Last week we shared about how God used WCRC in the lives of the Craighill Family. This week we heard from another family, Amos and Sandy Goldie, along with their dog Murrary and cat Charlie. They traded the busyness of Richmond for our peaceful grounds to wait out the quarantine. In November the pair bought a Travato camper van to get away on the weekends. Early on they booked a stay at WCRC and immediately felt at home. Sandy said “We just loved it! We were surrounded by the woods and it’s so serene and there are birds everywhere. It’s so peaceful but we still have wifi capability and showers and things like that so it’s not total off-road. Every weekend [when] it was time to leave we were like: ‘Well let’s just go back to Williamsburg!’”
Once their jobs were moved online, Amos and Sandy took the opportunity to spend extended time enjoying the peaceful outdoors. Sandy explained that she has low immunity and thought getting away would be best for their physical health. Now a month into their stay in the RV circle, they have a beautiful set up complete with hammocks, flowers, a fireplace, and an ramp for their older dog to easily move in and out of the camper. This time has been good for them in more ways than just physical health.
Sandy smiled and gestured towards the leafy forest as she said “When you’re out here you’re just surrounded by trees and nature, even though you still have to work, when you really slow down and unplug from all of your technology, it gives you increased clarity when you realize that there’s other purpose in life. When you come to this place it gives you peace and it reminds you to savor the good things in life, to slow down and enjoy that crackling of the fire, and that purring kitty, or that snuggly dog, or the birds singing… to appreciate the people in your life. When everything else in life disappears and you’re just down to the basics of what’s important. God gave us pretty much all the things we need to survive and be happy and the rest is just dressing. Our hope is that we would come out of this pandemic somehow stronger or better people than when we went into it… find some kind of meaning in it.”
In the midst of this isolation and stillness, Amos and Sandy have still managed to thrive in their careers and have a positive impact on their community – all from the comfort of their RV site. Sandy works for Virginia Commonwealth University teaching music and Amos is the organist and choir director at St. Matthews Episcopal Church in Richmond. Sandy practices her viola, conducts youth orchestra, grades final exams, and coaches students while Amos helps produce their church’s Sunday service. According to Sandy, “What’s been amazing to me is that physical distancing hasn’t always meant social distancing” and she explained that the quarantine has given her time to connect with family from other states and grow closer with her fellow faculty members. Likewise, their church community has thrived with choir members sending voice recordings of their vocal parts and Scripture reading. After sound editing, Amos drives to their sanctuary to play the recordings in the space. Sandy remarked “I think the music is what really transports people, the sounds of that space and their own home choir, their home acoustics but all that can be done out here in a music studio that we can mix and edit digitally.”
Once their jobs were moved online, Amos and Sandy took the opportunity to spend extended time enjoying the peaceful outdoors. Sandy explained that she has low immunity and thought getting away would be best for their physical health. Now a month into their stay in the RV circle, they have a beautiful set up complete with hammocks, flowers, a fireplace, and an ramp for their older dog to easily move in and out of the camper. This time has been good for them in more ways than just physical health.
Sandy smiled and gestured towards the leafy forest as she said “When you’re out here you’re just surrounded by trees and nature, even though you still have to work, when you really slow down and unplug from all of your technology, it gives you increased clarity when you realize that there’s other purpose in life. When you come to this place it gives you peace and it reminds you to savor the good things in life, to slow down and enjoy that crackling of the fire, and that purring kitty, or that snuggly dog, or the birds singing… to appreciate the people in your life. When everything else in life disappears and you’re just down to the basics of what’s important. God gave us pretty much all the things we need to survive and be happy and the rest is just dressing. Our hope is that we would come out of this pandemic somehow stronger or better people than when we went into it… find some kind of meaning in it.”
In the midst of this isolation and stillness, Amos and Sandy have still managed to thrive in their careers and have a positive impact on their community – all from the comfort of their RV site. Sandy works for Virginia Commonwealth University teaching music and Amos is the organist and choir director at St. Matthews Episcopal Church in Richmond. Sandy practices her viola, conducts youth orchestra, grades final exams, and coaches students while Amos helps produce their church’s Sunday service. According to Sandy, “What’s been amazing to me is that physical distancing hasn’t always meant social distancing” and she explained that the quarantine has given her time to connect with family from other states and grow closer with her fellow faculty members. Likewise, their church community has thrived with choir members sending voice recordings of their vocal parts and Scripture reading. After sound editing, Amos drives to their sanctuary to play the recordings in the space. Sandy remarked “I think the music is what really transports people, the sounds of that space and their own home choir, their home acoustics but all that can be done out here in a music studio that we can mix and edit digitally.”
God is clearly working during this time and we are grateful that He is using our peaceful grounds at WCRC to give guests the space to connect with one another and to hear His voice more clearly. Thank you to Amos and Sandy Goldie for sharing their story with us.
