Kik and Boppy’s Farm Happenings Video

In this video, it’s Kik who is giving her thoughts concerning the Mentink family and our farm. Of course, you’ll see a lot of Boppy as well. What does Kik have to say about hedgehogs? What is going on in the Mentink household? What were the outcomes of the study concerning Mrs. Berkshire P. Lawrence? It’s all here.

Changes on the Farm Since Covid-19 Part 1

A Summer of Joy and Sacrificial Love

When considering the title of this story, what comes to mind? Several years ago I might have thought of an extravagant vacation with loved ones, candle light dinners at a fancy restaurant, or a new vehicle to drive, but to be honest, none of those things happened, and most people might find our summer rather boring.

The spring started out with the birth of our eighth child at home. I learned a lot from this pregnancy and birth about nutrition and the importance of keeping stress levels down. The pregnancy was more of a roller coaster with one month my baby measuring bigger than normal and the next month hearing, “This is a really small baby.” I didn’t think too much about it. I kept going on like normal, adding as much work as I could manage in a day during my pregnancy. I have always been one to make a list of too many things that I want to accomplish before the baby comes. I piled up my list as usual and set to work. With most of my list complete, our child arrived 3 weeks early and weighed in at 5 pounds 7 ounces. I had never had such a small baby, and I was very worried about her size. We had also just learned about the Covid-19 pandemic and that had me concerned as well.

Shortly after the birth of our sixth child (over 5 years ago) I developed an infection which landed me in the ER in the middle of the night. I have never been so scared in my life. I woke up laughing and so confused. I had also been having other health issues such as extreme fatigue and numbness on one side of my body. I was treated with antibiotics and things improved quickly. When my prescription was done, and I stopped the antibiotics, I started experiencing these symptoms again. I remember crying out to God and begging for wisdom. I didn’t want to be on medication again! The Lord graciously revealed how to treat my symptoms naturally and gave me the peace to trust in Him more and more over time. My husband and I prayed a lot during that time and grew closer to God as well as each other.

My seventh pregnancy, labor, and recovery were so amazing that I had no worries about my eighth pregnancy or recovery. When I started having very mild symptoms again in the middle of the night a few days after the birth, I was a little surprised and scared. Thankfully I knew what to do. I woke my husband up right away. My husband was so tired but he got right up and sat with me for hours and comforted and prayed with me. We debated about going to the hospital, but I improved very quickly after my natural treatments, and feeding our baby, that we felt peace about staying home. I confessed to my husband the next day that I had been reading a lot of news about the pandemic and that I was worried about our baby’s small size. He reminded me that our baby was healthy and thriving. She gained weight very well from the beginning and was doing amazing. He also reminded me that we are to trust in the Lord and we have nothing to fear. He was absolutely right! I also confessed my sin of worry to the Lord and quit looking at worldly news. Praise God, and with help from my amazing family, I recovered very quickly.

 I learned several things from this experience. That stress is very detrimental to my health and baby, and that new moms need a lot of rest and care, along with nutrient dense, properly prepared foods. I was also able to look back at my pregnancy and for the first time see that those months when I experienced the greatest stress, were the times when my baby was measuring small. I have learned to trust in the Lord even more and I value the important things in life more than ever. These experiences have given me so much compassion for other people especially new moms. I’m so thankful for the loving support of my family. It’s hard to share the struggles, but it’s through other humble people that I have grown in faith and have felt less alone during the hard times. I have also learned over time that love is not a feeling; it’s sacrificing my life in order to help another person, doing those things that are hard and putting someone else first.

I have watched the Lord provide in more ways than ever this summer. My husband’s job required him to work from home after the birth of our child. While the first few days were a little distracting for him, he has balanced work at home very well (especially after he moved our computer to an upstairs room). With him working from home, it has saved him about 1 ½ hours of driving each day and we are so blessed to be able to have lunch together as a family. Our baby was born at a very busy time on the farm, but the Lord provided a little extra time each day for him to help more on the farm. You can get a lot done with an extra 7 ½ hours per week. Despite the fact that we rarely left the farm and most of our investments were business related, this has been the best summer ever, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

The Lord has really put it on my heart to empower others about how our food has changed over a short period of time. We are reaching more and more people with our website and newsletter and LOVE to hear your stories about how natural, clean foods have changed your lives. Please help spread the word and keep those stories coming! As we get closer to winter, we look forward to the work that lies ahead and to blessing others with our products. Homesteading and farming are not simple tasks, but when you enjoy the work you are doing and get to feel a great sense of accomplishment at the end of the day, it is completely worth it. This fall we pray that you are encouraged to grow great food, find, and meet a great farmer to buy from, slow down and enjoy each day, and be blessed with abundant health!