Articles
Stories from here at the farm
Time For Jesus Volunteers
10/12/2024
Our Time For Jesus (TFJ) volunteer gap year gives individuals a unique insight into the practical outworking of Christian ministry amongst vulnerable and hurting people. As with all CFL posts the aim of the TFJ project is to share the love of Jesus on a very practical basis with people who have not been shown love, kindness or compassion in their lives, with the hope that through the care they receive here they might come to a personal faith in the Lord Jesus.
We have had two lovely TFJ’s this year who have really got stuck into working for the Lord here at Caring For Life during their gap year. Phoebe and May have been a blessing to us in so many ways, from helping in the kitchen to working on the projects alongside Project Leaders and our precious beneficiaries who come up to the farm each day.
The role of a TFJ is broad to say the least! Each day is likely to be quite different as they are drafted in to help on different projects.
The day starts with our prayer meeting at 8.30am which is a precious and much needed way to start the day, with staff and beneficiaries bringing the day before the Lord.
After prayers there is time for a hot drink and chat with the folks who are with us on that day.
At 9am everyone starts getting ready to go to projects, the TFJ’s might be on Conservation, Agriculture, Equestrian, Poultry, Horticulture or helping in Reception depending on where the greatest need is. On these projects they work alongside the beneficiaries and staff members, supporting, engaging and befriending these precious folk. TFJ’s make a huge difference to the staff who are very thankful for an extra pair of hands!
At lunchtime everyone comes together in the Hub to eat a hot meal which has been produced by our Catering Academy Project. Time spent together eating and chatting is always special, after eating there is always a game of Uno around one of the tables and when the weather is fine football is played outside on the field!
The afternoon continues with helping wherever is needed and the day ends with cleaning the toilets up in the Hub, so everything is clean and ready for the start of the next day.
Here are some thoughts from Phoebe and May about how they are finding their year here as TFJ’s:
May: - “I am truly grateful for my TFJ year filled with new experiences, friendships, and opportunities to learn. The relationships and experiences on the farm have been memorable. I’ve enjoyed using my existing skills and loved learning new skills from both project leaders and beneficiaries, who have generously shared their knowledge. This has been a time of meaningful contribution, and I look forward to continuing my support and serving the Lord for the rest of the year.”
Phoebe: “I’m really loving my TFJ year so far – I really do look forward to getting stuck in on different projects each day. I thank God, and I feel privileged to have been so warmly welcomed into this safe place for so many and that I get to work alongside such brilliant guys each day. I’m looking forward to lambing time here too!”
Applications are now open for the intake of TFJ’s from 2025/2026! The year is fully funded; however, we do encourage our TFJs to seek the support of their home church. The year is ideally suited to those over 21 however, we do consider applications for those over 18. If you are interested in spending a year volunteering in Christian ministry here at Caring For Life then please do get in touch, either through our website or direct to hr@caringforlife.co.uk.
Care in Creation
14/03/2025
The conservation area here at Caring For Life is a really precious place for everyone who visits it, from our beneficiaries, to our staff, volunteers and customers. It is an area that was initially developed with the main aim of enabling people to experience the wonders of God in His creation.
This area has provided so many opportunities to talk with those in our care, visitors from other organisations and customers about our loving God who created the heavens and the earth. Everything around us, from the tiniest insect to the tallest tree leads us back to our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we find forgiveness and redemption, whose love brings light into this dark and desperate world.
We have regular volunteers who are Christian supporters that help us weekly with the Conservation area, and then occasionally this help is supplemented with a group of corporate volunteers. We had one such group join us last Autumn from an insurance company based in the centre of Leeds. They were a brilliant group, enthusiastically getting stuck into the task of opening up our woodland walkway, cutting back gorse and holly and digging out brambles and wild raspberries. They were so efficient we had trouble keeping them supplied with empty trailers for all the materials they were removing! It was a beautiful autumnal day and they couldn’t help but comment on how beautiful it was here, and how pleased they were to be out of their office with its fake air and plastic plants.
This contrast in experiences took me back to something one of the conservation beneficiaries said to me whilst we were working together down in the valley earlier that week. He said ‘do you know what I call this place?.....God’s kingdom’. This was truly beautiful especially as it came from one of the quietest members of the team and it gave an amazing opportunity to talk with him about his relationship with God.
Please pray for boldness and the right words to say to our corporate volunteering groups whilst we get alongside them for such short periods of time. Pray that opportunities will arise to speak about our loving, creator God through the beauty of His creation here, but also to be able to explain the reason we are here and why we do what we do. ‘We love because He first loved us’ 1 John 4:19.
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Jake.
The summers' agriculture events!
10/12/2024
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.
Bassenfell 2024
16/10/2024
For a few years now our Being There team have taken a group of those in our care away to the Bassenfell Christian Conference Centre for a supported group holiday. Being situated in the beautiful Lake District this is always a special time and enjoyed immensely by all who go.
This year we had a few problems in the lead up to the holiday, including staff and beneficiary illness and car issues. However, once we got there the Lord mightily blessed us and showered His provision on us in so many ways.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the stunning scenery and it was such a precious break from the usual concrete outlook of city tower blocks which is the daily reality for most of them.
We had prayed that the group would all get along together and that all the different backgrounds and situations people were coming from would be settled and happy together. The Lord answered our prayers in a glorious way. There was lots of fun, love and care shown towards one another, it was really very precious.
Each day we did a mixture of activities including shopping, lakeside walks, picnics, quizzes and games. In the evenings, everyone came together and we sung, prayed and studied God’s Word together, even those who have not been to a Bible study before came along which was really special.
The stark contrast between the joy of the holiday and normal life hits hard when it comes to an end, however, we left with precious, happy memories of the time we had shared together over these few days.
Please pray for these precious people, that they will be drawn by the love of the Saviour and reach out to Him in their need. Give thanks that we are able to walk alongside them in life’s ups and downs.
Hopes & Dreams
14/12/2023
Here at Caring For Life, our therapeutic daytime projects are a great way for people to enjoy friendship, company and learn new skills. Mostly people who join the farm projects come here to get some time out from their often chaotic and disruptive home lives, make new friends and just be able to have a few hours enjoying the peace and beauty of the farm setting.
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Each time a new beneficiary joins us we try and adapt to their individual needs and ambitions, resulting in them often flourishing in ways we couldn’t have imagined. We have found this approach to be a great benefit to those who come to us, allowing them to gain confidence and skills but within a safe and loving environment.
One of our beneficiaries who has been with us many years is a very important and valuable member of the Equestrian team. He has been involved with the horses here since we had our very first shire horses and is a huge asset to the team. He is also able to bless new beneficiaries that join the project with his precious, caring nature, helping them to make friends and get to know the horses.
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Another one of our beneficiaries joined us and spent several years on our farm projects, and is now part of the barista team in the Granary. He is someone who would struggle with the pressures of a more commercial environment, but is flourishing here, because he is surrounded by supportive staff members and is an absolute asset to the team.
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Others who come to us manage eventually to move on to employment after spending a few months with us. Although the vast majority of those coming to us for support won’t manage to move on to further employment, we still try and enable them to achieve any hopes and ambitions they have. When appropriate we will work with individuals to help them gain more experience in an area of interest away from the farm, in order to give them more opportunities of employment in their chosen area.
We thank the Lord for the opportunity to engage people with work to do, and above all, for the time and space to share something of the Lord with them. Seeing the change in people from being demotivated and feeling aimless to developing their hopes and ambitions is truly wonderful.
Jonathan Parkinson.