A friend passed this article to me that was published this week in the NYTimes. I feel it gets to the root of why the Farmhands Program is such an important part of Guidestone's work.
I want to share my reply to my friend with you:
"The further we distance ourselves from the spell of the present, explored by our senses, the harder it will be to understand and protect nature’s precarious balance, let alone the balance of our own human nature."
I had the opportunity to teach a Farmhands Class yesterday to 16 youngsters age 7 - 10 at Hutchinson Homestead, an historic 1800's homestead and 7th generation working Ranch located in Salida, CO. I taught Communication with Ranch Animals - Knowing how to take care of the animals on a ranch is one of the most important skills a rancher needs to have! Spend the day with Judie Anders (aka Farmer Judie) learning how animals communicate...
We hiked through irrigated fields to observe cows and their calves grazing, getting 
wet and muddy in the process along with seeing the diversity of plant life and wild flowers in the meadow. We observed a bird nest with eggs in it hidden in the tall meadow grass; we drew pictures of a Mama Cow ready to give birth and discussed how to tell if she is really close or not, getting manure on our shoes and clothes as we wrote and drew in Observation Journals we created in the morning. We played, ate, and sat under the shade of an old apple tree enjoying each other.
"learning about the world... experiencing it up close, right here, right now, in all its messy, majestic, riotous detail."
Ahhh, the sometimes uncomfortable and smelly richness in which life thrives.
