Success is worthless if you don't have people to share it with, no matter how you define success. Investing in others pays back in a number of ways. Often it feels like surrender. However surrender brings blessings you never expect. Also God has so invested in us, even giving His Son. We can say thank you and become His hands and feet by investing in others.
Kurt farms for Gary southwest of Lovilia. The crop comes out of the bottom via a steep narrow dirt road. Unlike the little engine that said, "I think I can", Flames didn't quite make it out.
Thanks Andy for helping pull it up to the road. Thanks Gary for loaning your vintage V8 Massey Ferguson to unload the broken truck. Thanks Pablo for helping unload. Thanks BJ for helping get it pulled to Brett at the repair shop for a new rear end.
Thanks Lucas for bringing us lunch while we were harvesting for Bill and Kathy in Poweshiek County.
Duane and Sue are friends. Our kids grew up together. Duane works in Des Moines and often invests time with folks who have never experienced harvest. These fellows came out after work to ride in the combines.
Kenny is an Amish furniture and cabinet builder near Drakesville. Jan saved some lumber from our old home and had him build us a bed headboard and matching endtables. The bed spread is one of Jan's dozens of quilts.
Mark lives near St. Louis and is a business coach. I met him through Monsanto. We became friends and visit regularly. He invests in folks and exists for one reason, to help folks both personally and professionally. Most of his clients are involved in agriculture. He helps leaders grow their capacity to think ahead more, evaluate options, manage growth, work together, and help lead change in the challenges of production agriculture. He visited our farm this past week and met our family.
Thanks to Alex, Jim, Pablo, Kasey, Andy, Matt, as well as Ryan and Linda (not pictured) for helping us out, being responsible, caring, working hard, and having the ability to manage and handle decisions when we as a family have other commitments or doing other things on the farm.
Mike has invested in kids for years through coaching football at PCHS. This past Friday evening the PC football team won their game to advance to the state tournament at the UNI- Dome in Cedar Falls this coming Saturday morning. Below is Mike, Suzanne, and Cody.
Yesterday our church had a work day at Lake View Camp. Joe and Diana invest in kids through camps. About 75 folks worked together on a variety of projects. I didn't get around to every project however I'd like to show you a number of things folks did as they invested for other's good.
Jerry mowed several areas of the camp that needed an annual mowing.
Mike and Cody built a building pad for a future building.
Paul worked with folks cutting wood and chipping mulch.
BJ cleaned timber and widened trails with his "tree eater upper" as Hanna calls it. :)
Hanna and her help brought kids to the timber and loaded up a pickup load of hedge balls that they sell for the oil.
Royce, Leon, Arvin, and others ran chain saws on trails and for firewood. Doug, Ben, Luke, and others split firewood.
Laurel, Cal, Bert, Tony, Pastor Paul, and others mulched a huge pile of brush into Cal's spreader and Bert's tractor and then spread the mulch on trails.
Jan and the gals prepared lunch for everyone. Below are granddaughters Allison, Natalie, and Adali, who helped.
Eric brought his service truck and serviced a number of camp vehicles.
Ben moved a pile of dirt around the service garage. Many of the gals also cleaned and organized around the cabin areas. I know I'm forgetting folks and jobs. I'm sorry. There was a prayer table folks could go to and pray for camp kids or any other needs.
Kasey works for us part time. He has lived and worked with his grandfather for a long time. He is farming his grandfather's farm this coming year. Just last week he and his grandfather chiseled their field together.
Tuesday morning Rollin had a stroke and passed away. I had the privilege of meeting Kasey's grandfather for the first time at our customer appreciation supper in August. Rollin had invested in his grandson with his time, advice, and experiences. In his senior years he was getting paid back by Kasey living with and helping take care of his grandfather. Rollin had worked at the Oskaloosa Sale barn for nearly 30 years and knew my father. Our sympathies to his twin brother, Roscoe and his sisters, his wife Vina, and the rest of his family including our helper and friend, Kasey.
No comments:
Post a Comment