This year has been very busy as usual with lambing, then calving, haymaking and visits to a couple of Agricultural shows. The Lord has blessed us in so many ways from the lambing and calving that produced lots of healthy animals to the bumper crop of hay we managed to get in despite the weather. It was truly amazing and encouraging to see how God’s protecting hand was over us, when we had a big batch to get in, we could see the rain all around us coming down, but it held off over us till we were just getting the last few bales in.

 

For many years we have enjoyed taking the beneficiaries to several agricultural shows and this year was no different! This summer we took some animals to the Driffield Agricultural show again, including some of our Shearling Ewes, a couple of the tups and some of the horses to compete in the show.

 

When the sheep were taken into the ring, they were very well behaved and won 1st and 2nd places in some of the categories. Everyone was thrilled and it was a lovely reward for all the hard work the project puts in each day looking after the animals.

 

Other excitement was when our Lleyn Tup not only won a trophy but was then automatically placed into the Supreme Championship where they compete against 20 other breeds. Unfortunately, we didn’t win overall champion in this category, but we were thrilled to retain the trophy we had won last year.

 

Our horses have visited a few shows this summer too. One of the gentlemen who works on the project showed the horse in the ring for the first time. He was a bit nervous so one of the team went into the ring with him, but he did a fabulous job. He loved showing his special horse to the judges and audiences. It is truly remarkable seeing the gifts and abilities being developed on our projects and always wonderful to see how the Lord is working in the lives of those entrusted to our care. One of the ladies from the project who had never visited a show before was able to come along this year. It was such an amazing experience and precious for her to be involved in this.

 

During September we held our own Country Show for the first time! This was a really fun day just for those in our care, staff and volunteers, where our beneficiaries could show off what they had been doing on their projects. From carrots grown on the Horti project to sheep looked after by the Agri project, everyone had a fun and special day sharing in each other’s achievements. Times like this are so very special here, with many of our folk having been abandoned, shown no love or compassion in their lives, just rejected and pushed away.

 

Here are some comments from a few of our beneficiaries who were at the Country show:

 

‘My favourite part of the Country show was seeing everyone receiving awards for different things they had made or grown’.

 

‘I won an award for the smallest egg collected!’.

 

‘The show felt like a miniature version of the large shows – it was lovely to see each project showcased with what they do. I think it brought us all together. My favourite bit was the games that the woodwork team had built’. 

 

To see the joy and love everyone showed each other when they were showing off their achievements was such a testament to how the Lord is working in hearts here, breaking down the barriers that have been built so high over the years of experiencing no one to trust. Please continue to pray for everyone we support here, that they will all come to know the saving grace and love of our Lord Jesus, the one whom they can totally trust and rely on.