ComE 2 mE all tHosE wHo aRe tHirSty...

I begin this post with some words from Jesus :
" - Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I WILL GIVE YOU REST. Take my yoke upon you and LEARN FROM ME, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."...
I write this because of the many feed-backs I've been having since the news started to spread...

It seems like people are thirsty and longing for rest... rest for their tiring souls, rest from a crazy life, rest from other bad news...

And it all made me wonder this morning ... " God, what are you up to?"

I don't know really... As I had no idea all this would happen when I first came here...
a little worry came to my mind...
I do hope people would not see me or this place as some extraordinary thing... I'm not any different than anyone else... this place is not any different than any other...
But maybe it simply mirrors people's expectations... people's longings in the depths of their hearts... people are tired of living life as they are living... life lost its natural meaning... people are starting to question... and that's why they immediately respond when they see what they are looking for... and they realise they are not crazy, they are not alone, and that it is possible to live differently...

I recently finished this book, Jesus for President , by Shane Claiborne, an ordinary radical who stands for Jesus' Kingdom on earth in a country (USA) where Christianity went so off track... he compares this times with Jesus' time, when the Israelis were living under The Roman empire's dictatorship...
well, today we don't really think we're under any imperialist ruler, but if we'd be honest, we'd realise we are living in a kind of slavery, under the Empire of money...
Money is ruling people's lives, and we can't imagine life without money anymore... well, some people in Brazil are already proving that we don't really need money... Check this out....
Often we forget that we are the Government... Instead of simply complaining about our Governments, let us be the Government and be the difference... Shane was sharing how he and his community collect money from all in order to pay the medical bills of those who need... That's the power of community... today I'm in need, tomorrow it's you, and I can give...
there is much we lost when we stopped living in community...
I was visiting some old ladies from the village yesterday and they were saying how their children and grandchildren are all in the cities, working for money and buying flats in buildings... while they have land they cannot work anymore (one of them was 92 years old)... all is left for them is to sell these lands (or their heirs would do it anyway once they die)... their children and grandchildren just want the money, this is sad...
So, I urge, specially the portuguese, to come back to the countryside...for I know most of those who are living now in the cities have their grandmas in the countryside, have their roots in the countryside...
And our countryside is being deserted... it needs to be populated again, it needs life again, it needs to be cared for again... before big industries and chemical agriculture takes over...
We have such a lovely and pleasant country still... we still keep the authenticity that most of the northern european countries lost...
And you know what is happening?!! Most of these pieces of land all over Portugal, most of the farms that our parents and grandparents, and great-grandparents built up, are being abandoned, or bought by foreigners...
I have nothing against foreigners, I don't really care about nationalities, but it's a shame that portuguese people are still so immeshed in the illusion of money and greed...
a friend of mine, Marcia, who lived here and is coming back soon after some time in Mexico, wrote a nice article (in portuguese)about "Making Greed history", in order to make poverty history...
Most of the people that pass by the Mount of Oaks, are foreigners... Even this blog I write, I write it in english, not because I think it's "cool", but because most of the people who read it are foreigners...
All those who come here love Povoa de Atalaia and other villages around, and how simply people still leave... How "remote" it still is for most of them... I had many people coming here who never ate a fruit out of a tree in their entire lives... who are amazed with the old people who still live their lives in the land, instead of being locked and forgotten in old-people's homes... 
Aren't we privileged still?!!

I hope finally portuguese are waking up, and I hope it's not too late for some to change... it is not impossible !!! that's probably what has been attracting so many people by the news... 
we have a richness that no money can buy... and I hope we don't fall into the illusion of wanting to be like the so called "rich" nations... going after the illusion of the "american dream", the "big mac" and a "Coca-cola", seating in front of a big Tv screen watching the days pass by...

We are the ones who choose... and don't come with that lie that farming it's hard... it's not... it's a lie sold by those who want you to believe that... and I love to get in the end of the day tired but satisfied and happy with my work.... working is not a bad thing... it's healthy and it's a blessing...

I was watching some people the other day also making vegetable gardens in the centre of Lisbon, or others who lost their jobs in factories going back to their lands to farm...

this is it !!! 

I hope more follow these examples...

I hope people don't just cross their arms and complain about life...

It is our choice in the end...

And our choices will affect other people's lives as well... 

we are but "ordinary radicals"... and YOU can be one as well... 

tHe wOrLd iS dEsPeRaTe 4 hOpE...

The country is desperate to hear something hopeful...
"All the news are about catastrophes, unemployment, factories closing down, the "crisis", blood, blood and more blood...people need to know that there's something good going on..."... that's what the Tv journalist told me when I was still considering to accept or not the interview...


I asked something else before:
"what makes this community good news?" and she immediately said " because it shows people a different way to live life"... I looked at Ton and said : "fair enough!"

Then we simply had a good conversation and she made very good questions to me, Ton and Daniel...
I spoke mainly about how God made the miracle to buy this place, and how we wish it to be a place of rest, prayer, work and fellowship...how we are to be more responsible in the way we use our natural resources, how we should all live more simply so that everyone in the world can have the essentials to live life...
I don't really remember what I said when they were filming cuz we spoke a lot before...
Ton spoke about his time in India and how he came to realize that the best way to fight poverty is if every individual would change their heart and consequently their lifestyle, living more simply...that everyone should realize that all other fellow human beings are our brother and sister, and actually, all other people are like us, that we should see human kind as one...
Like me, he said that if we would all live more simply there would be enough for everyone... he also said that NGO's like UNICEF are a joke, and very impotent to solve the problem of poverty, but I'm not sure they will broadcast that...
Daniel spoke about his desire to live with nature and learn more about sustainable living in order to do something good back in his home country, Zimbabwe... he mentioned that he loved the lifestyle in the countryside because he finds more time for himself and more silence...the journalist was amazed when she asked him his age and he said 23... she was expecting him to be around 30 years old, and I'm sure it was not by the way he looks, but because he shares so much wisdom for a 23 year old man...
In the end we were all satisfied, and I do hope and pray that the Spirit of God (who I believe is responsible for all this) would touch hearts while people watch the national news today...

May it be like a "voice in the wilderness" calling out people to consider their lifestyle and hopefully to change... that is the real hope... we shouldn't expect hope to come from the outside, it cannot be promised by any human Government, but it has to come from within each one's heart... a choice of/for LIFE...

people are looking for heros to come and save them... American's are longing for Obama to solve all their problems... But The Hero we need, has already come, more than 2000 years ago... And we still despise Him, as He was despised then... Because He came to speak of another Kingdom, another kind of richness, that is not stored on earth, but in Heaven...
This Hero is still near us today, calling us into His Kingdom...


I leave you with a passage to meditate on...the apostle Paul wrote this to the community in Corinth (chapter 1, verses 19-31):
19 For it is written:
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."

20 Where are the wise? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe...25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are..."
Yes, we are foolish...
Yes, we do fail...
Yes, we are weak...
Yes, we're not perfect...
Yes, we are sinners...
Yes, we are considered the scum of the earth...
Yes, we are seen as loosers & failures...
Yes, we are poor...
but happy !!! and blessed !!!

So, none of this is happening because we're extraordinary or because we're doing a great thing...We are but ordinary sinners... it is only and solely because God decided to choose us (as everyone else who is aware of it), and we were foolish enough to believe :-) ...

"...so that no one may boast before God. 30 It is because of God that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
31 Therefore, as it is written: "LET THOSE WHO BOAST, BOAST IN THE LORD". "

ALL GLORY TO THE BIGNESS !!! AMEN !!!
--------------------

AS I WAS FINISHING THIS POST, I GOT A CALL FROM MY SISTER SAYING THAT MY GRANDMA DIED...
SO I JUST WANT TO ADD TO THIS POST THAT THIS WOMAN, WHO LIVED MORE THAN 94 YEARS (and she hardly got sick) , WAS A GREAT EXAMPLE FOR ME IN ALL THIS THAT I'M WRITING ABOUT THESE LAST DAYS...

I WILL NEVER FORGET THE EXPRESSION IN HER EYES WHEN I LAST SAW HER... WE WERE SPEAKING ABOUT GARDENING AND PLANTING POTATOES, WHEN SHE LOOKED ME IN THE EYES AND SAID : " YOU KNOW WHAT MY CHILD ?! I JUST LOVE GARDENING !!! " ... her beautiful sun wrinkled face was gliming with joy...

these words kept ringing in heart since then... she lived most of her life gardening... I used to spend most of my summer holidays with her in the countryside and learned lots about living simply... my mom said that I got the "bug" of gardening from her :-)...
I know one day we'll meet again... that's the other kind of hope...
THERE IS LIFE AFTER DEATH... BUT THERE IS ALSO LIFE BEFORE DEATH... IT'S UP TO US TO LIVE IT, AND ALLOW OTHERS TO LIVE IT AS WELL...

oF tHeY gO...

the Jones
' family is back on the road with their amazing truck...
we all had an amazing time together while they were here... They're a great family, and a great model for those who think that living on the road is just for singles or couples without children...
well, they have 5 , and they all seem to be ok :-) ...
They're homeschooling while they travel, and imagine the many other things they will learn from this experience...
Andrew and Debbie don't know yet when or where or if they will stop living on the road...I'll keep tracking their journey on Andrew ' blog, I'm sure it will be worth reading ...
Debbie was telling me how they are often kicked out of the places they stop, just because they are BIG...well, the truck is, they are all skinny and tall :-)... they were feeling a bit bad about that, cuz they couldn't understand...and they are such lovely and joyful people...but we were wondering what frightens people today...well, being too joyful can be scary for some...and then, being too much out of the patterns teh world offers can be very frightening...people think they are gypsies, and in people's minds it's assumed that gypsies are "bad" people, which I totally disagree... again, the human tendency to generalize and label people...
Or maybe it's about what I shared in my last post...people are afraid of those who live freely... it can either attract people, or really scare them... cuz most of people today, at least in the so called "developed" countries, are control freaks, so freedom is often associated to "anarchy" (which again has a bad connotation in people's minds, and I don't agree at all)...
Anyway, I'll not start with philosophy again... I had wonderful chats by the way, both with Debbie and Andrew...and lots of fun with the girls...Sam is a bit more quiet, but seems to have a great heart...while here he was busy organizing a summer trip with his friends on the "Camino de Santiago"...
O.k, enough of text, here goes some more pictures from the last days

the "littleskinnykiwi", and "smallskinnykiwi" (correct me if I'm wrong Andrew), children of their dad of course, the tallskinnykiwi, ready to plant a kiwi tree on the Mount of Oaks...we name it "tinnyskinnykiwi", eh, eh, eh, I just hope the fruits will not correspond to the name :-)

strong Hanna...

T.J. stepping it very carefully...

And Abigail came to help with the water...Good job girls!!! I will always remember you here :-)... And I'm sure Nono will not forget you :-)...

And time for good-bye's ... I 'd better say, "see you next time"...I do hope...

Mr.Jones is ready to drive!!!

And Debbie is making sure everything is in place inside...she can't wait to improve the truck and make it more practical and more beautiful...she's an artist, can't help it !!! And a wonderful mom !!!

T.J. showing me the girl's room !!!

So, of they went... next stop will be in Lisbon, to visit the Hurst's, the Uhler's, and the rest of the crew there...

By the way, "JESUS FREAKS" IN KOLN, they will need some help to fix some things on the truck, like putting some windows and external boxes, and I know you're great on that, specially Jo(hannes)...I know he doesn't use much e.mail or internet, so let him know if any of you there happen to read this :-)... but I will get in touch by e.mail...

wE sEem 2 b "gOoD nEwS"..

Just before the permaculture course started, I had a call from a girl from Covilha (a city 30Km from here)... she was a journalist of a local newspaper and she read about us on a local blog ...
That was funny I thought...

(all photos by Lusa news agency/António José)

So she came and made us lots of questions... it was while Simone and her friends from Berlin were here...
Soon after she published her article...Maren and Emma went to buy vegetables in our neighbour Maria and her husband, Casimiro, was all excited showing them the newspaper... it was a first page new, with a big picture and a big letters title which said "Alternative Christians in Povoa de Atalaia"...inside there was a 2 page article...among other things, she mentioned our alternative lifestyle, our many visitors from all over the world, the story of the land and how I end up here, our aim to be a monastic community reaching a balance between prayer, fellowship, work and rest, our good relationships with the village people and the permaculture course... It was actually great, and it gave the credits to God and the way we try to live with and for God...

I also thought the title was funny (with a bit of drama I would say , eh, eh), even though I made it clear that we don't identify with any kind of labels... Oh well, I guess it's a human tendency to label others, either to divide or to distinguish one group from others... I don't think we're much more different than many other people... Anyway, it didn't bother me so much... I don't like to call this community a "Christian community", first because not all of us consider ourselves "christians", and then because of the misconception the word "christian" so often carries...
But if other people call us "christians" I hope it's because they see something of Christ in us... and that is the best compliment for me :-) ...
As for "liberals", she probably meant that we are open minded and not fundamentalists or traditionalists... that pleased me as well... the word itself might come from "liberty", or freedom (as in portuguese is the same word, "liberdade")... If that is so, it's nice to realise that others see us as followers of Christ (even though you wouldn't see that in few hours), who proclaim freedom...
Isn't that the "Good News" ?!!!

As Jesus said : " The Spirit of The Lord is on me,
because God has anointed me
to proclaim GOOD NEWS to the poor,
God has sent me to proclaim FREEDOM for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the Year of the Lord's favour."

Later on, after Jesus resurrected from death, He said to His disciples:
"Go into all the world and speak about the GOOD NEWS to all Creation."
The Good News is not only about eternal life, but it often comes with a call to "repent", which literally means "change your way of thinking", or change the way you live your life, cuz there is life, even before death...
I hope this is what we're doing... proclaiming the Good News of Freedom to all Creation (with or without words)...and Creation includes not only humans, but animals, plants, the stars, the sea, the birds... I love brother Francis of Assisi and how he took these words literally... :-) ...
I love what the apostle Paul said to the Romans once :
"All Creation is waiting in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the Creation was subjected to frustration... in hope that the Creation itself will be LIBERATED from it's bondage to decay and brought into the FREEDOM and glory of the children of God."

Again, the GOOD NEWS that brings FREEDOM for all... when we live in freedom, we change those around us, we change all nature around us... that's something we heard in the permaculture course as well... if we care for people, they will care for the earth... it's interconnected...
...freedom is not about doing whatever we want, but about living free from all that entangles us... it is to be who we were created to be... this for me it's FREEDOM...

Sorry if I'm "preaching" too much here, but I woke up inspired :-)...
I was also reading a meditation from Henri Nouwen for today...curiously about FREEDOM:
"When you are interiorly free you call others to freedom, whether you know it or not. Freedom attracts wherever it appears. A free man or a free woman creates a space where others feel safe and want to dwell. Our world is so full of conditions, demands, requirements, and obligations that we often wonder what is expected of us. But when we meet a truly free person, there are no expectations, only an invitation to reach into ourselves and discover there our own freedom.
Where true inner freedom is, there is God. And where God is, there we want to be."

Maybe that's what attracted this journalist to come here and see... and maybe that's what people see as a "good new" about us...
Few days after she published her article, I got another phone call, this time from a guy from the Lusa agency (the main news agency in Portugal who distributes news to all the media)... he wanted to come as well...so he did, with 2 other photographers (who took these pictures), and now the news are spreading like crazy in all sorts of newspapers and internet...
Another journalist is coming next week from Porto, and a guy also called from Lisbon and came to visit... he only stayed a few hours cuz he couldn't speak with anyone else (all the others are english speakers at the moment), but he was trying to propose me to be part of a Tv program about "magical places"...he kept saying that this place is magic, and he couldn't understand why so many people would come here when we have so scarce conditions, and in his point of view, so little comfort... Of course that Tv thing was a bit too much, so I said no...

All this triggered my mind to think about all that I'm writing now...
- what is it that these people see in this place that makes a good new, or a place to come and see ?
- what is that they are really looking for ?

At least, among so many other things published in the normal media, which mainly bring fear and hopelessness (like the "crisis" that everyone speaks about now), there is a search for something that is good and positive...
If we'd be more aware, and maybe getting information from other sources than the normal media, we'd realise that there are many good things in this world, that there's hope, and true Love does exist among people (which has nothing to do with corny Hollywood movies or soap operas) ...
maybe people are hungry and thirsty for something that connects with their hearts, something that their souls long for... Maybe places like this are oasis for people's souls... it shows to people that it is possible to live a different life, that it is possible to be content, satisfied and happy with little... that comfort is not only about material things...
Jesus also said ( he actually said pretty cool things, didn't He?) :
" look at the birds of the air, they don't sow or reap or store in barns, and yet God feeds them... see how the flowers of the fields grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these... seek first God's kingdom and God's righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Have you noticed the birds ? They don't seem stressed nor worried... I often see them playing and singing... Even their nests, even though wonderfully made, they are not to last long... and they don't seem to care about that either...
Maybe the problem for many people is that we never get satisfied, nor content, nor thankful for what we have...we are bombarded by all sorts of advertisement which tell us " you need this, you need that, go and buy, you are a looser, go and buy, you are ugly, go and buy, you are miserable, go and buy, your neighbour has a nicer car, go and get a better one, you are out of fashion, go and buy..."
Truth is that we don't need most of the stuff we buy to be happy ...
After the 9/11, the message of president Bush to the Americans was " Go and buy stuff"...Great !!!

I recently watched a dvd during the permaculture course about
the power of community , how Cuba survived peak oil... I was amazed how they changed the whole country lifestyle after realising they couldn't keep up living as they used to anymore...mainly because of the USA embargo and after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990...
" Cuba's economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half – and food by 80 percent – people were desperate. This film tells of the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this difficult time. Cubans share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens. "
Every plot of land was turned into food gardens...doctors, lawyers, engineers were learning how to farm...there was no more chemical pesticides or fertilizers (thankfully), so they had to plant all things organically and without machinery... And what happened ?!!
They end up producing 80% of all they consume...everything is produced locally cuz transport was scarce... cars were replaced by bikes and health improved considerably... universities multiplied, from 8 (I guess) to 50, cuz it needed to be local... every neighbourhood has a local market with local food...

What an example !!!
So, lets stop and think when we hear about "crisis" ... it might be a good thing... maybe the best thing we need at the moment... to wake us all up !!! To make us think more globally and act more locally... to see the power of community restored... to see our values being reshaped ... to stop living in fear and start to live life as it should be lived ... it is possible for all humankind to have their basic needs met... and those who tell you this is utopia, are the same who wants you to live in fear... there is much in the world for everyone, but some want it all for themselves...

The rural areas in Portugal are being deserted of people, as most young people go to the main cities or abroad to work for money... Land is not more expensive than a flat in the city, but still, people get hooked on credits to buy a cement box...
the old people of today will eventually die, and the land will be sold by their heirs...
Portuguese government and the EU has no interest to support or encourage farming in Portugal, as their only interest is to fill our country with eucalyptus for the paper industry (even knowing that this monoculture will dry our soil in the near future)... Our Government gives subsidies for those who don't cultivate their land (strange...Hmm), it gives subsidies for those who uproot fruit trees...Hmmm...They invest loads of money to advertise things like "Come, join the army !!!" , but I never saw so much effort in what comes to encourage young people to come to the countryside and farm...Hmmm...
Where are we going ?!! where do we want to go ?!!
What kind of life do we want to live ?!!! What kind of future do we want our children and grandchildren to have ?!!! Do we think diplomas will feed their stomachs?!! Or do we want them to spend their lives in and out the universities, cuz when they come out there are no jobs...Hmmm...

Being a farmer these days is the same as being a looser, but everyone likes to eat...
Being a doctor gives someone a good status, but no one really wants to get sick...
Hmmm, it doesn't make sense to me...
I don't mean we don't need doctors, but we need them as much as we need farmers... If we look at a tribal group, probably there is one doctor and maybe one apprentice while the rest of the tribe are farmers or shepherds...
Anyway, I don't know if I'm too much off track now ...and I definitely made this post way too long... sorry about that !!!
I will finish with one more thought :
Sometimes what we need, is not that our circumstances change, but maybe we need to look at them in a different way...
the problem sometimes can be the solution !!! (one more permaculture principle)

Let us think and meditate about this...
if you think it's worth it ...

As I was typing this post, Debbie came to me saying that there was a portuguese family who wanted to see me...they read in a newspaper about the land and just came to visit... I had to laugh !!! On the way to the kitchen I was telling Debbie what I was writing about ... this family, Manuela, Antonio and Hugo ( their younger son), came all the way from Marco de Canavezes, up in the north, probably more than 3 hours drive...
People are attracted by Good News... like many went to John the Baptist, a lunatic of the time, living by the river Jordan, dressed in camel clothes, whose food was nothing more than locusts and honey...
I'm far from comparing myself with John the Baptist, but I wonder if the same Spirit is upon this place and in many other places throughout the world... the same Spirit that calls out people to change the way they are living and follow God in their hearts...the same Spirit who was upon Jesus to proclaim Good News of freedom... The same Spirit who descended upon Jesus' disciples to able them to do the same works He did on earth, and glorify God in Heaven...
The same Spirit who says "Come! All who are tired, thirsty, hungry... Come, and I will give you rest...Come and I will quench your thirst...you'll not feel hungry anymore... Come, and you will be satisfied !!! "

For those who have ears to hear, and eyes to read... Come !!!
Not necessarily to this place, or any other place, but to The Spirit that calls you...

cOmiNg aNd gOinG...

O.k, I promised I'd be back to you soon, so here I am :-)...
day by day, we're less and less people on the land...signs of a new season :-)...
some go, others come...right after the permaculture course was finished, most of people left...
Chris, Amelie, baby Shiloh and Maren went to Holland on a rented car...Dane and Jillie went to Lisbon to spend Easter with Dane's family...Jared and Steffi went to Germany...
Me, Ton, Daniel and Emma were left, but not alone...

Brother Tom and Hanna arrived to stay for a week...Another Hanna, Ton's friend, from New Zealand also came to stay for a week...
The Borden´s, Byron, Lisa and Heather came on Tuesday, and Colin came next day with Christian from Lisbon... Only Jesse and Trevor were missing... It was nice to see them here, even though it was so short (2 days) and we all seemed so exhausted for different reasons...
Ulli and Juran also came for the weekend after, along with my sister Edna, with Pamela and the twins...
Like I said, some go , some come...
But soon, all these left as well...
I went to take Emma to Faro (south)...the initial plan was for her to visit Edna, Paulo and the kids there, but as Edna went to the land instead, I drove anyway...It was a long but nice journey and we end up in a nice place at the sea...Oh, how I miss the sea...
On the way back I slept in the middle of the journey cuz I was tired...it's nice to have this van and just park anywhere to sleep...
As I arrived, Juran was on his way to the mass with Ulli, so I went with them...it was nice...after we went to the land and I just had time to get to my house when suddenly I hear a voice calling : "Hello!!! Hello!!!"... I couldn't really discern the accent...I went outside and there was a man from the village together with Andrew Jones, whom I was expecting in a week... the man was trying to explain me that they couldn't get in the land with the bus they brought so I went with them to see... they were parked 10 minutes behind the land...
only when I saw the kind of "van" they were traveling with I understood why they were having so much trouble... :-)
It's huuuuuge... and beautiful...
It was so nice to see them all...Debbie, Andrew s wife, Sam, Elizabeth, Abigail, Hanna and Tamara...Yep, 7 of them ...tall and skinny :-)...
I'm having great times with them...It's nice to have a family around...and they are all characters...

Nono, joins the circus as well :-)
And as it has been raining all week, we're taking lots of time to rest, read, chat, play cards (lots of times), making crafts, specially Debbie, she got all excited to see our big bus full of fabrics , eh,eh, she 's great ...

Here's Debbie showing Abigail and Tamara how to make certain stitches on the beautiful vest she was making for Tamara...

But I still have more news...for other time...we seem to be "Good news"... you'll understand later...

aBoUt tHe pErMaCuLtuRe cOuRsE...

I have loads of things to share with you, but for now I'll simply post a link for our new blog where I just wrote about the permaculture course...
I cannot stand so long online to write more in one day...I'm here more than 3 hours now ... sorry about that :-)

Andrew Jones and his family are here at the moment too, so I'm sure you can find something in his well known blog tallskinnykiwi

But I'll get back to you soon...