Growing up in the little farming community of Karaka in South Auckland, I went to a country school where Calf Day was a very big deal! Each year we’d take our carefully trained pet lambs or calves to school, along with our pikelets, cakes, flower arrangements and whatever else we were entering into. There were…
Up early this morning with a very wholesome plan — study a little, practise the ukulele and generally be productive. Then the ranch provided its own entertainment. First came Mumma Goose, proudly parading her two fluffy chicks around. Then there was Kitty. Despite having a bowl of fresh, warm cow’s milk, apparently she felt she…
Ranch life this week has been a bit like a Mexican soap opera — only with more sausages, sewing and livestock! Sunday night brought German guests, waffles and German sausages. Monday brought Jan from Sweden — and, thankfully, English! When everyone else switches to German or Spanish, I now have someone to talk with. There’s…
After the relaxed, joyful women’s retreat, my Sunday morning at the German Mennonite church was quite a contrast! Everyone was polite, but the faces were very serious—even when the young band started playing. I thought, Great, some lively music! But nobody sang, clapped or even moved. Two young girls three pews ahead gave a tiny…
I arrived at the Brilla Women’s Retreat with an open mind and almost no knowledge of religion or the Bible. It simply wasn’t a path I had ever wandered down. But sometimes the paths we least expect can leave the deepest impression. I couldn’t understand most of the words during the singing, but I didn’t…
We have six adorable little lambs, but one little male gave us quite a scare this week. While Alan was feeding them Sunday night, the enthusiastic little fellow managed to swallow the large rubber teat from the bottle! By Monday afternoon, he was clearly in distress — throwing himself down, rolling and sitting, obviously very…
Alan is a 15-year-old Paraguayan boy whose early life was marked by severe neglect. Raised by a single mother alongside his older sister (then about four years old), he was locked away from a very young age. Rescued at around 18 months old, he and his sister had been left for days or even a…
He disappeared for a couple of months and everyone thought he’d run away. Then I found him happily chomping on a nopal leaf like nothing had happened. Apparently, he hadn’t run away at all… No panic. No explanation. Just turtle business as usual.
Once, the Enlhet, Nivaclé, Guaraní Occidental and Ayoreo depended heavily on the land — hunting, gathering, growing food and following the seasons. Today, most live in urban or peri-urban communities and depend on wages from agriculture, construction, domestic work and other jobs. The forest was once their supermarket. Now they need money to shop in…
Bianca a very talented Paraguayan international singer proudly performs in her local Indigenous dialect, sharing the language, culture and spirit of Paraguay with audiences around the world. Her work has even earned her recognition for promoting Paraguay internationally. But perhaps the most beautiful part of Bianca’s story happens away from the stage. She collects donated…