Week 592 - Phoenix Christian School, SOWERs - 12-17-2017

Phoenix Christian School - SOWERs

Servants on Wheels Ever Ready is a wonderful Christian ministry. It benefits the host as well as the SOWER workers. A qualified Christian organization applies to the SOWERs office. They might be a church, church camp, rescue mission, a school, homeless shelter, college, missionary training, conference center, any group whose mission is to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We applied as workers in the summer of 2007. It is for couples only and requires fingerprinting and an FBI background check. We were approved in 2008. We were told that when working SOWERs projects we would meet friends for life. It is true. Our first project was Indian Hills Camp in Jamul, California (east of San Diego). We met John and Rosie and they are a blessing. We served with them again in Fairbanks, Alaska. John and Rosie are busy most months of the year with SOWER projects. As Pete needs to work for our support, we have only been able to do a few projects.

We were the first couple to serve as SOWERs at Phoenix Christian School in 2010. Typically, there will be four couples, sometimes more, sometimes less. At Phoenix Christian we were the only couple, both in 2010 and again this year. The intended work is for the men to work 6 hours per day, for 4 days in 3 weeks. A total of 72 hours. The women are not required to work, but usually work 3 hours on the same days. Since Pete was the group leader and Ellen was the group, we worked our projects together totaling 144 hours.

There was no new construction at this project, but lots of repairs.
Replace ceiling tiles - Clean trophy cases - Clean paint off library floor - Clean gym windows/screens - Clean gym trophies - Clean outside lights - Examine roof/door damage in boiler room - Prep/paint quad poles - Prep/paint cafeteria walls - Clean cafeteria windows - Remove drinking fountains - Rebuild kitchen shed door - Paint cafe wainscot - Clean cafe - Clean bleachers - Paint cafe doors - Install library ceiling vent - Remove, clean, mortar flower bed art tiles - Prep bathroom block wall for repair - Install library ceiling vent - Install new drinking fountains - Primer doors in counseling office - Cement in blocks in cafe bathroom - Paint counseling doors - Hang donor banner - Hang map in library - Paint tan at fountains, boiler room and bathroom - Paint snack shack bathroom doors - Paint cafe window trim - Install/paint metal post guard - Install wheel on trash gate - Cement hole in trash lot - Paint black 4x8 panels - Move panels to gym and erect - Paint outside wall - Remove damaged gutter drain - Cut/weld handrail - Repair music room cove molding - Paint stage risers in gym - Unclog kitchen sink - Clean gym bathrooms - Staff book fair as attendants and cashier.
[We did not expect you to read this full list. We presented to to show potential SOWERs the type of work you might do.]

Here are some photos. Painted black panels for Christmas program in gym.

Paint snack shack bathroom doors.

Installed new water fountains.

Added metal protectors to poles in Quad (student gathering area).

Cleaned outside hall lights.

Book fair. Ellen worked the fair for five days, Pete helped at times.

Art students created these decorative clay adornments. They came loose. We removed them, cleaned them and mortared them back.

We replaced dozens of interior ceiling panels.

We repaired fallen donor banners.

Mounted a map in the library.

Replaced library ceiling panels, this one around the vent was tricky.

Cafe windows need painting. We painted a couple (not shown here) around repaired broken windows.

Cleaned and painted the entire cafeteria wall from 4 foot and down.

The block wall in a private bathroom had four large holes where plumbing was replaced. Pete, with no knowledge of cementing blocks, repaired the wall and painted it.

The trash house fence wheel was broken. Pete assisted Kevin, school maintenance man, to install a new wheel. The wheel was damaged rolling across broken concrete. Pete repaired the concrete to give the wheel smooth ride.

The boiler room door jam was shattered. Pete and Ellen removed the old jam, replaced it, and painted.

We ran out of work the third week until Kevin asked us to "paint the entire school exterior"! We painted this 60 foot section of wall (portion shown below). Then, oops, the other walls were a different color and the paint was not available before we left.

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." 1st Peter 4:10

You save a lot money with free RV hookups at these projects. This allowed us to buy lunches out at SmashBurger. Across the nation, we have eaten at dozens of burger joints, both local and chains. While SmashBurger are a little pricey, we think they are the best of any chain. During our stay, every receipt offered a BOGO (buy one, get one) coupon. So, it was a no brainer to go often. In three weeks, we're sure we didn't go more than a dozen times. Another SOWER blessing.

We'll head East to Gold Canyon, Tucson, Benson and Green Valley in the coming weeks. Tag along, it'll be fun.

With love, Pete, Ellen and Mandy

Photos from Dec 2017