A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A COW
Growing up in Los Angeles I never gave much thought to cows, apart from a vague knowledge that when I bought hamburger at the store, they were somehow responsible for it being there. The years we lived at the mission neighbor's cows were forever tromping the grounds and destroying the gardens. In 1993 we moved out to the Blackwaters' place and I got my real experience with cows and ranchers. Last Saturday was the bi-annual Round-up, in order to brand, castrate, and disinfect the cows. It requires lots of muscle power and so ends up being a family affair with a few willing neighbors thrown in.
Cowboy Greg
Rounding up the cattle is no small thing as they are big, lumbering things with minds of their own . Step number one on the agenda is to brand the cows. Branding is very important because cows wander, often many miles away. Quite often someone will get on the radio and announce that a cow with a particular brand has wandered onto his land, and would the owner of that brand please come get it. Branding is a real safeguard against thievery and reselling cows. In order to sell a cow one has to prove ownership of that brand. Paul, in the his epistle, talks about our being sealed with the Holy Spirit. I love the picture of being branded by God, thus proving Who we belong to. We are His and will be His regardless of where we are in location or spiritual growth.
The View
Step number two on the agenda at the old corral is castrating. By way of parenthesis, a year ago our young neighbor boy told Greg, "It is almost time for school to start, and our mom hasn't even castrated us yet.!" He meant "registered" and she hadn't done that either.
Castrating is done because the cattle owner has a particular purpose in mind for these cows. They are intended for meat, not breeding. An enormous bull is in charge of breeding and will do so with the entire female population. (That gives one pause, don't you think?) This castrating is a multiple step procedure. The cows yell. They fight. They bleed. And according to the intended purpose are radically changed…..for life. The younger the animal, the easier. It is so amazing, however, how quickly the cows forget all about the pain and almost immediately are up and about doing their normal "cow things." God, too, has purposes for us. He cuts away things that are not according to His loving purposes for us. Cutting hurts, but we come away from the experience changed people. The pain fades. The good endures.
The ears need treatment but not with Q-Tips. This is step number three . Get this, they pull out kitchen spoons and dig out any ticks from the cattle's ears. (Rest assured, we will use different utensils when eating lunch.) Wouldn't you think cows would be grateful for this kindness done for them? I know I would be. Ticks, oooooooh!
There is one more job to be done before the cows can be set free. Step number four is a shot of antibiotics to protect them from fleas and diseases cows are prone to. It is humorous to watch. Some of the older cows need little more than their ears cleaned and the antibiotic shot but they act like they are headed for the slaughter-house. The only way this procedure can be performed on them is to force them into a chute. This is not a task for the faint-hearted. Those cows are stubborn, determined to go any direction except the chute, kicking and yelling and fighting, threatening to seriously maim anyone who tries to get near them. The wrestling match requires several strong men to ensure that they get into the chute. I'm convicted at how often I struggle when I don't get my way, forgetting that my Loving Lord only has good intentions for me. He always aims to bless me not harm me.
When all is accomplished the cows are rewarded with a smily-face sticker. Just kidding. They get hay, and are finally set free.
Kathy--Assistant Cook
Anna Blackwater
While the men are doing their cow stuff, the women are fixing lunch. The men will come in like ravenous beasts from their morning's exertion. Grandma Anna (she's 86) makes dough and she and I (I'm not 86) cook the tortillas over the open fire. She was up at 3:00am and so the mutton stew is already prepared. All that is left is the roasting of the meat and heating the coffee. Even though the temperature is in the 80's there has to be coffee!
I wish I could describe the beauty we view as we eat our meal outside the Hogan. The sky is a cloudless blue. The sun-drenched red rocks that we see in every direction are truly breathtaking. God really did good on this piece of creation.
And so ends our day and the cows ordeal………………….until next Fall,
when it is repeated all over again.
Next week is our last week of school for this term. Basically, all that is left are the end-of-year activities such as school picnic, Field Day and Graduation. We have a record number of graduates—9 junior high and 7 high-schoolers. The summer affords a somewhat different schedule for Kathy—no mission board meetings, no school counseling, no substitute teaching, no Wednesday night Ladies' Class. For Greg, very little changes. " The poor and needy you always have with you." And daily those poor and needy are at our door asking Greg for his help. So, in the summer months he will be continuing building houses, fixing vehicles, plumbing, and probably anything else that might come to your mind. We will both keep on with Bible Studies, Greg with men and me doing several one-on-one studies with new believers. There will be the usual influx of youth groups around the mission, hopefully finishing the new staff apartment and erecting a huge Vo-Tech building on the grounds. Most of the summer, the mission still has many people running around.
Please keep up your praying for us. We very much want to make a difference here and know you are a big part of us.
With love, Greg and Kathy
Click here to view all the branding photos.
