Work Camping Opportunity - Baptist Church
So, I've never offered a Work Camping opportunity before and really am not all that familiar with it, although I do understand the general concept. However, I think we have an opportunity that might interest someone, so I'm "putting it out there".
My name is Aaron Freeman and I'm the pastor at a small Baptist church in Rio Grande City, Texas. Rio Grande City is on the Mexican border in deep south Texas. I am actually a missionary pastor, being supported by a number of independent Baptist churches throughout the eastern United States. Our local congregation here in Texas is quite small - averaging 10-20 per service. Last year we received financial assistance which allowed us to build a 3500 square foot building with a sanctuary, two classrooms, a nursery, a small kitchen and several bathrooms. Although the main building is done, there are an array of projects both inside and outside that I just can't seem to find time to finish (and more seem to pop up every week). Since the building is equipped with a full RV hookup, I figured perhaps someone would be interested in trading some light work for a free place to stay.
My Expectations
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What I'm looking for is someone who is able to tackle a variety of light maintenance/construction tasks. There is some electrical work (re-wiring some lights, and adding a circuit for a stove/oven). Plenty of painting. Some trim work. Staining/sealing a wood door. Lots of yard work (property is 2 acres and at least 1/2 of that is still 'wild'). Most of the yard work is brush clearing, but also routine mowing and such. If you have small-engine skills those would be utilized as well (though not a necessity), as we have both a push mower and a tiller that refuse to start. Those are the basics of what is needed. I don't have an expectation of number of hours per day/week. That could be discussed. I definitely do not expect full-time labor for this opportunity. You would be welcome to attend services at our church, but I would understand you may not desire to do so, since I preach in Spanish. We do display notes on dual projection screens, with one side in English and the other in Spanish, so that all members can follow along. All of our younger folk speak English, as well as some of the older members. There are no English-speaking independent Baptist churches in our county. There is one English-speaking Southern Baptist church about 10-15 minutes away.
Our Site
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The RV site itself is in a gravel parking lot directly in front of the church building. It is level and has 50-amp, clean water and a sewer connection. The property is only utilized on Wed/Sun, so you would have a great deal of privacy. The entire property is fenced, with only 1 gate coming in/out, so you are also secure. Our weather is very good during the winter, which is why the bigger towns around us are full of Winter Texan RV Parks.
Our community itself is not a tourist draw. We have two towns, about 15 minutes apart, one with about 25,000 people and the other with about 15,000. We have all the basics: Wal-Mart, a movie theatre, a small array of restaurants and some hardware stores/lumber yards, as well as numerous specialty stores. But, we are not a big city. If you're looking for malls and other big-box stores you will need to drive about 1 hour away. Furthermore, our community is about 98% hispanic, and many of those only speak Spanish. It can be slightly intimidating being out in the community, but you can definitely get by.
If interested, please contact me via this website or via phone at 956.849.4393. If you want to map the property, it is located at 49 Spotted Owl Lane, Rio Grande City, Texas 78582.
My name is Aaron Freeman and I'm the pastor at a small Baptist church in Rio Grande City, Texas. Rio Grande City is on the Mexican border in deep south Texas. I am actually a missionary pastor, being supported by a number of independent Baptist churches throughout the eastern United States. Our local congregation here in Texas is quite small - averaging 10-20 per service. Last year we received financial assistance which allowed us to build a 3500 square foot building with a sanctuary, two classrooms, a nursery, a small kitchen and several bathrooms. Although the main building is done, there are an array of projects both inside and outside that I just can't seem to find time to finish (and more seem to pop up every week). Since the building is equipped with a full RV hookup, I figured perhaps someone would be interested in trading some light work for a free place to stay.
My Expectations
---------------------
What I'm looking for is someone who is able to tackle a variety of light maintenance/construction tasks. There is some electrical work (re-wiring some lights, and adding a circuit for a stove/oven). Plenty of painting. Some trim work. Staining/sealing a wood door. Lots of yard work (property is 2 acres and at least 1/2 of that is still 'wild'). Most of the yard work is brush clearing, but also routine mowing and such. If you have small-engine skills those would be utilized as well (though not a necessity), as we have both a push mower and a tiller that refuse to start. Those are the basics of what is needed. I don't have an expectation of number of hours per day/week. That could be discussed. I definitely do not expect full-time labor for this opportunity. You would be welcome to attend services at our church, but I would understand you may not desire to do so, since I preach in Spanish. We do display notes on dual projection screens, with one side in English and the other in Spanish, so that all members can follow along. All of our younger folk speak English, as well as some of the older members. There are no English-speaking independent Baptist churches in our county. There is one English-speaking Southern Baptist church about 10-15 minutes away.
Our Site
---------------------
The RV site itself is in a gravel parking lot directly in front of the church building. It is level and has 50-amp, clean water and a sewer connection. The property is only utilized on Wed/Sun, so you would have a great deal of privacy. The entire property is fenced, with only 1 gate coming in/out, so you are also secure. Our weather is very good during the winter, which is why the bigger towns around us are full of Winter Texan RV Parks.
Our community itself is not a tourist draw. We have two towns, about 15 minutes apart, one with about 25,000 people and the other with about 15,000. We have all the basics: Wal-Mart, a movie theatre, a small array of restaurants and some hardware stores/lumber yards, as well as numerous specialty stores. But, we are not a big city. If you're looking for malls and other big-box stores you will need to drive about 1 hour away. Furthermore, our community is about 98% hispanic, and many of those only speak Spanish. It can be slightly intimidating being out in the community, but you can definitely get by.
If interested, please contact me via this website or via phone at 956.849.4393. If you want to map the property, it is located at 49 Spotted Owl Lane, Rio Grande City, Texas 78582.
