Homestead Update 2025 April-May (Part 3: People)

It has been great having people come to visit, from friends and new friends here, to Rob’s mom. It’s great having this as a place to connect with others and to point to Christ.

Nainai’s Visit

We were excited to have my (Rob’s) mom visit us for a few days in May. It was nice to have her come see our life and things that have changed since her last visit, such as milking the cows and goats. She was also able to see the transformation of one area of the woods as we removed vines (the quick dramatic change and the impressive fire that follows are reasons I picked that job for while she was here). It was nice to have time to hang out, but probably the biggest thing is that this was her first time to fly here alone, so she is feeling more confident to come in the future.

Growing community 

We’ve been blessed to have more neighbors stopping by. Two that we haven’t met yet stopped by to say hello and offer help if we need any equipment, etc. As it turns out, people are watching and are excited to join as the property is transformed (from being abandoned and overgrown for many years). One is actually from quite a bit down the road and said he’s been watching things as he drives past. His family has lived here for around 150 years and he’s seen many of his relatives losing their farms over the past few years. He does the normal (industrial) cattle farming and said he sees how it doesn’t work. There are too many (increasing) input costs to make it sustainable. He has seen us doing rotational grazing with our cattle (a whopping 2 head, as mentioned above :o) ) and stopped to say that he appreciates what we are doing and that he is looking on how to convert his whole operation to these more sustainable methods. He is also excited to build community with other sustainable farms and homesteads. It was a very encouraging conversation. While we are not looking to be “self sufficient”, we are looking to be increasingly “God sufficient” and “Community sufficient” it is also a reminder that people are watching and that we need to be doing all that we do for God’s glory and by His strength.

Boys music with group

As mentioned over a year ago, one of the older Decons at church (who is also our neighbor) has been helping the boys with their music (as well as investing into our family in countless other ways). It was really encouraging for the boys to have had the opportunity to play not just with him, but with others who were at our (small country) church for “Last Sunday Sing”. It was fun to see them all playing together.