We have recently welcomed Camille Cody to the farm, and she is here as a produce intern. Next time you’re out at the farm, be sure to give her a friendly Texas hello!
Originally from North Carolina, I became interested in farming through a love of health, nutrition, and holistic living. After experimenting with many different types of “healthy diets” I came to the conclusion that a locally sourced, as-organic-as-possible diet was the one for me. I joined a CSA and gradually began to volunteer my time on the farm to try something new – I had no background in farming, and up until that point in time I couldn’t have told you when a tomato was in season or what a beet looked like in the ground (when you can get them at the grocery store year-round, why does it even matter?) Oh I had so much to learn.
The following season I became an intern working on the farm. I loved the physical work of farming, the conversations and bonding that happen in the fields when weeding together for hours, and watching a plant go from seedling to harvested product and the many stages in between. I loved growing and producing my own food and the food of others. I began to see God’s fingerprints more clearly in His creation than I had ever taken note of before. God and I were planting seeds together – I in the soil and He in my heart. After a year of farming, I knew that my life would never be without it again.
I took off across the country, just me and my car, to work on different farms and learn about different techniques and practices (there is so much that comprises sustainable agriculture, and so many differing opinions and methods!) After working on several different farms across many states and one province in Canada through a network called WWOOF (Willing Workers On Organic Farms), I ended up rooting myself in to the Pacific Northwest for a while – being so transient for so long was difficult!
It was during my time in the northwest that things began to stir in my heart that would eventually lead me to combining my love and passion for sustainable agriculture with my Christian faith in ministry. A simple online search brought up World Hunger Relief’s website and after one read through I was hooked – I would browse the site and blog for hours, thinking to myself “Yes! This is it! This is exactly what I want my life to be about! Restoration of people and the earth through sustainable agriculture and holistic ministry in the name of Christ!” There were people out there who thought like I did.
God used a lot of my time in the northwest to strengthen my faith and my understanding of ministry – He didn’t let me apply to WHRI right away, but instead, had me wait for two years before circumstances were right. It was during this waylaid period that He gave me a heart for Africa, specifically Ethiopia, and I knew He was calling me to some form of ministry with Ethiopians through farming. When I heard back in the fall that I was accepted to the Produce Managing internship this January, I couldn’t believe my ears! This was something I had wanted for so long, and finally God was saying it was time. My plan is to practice sustainable and restorative agriculture in Ethiopia with a missions group after I finish the internship and degree in Sustainable Agriculture I am simultaneously pursuing through an distance education program.
So here I am, fresh from the cloudy, rainy northwest, gearing up for a hot, dry Waco summer, and living in community with other Christians living out our faiths in the desire to impact communities and lives, and treat the earth with respect and stewardship.
