-Andy

Dear friends and family,

About two years ago, Andy’s sister Aimee received a life-altering diagnosis of ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Aimee already knew that she got sick every time she ate; what she didn’t know until the diagnosis was that she must take long-term steroid medications and immune-suppressing drugs daily in order to absorb nutrients from food, and that these medications have dangerous side effects and will be extremely expensive. Some patients require surgery when medications no longer control the symptoms or complications such as obstruction or fistulas arise. Currently, there is no cure for this disease.

Two years ago Aimee went to Guatemala to serve in the midst of her own discomfort and was changed by her experiences there. She dealt with the daily regimen of pills, enabling her to digest food and be nourished. Aimee is back in the US now, but she still feels called to minister to others, perhaps in a culture other than the United States. It will be difficult with her medical condition. Any progress toward better treatment or a cure will benefit not only Aimee, but those whom she will touch with her service.

Last fall, Andy and I walked 14 miles here in Wisconsin to raise funds and awareness for CCFA. This coming July, it is our family’s goal to walk a half-marathon (13.1 miles) from Napa to Sonoma, CA. We are trying to raise $16,000 for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America to fund research toward a cure. We can’t do this alone, and we need your help! We would love if you would donate at least 0.2% of our goal ($32 – we would need 5,000 people to donate at this level to reach $16,000). But any contribution is greatly appreciated! (All donations are tax deductible.) Donations can be made through my website: www.andystenz.com/napa2010 or by sending a check made payable to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation to my home address:

    CCFA c/o Jessica Stenz
    1907 Woodburn Rd. A
    Waukesha, WI 53188

Several local businesses have generously donated items which we will raffle off! If you send a donation of $50 or more before May 15th, you could win a gift certificate to Devon Seafood Grill at Bayshore (it’s excellent, if you haven’t been there), hand-crafted jewelry (made by Jessica), and more! Anyone who sends a donation of $32 or more will receive a pair of hand-made earrings.

I am always happy to answer any questions regarding Team Challenge and can be reached best at jstenz7 [at] gmail [dot] com. If you know others affected by these conditions who may want to make a donation or participate in Team Challenge, please feel free to share this message with them.

Thank you for your time and support. I am hoping, through our efforts, we can come closer to a cure for IBD! Because no one should live in embarrassment or without health insurance, due to a disease that is beyond their control.

Sincerely,
Jessica Stenz

CSA’s are a great way to get fresh local food while at the same time supporting local farmers. www.localharvest.org is a great resource for finding out about CSA’s, Farmer’s Markets, etc. in your local area (covers the US). Full Harvest Farm’s page is here.

So, it was supposed to be sunny… oh well. We still had a great time. Here’s a few shots from around the farm. In the next post I’ll show you the process of making apple cider (best I’ve ever had!)

The apples are grown in the orchard of course (we’re talking fresh stuff here!)

They are picked and washed. Because Full Harvest Farm is an organic farm, we don’t have to worry about washing off tons of insecticide.

Chuck, one of the two owners, brings in the washed apples, ready for cutting.

The cut up apples make their way to the antique cider press, getting dumped into the top as the handle is turned to smash them up. The bits of apple drop to a burlap sack below.

Terry, co-owner and wife to Chuck, shows us how to smash ‘em up.

After enough mash is gathered in the burlap sacks, the pressing commences, squeezing the sweet nectar from the pulp.

What’s left? A belly full of cider and a wheel barrel of hog feed.

I’ve heard it said many times that you should always bring your camera with you. Some days I do and some days I don’t. I was happy I had it with me today though (lesson learned?) because I walked outside today and parked next to the office building was a DeLorean.

I’ve never claimed to be a huge car buff. However, I am a huge Back to the Future fan. One of my favorite movie memories comes from a back-to-back run through of the entire trilogy with some friends. Classic.

Your sign says “Vacuum Hose Routing” but I’ll take that as code for “Flux Capacitor Wiring.”