As many of you know, Charlie was in a car accident in December 2007 that has resulted in many surgeries (2 complete, 2 to go). Because of that he has not been able to accomplish much on the farm & has lost a lot of time at work. Well, Nick, the Youth Pastor at our Church was looking for a local Missions Project that our families could do this summer. Nick asked us if we would consider allowing them to come to our farm to help us get ahead while Charlie was recuperating. We were thrilled, blessed & humbled!
So, during the past few weeks, we worked with Nick & his team leaders to come up with projects for the teens & families to work on… of course we were able to come up with many. Well, we had the plan laid out but not too many folks had signed up to help yet. Nick continued to encourage people to sign up but the team decided that they would just accomplish what they could with the people that showed up. Charlie & I were happy with whatever they could do. God was happy to surprise us and bless us beyond what we could have imagined. Now let me back up a little before I continue.
Some of the team leaders came a little early to do some prep work on Saturday. On Sunday after Church we had a brief meeting of all the folks who were planning to help at the farm on Monday. Wow, there were a lot of people but many were parents & other people still hanging around after Church to chat so we still didn’t really know what to expect on Monday. Now this was a week of service that included more than just our farm. Our Church was also doing Vacation Bible School. The folks involved in VBS that would also work at the farm were given a bag lunch to eat on the way to the farm to begin their work here. At 1:00 the cars began to roll in. They kept coming & coming as we looked for enough space for them to park. That first day we had about 60 people, age 8 to about 77, begin their awesome work on our farm. In total there were 73 different people who came to help at one time or another during the week.
HERE ARE THE WONDERFUL WORKS THEY ACCOMPLISHED:
Adults, teens & kids scraped all the barns for painting. We have 3 large barns, a garage & 6 small out buildings.
The rooster watches as the girls scrape the chicken coop.
Grandpa Gus & Grandson Mike work together.
Two of our youngest workers, Daniel H. & Mike L., scrape paint off the summer kitchen while
Aiden H. keeps them company.
Wow, scraping those barns is a tough job...but everyone joyfully kept going
Scraping the inside of the Summer Kitchen.
Then they painted all the barns. The small buildings were painted by brush & the large buildings were painted with sprayers. The large buildings are red with white trim & the small buildings are white with red trim. I can't believe they finished all the buildings... that was a huge job! We will paint the trim ourselves later now that all the hard work is done.
Painting the garage.
Painting the corn crib.
Marissa C. steadies the ladder as Melissa K. spray paints the big barn... don't look down!
Our red barns are beautiful!!!
More got painted than just the barns... Melissa K. & Connie L. are not sunburned, they're just painted a lovely shade of barn red. I think they look lovely!
When the girls painted the goat house, the goats began to eat the paint. They had to continully chase them away. They said that Shaggy looked like he was wearing red lipstick!
On Friday we had rain. You can see Connie L. in her rain slicker not wanting to stop painting.
Ben doesn't need a rain slicker... he just likes to get wet!
A few of the young men came each morning between 6:30 & 7:00am to scrape and paint the metal roofs on the two large barns before it got too hot. Those roofs would be unbearable in the heat!
I like to pray in the morning but I really prayed extra hard these mornings knowing the guys were up on the roofs. Nick H., Jared H. & Dave K., you did an extraordinary job above and beyond!!!
This metal roof paint is so thick that it is applied with what looks like a scrub brush on a pole.
A few of our very skilled men (including Charlie's Dad, Carl) restored our favorite building and the one in worse shape... the Summer Kitchen. They began over a week before by jacking up the low overhang roof. They turned the jack once a day til the roof was level... over 5 inches in total. It is looking so beautiful!
One of the most delicate parts of this job was working around my Dad's rose bush... the one I brought from his house after he passed away. It may not be the most beautiful rose bush but it's special. Carl H. & Charles R. did a great job caring for it... Thanks guys!
Carl found new siding that matched perfectly to replace the missing pieces of side wall. What a difference!
The gentleman with the camera is from WBAL TV. They did a short story on the Missions Project Thursday evening.
Some of the men worked on clearing along the property line where we will later put up fencing. This was a rough job since most of their work was done away from the other work teams. Russ V. and Ollie D. made quite a team!
A lot of our strong young guys strengthened their muscles while breaking up rock and asphalt to fill holes in our very long bumpy driveway.
"Working on the chain gang!"
One of the most amazing projects the Youth Group & families took on was the restoration of our pond. When we bought the farm, the dam had already been breeched and the one time 7 foot deep pond was only a shallow mud puddle. It contained lots of frogs and other creepy things and would be visited by ducks from time to time but it was not a pretty pond. Look below to see what they took on...
This is the pond before.
They had to pump out the remaining water in order to dig out the muck in the bottom.
This is Buck's favorite job... playing in the mud!
Trees that grew up around the pond had to go. John's skid loader made quick work of that.
Jared H. & Geof S. move trees and debri away from the pond.
The pond gets bigger and bigger!
Brian D., Ben H. & Zach C. continue to pump out the water as the big equipment is used to dig out more and more muck.
I think Ben H. & Zach C. just like playing in the mud!
Here they are laying the overflow pipe that will run threw the bottom of the dam.
Pastor Barry C. & Ben C. help to cover and secure the pipe.
Using chain link fence and large rubble, they rebuild a wall that will help to secure the new earthen dam.
Here they begin to backfill with clay soil to build the earthen dam.
The dam is complete... how wonderful! I can't wait to see it full of water and wildlife!
Our New Old Pond...
our friend Tommy (a avid fisherman) cannot wait until we stock the pond.
Charlie & John K. look on amazed at all the work that was accomplished.
Once the barns were almost finished, the last job to be accomplished was clearing the front field to expand our gardens. The guys went to work with the large equipment ripping out whole trees. Others then cut them up into fireplace size logs & branches to be dragged away by the kids. It was unbelievable how fast they tore into that woods.
"Woods? What Woods?
"As soon as the tree is down, a hoard of teens decend on the fallen victim, chop it up and whisk it away..." sorry I got a little too carried away.
Ben K. is having too much fun pushing around those trees.
Pastor Russ, Pastor Barry & Pastor Nick all join in with the teens and families to help clear the field.
Ben, Eli & Nathan finish up clearing while Daniel & Micah take a little rest.
Fun Farm Photos Behind the Scenes:
Here we find Dave K. taking his dog Manny for a ride on his skidloader. Manny loves it as long as he's with Dave.
Buck finds a friend in the mud... a snapping turtle.
Ben finds a feisty crayfish.
Eli finds a friendly frog.
Pop Pop finds a place to take a nap.
Melissa K. finds her next painting target.
Two strange creatures are found crawling out of the bottom of the pond.
Oh... it's just Ben & Eli!
Daniel H. & Mike L. take time out for a little fun.
Sarah S. cools off with an ice pop.
Oops!... John K. gets the skidloader a little too top heavy and winds up face first in the pile of dirt. Jared H. & Ben H. use a chain to hook the skidloader up to the backhoe so Ben K. can pull his Dad out of his precarious position.
Tuesday evening, all the families who worked on the farm project stayed to enjoy a cookout and fellowship.
It was a wonderful time to relax. The pool was open for fun and later in the evening, we had a campfire for roasting marshmallows.
Brian D. provided a movie projector and Charlie provided a screen on the side of the barn so the kids who stayed could watch a movie. They had a blast sitting outside in the dark watching "Madagascar". Some of the teens stayed even longer and slept out under the stars.
The girls all slept out in the middle of the field. They look so lovely in the morning!
The boys...not so lovely! Hey, why did they get to sleep by the fire?
These are our littlest workers. What did they do? Their main job was to have fun, swim and watch God's blessings in action. What a way to learn to serve but to come along side their family as they serve.
A view of the garden and the work in progress.
Daniel & Mike's BIG job of the week was to deliver Ice Pops to all the workers. They would get them out of the freezer and load them in a cooler bag.
They would then deliver the Ice Pops all over the farm, snip off the tops with scissors and collect trash. Everyone loved to see them coming.
Lilly L., Sophie H. & Emma C. enjoy their Ice Pops as they swing.
It looks like Karin J. has been painting too long.
Now Jessica H. & Erin D. have been working together all day long... How is it that Erin looks so clean & Jessica is so full of paint?????
Wow, Chris B. finally got her husband, Buck B., out of the mud... but it wasn't easy!
Sarah, Me and Becky with Daniel... they had to get Mom in one of the pictures.
We moved the TV outside so everyone could see the News interview with WBAL. As it was, they didn't show it when they said so many went back to work. We did get it on tape... all 40 seconds of it. They showed kids scraping, painting & moving brush.
Some of the kids get a ride up the hill in the trailer after dumping a load of brush in the woods.
You knew it would happen sooner or later... the kids found the mud! The mud started to fly... mostly at Daniel.
Daniel didn't mind at all... I didn't think we would ever get him out of there.
Look... in the midst of all those muddy boys is cute little Emma C. but we know she can hold her own with those guys!
Micah C., Zach C., Daniel H. Emma C. Isaac C. & Ben H. all finally come out of the mud... of course our guys (Daniel & Ben) are the muddiest!
Another trip up the hill for more brush.
Becky H., Sarah H. & Kelly B.all wet from the rain & playing football in the picnic grove. How is it they have any energy left at all?
A beautiful view of our new red barns.
What a wonderful week it has been and what a wonderful gift our Church family has given us!
Many, many thanks to all those who worked, helped, supported and prayed for us. You have blessed us immensly! You have also blessed all those who come to the farm and hear our story. Your gift has stretched well beyond our 15 acres.
With all our love & gratitude,
Donna & Charlie Hancock
Please come visit our Church Family
Liberty Church, PCA
11301 Liberty Road
Owings Mills MD, 21117
(Just East of the Liberty Reservoir bridges on Liberty Road)
Sunday Worship Service 10:45
Sunday School 9:30
After all the caps are removed, the frames are fastened inside the extractor. This electric extractor will spin with such a force that all the honey will be drawn out the combs. Some extractors are hand cranked... that's when we would put the kids to work taking turns spinning. It's a fun job but it can get pretty old real quick.
As the honey is spun into the extractor drum, it pours out the spout into a straining bucket to be colleted.
As the honey is strained, any foreign particles are removed.
Once all the honey is strained clear and clean is can be poured into jars.
