I've been feeling a bit swamped ...
Here's the thing. I do not get involved with the garden on the farm. Not because I don't want to. I just can't add another thing. I know the animals now. I can't know the garden. At least not yet.
But we are getting ready to have a big frost, and so we needed to harvest from the garden.
And here's the thing: GOD KNEW THAT. I mean he knew I was going to feel swamped months ago and so he put in motion that the right people would be here to help me when I needed it most.
IS THAT COOL OR WHAT?!
I continue to be floored by how many times God provides people before I can even utter that I need Him.
About two weeks ago, we said good bye to Jacob. He has been a long-term intern here at the farm. In total, he was here for about nine months. Here is a photo of him building a Magnatile tower with some of the kids:
Losing Jacob was tough. He could run the farm. He was simply amazing and was simply beyond words in the level of his help around the farm. He truly is family to us, and we hope he will come back and visit us often.
As he left, he overlapped with Tymen, a Dutch wwoofer who has been with us previously. He can do any hard and heavy moving job on the farm. He can also move the animals which not many volunteers can do. The kids love him. The grown-ups love him. Hannah absolutely adores Tymen. And this trip out here, he won Abigail over as well. He will be joining the Dutch military next year, but we are hoping maybe he can come see us one more time before his time begins:
I don't have a picture of her, but a wonderful woman named Pilar who attends our church has also started volunteering on our farm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She is helping us a lot in the garden, and is another fantastic asset.
We've had another volunteer coming to us now and then. Her name is Annie. She lives in Knoxville -- just over an hour away, and is one of the strongest women I have ever met. She helps us soooo much on the farm. Whenever she comes, she just jumps right in. She is a teacher at a deaf school and is also teaching the kids (especially Sidge) .. sign.
However, despite all this help outside, I have still felt a bit swamped. So much to do inside! And then, God saw to it to bring DUYGU (duey like the duck and then goo). She is pictured below with Annie:
Now here is what is amazing about Duygu. She is Turkish. Turkish. Oh the sweetness of hearing her Turkish accent. It makes me so happy just to hear her. I worried I had forgotten a lot of my Turkish, but I have jumped right back into it.
And here's what's better ... while she wants to help outside on the farm, she really wants to help inside with cooking and cleaning and kids and those types of things. When I agreed to have her, I wasn't sure this would work out as my need outside is often stronger than inside. But with Annie and Veronica and Tymen here (and one of our old favorites, MaryAnne, returning to us next week), I have the outside covered. And now I have inside help!
With a hard frost coming in the next few days, we had to harvest as much as we could from the garden. Pilar and JB and the kids did a lot of the harvesting and Grama (pictured below) and John started off the "what to do with all this stuff" in the kitchen. Dugyu has been a gem helping in the kitchen as well:
Here's the thing. I do not get involved with the garden on the farm. Not because I don't want to. I just can't add another thing. I know the animals now. I can't know the garden. At least not yet.
But we are getting ready to have a big frost, and so we needed to harvest from the garden.
And here's the thing: GOD KNEW THAT. I mean he knew I was going to feel swamped months ago and so he put in motion that the right people would be here to help me when I needed it most.
IS THAT COOL OR WHAT?!
I continue to be floored by how many times God provides people before I can even utter that I need Him.
About two weeks ago, we said good bye to Jacob. He has been a long-term intern here at the farm. In total, he was here for about nine months. Here is a photo of him building a Magnatile tower with some of the kids:
Losing Jacob was tough. He could run the farm. He was simply amazing and was simply beyond words in the level of his help around the farm. He truly is family to us, and we hope he will come back and visit us often.
As he left, he overlapped with Tymen, a Dutch wwoofer who has been with us previously. He can do any hard and heavy moving job on the farm. He can also move the animals which not many volunteers can do. The kids love him. The grown-ups love him. Hannah absolutely adores Tymen. And this trip out here, he won Abigail over as well. He will be joining the Dutch military next year, but we are hoping maybe he can come see us one more time before his time begins:
Tymen was only supposed to stay a month but has decided to stay longer! We were so excited about this. And then, at the same time, our Veronica came back to us. She comes in on Friday evenings and leaves on Monday mornings. Her help is incredible as well, and I just love having her around:
I don't have a picture of her, but a wonderful woman named Pilar who attends our church has also started volunteering on our farm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She is helping us a lot in the garden, and is another fantastic asset.
We've had another volunteer coming to us now and then. Her name is Annie. She lives in Knoxville -- just over an hour away, and is one of the strongest women I have ever met. She helps us soooo much on the farm. Whenever she comes, she just jumps right in. She is a teacher at a deaf school and is also teaching the kids (especially Sidge) .. sign.
However, despite all this help outside, I have still felt a bit swamped. So much to do inside! And then, God saw to it to bring DUYGU (duey like the duck and then goo). She is pictured below with Annie:
Now here is what is amazing about Duygu. She is Turkish. Turkish. Oh the sweetness of hearing her Turkish accent. It makes me so happy just to hear her. I worried I had forgotten a lot of my Turkish, but I have jumped right back into it.
And here's what's better ... while she wants to help outside on the farm, she really wants to help inside with cooking and cleaning and kids and those types of things. When I agreed to have her, I wasn't sure this would work out as my need outside is often stronger than inside. But with Annie and Veronica and Tymen here (and one of our old favorites, MaryAnne, returning to us next week), I have the outside covered. And now I have inside help!
With a hard frost coming in the next few days, we had to harvest as much as we could from the garden. Pilar and JB and the kids did a lot of the harvesting and Grama (pictured below) and John started off the "what to do with all this stuff" in the kitchen. Dugyu has been a gem helping in the kitchen as well:
Lots of peppers and tomatoes... a couple of big piles of chard and kale... the last of the beans... some Molokai Purple sweet potatoes roots and greens (both edible!)
God blows me away ... every ... single ... time!
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