Very large pets, bus calling, transplants

Mama and I were up early Saturday morning. I say, early, but I slept in until 7 a.m. After doing my Bible reading I headed to the barn lot to close the gate on the cattle so I could clean up the area where we have set the last several bales of hay. (If I do not keep them out of the area where I am working, I have a very difficult time working around them.) There is a portion of every round bale that cannot be eaten and rather than allow it to accumulate and choke out the ground, I pushed it to an area where I will allow it to turn into compost over the next couple years. As soon as I had the area scraped clean I set another bale out and let the cattle back into the lot. They ran to the bale like they had not been fed for a week, but that is normal. Friday evening Mama and I fed them a bale of alfalfa we had in the goat barn in order to get some ruffage in them for the night. They acted like it was candy. They fought over it like a bunch of hogs; knocking each other around trying to get a better position. I was not fast enough getting it over the fence when we initially opened the bale and Daisy crumpled the fence reaching over it to get the first bite. That took a few minutes to straighten back. I told Mama we may have to get rid of this herd and get some cows a little less familiar with us; a little less like a bunch of thousand pound pets. She did not agree.

She and I both went to bus-calling a little later. She usually does not go with me but she had to take Yilin to hand out some tracts so Yilin could get her “service badge” for Master’s Club. Mama told me that Yilin was very timid - as you would expect. But Mama assured her that the Bible says we do not have the “spirit of fear” and that we should do things for the Lord even if we are a little bit afraid. Yilin immediately corrected Mama, stating that the Bible really says we don’t have the “spirit of scared”. I guess that’s what she heard in Children’s Church. Close enough for now. They had a good morning visiting and handing out tracts.

Meanwhile, Pastor and I went bus-calling and visited some of our usual riders as well as stopping at several houses to see if we could get any new prospects. In one predominately Spanish-speaking area we came across two men who were having a Saturday morning chat. As it turned out, they were talking about church. Pastor shared the plan of salvation with the man standing beside the truck and the man sitting in the truck listened intently. Both prayed to receive Jesus and the woman sitting in the truck wept as they prayed. I asked her later if she knew Jesus and she said she was saved and on her way to Heaven. A little later we came across a man waiting for a friend and were able to share the Gospel with him and he prayed to receive Jesus. He told me after he had prayed that he felt better, lighter. I told him it was because the burden of his sin had been lifted. We invited him to church but he does not live in this area. He was praising the Lord as left. So were the Pastor and I.

Mama met me back at the church about noon and we headed to the Wycoff’s house so I could dig up some of the asparagus he is taking out of his garden. I dug up enough to fill a large tub with the crowns. I did not want to impose on his graciousness. I know he wants some of the asparagus and I did not know how much. What I took was enough to plant a full row in the garden – which I disked up before I got the tiller out to do the final prep for the plants. Daniel also wanted a couple plum trees removed from the little orchard on the place he bought. They are mature (6-8 year-old) dwarf plum trees so if we did not do too much damage to the roots as we dug them up they should establish themselves quickly where I planted them in the garden. I will have to watch all the transplants for the next few weeks but I have high hopes for both the asparagus and the plums trees. Daniel told me yesterday as they prepare the garden he will have his daughter – who will do most of the work – to gather the asparagus she digs up to be removed and get the plants to us. I would welcome that. By the time I got everything replanted I was worn out.

Two pups sold and taken to other homes Saturday. Great soul winning opportunities. Great services on Sunday. It was a great weekend.