Wandering and Wondering/November 2023

     Greetings from sunny Yuma, Arizona!  Deb and I pray that you are well, enjoying these closing months of 2023.  

    We live busy lives (even in retirement).  This blog post began as a way to keep our family and friends updated on our travels, specifically our winter ministry work.  Ministry in many ways must be an everyday Focus. The Westminster Catechism’s first question and answer sums up our goal.  The 1st question and answer is: What is the chief end of man?  To give glory to God.  We truly seek in everything we do to give God the glory and honor!  We give God glory by being his hands and feet in His beautiful world.

    Yuma, Az is our winter home location.  We love the area for the rich diversity of people and cultures.  Another great blessing is: it is warmer than South Dakota most of the winter.  While we enjoy wearing light coats all winter, our real joy is working with CASA de La Esperanza (Homes of Hope).  This winter CASA de La Esperanza plans on building 5 homes for families in San Louis, Mexico.  We have fallen in love with so many of these Mexican friends and their families.  In order to minister through CASA we need a place to live so we have been driving our 35ft 5th wheel down the last few years.  Last winter we decided to purchase a more permanent place.  In Jan of this year we purchased a park model and took possession at the end of March.

    At the end of October we made our way south.  The SUV was packed tightly with items and clothes “needed” for the park model.  We enjoyed good travel and arrived to find our new home away from home well cared for by our good Air Force friend Keith Ware.  Thanks Keith!  Over the last week we have slowly made it our own.  Deb loves her Arizona room, and spends much of her day working in this bright addition to our park model.  Wendell continues to drive to an adjacent Snowbird park for coffee every 0]morning.

    Wendell has crossed into San Luis about 4 times already helping Curtis VanEkeren (Homes of Hope Director) purchase or receiving the donation of building materials for future builds.  Recently we were gifted 12 used exterior doors and 10 used windows from the Ware’s park model/mobile home manufacturing company.  That gift of doors and windows will supply our home builds for two years!

    That's all for the time being.  We will be in South Dakota for a while in most of December and the early part of January.  You can read our past posts on our blogpost site.  God Bless!

Episode 3 1/2

     Greetings from Yuma!  First, let me apologize for taking so long to blog our third installment of Wandering and Wondering!  We have been busy, it's just my own procrastination in putting together a blog on what we have been doing since Episode 2.  We have been active in our winter experience.  

    We have not been as active in "house builds" with other teams this season.  Instead, we have been active in other projects.  

    The main project was the demolition of the CASA House Casita.  A Casita is usually a small house or room attached or near a main house.  In CASA's case the Casita was built right behind the mission house and was intended to be used for a couple or individuals who might be helping with the CASA mission over an extended time.  We did have a young couple who was interested in joining the CASA mission team on a full-time basis.  They lived in the Casita with their children for a short time before they accepted another mission agency's offer to partner with them.  Since that time the Casita was used mainly for storage.

  Recently we lost the availability to store our equipment trailer at the location it has been at for many years.  As a result, we are now storing the equipment trailer beside the CASA mission house.  Since the house doesn't always have someone staying there in between builds and during the summer the danger is greater that someone could try to access the tools and equipment in the trailer, in other words steal our tools and damage the trailer doing it!  In order to protect our resources, CASA's board decided to demolish the Casita and build a garage to store the trailer in.  

    In early February Deb and I along with 4 other friends from the Sundance RV Resort deconstructed the Casita.  Our goal was to salvage as much of the lumber, windows and doors, etc. to be used in building the garage.  We were able to accomplish this task, saving most of the siding, the two by fours, rafters and other construction materials.  Below are some of the pictures from that stage of our project.  

    Once the Casita was down, Memo arranged for and helped widen and lengthen the concrete pad for the new garage.  Our crew of Deb, myself and our Canadian friends once again put on our toolbelts and picked up our tools to build the garage.  We were working on the garage at the same time the Faith Baptist build was going on, so it was nice to have some help from the younger guys raising the rafters!  In  a short week we had the garage built.  Deb and I then took our time over the next week or so to repaint the garage and put the trim on.  The garage is completed!  Pastor Miguel and a CASA house neighbor welded the security grates and doors for the garage.  A large roll-up door was the final touch.  We now have a safe place for our equipment trailer and shelves for storage.  

    

    Our second project was to frame and install a couple of walls in a San Luis Nursing Home.  The needs of this Home are great.  It houses a number of individuals who have either severe physical or emotional needs.  Several of our young people associated with our student ministry made CASA's Director, Curt Van Ekeren aware of the needs of this home.  While the owners of this facility own several very clean and well-kept facilities, this facility has many needs.  One need we immediately noted was their dining area was under a large, covered patio.  In order to keep the cold and wind off the residents a number of large tarps were hung from the roof's edge on two sides.  The other two sides have a brick wall which blocks the weather.  

    The students asked, "What could CASA do to help these poor residents?"  An earlier effort has been helping by re-engineering a large air handler to pull some of the "bad air" from the residents' rooms.  The building at one time had an air conditioning system so all the duct work was in place.  That unit long ago quit working and was disposed of.  CASA was able to find a used air handler blower unit.  We had the motor reversed so instead of blowing air into the rooms, it will pull the "bad" air out of the rooms and create some cross ventilation.  It works pretty well!

    It was also decided that we (CASA) would build two walls to enclose the dining area.  Four large windows had been donated to CASA so we could not only keep the cold and heat out of the room, but we could also bring some natural light into the room.  A week ago, Deb and I, Curt and Kelly Van Ekeren and Leonard Johnson (our good Canadian friend) drove down to build the walls.  The work went well, and what a difference the windows made, making the room bright and pleasing to be in.  Kelly spent most of her time cleaning and dragging multiple bags of clothes out of the storage room to be sorted and given to another charity if possible. 

     Here are some photos of that project.  

Well, that bring you up to date on our Yuma/San Luis Winter Wandering!  The First Reformed Church, Sioux Falls, SD's CASA build team will arrive in Yuma on March 25th.  Pray for us as we build another home for a very deserving young family.  Horacio and his wife are active in CASA's Student Program.  They have two young children who will have a new home and new beds in just one week!

Blessings.  Please let us know if you enjoy reading this blog.  

Episode Two: Our Story - Following the Holy Spirit's Call

    Welcome to the second Episode of Wendell's Wondering and Wanderings.  This episode is a little different from past blog posts.   

The weeks since arriving in Yuma have been filled with mostly normal snowbird activities.  We have been renewing friendships with Villa Alameda RV Park friends and making new friends.  Deb and I have been keeping tabs on our children and being grateful for warmer weather in Yuma.  So, life has settled into a fairly normal pattern for our winter experience.  When not working with Homes of Hope (CASA de la Esperanza), Deb quilts for herself and enjoys two sewing/quilting groups in the park.  She has made a number of friends in the park.  Wendell goes to coffee with friends at another park in Yuma, takes early morning walks along the irrigation channel behind our park, plays shuffleboard three mornings a week and works on jigsaw puzzles.  The below view shows the beauty of the area on a recent walk and sunset over pool at a neighboring RV Park.

    So how does a farm boy and his High School sweetheart from NW Iowa find themselves in Yuma, AZ enjoying a warmer winter and new experiences?  The answer is both simple and multi-facetted.  We love new experiences especially when serving God in Mission.  Notice I say serving God in mission not serving God in Missions.  We have one Mission to "Serve Him where and when he calls us to be his hands and feet to the world".   

     Pastor Tom, our pastor at Stone Ridge Church in Yuma, AZ has challenged us the last several weeks to tell our story.  To share our witness!  What follows is our story, how God took a young couple off an Iowa farm to serve Him in Mission.  In order to tell this story, I need to go back to the year of 1977.

    In 1977 Deb and I thought we had found our place and life's work.  It had been a journey to get to that point.  As High School sweethearts, we married in November 1970.  I, Wendell barely graduated high school being a totally unmotivated student.  The only activities I enjoyed in High School were vocal music and having a large library with novels that told of a world outside of rural America.  I read books through every class often completing a book a day!  Of course, my grades suffered.  My mother was a scholar at heart.  She met my father while attending her first year of college, fell in love and followed him to the farm.  Farmers wives did not have time or funds for higher education, so she dropped out of school.  In order to encourage me in my academic life she bought me all the right supplies and even nice book bags!  To her great disappointment I hated the academic life.  I seldom turned in an assignment and as result carried a whopping low GPA.  My love of reading novels was due in part to a desire to learn about the wonders of the world books showed me.

    After high school, with no goals and no wish to stay on the farm I enlisted in the SD Air National Guard.  It was something to do and I thought would get me off the farm for a little while.  I didn't hate the farm, but just wanted to see some of the world.  After basic training I game back to Sioux Falls for On-the-Job Training at the guard.  After completing that training, a full time "technician" job opened up at the Guard.  Deb and I began our life together in November of 1970.  I thought my life is complete.  I have the love of my life by my side and a good job.  Four years later the four walls of the office and life in the city were pressing in on me.  While working in the Guard met a need in my life, God was still working on me.  So, we left the jobs in Sioux Falls and started farming with my dad!  Surely this was where God wanted us.  Three years later we were quite content with our lives.  We were content until God moved in a powerful way in our life.  

    My faith in God was important to me.  I thank the Lord for Godly parents who faithfully nurtured me in faith.  My life was steeped in learning about God and His great love for me.  A very moving youth camp experience led me to come forward to accept Him as my Lord and Savior.  Acknowledging his Lordship resulted in my confession of faith with 22 other youth in our church!  Experiencing worship and Bible study became the norm of my life.  God kept drawing me deeper and deeper into his everlasting love!  I believed God wanted me to be the best farmer I could be and take care of his creation. 

    In the summer of 1977, I was part of a morning prayer breakfast group.  One of the prayer breakfast leaders had made reference to Judges the 6th chapter.  This passage details the calling of Gideon and his response.  The Israelites had "cried to the Lord because of Midian".  God heard their cry and sent them a prophet who basically said "you ungrateful people.  I took you out of Egypt, out of slavery and I asked you to not worship the gods of the Amorites,,,but you have not listened to me."  But God loved His people and asked Gideon to save His people from the Midianites.  Gideon is not so sure he wants to follow God's call to him.  He argues with God, stomps his foot a little and says, "it's not fair God".   He even tried to ignore God's call by stating "How can I save Israel?  My clan is the weakest clan in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."  The Lord's answer:  "I will be with you!"   Gideon then begins a series of "tests"; tests for God so Gideon can "know" God's Will!  OK Lord if I am really to follow your call, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me."  Wow!  Gideon was testing God.  Not something I had ever thought was wise or proper.  But God says OK bring on the test.  Scripture goes on with detailing Gideon going back and forth following God's will and then doubting again needing another test.  Every time God patiently puts up with Gideons requests.  The final tests are the "wool fleece" tests.  

    Gideon said: "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised--look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor.  If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said."  And that is what happened.  Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew - a bowlful of water."  The ground was dry.  Gideon is impressed but wants to try once more test.  He reverses the fleece test.  "This time make the fleece dry, and the ground covered with dew."  God comes through with another perfect test.  The next morning the fleece was dry and the ground wet!  Wow what an ideal testing God.

    I marveled at how patient God was with Gideon, I began to wonder.  Was I in God's will in respect to where He wants me in life?  Was I really doing the will of God?  On that warm summer day, I asked myself that very question.  How do I know the will of God?  Am I in His will?

    That day I needed to get some feed for my hogs.   As I drove to town those questions rattled through my mind.  I had done a number of things in life.  I thought I was where God wanted me, but did I really know I was doing His "Will"?  I drove by my church.  I knew our youth Pastor was in his office.  So, I pulled in and asked him the big question:  "How do you know the Will of our Lord?"  We talked for some time about doing God's Will.  Our Youth Pastor Ted was the first youth Pastor at our church.  I had worked with him and respected him.  He gave me some literature to read.  I left the church and went home!  I was so deep in this question I even forgot to get the feed!

    Back home I went back to the tasks at hand still deep in thought.  At one point I remembered the Prayer Breakfast story of Gideon.  Hey, Gideon tested God.  If I really wanted to know God's will maybe I needed to pray to Him and ask Him to give me a clear sign.  In fact, let's do like Gideon and ask for multiply signs!   So, I prayed!  In fact, I paused while walking through my corn crib and prayed this prayer.  "Lord, if you have something you want me to do for you give me three signs.  Three very clear signs."  I wasn't specific what those signs were to be.  I just want signs!

    After that big "prayer" moment I decided I needed to include my good prayer breakfast friends in this endeavor.  You see we had always said we would come together if we ever had a "big" prayer need.  We had never made any calls to each other to do that very thing...just talked about we should.  So, I called three close friends simply saying could you come tonight and pray with me.  

    Two friends, Bernie and Doug said sure!  The time was set.  Nothing was stated about the fact I was trying to determine if I was in the will of God, or did He have a different life mission for me.  My third friend Bobby when hearing my request said, "I can't Wendell".  Peggy (his wife) was not happy with him because her parents were coming for a visit.  She had asked him to do several things in preparation for their arrival.  He was busy and the things had not been done!  I was disappointed but told him while I really would have liked to have join me in prayer I understood.  I hung up the phone.   No sooner had I turned around then the phone rang, and it was Bobby.  He said, "I'll be there".  

    I went back to my chores.  Completed the work of the day and returned to the house to prepare for my friends' arrival.  I don't remember the exact reason Deb was not at home, but one of us had left the television on.  As I walked in my kitchen, I heard a voice from an otherwise quiet and empty house these words: Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel.  Wow...could that be one of God's signs!   Yes, I later learned it was someone interviewing Brother Andrew.  Brother Andrew in the early 1970's had been on a mission to bring Bibles into the Iron Curtain counties.  He referred to that mission as his call from God. OK!  So, was God speaking to me asking me to leave the farm and begin some sort of ministry for Him.  Being raised in a very stoic protestant church I never had experienced this level of "hearing God's voice".  But maybe this could be sign one.

    Later two of my friends, Bernie and Doug arrived at the farm for our appointed prayer time.  As Bernie walked through my door he said: "Wendell, I had a vision from God as we were driving here tonight that you were being called by God into full time ministry"!   Ok!  Sign number two.  I had not told anyone that I had been wondering what God's will was for my life.

    Finally, Bobby arrived.  He came in the house and told us about his day.  He was busy and had not gotten to do the household tasks his wife had asked him to do in preparation for her parents' arrival.  So, there was a lot of tension in his house!  After he had told me he could not come to pray with us, his wife said, "Wendell needs you to pray with him."  He called me back to say he would come.  Then he said as he hung up the phone, he had a vision that God was calling me to full time ministry, and he needed to pray with me about God's Will for me.  Sign number three!?

    We did pray!  That night the Holy Spirit moved in my life in a powerful way.  I knew God was leading me to leave the comfort of the farm.  He was calling me to full time ministry.  He was calling me to reach beyond myself and follow his Will to proclaim His love to the world.  God blessed me with a wife who was as moved by God's Spirit as I.  We knew we needed to leave the farm, to explore where we could be used by God.  I shared with family that we would be leaving the farm, exploring His will for us by heading for a nearby Christian College.  My father who had thought I would be the one son to follow his dreams of having a son be a farmer.  He had tears as in his eyes as he agreed I should follow Gods leading.  So, I enrolled in college.  I sold my farming equipment on a farm sale and moved my wife and three children.  Those were hard and lean years.  But every step of the way, God revealed his Will for our life.  I can truly say there has never been a time since that summer day in 1977 that I have doubted our Mission is to preach His word and work in His Name.  

    

Wonders and Wandering 2023 - Episode One

 Greetings dear family and friends!  

    Welcome to 2023!  The theme of Episode One of this season of our snowbird winter escape from SNOW and COLD could be titled WINDSHIELD TIME.  This will be our seventh snowbird season.  We are not your normal snowbirds as we want our time away from family and friends to be more than enjoying warmer weather, no SNOW and cold weather and quality time with winter friends from Minnesota, Canada, and numerous other states.  Our snowbird season is structured with a missional focus.  

    In prior years we worked one month of our time in Arizona with a mission minded organization called SOWER's. SOWER stands for Servants On Wheels Ever Ready (RV'ing with a Purpose).  For more information on this unique ministry go to www.sowerministry.org.  The SOWER organization connects individuals, mostly retired couples, with organizations that want help.  The organization provides the SOWER with RV hookups, free of charge and the SOWERs lend their many talents to whatever work needs to be done.  All SOWER members work three four-day weeks at a particular project, then they have one week off that they can stay at the project site for free.  In past years we have worked winter projects at the ETHOS 360 Aviation Training Center in McNeal, AZ, Prescott Pines Camp (Prescott, AZ) and two years at the Gospel Rescue Mission Womens Center in Tucson, AZ.  

    The rest of our Snowbird Missional work is with CASA de La Esperanza or Homes of Hope.  Click this link www.christiansinmexico.org for the CASA website.  CASA builds homes in San Luis, Mexico for needy Mexican families.  Curt and Kelly Van Ekeren who originate from Sioux Falls, SD are the directors.  CASA has developed into a multi-focus mission not only building desperately needed housing but also helping the youth of San Luis get a quality education.  Our Student Ministry sponsors youth who want an education beyond eighth grade.  In Mexico the government provides public education for all children through eighth grade.  After the eighth-grade Mexican citizens must pay for continuing education.  Many families simply cannot afford to send their children to school.  Without an education the youth must work fulltime at low paying jobs to help their families exist.  CASA connects students who want to go on to higher education with sponsors.  Sponsors commit to supporting the students financially.  There are currently 25 sponsored students!  This successful ministry has helped a number of students reach good paying successful careers!

    We love working with the CASA ministry!  This 2023 snowbird season we have chosen to work the entire 3 months with CASA. When not working with CASA we enjoy RV park activities, coffee and happy hour with our friends, shuffleboard games for Wendell and for Deb, hours of quilting with her friends.

    On the December 26th, 2022, with lots of help from family, we packed away the Christmas decorations, pulled the camper out of the snowbank and loaded the camper with everything needed for our winter escape from cold and snow.  Wendell tends to be the worry wart in our family when it comes to winter travel with the trailer!  So, he was really nervous about the challenges of avoiding winter complications loading the camper and driving 2000 plus miles to our winter paradise in Yuma, AZ.  But with Deb's ever needed encouragement and hard work it has been a great experience!  No travel problems.  Great roads and even greater temperatures once we got out of South Dakota!  Just a lot of windshield time as Deb recently stated.

    We stopped in Claycomo, MO to enjoy a short visit with Dillion and Mackenzie.  They are busy with life and jobs, so it was pizza at the motel.  We so enjoyed the time catching up with their busy life.

    From Claycomo we traveled west to Topeka and then down to Wichita.  In Wichita we picked up US 54 ending up for the night in Guymon, OK.  When traveling Deb does a great job of researching places to stay.  We usually stay in Motels until it is safe to put water in the camper.  Speaking of campers, ours has served us well.  This is the 6th year it has made the trip to Arizona.  

The only reason we needed a picture of the camper this year was because the Tucson campground we are staying at needs a photo of any camper over 10 years old!  So, Deb took the picture, but our friends who we were stopping in Tucson to see vouched for us!

    Tucson, AZ was our first extended stop.  Tucson is where our friends Tim and Cindy Klein are on extended assignment as caregivers for their now 5-month-old granddaughter, Mae.  We spent a few days catching up on news, playing cards and celebrating the new year!  After a wonderful time spent with the Kleins, we pushed on the short-day ride to Yuma.

    We are comfortably settled into our space at Villa Alameda RV Resort.  Our address is 3547 South Ave. 5 E, Lot 140, Yuma, AZ  85365.  Most of this week has been spent setting up the camper, fixing little things that always seem to pop up when you have an older camper, etc.  Wendell took a brief trip over the border with Curt VE to San Luis, Mexico on Thursday to check out the Mission home and bring some donated items across the border.  Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

    

Wandering in Mexico: First Reformed Church "Homes of Hope Build"

         Welcome to our latest Wondering and Wandering post!  After returning from our Mission Jamaica trip in February we settled into our winter home away from home at Villa Alameda RV Resort in Yuma, AZ.  Deb returned to her quilting projects and Wendell resumed his grueling routine of playing Shuffleboard on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, fixing jigsaw puzzles, reading and enjoying Arizona sunshine.  Deb completed her Alaska Quilt!  She did all this in our 400 square foot home away from home. 

        Our First Reformed Church (Sioux Falls) CASA Team arrived here in Yuma on February 5th, pausing briefly at Curt and Kelly's home before crossing the border, anxious to get settled in for our build week.  Earlier on the 5th, Deb and I, Tim and Cindy Klein and Mark Sissing crossed over into San Luis to open the CASA house and settle in before the rest of the team arrived.  Once the team was assembled in San Luis fun at Farkle and Cribbage commenced.  Even Avalee and Pastor Miguel's boys played games.  Curt briefed the team later on the upcoming week and we shuffled off to slumberland!

        Sunday we attended Pastor Miguel's church.  Fortunately there were several San Luis residents who were attending also who were able to translate the messages from Pastor Miguel and guest Pastor friend of Miguel's.

Above Curt and guest Pastor

Below are pictures of the Fellowship meal our team was invited to join.  Everyone enjoyed the food, fellowship and music.

            

The Lee's use their Spanish language skills!

    Monday morning bright and early we enjoyed Kelly's pancakes and other hearty breakfast foods, filled our water bottles and headed for the worksite.  This week's family was eagerly waiting our arrival.  Meet the family!

        Dad, Fernando is an auto mechanic in San Luis.  Mom, Alondra (hidden behind son in red) along with her family had cleared the lot of trash, watered the sand and was waiting excitedly in front of their new house concrete slab.  Their children are (tallest son) Fernando, Jr. age 15 years, Alexander, age 12, daughter Keila, age 8 and little Cesar Issac, age 1 1/2 years.  

        Every work day starts with prayer.  Curt and Kelly remind us we are in Mexico to build more than a house.  We demonstrate the love of Christ and build relationships that model His Love.  So prayer before the day's work and meals are very important.

    

    The team, after so many years of working together is like a well oiled machine, it operates smoothly and quickly.  Everyone jumped to their task of setting up the tools, saw horses, etc. and began to work quickly.  Framers started cutting wall studs and building the walls; painters jumped to getting the panels and rafters painted.  Everything visible from the road gets a coat or two of paint before it is placed on the studs.

(House in background was where the family lived)

                                The walls went up quickly, with help from the family.  

At the end of day one, all the walls were up, sheeted and the roof rafters and the deck on!

Then it was off to the ice cream shop for a refreshing break for the team!

        After eating a delicious meal at the CASA house, devotions were lead by Tim and Cindy Klein.

Team members led each evening's devotions, with very enriching discussions.  Everyone got cozy!

    

        Day two saw the team sheeting the roof, installing windows, trim, interior walls, wiring, etc.

A great example that our youth from FRC work at the build, and build relationships that last forever with our friends south of the border.  Avalee helps build the front door.

Deb and I enjoyed a visit and worked for part of the day with our student Kenia.  Kenia is studying to be a dietician.  She has a year of classes left, then a year of internship to complete.  A beautiful young woman with a bright future!

Alondra paints her new bathroom door.  Imagine if you will, never having any privacy or even a bathroom that wasn't an outhouse!

After the walls were insulated with Styrofoam, sheetrock goes up!  Caleb, Pastor Miguel's son is handy with a sheetrock gun!

        Day two ended and the team headed for Mission house!  More ice cream was enjoyed by all, thanks to another gracious team member buying the treats for everyone.  After supper, more Cribbage played by Curt, John, Kelly, Kim and Tim, farkle by others, and devotions, everyone slept soundly.  The early risers on the team ensured the coffee was ready each morning for the team.  Wendell and Mark were always the first up!

        Day Three saw the finishing touches completed on the house.  The Ramada (open air porch) was completed.  Bed frames built, plumbing installed, ceiling Styrofoam installed, electrical finished and water lines installed.

At the end of the day all that remained for Thursday was putting up curtains, cleaning and moving in the new beds and mattresses, and dedicating the house.  

Important time spent in building relationships.  Above Curt spending time with Keila and Cesar.  Below Kelly and Cindy flying a kite with Keila.

Zahir, Pastor Miguel's son is an very active boy who loves doing cartwheels and hanging from anything he can find.

At the dedication the family receives the keys to the house and Bibles!

More time to fly the kite!

        Well that pretty much raps up this last project of the winter for the Brenneman's.  We will head back to South Dakota on April 1st with many fond winter 2022 memories.