Destination: Elm Mott

 September 2, 2010

I had great company on the five-day drive south: the man after whom I was named—Robert W. Smith himself—my dad. As we chatted during our time together, we realized that it had been over a decade since we had spent so much time together. We both were grateful for the opportunity to be in the company of the other.

As we drove South, the landscape surprised us. It seemed more like Montana at times, Merritt, BC at other times. The forest disappeared shortly after Seattle, never really to return in the following four and a half days (there were small patches of forest, to be sure; but they were quite small—taking little time to pass through, and quickly ceding the landscape to shrubs, bushes, and grasses).

The temperature increased the farther South we drove; but in an unexpected way. Instead of being uncomfortable immediately, it increased incrementally; thus the heat never really became an issue until the last two days. Without air-conditioning, I had expected to feel so overwhelmed by the sun and latent heat that we would resort to driving through the night and early morning. Instead, we drove during ‘normal’ times (daytime).

There were many great sights but two that warrant mention are snow summit in Wyoming, and Pueblo Pecos National Historic site in New Mexico. After days on interstate highways, my dad and were looking for something a little more scenic (or at least a little more off the beaten path). We found it first in Wyoming. We wound along a secondary highway into the forest (a rare treat on the route we took) and soon found ourselves near a mountain summit. We drove in freezing temperatures on highway 130 between Ryan Park and Centennial.

Next we chose to veer off the quickest route to Waco to enjoy some history in New Mexico. The detour added four hours to our day.  We found ourselves enjoying a walk through an unearthed settlement with a 1200 year old history at a national historic site near Pecos (http://www.nps.gov/peco/).  We really enjoyed learning about the people, the engineering, and the conflicts at one geographical region.  It was also refreshing to take a break from driving towards our destination.

When we finally did arrive at our destination, we were warmly greeted by the interns, live0in volunteers, staff, and others here on the farm. The drive was enjoyable, but it was great to reach our new home.

Jodie: First Blog Post

My section of this blog will focus on our food and the food systems we are engaging with on the World Hunger Relief Farm. We are given, as part of Wes’ internship, food for this year. It will be a combination of the staples purchased for us as well as bounty from the farm. Our staples consist of the following: white/brown sugar, white/whole wheat flour, honey, red/green lentils, white/brown rice, tortillas, bread, lemon juice, peanut butter, jam, butter, yeast, oats, pasta, black eyed beans, red beans, couscous, oil, spices, pearl barley, baking powder/soda, raisins, prunes, vanilla and cocoa.

The regular food items that come from the farm are: goat’s milk, eggs, animal organs, onions, garlic and any in season fruits or vegetables.

In season this week are: green peppers, egg plants, okra and watermelons.

We are trying to live off the staples and the fruits and veggies in season so we are choosing to limit our grocery to $10.00 a week.

As I spent time dreaming of the farm and wondering how the food systems would work, I imagined that we could eat as much as the farm produced. I was also in the middle of reading Barbara Kingsolvers “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” (which I highly recommend if you love food, gardening or have interest in the current US and Canadian food systems). The operational farm we find ourselves living on works quite differently. All our best produce gets sold to the paying customers. The interns and people living on the farm get the small or irregular produce. Which taste equally as good as the perfect ones but might take a bit more effort to prepare.

I was delighted to find a pomegranate tree just outside our suite. I asked around and no one was interested in its fruit. Attempt number one of picking a pomegranate, I realized fire ants love the fruit just as much as I do. I was wearing flip flops and of course the best fruits are a bit out of reach. I picked the best looking one and came out of the bush with approximately 50 ants biting my ankles. Once I attended to the ants, I looked at what I thought was the perfect fruit only to discover I was not the first to discover this juicy little number. Yes, sadly the ants had beat me to this one too! Attempt number two of picking the pomegranates was much more successful. I wore rubber boots and came prepared with a large container to carry my fruit back to my kitchen. I picked a dozen and started using my finger nails to pry back the tough outer shell. This was clearly going to take me all day! Then I got the bright idea of using a knife to cut them in two and then began to extract the juice-covered seeds. Once all the fruit was in my pot I began boiling the kajeepers out of it. I ended up with 5 cups of juice.

I tried a Pomegranate lentil soup for supper with homemade French bread and watermelons sliced for dessert. Quite yummy if I do say so myself!

Here is the recipe for the soup:
¾ cups lentils (I used green)
2 TB butter
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
5 cups water
1 cup rice (I used brown)
1 tsp tumeric
salt & pepper to taste
½ cup basil
3 cups pomegranate juice

1. Rinse lentils
2. Sauté onions & garlic in butter
3. Add water, lentils, rice, tumeric, salt and pepper and simmer for 45 mins
4. Add pomegranate juice and basil and simmer for final 15 minutes

Living, Discerning, Moving, Discerning, Living…

August 28, 2010

Whether or not we are ready, it is time to move. The last two weeks have included meeting the new resident coordinators, describing the Menno Simons Centre and how it operates, and packing our home. The past seven days, in particular, have been tough. Our home has been turned upside down, and this has significantly affected us.

While driving South I wonder what we are doing. What are we doing? We’re moving 3,726 Km away from what we have come to know. My mind cannot help but fixate on Synova and the possible affect our choice may have. Our decision is removing Synova from the only home she has had, the playgrounds she knows, her Grammy and Papa, her cousins, some aunts and uncles, and many friends. I am asking did we discern well?

The answer comes quickly—no. We discerned well. God has brought us here. We asked, listened, and then made the application. God is at work in Texas, and we have been invited to participate. The question then becomes, what does God have in store for us here at the WHR farm?

I guess this question can only be fully answered once we have allowed some time to pass. It will best be answered after Jodie, Synova, and I are reunited after a week apart, once we become familiar with the rhythms of the farm (and of Texas), and once we have created space to be quiet, meditating, praying and listening.

In the mean time, we will enjoy all we are experiencing: from vegetables, to turkeys, to the Waco zoo, to a new church. God is good!