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Pray Till the COWs Come Home
Vol.1, UBC COW Mission Trip
First Contingents Arrive At Grandview Ranch
The Millsaps and McGilvras arrived blurry eyed and sleep deprived but safe and happy at Camp On Wheels in Alpine, Arizona on Wednesday night. Sheri Dalporto made us feel instantly welcome and got us settled at the dorm. The challenges of getting things wrapped up at home and packed for the trip kept most of us from finding any shut eye time before boarding planes on Wednesday morning in Greenville. The McGilvras who were flying standby were waiting in Atlanta for a flight to Albuquerque while we were sitting on the runway waiting for the hold on the Atlanta airport to be lifted. For awhile we thought that they would probably have the opportunity to take our seats since there seemed little hope that we would make the connection. Amazingly not only we but they got on the same flight to Albuquerque. Upon arriving in Albuquerque we went to pick up our rental cars and head our separate ways for the next two days. Plans quickly changed when McGilvra's discovered that no cars would be available (without prior reservations) until Friday due to two conventions in town. One phone call later we piled into our rental car and headed to Alpine which became the base of our activities preparing for the rest of the team to come in. Our need to be flexible and God's providential provision were again demonstrated to us as the themes of this mission trip. What were the odds that McGilvra's would just happen to get standby seats on a flight that has been sold out for some time versus being stranded in Albuquerque for two days?!
Thursday we got our first view of Grandview Ranch, the new campsite being constructed in Milligan Valley about 15 minutes outside of Springerville, AZ. The campsite was in full gear with nearly 50 volunteers (mostly from Kansas) working at various locations around the 40 acre site. It was a great opportunity to see the areas where we would be working and for Susan McGilvra to talk with the other cooks about logistics, layout, meal and snack plans - basically how to feed lots of people quickly in a small space. Since the camp is currently trucking in water and uses solar arrays for electric power, conservation of resources is a key factor in planning and meal preparation.
Saturday we were all relieved when the Moline family (Dave, Jenny, Lydia, Emily plus Russ, Dave's Dad, and his friend, Alice, both from NH, pulled into Grandview around 11am local time. They were in amazingly good spirits and surprisingly still on speaking terms with one another after 33 hours on the road playing "Keep the driver awake with endless questions until the next rest stop" as Russ and Dave took turns at the wheel all through the night.
Sunday morning we met at Nutrioso Bible Church (where Brian Olsen and his family attend) for services followed by a fellowship dinner that the team was graciously invited to share. The next big event of the day was the arrival of the Vosburgh 6 (Mark, Jon, Jon's friend, Garrett Roberts, Lee & Sarah Walton, and Anna Whitwell). Mark's first question after confirming his ETA to us was about dinner. They had just eaten but he wanted to make sure that we knew they needed to eat again before bed, especially since Susan McGilvra was cooking.
The Grandview Ranch campsite truly boasts a grand view. The scenery is typical of western mountian ranges, a blend of pines and spruce, meadows of wildflowers, elk grazing in pastures and by the roadside. Thanks to Molines we are now being visited by hummingbirds at feeders on the porch of the cabin.
The amount of work to be done here is immense. Crews are working in various locations. Randy Wilson's house is now dried in. The trusses were being set when we arrived last Thursday. So, completing the bunkhouse (with showers and toilets upstairs) will be the primary construction focus of the UBC team. The goal is to have it ready to use next week when the group from Morningside comes. Several of the team are working on roughing in the area for a concrete slab for a cabin. Hopefully they will be able to get several slabs for cabins poured or ready to be inspected for pouring this week. Ladies from our team will be feeding our group plus two other groups from Kansas and Colorado and some COW staff and workers who are on site. Again, flexibility has been the key. There have been daily and sometimes hourly changes as information was updated from incoming groups (work skills, work focus, housing, number of people to feed at each meal).
Please continue to pray for the health and safety of our teams and the other teams and staff. Pray particularly for the COW staff as they continue to work hard at a difficult task with diverse challenges and keep up with varied groups of volunteers. Everyone is in good spirits, eagar to help and enjoying making new friends.
Susan Millsaps for the UBC COW Mission Team | 
