One Word At A Time: Farm
Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 7:00AM MAD21 By Ginny (MAD21)
This post is a participant in a blog carnival over at Peter Pollock's place.
After you finish here, be sure to go and check out what everyone else wrote on: Farm.
I have personally never lived on a farm. But I grew up in an area that was primarily farm land so I had lots of friends who did. My best friend, for example, lived about 45 minutes away from me. On the only road between us were your standard crops growing pretty much year round, but there were also two particular farms where over the years, we mastered the art of holding our breaths. The first one was the pig farm. I personally think nothing except perhaps chickens and a sugar factory (from beets) stink more than a pig farm <blech!>. But it was a small farm so it wasn't hard to hold our breaths until we were past the smell. But then there was the second farm... I don't remember how many acres Mr. Simplot owned on that particular farm, let's just say it seemed like miles, and miles, and miles... of STEER. On a day with comfortable temperatures it wasn't a big deal to drive by this farm, it smelled, but you could tolerate it for the 10 minutes or so it took you to pass the area. However, on hot and rainy days... that was a whole other story. Ya, we never mastered holding our breaths long enough to get past the smell on those days.
My dad grew up in eastern Idaho on a farm. He spent his entire youth tending the fields (no animals much to my disappointment). There are a few things I remember my dad talking about regarding farm life from his perspective: he HATED overalls (because he was forced to wear them all the time); he was never allowed to plow the ground for new planting because for some reason he couldn't ever drive in lines straight enough for my grandfather or my uncle; and it was HARD work.
Aside from hearing endless farming stories, having fresh fruit and veggies available during the various seasons, the one thing I liked most about growing up around farm land in Idaho was irrigation. I know that is an odd thing like about living near farms, but think about it from a child's perspective... what more could you ask for during the long hot summers but gigantic sprinklers and ditches to jump in and tube down. Seriously awesome. I remember my dad telling me years ago that just one section of a particular kind of irrigation sprinkler was around $250,000. The first thing I thought of? "Wow, that's an expensive sprinkler for me to run through."
Our challenge to Make a Difference... to many.
I talked a little last Friday in my Fingerprint post about how we have such a different perspective when it comes to water in this country than others do in many areas around the world. My friend and co-blogger Matt over at Becoming Last was inspired to do something big, really big. I asked him to share with you what we are doing during the month of June to bring water to families around the world through an organization called, charity: water. Matt said:
42,000 people die every week for reasons clean water could cure. That number startles me. Worse yet, 90% are children. That just breaks my heart. For so long, I've ignored numbers like that. They seemed so distant, so remote. About seven years ago, God began changing my heart. I'm at the point now where I'm desperate to do whatever I can to help these kids and their families have the necessity that I take for granted. The sad reality is that these people, mostly children, suffer needlessly. War and natural disasters are not to blame. Our indifference is the culprit. I've realized that to "love my neighbor," I can't ignore the cries of those most vulnerable. "Neighbor" has truly taken on a global meaning.
I hope you'll join me and many others in an ambitious fundraising adventure for charity:water. The beauty of charity:water is that they give 100% of the donations to their projects. Not a single cent of your donation will be used any other way. Their projects are also sustainable which helps communities develop economically. Our goal is to raise $1,000,000 in the month of June. I know. That sounds crazy, but it's the number God kept laying on my heart. There are approximately 310 million people in the US alone. Even if just .003 of that group gave $1 each, we'd reach $1 million. Breaking it down even further, if the people in our churches just gave $1 each, we would far exceed our goal.
Honestly, even if we raised only a small portion of our goal, I'd consider that a victory. Because of you, there would be children drinking clean water as opposed to the scum they drink now. That is a win. I figure we shoot for the stars and if we hit the moon, I'm okay with that.
We have the resources, we have the money, but we need the willingness. I know the numbers seem staggering, almost overwhelming, but please understand this: You may not be able to help everyone, but you can help someone. I have two little boys, a four year old and a one year old. I can't imagine my little guys suffering. I look in their eyes and wonder what it must be like as a parent to feel so helpless because you lack clean water to keep your child healthy. We can literally save the lives of a generation of children. I hope you'll join us.
Please take some time to think about how important clean water is to you and your family. To drink, to water our fowerbeds and crops, to give to our animals, to bathe in, and to play in. We take it for granted with our designer water bottles and "eco friendly" containers, and arrogantly complain about any unwanted taste or impurities. Realize what a blessing it is to have. Think about those who drink brown water from a used plastic container or broken glass in attempts to just survive. Imagine them praying daily for water to grow their crops and feed their families without the every day risk of disease from that same water.
So if you would please join Matt and me, and several other friends, and click this button, or the one on the upper right of this page. Go and Make a Difference in the life of a family and contribute to a cause that is making it possible for a community to have clean water.
Reader Comments (2)
Love it Ginny! Thanks for everything you are doing. And for everyone considering a donation, please do. Even the smallest amount can save a life.
Water water everywhere and none to drink. That is what the ocean is!! Yet on our land just a few (many) feet down we can dig a well that will supply water to an entire village. This is a worthy project! I enjoyed your childhood stories of the farms and your expensive sprinklers!