Missing Something . . .

Winter and fall at the Farm provide wonderful opportunities to grow as a staff during our weeks without volunteers, but we often feel like something is missing. Maybe it's the early morning dance parties in the picture hallway, the large games of infinity ball, or introducing the Nazwich for the first time. Whatever it is, it has to do with you. That got me thinking of some of the great Reviews of the Day from this past summer. Luckily a few groups left theirs in my capable hands so I could share them with everyone.
Enjoy and reminisce about the fun and warmth of summer!

(to the tune of Do-Re-Mi)
Doe a deer, a concrete deer
Rays of penetrating sun

Meat , of meat, I love you meat!
haven't seen you in so long

Joe, the master of the house
Peg, his treasure of a wife

Gail, the keeper of the mouse
This is our Naz farm life

Made a dent, a fender dent
Made a scratch in Linda's side

Linda's dent will surely fade
Not the dent in Timmy's pride!

Where are all the warning signs?
Where are all the traffic lights?
Ride the double yellow lines

This is our Naz Farm life

Covered up a bumpy deck
Boards, we pounded, pushed, and shoved

Said nice things about our team
Held a hammer full of love

Free to wear our smelly clothes
Free of vanity and strife
Spray my armpits with a hose

This is our Naz Farm Life!
Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do So Do!


(to the tune of Friday)
It's Friday, Friday, working in the rain on Friday
gotta build a deck and ramp for Jane and Shon
roofing, roofing, roofing in the rain on Friday
gotta cut and screw the tin roof on
Susan, Susan got her to use a sawzall
(only an hour after digging in the concrete)

Finished, finished the job on Friday
rain, mud, and dirt can't stop the Soul Sisters (+2)

Dirty and muddy and yeah!
soaking and smelly and yeah!
fun, fun, fun, fun, we love working at Naz Farm!

Now break it down! (think of this next part as a rap)

It's Naz Farm, think you be snoozin'? Ain't no way, just ask Susan!
And to a job don't dare be late or you'll suffer the wrath of Kate.
If you think a job is just to tricky, just ask help from our friend Niki.
Reading at school with the kids and all led by the super sojo Paul.
Now Kristina there is another story, just open your eyes to her faith, love, and glory.
Now who was our favorite today? It's Matt, or was that ninja Pat? Or maybe Nat?
How many jobs did you do today Allyson asks and shouts Hooray!
So whether you call him Robby or just plain Rob, you know he's the many for any job.
And who's always there with a good ol' hey'ya, we certainly know it's none other than Kayla.
So when those shingles did need tacked, leading Soul Sisters (+2) was birthday boy Zack!
And now onto you newest bud, super frisbee throwing Judd.
And last but not least is Farmer John, master of the garden and leader of song.
And that's the rap of the Naz Farm Staff, 'cause they gave it all, not just half!

July, July!

Summer was in full swing this July, and we worked on worksites galore! An epic roof at Sherri's was started.

Robin received a new ramp/porch combo, the Farm House's roof was updated, an extremely long ramp went in at Betty's, and a few crews up new underpinning up at Marsha's. 

Betty's new, extra long ramp!

A level path to the greenhouse 

Robin's extended porch/ramp with a roof

Mother Earth News, Rafting, and Colleges!

Even though there weren't any student volunteers around in September, we kept busy. Farm buildings and tools went through a deep clean,  roofs needed to be finished, and adventures were to be had. The staff learned more about sustainable building and living at the Mother Earth News Fair in Pennsylvania before heading to Bethlehem Farm to work a few days while learning about roof harnesses. We also went on our annual rafting trip down the lower Gauley.
Soon after we returned home, a group of students from Mt Aloysius College joined us for a long weekend retreat. Some students worked at Vicky and Allen's putting in new linoleum in their front room, and others stayed at home working around the Farm.
In mid-October we hosted our usual groups from Notre Dame, the University of St. Francis, Phi Delta Theta from Creighton, and Aquinas College. New skills were acquired by all as we put on a few tin roofs, new siding, closed down our gardens, and cut up a few fallen trees.

Check out all the pictures below:

Sherri's Completed Roof

Vicky's New Linoleum

A New Red Roof for Bill and Ruth

Gene's Green Tin Roof

New Roof and Siding at Debi's 

New Tin in West Union

Pat's New Siding

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas . . .

Hello friends!

As you probably know, we have many Christmas traditions here at the farm.  Each December we take a break from home repair and focus on sharing the joy of the holiday season with our Doddridge county community.  We visit all of the families that we have worked with over the course of the year and bring them gifts and cookies.  Also, we send a thank you cookie package to all the wonderful businesses that work with us.  It all culminates with a big party for the children of the area on December 8th.  We have music, games, face painting, crafts, and Santa has a toy and at least one new book for every child.

            The only way that we can do this is through the help and generosity of others. For those of you who came here this year, maybe you want to sponsor a family that you worked with. Maybe your family wants to sponsor a family.  Maybe your church or youth group wants to sponsor a family.  Maybe you want to pool some money with your work crew.  If you do decide to sponsor someone you could set aside time to pray for them throughout the holiday season.  If you haven’t been to the farm in a while you can donate to the general Christmas fund or donate new books and educational games.  Anything that you are able to do is appreciated. We generally spend $15/person. If you do wish to sponsor a family let us know before Thanksgiving so we can plan accordingly. You can let us know by calling or emailing the Farm or send us a private Facebook message. Lastly, if you want to send or email any Christmas cards or messages we would love to pass them on. Merry Christmas!

Peace and love,

Nazareth Farm

August Trifecta

As usual August started with a trifecta of group weeks. 7 families came in for a fun Family Week full of ninja, swimming, home repair, and gardening. Groups of high school students joined us for the last two weeks of our summer. Past staff member Jenny, Jerusalem Farmers (Jessie, Abhi, Andrea, and Nathaniel), Sr. Paula, and Chair of the Board Nick visited us for various lengths of stays in August.
Since it was the end of the summer, that meant we said goodbye to our last few sojourners, Natalie, Paul, Pat, and Niki.
 We worked mainly in Clarksburg with a few homes in Doddridge County. Here are some pictures of the various roofs and porches from the month. We spent time canning tomatoes and sauerkraut with Ronnie. The Todd home also received new siding, soffit, and fascia.

JJ's new white tin roof

Chris and Sabrina's new porch 

Another view of the porch

Sandy's new roof

Pam's roof from the last week of the summer

Farmer John gave us all a safer trip down to the lumber

June!

Summer on the Farm means we were full of cool high school volunteers and chaperones. We've also welcomed our first group of Summer Sojourners: Clare, Alison, Lauren, and Betsy!
Zack and Lauren continued a roof over Rosemary's trailer.
Allyson built a porch for Melissa and Eric, repaired Tony and Eva's roof, and re-shingled the dorms.

 

 Susan painted and created a roof for a well at Nanny's, drywalled a room in Salem, and built a nice porch for Jane with Kayla.

Robby re-shingled Anna's roof and put tin on Carla's.
Matt painted Sue and Tom's trim and put on new facia. He also worked at Carla's.

 Kayla joined staff at the beginning of the month. After a some on-site training, she built a porch in Folsom.

May Update

Most of the staff headed to Kansas City to visit the new Jerusalem Farm for their dedication Mass!
Jessie and Jordan are leading up this new endeavor with support from Avila. 5 other staff members also live there: Andrea, Abhi, Zack, Kristina, and Anne. Check them out at jerusalemfarm.org

Soon after we got back, we started our busy but wonderful summer group week season: tons of volunteers, the arrival of excited sojourners, blossoming gardens, warm weather, and lots of home repair and hospitality! Siding, tin roofs, underpinning, gardening, drywall, demolition, and home crew filled our two college weeks. We ventured to Clarksburg, West Union, and Pennsboro to work with our wonderful homeowners.

Poles for the green beans

Siding at Dave's

New tin at Idonia's