While the retirement years entice some to spend their days in self-focused leisure, some PCA couples use their newfound freedom to serve. RV Outreach, a ministry of Mission to North America’s (MNA) SecondCareer, offers ministry opportunities to RV owners who are up for adventure.
Because Craig Gibson’s work as a commercial electrician required him to travel frequently from his home in Kingsport, Tennessee, he and his wife, Deb, already owned an RV before retiring. When Deb joined Craig in retirement in 2014, the couple began taking weeklong trips to Ridge Haven to help with maintenance projects around the camp.
Though the work can be exhausting, it brings the Gibsons a greater sense of gratitude for what they’ve been given and for what Christ has done for them.
Soon the Gibsons were ready to expand their service and help MNA Disaster Response. They took the RV to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2016 to clean up after flooding, and in 2017 they traveled to Houston to assist with flood relief after Hurricane Harvey. The couple has also served at Camp Westminster in Conyers, Georgia, and Craig helped assemble storage sheds in Texas with Disaster Response’s Sheds of Hope.
Though the work can be exhausting, it brings the Gibsons a greater sense of gratitude for what they’ve been given and for what Christ has done for them.
“It has given us a greater thankfulness for what little we have,” Craig said. “You know that material things are not that important when you see a disaster and people who have lost everything. It humbles you to the core to know you have been blessed and can be a help.”
A New Vision of the Good Life
By all accounts, Gregg and Dee Noll had achieved the American dream. Gregg’s software business allowed him to work from home and brought in enough royalties that he and Dee could retire early.
In 2017 the Nolls heard that Disaster Response needed volunteers to work on its warehouse in Rome, Georgia, and they knew they wanted to help. Their first trip from their home in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, was a road trip in their car. Once they bought their RV, they started planning the next trip.
“We are relatively young to be retired, and God has blessed us with the time, health, and the RV that allows us to get to different places to serve,” Dee said.
The Nolls join the Gibsons and other couples at Ridge Haven for weeklong service projects. They enjoy how the RV has expanded their ministry abilities, forged new friendships with believers around the country, and allowed them to travel.
The Nolls are eager for more opportunities to serve and have signed up to help with Hurricane Florence relief work through Disaster Response. They appreciate how RV Outreach has expanded their ministry opportunities and vision for how the Lord is working all over the country, keeping them focused on what really matters.
“You get a bigger picture of what the Lord is doing, Gregg said. “We like to travel, but we don’t want travel to become all-consuming. We don’t want to lose sight of serving the kingdom.”
To learn more, visit pcamna.org/second-career.