Volunteering

Recently Run In Texas contacted us and asked if we would be interested in providing volunteers for a Ladies 5k-10k Run/Walk to be held at the Wildseed Farm outside of Fredericksburg.  In return for providing 15 volunteers to help by handing out water and checking in runners, they would make a nice donation to the Wounded Warriors at Nebo Ministry.  Needless to say we couldn't pass up the opportunity to get out in the fresh air and be part of the fun and help the ministry!!  What wonderful volunteers!! Twenty showed up!!

 We are grateful to Debbi McCurdy for organizing the volunteers and to everyone who came out to help.  It was a beautiful sight to see!!

Certificate of Appreciation

LTC Edwards, Sharon, Jackie, Susan, Lisa (behind Dottie), Dottie

As you have probably already read in an earlier blog, the couples retreat was awesome. We were blessed to be hosts to so many sweet gracious people.  During his visit on Saturday Lt. Col. Edwards presented Wounded Warriors at Nebo a certificate of recognition and gratitude for our work and support of wounded warriors, their families and staff.  We were delighted and humbled because what we do is nothing compared to what these families have been through. Also, the ministry could not survive without the many many faithful volunteers and supporters. You all know who you are - this recognition is also yours.

R&R Weekend



Carr Family enjoying Clear River Pecan Co. Ice Cream

Although several events happened this past weekend, I'm only going to talk about the R & R weekend at Nebo right now.  The Carr family, Don, Stephanie, Sierra-12, Hunter-10, Annabelle-4 and Abigail-3 joined us Saturday at the Best Fest complements of the Knights of Columbus.  After enjoying the great German food, music and other activities they spent the afternoon exploring Fredericksburg. 


Annabelle & Abigail

Thanks to the generosity of Fredericksburg Theatre Company, the family was scheduled to see The Miracle Worker Saturday night.  Now I don't know about you but the thought of taking 3 & 4 year old children to the movies is scary enough but to live theatre?  So in an insane moment I offered to take the children (all 4) and let Don & Stephanie have a date night.  They felt it would be good for the older ones to experience live theatre.  So Annabelle, Abigail & I  got to spend the evening at Nebo playing and watching the cats beg to come inside.



What delightful little girls!!  Made me wish my granddaughters were closer. The evening flew by and before we knew it Don, Stephanie, Sierra & Hunter were home.  They really enjoyed the play and the quality of the performers!!

Sunday afternoon Sharon & I went to Nebo to shut off water and gas, etc. and feed the kittens.  On the counter was a beautiful card the family had made for the WWAN team.

Fishing Tournament - Winners!!

Ok, so everyone there was a winner!! We finally have names, pictures and placement from the Sept. 28th fishing tournament.  Trophies were awarded for Total Weight and Big Bass.  The club member name appears first followed by his team mate(s).

 Total Weight Placement

Raul, Henry & Wayne

First Place: 10.25 lbs - Wayne Alberthal, Henry Douglas and Raul Encinas.

They also placed 3rd in Big Bass category with one at 5.40 lbs.

Caldwell, Chase, Shepherd

Second Place: 10.05 lbs - Chase Mier, Caldwell Yancy and Shepherd Holms.

 Placed 1st in Big Bass with 8.05 lbs

Bruce & Jermand

Third Place: 9.60 lbs - Bruce Kaiser and Jermand Parsons.

Placed 2nd in Big Bass category with one at 5.50 lbs.

Lee Cain

 Fourth Place: 4.46 lbs - R.C. Cantu and Lee Cain

Keith, Carmen & Dale

Fifth Place: 2.45 lbs - Dale Land, Keith & Carmen Madere

Tom & Walter

Sixth Place: 2.30 lbs - Tom Cooper and Walter Taylor

 

 Seventh Place: 2.10 lbs - Chris Burleson and Paul Williams - PICTURE NOT AVAILABLE

 

Kyle Rose

Eighth Place: 1.30 lbs - Donnie Hohmann and Kyle Rose

Wounded Warriors & Family Spend Day in Hill Country

And a good time was had by all!!  Saturday, September 14, was our first Family Fun Day event.  Both LBJ State and Federal Parks waived their fees for the Wounded Warriors & family members.  Park personnel were gracious and very helpful.

Setting up Movie Projector

We all met at the Party House (the park refers to it as the Dining Hall).  Volunteers arrived early and got everything set up for our guests.  There were games, movies, puzzles, fishing and of course food.  When the warriors arrived everyone went out to greet them.







Setting up Games





Getting Ready to Fish

I personally had a special moment when I saw the volunteers on both sides of the walk greeting our guests.

Domingo feeding butterfly

 There was a special butterfly exhibit which was a real treat.  The 'butterfly ladies' gave us lots of information including how to attract butterflies. They also had a screened in area you could enter and attempt to get a butterfly to land on your hand and eat some ripe banana.

After feeding the butterflies everyone decided they were hungry so we went back to the Party House for lunch.   Some park personnel also joined us.

Warriors, park personnel, volunteers getting acquainted

 After lunch we were off to the LBJ Ranch & White House.  We had a CD that explained various aspects of the park on the drive through the park. Chad took control of it and pointed out sights as we drove. We would have missed a lot without the CD.  

Heading for White House Tour

Domingo & Tony

 At this point it was getting late so we took a vote on whether to go fish, tour Sauer-Beckman farm or tour Becker Vineyard.  You know which one won!!

Becker had a tasting table set up in a room with huge vats all around the walls. Henri, our 'tasting guide' was a treat.  He regaled us with stories as well as information about the wines, vineyard & winery.  Time flies when your having fun and this was no exception.

Good Food - Good Friends

 The St. Joseph's Society from St. Mary's Catholic Church in Fredericksburg had dinner waiting for us back at the party house.  They prepared a feast of fried catfish, coleslaw, beans & french fries.  For dessert (who had room?) were the biggest cookies I've ever seen.  Donated by Clear River Pecan Co.

Renae, Emma & Chad 

Although the day was packed with activities, volunteers and guests had time to visit and make new friends.
GOD is so good!!

See more pictures on facebook.com/ww.nebo

Summer Draws to a Close

Well, summer is almost over and that causes a range of emotions in me!  I will really miss the sweet faces of the children who have been attending our card making classes. They are always so much fun and I love watching their creativity, but soon they will be back in school.

 

 

On the other hand, fall is going to be an exciting time!!  We are adding mini-retreats for couples and singles, fishing events, a family day at the LBJ State & National Historic Park, a weekend art class and more to our regular respite weekends and ongoing card classes at Fort Sam Houston.  Say a prayer for all of us who work in this ministry.  We need energy, wisdom, discernment, and health to serve the wounded warriors .  Yahoo!!! Fall here we come!

 
 
 

Cards & a Birthday

Sharon, Dan & Genette

Summer is always slow when it comes to warriors and their families coming to Nebo for a respite weekend. Everyone is vacationing, entertaining visiting family & friends, etc. However, last Saturday Dan and Genette Burgess brought their two daughters out for the day.We also had several "local" women joins us.

Dan & Genette explaining how to wrap the string.

Dan offering assistance.













 Lisa having fun with the Butterfly card she designed.

Sharon's group fine tuning "Sea Horse" card.

My "Creations" (thanks to our Artists/Teachers).

What a treat, we left with four beautiful handmade cards!!

    

Kaylee blowing out the candles on her birthday cake. 

We got to help Kaylee celebrate her birthday.

Vedena, Sharon & Jackie

Vedena, (from Doss) is one of the local women
that joined us for the day.

Jackie, set aside her designing talent and focused on
providing lunch.  It was wonderful!!

After lunch Gracie, Kaylee & Christopher got acquainted & made bracelets on a loom.

 It's always a blessing having children join us.

 Oh yes, they also made cards with us. In fact they are more experienced & skilled at it than I.   But they are very patient and helpful when I "stumble".

CARDS, ETC.

 Last Tuesday was exciting!!  We had 9 join us to make cards.  That's the largest third Tuesday class we've had.  Lisa, our teacher, had a surprise for us.  Instead of making two cards she had designed a flower on a stick (something like a pinwheel but a flower).  We were able to choose papers and develop our own unique combinations.

 

  In addition to the surprise project we had some men join the class.  WHOO HOO!!    

Lisa explaining some of the finer points.

Card class is also a Social Event

Getting instructions on Glue Gun

Fishing in the Hill Country

On Saturday April 6, The Fredericksburg Fly Fishing Club (FFF Club) and the Wounded Warriors at Nebo (WW at Nebo) teamed up to provide a day of fishing at Stillwaters Ranch for Wounded Warriors from SAMMC (San Antonio Military Medical Center).   

There were 10 warriors, a staff member of SAMMC and Justin who helps his dad. 

 They met at Fredericksburg United Methodist Church for a lite breakfast and to give the troops a break from the van.  They were  then convoyed to Stillwaters Ranch for a day of fishing & relaxation in the clean Hill Country air.

   The FFF Club members were amazing in their efforts to provide fishing equipment, food, instruction, encouragement, and an enjoyable time for all.  Club members were already at the fishing site setting things up and unloading boats and kayaks when the warriors  arrived. As they got out of their vehicles, club members were introducing themselves and determining what was needed to get the warriors started fishing.  Very few of the warriors had their own gear but that didn’t matter.  The club came prepared with extra rods, reels, lures and lots of enthusiasm in addition to several boats and kayaks which were made available for anyone’s use.  Two warriors had never fished so club members stepped right up and taught them how.  Lupe, one of the novices, caught three fish very quickly.  Barbara , the other newbie only tempted the fish but she & Lupe sat on the pier soaked up the sun and fished all day.   A warrior was overheard  telling a club member who was encouraging him to use a kayak, “I didn’t survive Afghanistan to come drown in a kayak”.  He later was coaxed into a boat by a fellow warrior.  One of the club members helped a couple of the warriors figure out how to fish one handed.  In addition, the fishing club members, members of the WW

at Nebo team  and warriors visited during the day.  One would never have guessed that a few hours earlier that this mixed group was made up of strangers .  Although not everyone caught fish, everyone had a great time and agreed it was a “do again event”. 

The ranch owner, Clayton Leverett was also there with his two year old son to meet and visit with several of the guests.  He generously waived their fees and said the ranch was available if we wanted to plan another outing.

It took numerous individuals working together to make this day a success.  We thank you for your time and financial support.  In addition, we are grateful for the generosity of the following businesses, individuals and organizations:

· Clayton Leverett                   Waived Fishing Fees for the Warriors & donated FFF's fees to WW at Nebo;

· RW Spencer of Cabelas, Buda, TX                        Donated Use of a Truck and Aerated Live Well;

· Hill Country Pump Service                                      Donated Portable Handicap Toilet;

· FFF Club Members                          Donated Lunch, Fishing Equipment, Boats/Kayaks, Time, Enthusiasm;

· WW at Nebo           Coordinated event with SAMMC, Donated Breakfast, Dinner, Misc Fishing Equip, Time                                       

 Due to our community’s contributions these warriors were able to get respite from their painful efforts to recover from wounds they sustained  in combat and in service to us .  Some of Saturday’s participants were returning to major surgeries, painful physical therapy, and  counseling sessions to overcome their post traumatic stress disorder.

Camera Shy Robert Gearing Up

 

Just Sit Still & Hold On!

Bruce was really popular

 Bruce cooked up burgers, hot dogs and baked beans that drew even the very serious fishermen in for a bite.

 Novices and Teachers

Clayton and Son taking a Break

The one that Didn't Get Away

 

Justin caught a nice sized fish-it was the first fish of the day. Then as luck would have it he caught the last one but threw it back for another day.

The day's "Believe it or Not"  Bruce caught this fish by hand - - That's right, he reached down in the water and came out with the fish. He was also kind enough to fillet everyone's fish for them.