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RV Volunteer Camping - Become A SOWERThere are many and varied ways to experience the RV Camping lifestyle. Below is an article that should give you plenty to consider if you are looking to find activity and meaning in your RV travel.
When I say “I’m a SOWER
Volunteer…”
When we’ve parked our motorhome in a commercial campground, the three flags
nestled on our windshield (American, Maryland and a SOWER flag) usually prompt the
question, “What are you sewing/sowing?” Our answer: “We are sowing good
deeds!” The more precise definition from our website is www.sowerministry.org “SOWERs is a
non-profit, non-denominational, working ministry made up of interdenominational, born
again Christian RVers.” Our logo includes this passage from scripture, Galatians 6:7
“… whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” We signed up for SOWER projects in Tampa and Stuart, Florida in 2004, and saw the Millers again in Vero Beach, Florida when they were our Group Leaders for a big project in 2005. Bob and Bertha Drew heard about the SOWER organization while volunteering for another ministry in Hawaii: they joined SOWERs as soon as they returned to their home in Michigan. Char and Roger Quakkelaar joined in 1998, because they wanted to have SOWER experiences like her older sister and husband had for so many years. A common thread of conversation with SOWERs revolves around being bored with
retirement: they would rather work than play golf or go sightseeing. Roger said it best:
“I was a workaholic for the forty years I worked in retail: I don’t like to
travel. I am a ‘destination driver.’ I will drive somewhere if there is work at
the other end. I like working three weeks, and get bored when we have to wait ten days to
start a new project the next month!” Jim Kagey echoed those sentiments and said that
after two years of retirement, the old Peggy Lee song, “Is That All There Is?”
kept running through his mind. Q: What kind of work do you do—How do you choose your projects? A: The SOWER Project Host lists their work descriptions in the SOWERGRAM, a monthly newsletter sent to all SOWER members. Individuals choose projects that either utilize their existing skills, or build new expertise—I just learned how to use Excel at a project in Hidalgo, Texas. Each couple agrees to work Monday-Thursday for three weeks. Women can work if they want to, and most do work three hours each morning; our husbands work six hours a day. Thus by the end of the third week, each couple has typically contributed 108 hours of labor. Many of us choose projects based on the climate, proximity to our children and grandchildren or because we want to explore a specific section of the country. Q: Are you paid in cash? A: No. We’re paid in satisfaction and blessings, never dollars and cents. As a reformed workaholic, I enjoy using my life skills: tutoring/speech therapy, marketing, sales, and writing in ways that benefit an understaffed ministry. My husband spent his life in construction, and he can build or fix almost anything. We feel repaid by the appreciation of the staff and the smiles on their faces: we’ve accomplished work they didn’t have the time and/or skills to do themselves. Q. Where do you park your RVs? A. The host prepares a mini RV campground on or near their work site. It provides water, electric, and sewer hookups. They allocate a “SOWER Room” with couches, tables, and chairs so that we have a meeting place for Morning Devotions (7:30am) and for potluck dinners or to play games in the evening. I learned to play “Fast Scrabble” and “Mexican Train” in Pharr, Texas. Often the host provides washers, dryers, and local telephone service. Q. How can you stand to live in an RV for so many days? Don’t you get claustrophobia? A. No. Many SOWERs have been living like this for years, criss-crossing the country to work on various SOWER projects. Many say they couldn’t imagine going back to a brick and mortar existence. The newer Trailers, Fifth Wheels, and Motorhomes have slideouts, which expand the space in the living room and bedroom; our 41’ coach feels like an efficiency apartment. We don’t miss mowing grass, paying utility bills, or shoveling snow. We love the freedom of coming and going wherever we want. “I Go Where I’m Towed To” is a popular bumper sticker seen on some tow cars--we can go sightseeing, to the grocery store, out to dinner, or the movies, leaving the RV in the campground. Q: How do you get your mail and pay your bills? A: Since we are renting our home in Maryland, the USPS forwards our mail to our children. If we’re on a SOWER project, they mail it there, or to General Delivery at a local post office. Our monthly bills are either deducted from our checking accounts or we pay them online. It’s not a big deal. My husband downloads our checking accounts into the Quicken software program. Since I haven’t balanced a checkbook for most of my adult life, it’s a snap to turn on the computer and look at the transactions. Q: How do you keep in touch with your families? Don’t they worry about
your whereabouts? Q: What do you like best about the SOWER lifestyle? A: There are so many ways to answer this question—I could write a book on this topic alone! Rob and I love learning about different parts of the country; so far we have worked as SOWERs in Florida, Wyoming, Oregon, California, and South Texas, with a nine-month break to deal with surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatments for my breast cancer.
Q: What do you do about medical care? A: Since Rob is so healthy, he has an annual checkup back in Maryland,
when he visits his Mom and children/grandchildren. I have had annual mammograms, sonograms
and other checkups for cancer in San Diego, and Portland. I’ve been treated for back
spasms in Palm Desert, (California) San Antonio, and McAllen (Texas). I carry all of my
medical records with me, and my wonderful oncologist in Maryland faxes me a prescription
for any test I need. There are good doctors, great hospitals throughout the USA—you
don’t need to stay home just because your doctor does. We love joining a ready-made Christian community for three weeks—we become
“staff” for that ministry, absorbing their goals as our own. The ties that bind
us make it easy to build strong working relationships that develop into good friendships.
A daily SOWER Prayer email allows us to stay in touch with the extended SOWER family, pray
for, and encourage families facing a crisis. Over the past 21 months of full time RVing,
our experiences have far exceeded our expectations. We have met the best people, and
discovered that working on a team to serve the Lord and help a ministry provides a
different dimension of satisfaction. Discount Camping Club - Save Money Now Didn't Find What You Were Looking For? Search Google
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