the campground, Bobi and Nancy Arsenovic, who are retired missionaries now filling a role as the missionary representatives/liasons to the district. It's a long job title that is even more puzzling when you add their job description: they pick us up at the airport, host going-away parties, organize the housing of missionaries on the campground, listen to our complaints and fight for our rights when we need an advocate. They're doing a marvelous job!
I'd been invited to visit their cabin on the campground months ago, without ever really having a chance. This weekend, we finally got our schedules together. I had breakfast with them yesterday morning on the lovely deck they've added to their cabin. Bobi gave me a tour of the cabin, including all the improvements he's made--Bobi is a genius! He did things in that small cabin that I could never have imagined! Nancy made a great pancake breakfast that I thoroughly enjoyed and then we toured the campground to see the other missionary cabins.
There are many cabins at camp; some are in disrepair and others are tiny mansions. In the past few years, people have gifted the camp four cabins to be used solely for missionary housing. Nancy and Bobi have headed up the renovation projects. I got to see three of them: the Americana cabin (decorated by a Manassas, VA couple in red, white, and blue), the Tropical cabin (decorated mainly by the gifts of Rodney and Aida Stine, missionaries to the Phillippines), and the Asian cabin (still being renovated and decorated).
Each cabin had its unique positive features, but each cabin could use more work! In the Tropical cabin, the kitchen linoleum needs to be replaced; the windows are poorly designed and need replacing. In the Asian cabin, the bathroom needs a total overhaul (paint, fixtures, cabinets, etc) and it needs furniture for the office and the living/dining area.
Only two churches in our district have sent any money toward the "Cabin Project" but I'm proud to say my home church, Pasadena AG, was one of them! In fact, the gift that they sent is still being used as Bobi does cosmetic work in each cabin, including adding closets and other necessary features. One church sent their ladies group to paint, plant flowers, and help tear up flooring. In addition to their physical labor, they left enough money to put in laminate floors in the Asian cabin that Bobi finished this past weekend. I got to walk on that beautiful floor and I could appreciate how much work is being done to offer missionaries a furlough house that can be a true home for the year we're raising support.
I'd love to see more people donate money or time to this worthy project. As a missionary, I'm allowed to live in one of the cabins if I choose, and I found out yesterday that it's not such a bad choice. The rent is extremely cheap; a pool is available two days a week in the summer; the atmosphere is one of prayer; and the accommodations are improving constantly as Bobi and Nancy keep working on these cute little cottages.