HOW DID WE END UP IN ARKANSAS?
This is somewhat of a long history of how New Dawn Goat Dairy came to settle in Ozark, Arkansas. If y’all are wanting to get to know your farmers more, I am sharing about who we are here! As mentioned in the “Our Story” page, I (Jen) grew up farming in Pennsylvania. My husband, David spent the majority of his youth in Texas.
The Lord led us both here individually through missions work. Specifically with the organization Youth With A Mission. Before then, in 2009 I had the opportunity to go on a short missions trip to Honduras. I was 18 and it was my first time out of the US, but God still used me and I was able to share the gospel, work in an orphanage, and just love the people in the community. I was forever changed and drawn in by the need of so many people; I wanted to help. I had just graduated high school and decided not to go to college; mostly because I didn’t want to sell my herd of goats! I had been breeding, selling milk and showing competitively for about 7 years at that point. I soon learned how to make soap and added that to the list of products from my goats.
My desire for missions was put on hold and in my early 20s, I was focused on working hard to eventually have my own farm. Being a wife, a mother and a farmer had been my dream since as long as I can remember. So I worked a lot of different jobs, while growing my herd, and showing my goats all over Pennsylvania and Maryland. But over the years, God kept reminding me of being a missionary. I started making friends who served in Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and I was starting to be interested, but again I didn’t want to sell my herd. By 2014 I had multiple jobs, plus I was renting a horse farm for my horses and some boarders. While also milking my goats twice a day, which were on a separate property. I was getting pretty burned out and couldn’t see how I would ever be able to purchase my own farm.
I really started to look at my life and I felt like I needed to make changes, but I didn’t know what to do. So, I asked God what I should do. At that point it seemed pretty clear, He wanted me to go into missions with YWAM. I didn’t know where, what I would do with my animals or how I would pay for it. But I decided to trust Him and go for it. To make another long story, short, I ended up doing the Discipleship Training School in New Zealand in 2015, I also went to Malaysia and the Philippines to partner with missionaries in Cebu and Penang. Before leaving the States, I downsized all of my livestock to just 4 Does and 1 Buck, which my mom graciously cared for while I was away. A lot of my current herd comes from those few does, who were also lines from my original goats back in 2001!
After returning to Pennsylvania, I had a desire to do more missions work, and I also still had a longing for farming. I started working on a goat farm called Shellbark Hollow, that makes high quality artisan cheeses. I was able to learn a lot about creating different products and the process of selling products beyond good raw milk. I slowly started experimenting with my own goat’s milk and creating different products. Also at that time, I was searching for a YWAM campus that wanted to blend missions and agriculture. I found YWAM Ozarks! I flew out to visit in 2017 and then, I was accepted to be on staff. After many months of planning and saving money, I headed south!
In March of 2018, a friend of mine graciously agreed to help me move. She joined me on the 1250 mile trip south, with my 3 dachshunds and 11 goats! A long and rough 3 days later, we made it to Arkansas! For the next few years, I served in Youth With A Mission; training young missionaries, going on outreaches, and getting to know the community in Ozark. I also used my goats and other animals to help start an Ag Tech program, they were used in the discipleship training schools and we created a food security workshop. Students received hands on daily training with the animals!
Thanks for reading, hopefully you feel like you know more of who runs New Dawn Goat Dairy! Check back for part 2! Soon we will share about David’s story and why we decided to settle in Arkansas!
