NOMADS AT THE HEART OF THE RV WORLD

The Annual NOMADS meeting was held in Elkhart, IN from September 12th to the 16th. Larry and I arrived on the 10th so we could attend the Project Coordinator's meeting on Saturday.

 

This couple were attending their first annual meeting, not just attending but helped to organize it! Sorry forgot their names.

Don and Bev had the meeting very well organized. 

Aden gave the  message at the worship service. 

Louie inspired us with the Memorial Service. In the past two years 53 NOMADS have died. He reminded us to keep in touch with the spouse and let them know we are thinking and praying for them.

I really miss Wes.  Glad we got a chance to work with them and become friends. 

Jayne lead the singing each morning at 8 o'clock.

 Every morning before the singing there was a Bible study led by Mike Johnson on how to articulate our core beliefs and give answers to the hope we have. 1Peter 3:15 was the key verse. We got up and out each day to attend, but I guess I wasn't awake enough to take a picture. 

Then different pastors gave a devotional message each morning. Bryant spoke on Monday.

We didn't tow a car, so for Monday's tours we went with Sue and Wayne. We worked with them in Minot and it was nice to reconnect. They took us to Bontrager's Surplus in Michigan. If you ever need something for your RV they may have it. There are four buildings full of supplies. 

This is our camper we got in February 2020. It is a Nexus Viper. We had problems with the electrical system, but after being back to the dealer a few times (thankfully we took out an extended warranty) it has been working fine on this trip. We wanted to go to the plant here in Elkhart where they are made. Unfortunately they were not giving tours this week because everyone was at the Hershey RV show in PA. The RVs we saw on the lot we were not to impressed by. Many things needed fixed and also many had missing parts. It is obvious they may be having trouble getting parts or work done.

There was evening entertainment on Monday night.  The Crown quartet from Kentucky came and sang.

Tuesday morning the pastor from FUMC in Elkhart gave the devotional message.

The meeting was opened and business meeting was run by Dave. He had each member on the board share about the jurisdiction and the job they filled on the board.

First Carla shared that there were 114 new members this year mostly from the north and south central area. 69% of our members are Methodist and 23% are full timers. 600 active NOMADS and 200 alumni were not at this annual meeting. Hope to see more of them next year. She also announced that this year we could pay for our auction items with a credit card.

Carolyn spoke about finances. Last year the love auction brought in $60,000 and the Every Member Campaign $115,000.  

Charlotte is in charge of publicity and promoting NOMADS. She encourages us to put out brochures and talk up NOMADS where ever we visit and travel.

Mark is the South Central Jurisdiction rep and the project coordinator for Louisiana. When a person is interested in joining NOMADS the board rep in that jurisdiction calls and interviews them. He did 43 interviews.

Rodney is the North East jurisdiction rep and will be hosting the annual meeting in West Virginia next  year.

Kathy is the Western jurisdiction rep. There are 52 NOMADS from this area. She said they need more people from and projects in the Western part of United States.

On Tuesday afternoon the auction started.  Lots of things to bid on. We did our share.

Then the live auction began. 

Glad that Wayne and Edie come each year to be the auctioneers. Lots of stories and amazing bids. $53,870 were raised this year. 

On Wednesday there were workshops. We went to Sandy's workshop on laying tile.  Larry wants to tile our lanai floor. 

Since using the tile cutter is a watery job, she suggested wearing a large plastic bag so your clothes don't get all wet, especially if it is cool.

Virginia from Purdue Extension shared here knowledge about cooking with an Insta-Pot. She made chili and then macaroni and cheese. The best part was we got to sample it. I may have to dig mine out from under the cabinet and use it a little more.

After a catered meal we were entertained by comedian David Dean. He was quite funny and kept us laughing. He will be on Dry Bar Comedy in October. 

On Thursday more board members shared about there position. Rodney is the Project Coordinator chair.  There are 14 project coordinators. This will be our last year as PC for Florida. The Smalls are going to shadow us this year and then become the PC for Florida in 2022. 

Gary talked about the Disaster Rebuilds. From March to October 2020 they were stopped because of  Covid. Even so last year 9500 love hours were given last year.

Louie heads the Sunshine committee. He calls the spouse of any Nomad that has died and reaches out to them. 

For the next year Anne will be the chair person for the board after this meeting. She gave  a plaque thanking Dave for all the positions he has held with NOMADS. Dave keeps asking God for two more years of being a NOMAD.

Thursday afternoon Tammy led the choir is a melody of songs, all had something to do with the heart. After all we were in the heart of RV country.

 

Gloria and Tammy did a cute rap song about annual meeting next year in West Virginia. The beat was kept by those on stage with  very interesting tool instruments. 

Hope to see you next year in West Virginia.

The annual meeting ended with a visit to the Basher Children's Home. It started as an orphanage in 1922 with a farmhouse on 160 acres. It now has 4 cottages and a secure building to house children that have been sex trafficked. 

In 2007 this school building was added. They touch the lives of 300 children each day.  60 students from the surrounding school district attend here as a alternative school for K -10th grade. 

Basher Home became aware of a large homeless population of children in Elkhart and started a homeless shelter. It only takes 72 hours for a homeless child to be trafficked. There motto is Help for Today Hope for Tomorrow.

The mission project for annual meeting was to bring these items for the Basher Home. 

We had a delicious meal in the school's cafeteria, a very beautiful room.

We left early Friday morning and went through Atlanta  Saturday afternoon.

We were back in Florida Sunday afternoon. Glad we made the trip and saw so many friends, but now glad to be home.