We’re quickly coming up to the end of 2025 and while it seems like it was just 2024, I also know it’s been a busy year for us as usual. What about you? It’s a great time for all of us Christians to reflect on how much our lives are becoming like Christ’s and how much is becoming less like us and this world! We should all be growing to become more like Jesus every day!
Still plugging away here in Sarasota. Brett and Shanell still aren’t ready for us to finish the electric, so we haven’t been back there yet. We’re finally getting some movement at Trent and Rachel’s.
They’ve had one hurdle after another with the government, the first contractor that ripped them off, and then after they fired him, he took his good, sweet time to remove his name from the county so that their new contractor could take over. And now the county has decided to change a couple of things so they still can’t demo their existing home. They’ve hired an engineering firm that goes between them and the county. This should help speed up the process from permitting to inspections, to their final CO.
The original architecture firm who was hired by their original contractor has consistently not given them drawings that meet code and/or are what they want built. The new builder thought it would be quicker to get them to make the appropriate changes than to start over with another architect. Of course, every change made costs them money, but at least at this point they have a contractor who is listening to what they want done. Supposedly it was finished this past week, and the engineering firm is reviewing them to ensure all codes are met.
The contractor has the permit application turned into the county and are only missing the drawings and the engineers stamp of approval for them to get the permit. He’s hoping to have it in a couple of weeks, but then you also have the CHRISTmas season and more government excuses to not get things done quickly this time of year, even though they’ve been waiting for over 16 months!
Hamilton and I went there on Friday to help him install a silt fence around his property line and put a barrier fence around the trees that have to be cut down to install the septic where the county says it must be moved to. These trees were supposed to be moved before the demo by the original contractor and his permit expired. Now the county says that they must wait to be removed until after the demo. But the demo can’t be approved until they put the barrier up so that the trees don’t get damaged when the house is torn down. Of course, these trees are right in front of the house so this will make the demo harder to get done! You can’t make this idiocracy up!
After we finished on Friday night Trent sent me this text, “Took Rachel by the house. We were all smiles. Feels like we are actually moving forward for the first time. We can't thank you guys enough!!” Blessed by The Lord to help folks like this get through a tough time in their lives! Thankful to all of you who volunteer with us and pray for and support us. YOU are part of what we do and great is your reward in heaven!
During the last year they lived in their home, which is paid off, they replaced all the windows, sliding glass doors, entry doors, etc., with hurricane rated items. The stickers are still on all the windows! Unfortunately, new county codes dealing with egress are making all these items not useable in their new home. We’re going to go back this week and for how long it takes us to get all of these removed before the demo starts and he’s going to try to sell and use the money towards their new home.
It might not seem like much to you and me, but it’s been over 16 months since Hurricane Debby flooded their home and then a week after that they were told they’d have to demo it and start over! Their insurance company paid out the full policy value but with the extra expenses involved with demo and building a new home above current flood zone levels, the county making them change things like destroying and building a new septic, and continued rising construction costs, they will fall way short of the monies they’ll need. We’re praying about how we can be involved as much as possible to help offset some of the costs involved without holding the project up. We’ll be looking for volunteers next year so stay tuned to our emails and FB posts.
Still doing a lot of maintenance on our stuff as usual. Mary Jo’s van has sat more than it’s ran since it broke down when I was having surgery. We can’t find anything wrong with the noises we occasionally hear so running some fuel system cleaner in it, but it must be driven for that to work. I got the oil and filter changed but noticed that the radiator was leaking. I finally replaced that this past week and test drove it. Oil and radiator fluid all seem to be fine with no leaks! We’ll see how it runs once we get a couple runs with fuel system cleaner running in it.
I still have several maintenance issues to take care of on our two trucks, but I’m just one person and can only do so much!
As I mentioned in our last newsletter, I was working on getting part of the church parking lot torn out and repaved that also involved plumbing and electrical done so that things don’t need torn up down the road for future projects. We were also able to get some asphalt millings and crushed concrete down where our 2 RV’s and tool trailer sit, as well as the area next to the tool trailer where I routinely work on our vehicles. We didn’t really know how this would turn out, but so far, it’s been a huge improvement. The RVs are staying level. Some parking is better. And working on Mary Jo’s van on the crushed concrete section was great!
To do this we had to move all our trailers out of the way, which is a lot of work! We still needed to live in one of them, so I had to run another electrical service for the bunkhouse elsewhere on the property. We also had to bring in all the slides of the 5th wheel. If you remember, we have 3 slides that had extensive water damage. We fixed 2 of them a couple months ago, but had not moved one in yet, and neither of them had been “move” tested! I’m happy to report that they passed the “in-move-move-out” test moving it 100 feet out of the way! I still have one more to fix when Rob comes back to help us in January!
When we moved the RV’s back, I was finally able to make our sewers hard piped from the trailer to the cleanout. This is a better option for flow, for instance when Mary Jo would do laundry the washing machine water would come up into the shower, and it smelled bad in the bathroom. This issue has gone away! The RV sewer pipes not only cause the water to drain slowly, but they don’t last very long and they aren’t cheap! So, this will help reduce our costs and maintenance time!
The parking lot looks great, but we’re still waiting for it to rain to see if it’s going to drain properly! We’re supposed to get over an inch the next couple of days and maybe we’ll be able to test that and a couple other things we’ve done work on to keep water away from things! We then had the rest of the parking lot sealed and relined during Thanksgiving week as the church/school were closed.
We’ve also been spending a few Saturdays with some volunteers from church, clearing some of the church property that’s been neglected over the years and needed to have trees and brush cut and cleared and then a lot of bush hogging done. This not only helps us to be good stewards of what The Lord has given us, but it also helps us better secure the property, especially to keep the school more secure.
I’m always busy with other little projects around here, whatever I can do to help! I’ve got three big projects coming down the pike that I’m working with contractors on for bids, a large shed/workshop, an outside covered kitchen, some halls that need trim removed/replaced, drywall repair, painting, and then carpeting, and a huge CCTV upgrade to help secure the property mostly to help keep the school safer. We may also begin working on setting up things for both bathrooms in the main building to be redone this summer. The building is 70 years old and so is the plumbing, so it will be a major project. This was part of the plumbing we had done prior to the parking lot redo knowing the sewer lines in the building needed to be replaced! I can always use prayer for wisdom with these projects and what I can do myself, volunteers to help me, and/or what I need to hire others to do.
Hamilton, Andy, and Richard, all from church, and I were blessed to help a couple in their 90’s. They are taking care of their son who has stage 4 cancer and is pretty much bed and wheelchair bound. They needed some handicap rails installed, and the shower door removed in the bathroom he uses, and we were able to get that done for them.
Mary Jo and I have been asked to lead a short-term mission trip to Amsterdam. It will be at the Tyndale Theological Semindary there. This college has had folks attend from over 85 countries since its existence! They’ve got a list of maintenance things that they need to get done while the students are on their spring break. The team will more than likely be made up of folks from our church, but if this is something you may be interested in doing with us, we can talk and pray about it with you! It looks like the cost for me and Mary Jo to go will be about $2500 per person. If you feel led to help us with this, please let us know! As always when we do mission work, we look for ways we can bless those we’re helping by purchasing materials so there’s another thing we’ll be looking for funds for.
I’ve also worked on a few things around our house. We decided to go ahead and move forward with the area where the roof got damaged from last year’s hurricanes, so I treated it for any possibility of mold, then we insulated, drywalled, and taped, mudded, and textured it. I also had a couple other things to take care of. I keep telling myself I just need to sell it, but it’s some income that helps fund our ministry, just extra work that I’d rather not have to deal with!
If we do keep it, we’ll be looking for new renters in a few months, so if you’re in the area and know anyone interested, please let us know!
Our physical issues are still very present. Mary Jo is getting a deep tissue massage for her back and neck today and I continue to do my exercises and stretches daily. I just turned 64 and while my mind still wants to think I’m 30, my body says differently! Please continue to pray for our bodies as we desire to serve The Lord well as long as we physically are able and then we’ll see what He has for us next!
Like I said at the beginning of this blog, time flies and we’re blessed with how much we’re able to do for and with The Lord! We just passed our 21st anniversary serving The Lord with Calvary Relief!
We continue to covet your prayers and support and if you’re interested in joining us at any time, just let us know! Also, if there’s any prayer requests or other questions you may have regarding what God’s Word has to say about living your life for Him on this earth, please don’t hesitate to let us know!
If you’re interested in growing in The LORD as you selflessly serve others alongside of Calvary Relief, please let us know! For more info on joining us, click here. Plenty of things to do!
If you feel led to help with any of the expenses with Calvary Relief, please click here.
Here to serve and disciple until He calls us home,
Curt & Mary Jo
