Short story time:
If you know me, you know how much I love livestock, be it goats, pigs, cows, or horses. I love it all and being out in the country in general.
A few days ago I was feelin homesick, or maybe the city life was just starting to get to me a little. I was really praying to see something or get connected with something Ag related. Its a big change not to wake up to loud goats or animals of any kind except for the stray dogs and cats that run around here.
We had an adventure day with nothing planned so me and a team mate, Lindsey, decided to take a 30 minute walk to the edge of town to check out the local river.. Aka canal. On our walk we came to a little road off of the main highway. We decided to check it out and lo and behold, we turn on to it and what do we see? Goats. A small herd of about 12 scrawny milk goats and babies! Praise! This made me so excited and I wanted to observe them for while. So I’m looking at these goats and the goat herder is watching us from under a tree way off in the distance. His two guard dogs are eyeing us down like candy. He waves at us to come over so me and Lindsey walk up and try to start a conversation. He cant speak a lick of English so I tried to explain the best way I could how much I love animals. This explanation consisted of mooing like a cow and maybe trying out some goat noises while smiling like a maniac and pointing at his herd. He must have been really interested to know what the weird Americans where trying to say and called up his son to interpret via cell phone. The son spoke awesome English and through the rotating phone conversation, the man with the goats invited us back to his house for coffee the next week and the son told us he would be present to be an interpreter.
The next week Lindsey, Mack, and I met the family at a small, quaint, farm house in the country. The same two dogs met us in the drive, this time with wagging tails. The goat herder and his son welcomed us into their home with open arms and big smiles. Through the entry way and behind a curtain, we entered into a large open room that worked as a kitchen, dining and living room. The smell of smoke filled the air mixed with the aroma of freshly baked bread. Behind the kitchen counter, the goat herders wife greeted us with a sweet smile and offered us cappuccino made with goats milk and let us taste homemade cheese also made out of goats milk. (Both of those things were the best I’ve tasted since hitting Europe!) We sat around the dining table and had a great multi language conversation. The old man, through his son, explained to us how they had moved from Bosnia to Serbia to get away from the war years ago. Raising goats and having a small farm was beneficial because it gave them the basic things they needed during their first years in Serbia (milk, cheese, meat). Among other things, the son told us he had spent his early years traveling all over Serbia, settled in Sombor, and that he was currently an English teacher for the Cambridge test. We asked if they were Christians or went to church and they claimed Orthodox, which is what the majority of people in Serbia are. When it was time to say goodbye, the wife handed us a loaf of warm, beautiful cinnamon bread. It smelled amazing and tasted even better. They invited us to bring the whole team back sometime for a real Serbian meal.
The son drove us home and explained to us that his father waved us over because he thought we were scared to walk by the goats. He was delighted we talked to him, especially being Americans, it was a real treat for him.
End of long story time…
The real point to this story was to say how cool it is that the Lord knows exactly what type of pick me ups we need when we feel down. In this example, it happened to be a bunch of goats which led to a few new friendships!
I love making new friends but I also love to hear from everyone back home! I may be across the world, and it may take me a while to respond, but I want to hear from all yall! message me people.
