Today, we heard again about the importance of community, and specifically the numerous roles that everyone plays. And I do mean rolesssss. The fire chief is also a correctional officer. The sheriff is also an auctioneer. One of our hosts is a farmer, works in insurance, and coaches girls basketball. The lists go on and on.
Our first stop, we parked our mini-tour bus in the middle of the road. Apparently it's the custom around here. I like it. The next hour and a half we heard all about the newest gadgets in farming technology from one of our many outstanding host dads- Phil. You see, in 1997, farming adapted the use of military technology and began using satellites and on board computers in their rigs. They use soil samples to graph the chemical make-up of the fields and plan their use of fertilizers and irrigation. Then they plant based on yields of recent years. This saves a lot of money, ensuring that they do not over use fertilizer, water, and seed. As Phil said, "being good stewards of the land and using our resources efficiently has never been more important." Nor more doable it seems.
Between 10 farmers they plant and harvest 15,000 acres in a 100 mile radius of Holdrege. Even with this new technology, however, the numbers show, "God's a better irrigator than I am" (Phil). To finish off our time with Phil, we drove out to see some unique storage bins on the edge of a field. While harvesting, it is more efficient to store at the field, that way they don't have to worry about trucking it away. So they have a machine that fills these giant bags with the harvest and seals them up to await the sale. They feel like a really stuffed beanbag and are each worth about $100,000. The five of us would agree that it was a very interesting and eye-opening morning.
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| Here we are with the giant storage bags. |
Next we went to a local feedlot. This family operation run a 3000 head feedlot for Angus cows, farms about 2500 acres and rents out a few homes. They also attend their children's activities and he is a barbershop singer. Another multiple hat wearer. They feed the cows twice/day a mixture of hay, silage, and distillers grains. This last ingredient is a bi-product from the production of ethanol. After going through this process, the corn is left as a wet clump of corn meal type stuff. It actually smells pretty good and is ok for consumption. I wasn't hungry at the time, however. They run a natural beef production meaning no growth hormones or antibiotics. And fyi, there are about 1500 Big Macs in a fattened cow ready for slaughter and there is really no difference between Angus beef and other varieties.
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| The distillation grains- nom nom. |
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| The feed all mixed together. More nommies! |
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| The cows sure think it's nommy. Their opinion is the one that really matters. And that front end loader is in the midst of gathering more hay for another batch of food! |
We had some delicious chinese food to fuel our afternoon and our philosophical pondering. While most of us were disappointed by our fortunes, Dennis, one of our wonderful guides, had a great one- "A different world cannot be made by indifferent people".
Next we met the sheriff, Gerri, to tour the county jail. They have 50 beds and can add cots. They hold both men and women making sure that they are out of sight and sound from one another. Gerri has a great policy, he tells the inmates that as long as they respect him, he'll respect them. The chaplain network is very strong in Holdrege. Gerri knows he can count on the clergy to respond quickly when called. Next, we had a tour of a Case IH dealer. They are currently busy with changing various oils and making sure the rigs are good to go come springtime. This is important because in farming, time is money. If a tractor or combine goes down, they can't afford to lose precious planting or harvesting time. (By the way, besides being fed incredibly well, we also get swag everywhere we go. Everyone has been so generous!)
The fire chief of the volunteer rescue unit of Bertrand met us at the fire house to give us a tour. They have 30 volunteers and take about 100 rescue calls a year and about 20 fires and 4-5 storm watches. While it is sometimes nice to know the people they are serving, it can also be very challenging giving care to someone you care for very dearly. I can only imagine.
As we left, they were preparing Rocky Mountain Oysters donated from a local farmer. We're not too sad that we had to miss out on this. We grabbed a quick dinner and are currently sitting in the new high school gym cheering on the boy's basketball team. The girls already won! Go Vikings!!!
Greetings on day 7 of our Rural Immersion experience. In the
morning, I woke up and turned on the TV to find the CEO of Whole Foods talking
about the new book he wrote entitled, “Conscious Capitalism”. The reason I
bring this up is that the idea of being conscious of who you serve and working
in the spirit of mission to faithfully serve the greater good was a consistent
theme through out the day.
Our first stop in Lexington was with Anna Castaneda of The
Welcome Center. The Welcome Center began as a mission outreach by two
congregations (one being Grace Lutheran Church who we would visit later) to
help reach the immigrant community with the good news. It has since matured
into a well run social ministry that accompanies immigrants through the process
of moving into the desired status. If anything was apparent during the
conversation, it was that Anna has forgotten more about immigration law than I
could ever hope to learn. As she spoke of the complicated process of moving
from immigrant to citizen, the current delays in the process, the stories of
those who have been effected by the process, the tales of immigrants being
taken advantage of in the process, and her sense of mission in performing her
duties of helping these marginalized communities, I became convinced that her
service, and others like it, would be valued in many communities.
We moved then to Lexington High School were we saw the
effects of immigration at the school setting. While being forewarned by others
of a school marred with gang activity and violence, what we saw was the exact
opposite. The principal, Kyle Hoehner, spent over 2 hours with us walking us to
each classroom, showing us each program, answering each question we had, and,
like so many during our trip, expressing a sincere concern for the community he
and the schools serve. With a population that was truly diverse, where 80% of
the students live below the poverty line and nearly ¼ struggle with the English
language, Lexington has taken significant steps to set up academic success for
students who regularly are written off in the education process. I was
significantly impressed with the work of Courtney who oversees the English
Learned Language program. Also impressive was hearing and seeing the successes
of the Endeavor Academy, which goes above and beyond to ensure that young
people like Geraldo and Jesus are valued and inspired to grow and flourish
academically.
After the school, we want to Grace Lutheran Church where we
were graciously welcomed by Pr. Megan Marrow, Jerry, and John. Jerry is the
current mission council president and a former elementary school principle
while John was a security guard at the Tyson facility. They shared about the
mission of their congregation in the context of the immigrants and the
resulting “white flight”. They shared how they strongly feel that the kids can
help integrate immigrants through their involvement in extracurricular activities.
Pastor Morrow, after expressing some of the challenges of such a drastic change
in the community, said one line which I feel summarizes most of what we’ve seen
and what we’ve heard during this entire trip; “You get to see God do stuff
because everything is bigger than you.” As our day concluded with a tour of
Lexington and a drive (again on the worst roads in the state), I reflected on
that statement and appreciate how this trip has reminded me of the truth in
such a comment. 
