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Blessing the barn

Hilda J. Born

When I answer the phone, a caller may say, “I’d like to talk to the missionary in your family.”

I reply, “To whom would you like to speak – the one who ushers, the one who leads Bible study, the one who teaches children to read and sing or the one who enjoys preaching?”

Although I have a pretty good idea with whom they want to converse, I like to encourage people to see that we are all on a missionfield. Only our responsibilities and job descriptions vary. Ephesians 4:7 gives me the basis for this: “He has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ.”

There are numerous ways to serve the body of Christ. Each of our five children has chosen a different profession and is a believer. Our son Bryan and his wife Teresa are involved in Bible teaching, leadership development and AIDS-related ministries in Botswana. Our son Matt and his wife Debbie are teachers at a Christian school in Brazil. Our son John, his wife Ellie and their sons chose to serve God by supporting their church and full-time Christian workers while farming in Abbotsford, B.C.


Recently John and Ellie needed more space and better equipment to handle their Holstein herd. They drew plans, visited other farmers and consulted bankers and contractors. Knowing that “Unless the LORD builds the house (or barn), its builders labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1), they also wanted to publicly invite the Lord to direct their project. They hoped that Uncle John Klassen, a retired missionary from Brazil, would come and speak words of benediction. Klassen agreed and saw the proposed site, but died of cancer in May 2001 before the building plans were finalized.

In June, the foundation was put in place. Throughout the summer, hay and silage was cut, baled and stacked, and builders worked diligently to get the barn ready for the cattle before autumn rains and winter storms set in. Finally the fields were shorn, the harvest was brought in, and the new red barn was nearing completion. The half-million-dollar, 118-foot-by-264-foot aluminum structure can accommodate up to 350 cows, more than ample space for the Borns’ 210 cows, already twice the size of an average British Columbia dairy. The new building has many innovations. Even the floor was grooved so the cattle wouldn’t slip on the smooth cement.

Over the ramp from the old barn the cows were directed into their new home. With hesitation at first, they sniffed the new surroundings, but stepped forward. Once they found the abundant space and smelled the fresh hay, they were eager to enjoy the freedom of the rows and rows of comfort stalls.

Now was the time to dedicate this building and its contents to the Lord. Saturday, November 17, 2001 was an incredibly beautiful autumn day. After touring the barn, visitors remained in the broad feeding alley or stood outdoors near the entrance for a short ceremony.

First, older brother, David, retraced the Lord’s leading throughout three generations of this family. He remembered his parents’ sod-turning ceremony when they started farming in Matsqui, B.C. 31 years earlier.

Quoting Scripture, farmer John acknowledged God’s hand in all the family’s endeavours.

As younger brother Bryan and his family were home for a break from mission work in Botswana, Bryan gave a meditation based on Proverbs 3:4-10. He stressed the need to honour God first with everything, so that God can in turn “fill our barns”.

Bryan noted that elders are honoured in Africa, and urged those seniors present to be the first to pray. Ellie’s almost-90-year-old father Jacob Wall prayed, followed by John’s father Jacob. Then the three brothers, David, John and Bryan, asked God for His blessing on the people and animals on the farmyard.

Everyone then walked over to the house to see slides illustrating the growth of the family farm. The parents began with four heifers and three cows, and God has allowed the herd to increase more than thirtyfold. A lunch and visiting concluded a joyous day of praise.

Hilda J. Born is a member of Central Heights MB Church in Abbotsford, B.C.

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Last modified April 30, 2002.

© 2002 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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