The desert blooms as paradise…..

…..when God is with his people there. Everyone is free to read this post but it will make the most sense to those who have experienced one of our 4 day conventions. Those special 4 days of the year used to fall in Sept for us when we lived in Wisconsin. We would wait with great anticipation, prepare our hearts,bake cookies, gather clothes, pack the camper and head to the Wisconsin Dells area. And this is what it looked like…..
     When we moved to S.Cali we heard much talk among our friends about the new convention grounds that was being worked on out in the high desert in the "town" of Shelter Valley. It was a run down campground/RV park. We went out there on a work day that first April we lived here. In the 1 hour 20 min drive we drove through citrus groves, Indian reservations, mountains and then desert. We saw sleet, snow, rain and a rainbow. And we arrived to be greeted by sand, tumbleweeds, scraggly trees, 40 degrees and gale force winds! Dave and I looked and each other and said, " This seems like a crazy place to have convention." But we were also given a warm welcome by people who had a vision of how to transform these grounds. So we pitched in and did what we could.
     This year we had the privilege of attending the first convention at Shelter Valley which had a population of 300 before we tripled their population for 4 days and nights. It was a nearly perfect place to have convention- quiet (except for the wind), separated and peaceful. The RV campground is called Stagecoach Trails and has a western feel. This was on a stagecoach route back in the day and the names of the various sleeping quarters reflect that: Texas, New Mexico, Frisco…

We rented a camper and off we went …..

Dan N. greeted us and helped everyone find their campsite or their dorm.

 

Inside the big white tent which was specially designed for high winds.

When the tent is removed that area is once more a fenced in basketball court.

Looking toward the lodge- some of the dining tables.

Ha- caution tape around the cactus!

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Looking at the lodge where the food prep was done and the veranda where the 2 tray lines were set up. Everyone who was able went through the tray line (including our ministers) and then found a place to sit or stand.

My friend Jane was one of the salad people.

Yummy biscuits for breakfast- convention is very carbilicious!

The resident cookie monster in the bread/cookie department.

The kitchen where the best and most varied convention food I ever had was prepared.  Lovely to have fresh strawberries and oranges every day.

The view from our campsite

Dave and I had fun jobs serving on the tray line. We worked with these two special people- our dear friend Hyesoo's brother Ryan and his lovely wife Ane.

Many of you know this lovely young lady-Jacinda who is also a WI native. She served water, tea and coffee. Somedays the drinks even had "sparkles" in the glasses- otherwise known as "sand"!!

Socializing 

Some of the young children and early teens.

The Grant family who helped make all this possible and who welcomed us to their property.

Simple, serene and perfect. Although we almost had meeting canceled due to high winds! But we happily lived  and ate outside for 4 days here. And most of all we were fed spiritually.

This little cutie Greyson P. was busily adjusting all the drip lines to the plants!

Yes, thank you we would love to come back next year!

Hijacked!

I finally figured out the password to this blog and decided it's my turn.. ..In case any of you are wondering what the 'other half' of this blogger is up to these days! I still like hanging out with Kristi... !!

I must say that I really, really miss Shane & Nikelle, and Tristan & Brooke and I'm looking forward to seeing them all at the end of May! And really excited to become a Grandpa!! ( Looking forward to meeting Marlowe too! )

I don't get tired of the weather here at all. As the locals say, "Every day is a golf day". I do get out there once in awhile with these fine people.

I took up Radio Control Airplane flying since moving out here.. In January, I went to an RC show not far from here... One of these gliders is on my 'wish list'... ( I have too many hobbies! )

As most of you probably know Johnson Controls decided to 'farm out' the Solar projects I had been moved out here for. Too many other companies doing it for very low profit margins. So, they decided they didn't need me anymore, and my last day was Oct 3 of last year!
Actually, they did me a big favor! I was getting a bit weary of the huge corporate world and was getting antsy to do something different. So, I didn't have to make a big decision to quit, as they did it for me!! Since I knew this was going to happen, I had been talking to a friend and associate of mine that I have known since the '80's. We did business together at Allen Bradley. He and his business partner were in the midst of starting a company called Wellntel. On October 4th, I talked to Nick, and told him that I had time on my hands... so... by mid-October I started consulting for Wellntel! http://www.wellntel.com/

We are designing a system that will monitor the distance to the water line in a well. It also tells you how far the water goes down when the pump runs, and how quickly the water recovers after the pump turns off. With the water situation here in California, this product is very timely. The garage has turned into a 'lab' ... a messy one at that.. My 'test well' is 40' of PVC pipe across the driveway.

Recently, I decided I should do something about it.. so now its' a bit more organized.

We have 15 prototypes installed on wells up near Paso Robles, CA. Here's Nick and I when we were installing them.

On one of my trips to Paso Robles, I drove along the coast near Santa Barbara.. Not a bad place to have to drive actually :)

Currently, we're working on Version 2, which will be production ready. We're heading towards an October launch and volume production starting in January. It's a lot different than working for a company of 30,000+ employees, but I must say I'm enjoying every minute of it!