This month we had the pleasure of hosting members of an Amish community outside of Hutchinson, KS. We had quite a bit that we needed to get done, so having the help of the 40+ members of the Amish community expedited things quite nicely. We were surprised by how much was accomplished.
Every year, the Amish community from Hutchinson, KS youth group (single members ages 16-40) choose a site from across the country to dedicate and volunteer their time to. We were fortunate to host the amish youth group this year and welcomed them with the help of our partner Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church. Rolling Hills is a long-time supporter of BoysGrow and extended the doors of their church open to house the Amish on their time away from the farm.
During their time here, the group worked together to build our long-anticipated chicken house, which is set to hold 30 chickens, including our new baby chicks that we recently homed. They also helped us with a new shed for our goats, as well as fixed the fences that housed the animals. We were even able to do some landscaping around the farm. Doing all of those projects within the span of 4 days sounds like a lot, but the Amish made it look almost too easy! With their help, we were able to make significant progress on other projects that held our attention.
We are floored with the compassion, joy and felt extremely humbled to have them dedicate their time to us so selflessly. Construction Director Ethan says, “My highlight that week was working among a group of people that weren’t too busy talking about work, TV shows, or even looking at their phones. Something about their appreciation for the little things that I seem to overlook being caught up in the hustle” We were able to learn more about the Amish and their way of life as well as them learning about BoysGrow and our mission. BoysGrow continues to strengthen community relations in order to better serve the young men of our program and their communities. We thank our friends for helping us for that week and bid them farewell in the hopes they’ll return to farm with us again.
