WOW, this was a long winter for us and I am sure it seemed that way to many others.  we were in Foley Alabama and the weather was colder than normal, we had lots of rain and wind, but no snow.  Many of the “snowbirds” were unhappy because they left the colder areas of home expecting a mild , sunshiny winter along the coast in AL.  Well, we were all disappointed but then realized even though it felt cold it was still not as bad as the weather in various areas of the north and northeast.  God looked after us and we missed the flooding about 30 miles north of us, the snow which caused many accidents, and survived until Spring.

In February we returned for One Mission Celebration at our home church in Alabaster.  Guess what, it was very cold and it also snowed.  The missions celebration was very special with missionaries from other countries as well as home missionaries like us.  The purpose was to share with the church and home groups about the individual mission fields and what those who wanted to could do to help out and make the mission more successful.  Many know very little about the different types of missions and have always connected it to the Cooperative Program which does much to support and send missionaries to the many fields.  What a surprise for them to learn that more than one third of the missionaries are serving as self funded volunteers.  One of those is Mission Service Corps which has been a big part of NAMB for many years and we sometimes think we are like the secret service in God’s army.  Butch and I served with MSC from 1988 until now.  We have not accepted an assignment for the first time in all those years.  We have always served in a summer assignment and a winter assignment with short breaks to visit family and friends.  We would not be classified as career missionaries because we were assigned rather than appointed and self-funded with a little help from the church and a few others.  God has blessed us in so many ways throughout the years and allowed us the joy of being a part of changing lives  through Jesus Christ.  As we have decided to just travel for a while we are no longer MSC but you never retire from God’s work, it just takes place in different ways.  We will never stop praising Jesus and taking the opportunity to share when it is presented.  We often find that God has some divine appointments set up when we least expect it so we ask that you continue to pray for us that we will be obedient to His call.

When people realize we have been resort missionaries all these years they have lots of questions.  I will try to give you a few answers to those frequently asked questions.  When we are on site in a resort area we try to get to know those who have chosen the area for the winter or the summer.  We serve as chaplains, spiritual mentors, worship leaders, make hospital visits, (often) and have even had the responsibility for helping with funeral arrangements by contacting the funeral homes in other states to prepare for a body being shipped or to set up a memorial service.  Butch preaches each Sunday, visits throughout the park or resort, assists with any unexpected medical emergencies, and basically does the same thing as a pastor in a church.  We have potluck meals several times during the season, especially for the holidays.  But what does that have to do with our summer assignments?  We get to experience the best of both worlds because in the summer it becomes a family ministry.  Wherever we are serving we have youth groups who come  for  a week mission trip to assist us with BYBC,  beach ministry,  family evening programs twice, and complete their week with a picnic for the rangers and employees of the park.  We have served in several different states which has taken us from the East Coast all the way to the West Coast and points inbetween.  Maybe one day I will try to pull it altogether in a journal to share with others.

Spending the last few winters on the Gulf Coast in AL gave us an opportunity to get to know our youngest grandchild a little better.  She was born when we were in West Yellowstone , MT and we didn’t get to see her until she was four months old so we thank God for the time we have been able to share with her. Our other grandchildren have reached those terrible TEENAGE years and of course they know everything and parents and grandparents just don’t get it!!  That doesn’t mean they don’t love us , we just cramp their space sometimes.  I pray daily that God will continue to watch over them and keep them safe.  The world is a harsh place these days and I know our children survived  and are wonderful parents but Nanny and Papa still have times of anxiety.  One example is Anthony driving to the doctor by himself for the first time meaning interstate around Lake Shore.  He did fine but I am not sure I totally let my breath out until he pulled up in the yard and I could say Thank You Lord Jesus.  He has grown up so much and is in ROTC so we may have another military member of our family.  Carly will be sixteen in a few days and the anxiety will surface again.  She will be driving in Mobile and her daddy has worked really hard with her but we covet prayers there too.  She is SOOOO active in everything at Baker HIgh School with the band, speaking , singing , and wanting to be one of the Azalea Trail Girls.  She has wanted this since the first time she saw them.  We don’t know if she will be able to do that because of the expense but we are praying God will provide or help her to understand that sometimes parents can’t do everything they would like to for their children.  We have also had a chance to get to know our great grandson a little better.  We raised his grandmother after my sister died so have always felt those two children were our first grandchildren.  Angie will be 28 in the fall and her brother Drew is 23.  Mason is Angies son and is 7 years old and really full of life.  We had a great visit with them on the way back to Alabaster.  He wanted to stay with us (probably to get out of going to school) so we hope to get together again before we hit the road.

By now you may be bored to death but I just wanted to share with you a little of our life that you might not be aware of.  We do have a website www.rieksretreat.com which will give you some of our background and how we became involved in missions so many years ago . It also includes some letters in the archives of some of the assignments we have served.  We didn’t have this technology when we first started out in 1988 but are thankful we are now able to share in this way. My daughter will help me get this all put together and I have many pictures to add to the  photo gallery which you might enjoy seeing. Thank you for taking the time to read this, thank you for all the prayers that have kept us going during good times and bad.  Be blessed as you serve at home, at work, or on a mission trip. Just Always Remember , you will never be number one because that place was filled and paid for before you existed.  It’s all about GOD.

On Mission with God,
Vi and Butch

Souls are saved by truthful witness and betrayed by the spread of lies. 

The Fear of God builds up confidence, and makes a world safe for your children

The Fear of God is a spring of living water so you want go off drinking from poisoned wells.  Proverbs 14:25-27   (The Message)