The following words were written by Misty, who owns a family-centered organic farm in Northern California and has hosted WWOOFers since 2019.
For I was hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in.” Matthew 25:35 “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 25:40
We had the privilege of hosting several volunteers on our 5-acre ranch. We call these volunteers WWOOFers. They are called WWOOFers because they are members of an organization that connects volunteers to organic farms all over the world (https://wwoofusa.org). The volunteers would stay with us for a day, a month, or sometimes longer. During their stay, we would give them a room and provide food in exchange for their labor on the ranch. Every volunteer who has stayed with us has been a gift and teacher to each one of us.
It wasn’t always easy allowing strangers into our home and lives, however, we quickly learned that they don’t have to be strangers for long if we made our hearts available to them. Andrew was our first WWOOFer, and he traveled all the way from Shanghai, China. Andrew only stayed with us for two nights, but his generous heart made him one of our favorites. He helped us cook and clean, mucked the stalls, played with the children, and even milked our dairy cow. Andrew came to stay with us again a couple of months later, only this time he brought his girlfriend who was also visiting from China. The children loved spending time with both of them.
They were a beautiful couple and planned to be married later in the year. Andrew stayed with us the same weekend that we celebrated our son’s adoption. We loved having their company so much that we invited Andrew and his girlfriend to come along with us to the ceremony. We all rode together in our twelve-seater van to the event. Andrew and his girlfriend were introduced to our family members and became our family photographers. They were a special couple, and they made an impact on our hearts. By having them stay with us we learned we had more to gain than to lose by inviting “strangers” into our home. After our experience with Andrew, we invited several volunteers to stay with us. They came from places we have never been before, including France, Slovenia, England, Spain, and Poland. We enjoyed each one of them so much.
We even had a famous artist named Daniel, an artist who sold his paintings at galleries in Southern California. He was such a kind and thoughtful man, and he came up with creative ways to bring out the natural beauty of the ranch. Daniel had a special gift of compassion that inspired me to write the Barnyard Miracles books.
Another volunteer family, a mother and daughter from Kentucky stayed with us for three weeks. The mother, Christiana, helped me homeschool the children. She was also an amazing cook. Her daughter, Lola, helped me with milking the cow and ranch chores. One day Lola and Christiana made us a special meal as a parting gift. It was delicious; my favorite part was the dessert, Banana Pudding Pie. I had only eaten banana pudding when I was a child, and at that time it was not a favorite of mine, but it was a dessert my grandmother used to make often. The amazing thing about this dessert that Lola and Christiana made for us is that just one month prior to eating this special meal, I saw banana pudding on a menu at a chicken & waffle restaurant. I told my husband I never thought I would eat banana pudding again after my grandmother had passed.
Regretfully, I didn’t order it, as the memory was still too painful, but later I decided I would order it the next time I had a chance. Then, there it was on my plate, in my own home. I was in awe of their thoughtfulness. I didn’t know anyone who still made this old-fashioned style dessert. I felt so much love from them, and I could feel the love from my grandmother. I could not hold back my tears and I don’t believe I will ever be more thankful for a piece of pie than I was on that day. After Christiana and Lola left, two new WWOOFers arrived. Michael was a ‘permaculture’ specialist, and Marcel was an art student from Spain. Michael offered to share his knowledge and garden design experience with us, and his timing couldn’t have been better. We were desperate for help in our garden.
Michael stayed with us for two weeks, and together we developed a plan to transform our garden and clay ground. We came up with a plan to cover our clay dirt with several inches of wood chips and let nature take its course over the winter. We had faith that winter rain and the wood chips would transform our dirt into rich soil to grow fruit and vegetables. Winter came and so did the rain. The moisture-soaked mulch we had laid all over our clay dirt had begun to transform. It had become home to living organisms and fungi, and then worms began to appear. It was a miracle!
After Michael left our home, he continued coming back to work on our garden. We hired him as our project manager and we worked hard building garden beds, pathways, a greenhouse, and an irrigation system. The following summer Michael told his best friend about us and then his two brothers. All three of them also stayed with us for several months. Even though we they were very different from us, the four men became part of our family. We would eat dinner together, tell stories and laugh together. We celebrated birthdays, planned events, and made a lot of memories.
That summer we had countless volunteers from our community come every Saturday to help move dirt and plant trees. It was a summer to remember! We had never received so much help all at once, and the work they were able to accomplish during that time was a true barnyard miracle, not only with all we were able to accomplish but because we grew so much as a family and as a community. The WWOOFers brought us light during a time that seemed a little dark with the COVID-19 pandemic, and for that, we will always be grateful. Each and every volunteer we have shared our life with has changed our hearts, and we will always be thankful for the love and friendships we have made allowing these “strangers” into our home.
– Misty
