Monday, July 7, 2014

Phinney Farm Pentecostal Monastery and Traveling Show

Life at the Phinney Farm
It has been a interesting few months up at The Phinney Farm. As I write this 2 of the men are on an evangelism trip to the Rainbow Gathering in the Nevada desert where thousands of people who still think it is 1968 are doing drugs in the desert (a good place to find folks that need Jesus and a good rehab center). Yesterday I got another new disciple coming down from meth and the rest are finally settling in to the routine of living in tents, cooking over a fire, laundry by hand, showers via pump up bug sprayer.
    Normal daily life is a chapter by chapter study of a book of the bible daily with nightly discussion of the chapter we all study and pray about during the day. with the quiet and the lack of distraction there is lots of time for prayer and study.
     Almost every night during our evening discussion we have a doe who likes to attend and listen in. most of the new disciples are amazed as the deer will pause about 15 yards from our discussion area and listen to  whomever is talking. With all the unseasonable rains we have been having the woods are still pretty green and there is good grazing for the deer and wild turkeys (they visit usually at dusk or dawn). As we clean up some of the trash dumped on the property during my absence over the last few years I am finding more signs of larger wildlife (cougar, wolf, coyote, and moose).
    Some of the men who come to me have never spent any real time in the woods and the sounds of the coyotes howling at night and the total lack of city lights can at 1st be a little intimidating but usually after the first few days they start asking how long they are allowed to stay. the idea of a safe enviroment where no gangs, police, or drunks are going to bother you while sleeping is a part of life they have not been able to experience in a long time.
      Every few days I am reminded that the type of life that for me is normal and natural is to many either a grand adventure or something they have only read about in a book or seen on TV. So while for me I find little to comment about in my daily life I often overhear one of the guys calling home and marveling about all the new things they have learned or experienced in the last week.
   My hope is that soon out of the few men I have a few will mature enough to be helpful as staff so I can take on more men.  Currently I have more requests by folks who want to come than I have staff, transport, and tents to accommodate. If you have a moment or two to spare I could use prayer for all 3.
      Currently I only get internet from time to time as I can find a wifi hotspot and the undistracted time to write (pretty rare) so my blog and facebook entrees have been few lately. speaking of which even now I must tend to one of the disciples so until then I remain;
Yours in Christ,
Donald C Phinney