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Saturday, March 13, 2010

Saturday, Farm Tour (Blast from the past from the old guy!)

After a Friday that hit 100, the cool breeze of the evening was welcome, but the ceiling fan helped the most. But fans don't work when the electricity is shut down to allow the water to rise in the pond for tomorrow's work thru the hydro-electric plant.

This morning, we met with the work coordinator, to plan for a landscaping project that should allow water to be tiled away from a courtyard that gets flooded.

The farm tour showed the working trade school shops of wood carving, wood furniture manufacture and repair and lathe work. The highlight of the tour, for me, was the welding and metal fabrication shop. The order of the day was building, painting and assembly of bleachers. We think they'll be used for a special ceremony when the IO committee, and family of the founder come on Monday. Lincoln welders serve the school side very well!!

"Pig Farm": Landrace, Yorkshire and some leftover Hampshire and Duroc made for a great product in just 5.5 months. We can learn again about nipple waters, drip spray and help keep the whole herd cool. Heidi remembers it being like Uncle Lyles farm, in Nebraska, USA.
The instructor for the Mechanics shop is state-side, so the teaching lab, while waiting for parts has several started projects. By the way, we may need to secure some gently used mowers and 4-wheelers to help with the chores.

The Swimmin' Hole: 33 of us headed to the river, chest-high for a water version of keep-away.
The trip out showed most of us helping ourselves to gawava, a tasty ping-pong ball-sized fruit. It's best when ripe, but seldom gets that far!!

On the return, I got a blast from my past, seeing the nations first automatic milking machine and parlor in action. It reminded me of my own time in the parlor. With work assignments for boys (and one girl) included seeing each baby calf in its own hut and all stages of heifer development. The mature herd was steady and 156, much like the premium Holstein herd of Boys Town, Nebraska, where work ethic, community pride and the connection to life cycles through animal husbandry were nearly identical.

Personally, finding PEPSI, cold in glass bottle took me back a few years, too. But I'm bounced back to the future when I realize the infrastructure in place since 1999, post-Hurricane Mitch allows wireless internet and this blog site with us.

Finally, as I post, whether young or old, I am amazed at the Power of God as presented through the spontaneous testimony of a young man named Cessa. Now 18, he shared that his family, including the mean stepfather has not ever visited him at the farm in 8 years. But to him his one true family is his reason for planning for college and then a lifetime career in the navy. I was proud to be included in his welcome to Adrianne, Heidi and I as brothers and sisters in his Christian family! Oh, yeah, it will be fun to hear Cessa's stories after he makes a special presentation of a wood-carved relief map of the school farm to the new President of Honduras tomorrow after church! Join us in prayer for our extended Christian family!!

Mark for the team

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