We have lights! Just a few days ago, we were able to hook up the lights and turn them on for the first time in the new shed. Seed for Generations is closer to having a new home (and getting out of my house)! We have been temporarily using the upstairs landing for setting out seeds to pull for orders, and it’s cramped to say the least!
It is hard to believe that it was just one month this past weekend that the fire happened. It has been the slowest and fastest time of our lives. The daily check list can be overwhelming at times and yet we can see progress, so that keeps us hopeful. We have continued to work towards finishing the shed for the business and not spent time cleaning out the fire damaged shop.
That job is huge and looms over our heads, but for now has to take a back burner to getting our business set up again to serve our customers well. Jason works very well under pressure which has allows him to keep plugging away, turning a bare shell of a shed into a beautiful work space. Slowly but surely, he’s making progress. We had a couple men come this weekend and lend a hand, for which we are very thankful. This is both a blessing in fellowship and labor.
Today we were able to move the main counter cabinet into place against the long wall of the shed and move seed supplies into place to start filling our first orders out of the new building. We have a lot of finishing to do still, but at least we have a more usable space with some more breathing room.
Before the fire, I planned a vacation with six of the kids to visit family. I made plans like I was 25 and not nearly 45, and created a whirlwind of an adventure for us. Though feeling slightly guilty for leaving Jason and our oldest daughter Lydia all by themselves to handle farm chores, lambing season, and the shed finishing, we sought sunshine, sand and fellowship with some of our favorite people. So I put my kids on a plane for the first time, drove many miles, enjoyed several beaches, some major league baseball spring training games, and dear friends and family.
It has been a rejuvenating, fun and exhausting time for us, and we truly are so thankful. Re-acclimating into the stress and rigor of daily life will be hard, but life is meant to be filled with joyful tasks, so we will work at being thankful for some much needed rest and forge ahead with what we know is before us. Jason and Lydia will be very glad to have us home again.
Many of you have asked how you can help, so we will be transparent. This is unrelated to the fire specifically, but it is definitely a need. We need to new minivan. We have been driving an older minivan that Jason’s parents so kindly gave us a couple years ago. Last week, a deer jumped a fence into our van while Jason was driving home and insurance has totaled the vehicle. Though valuable to us, not very valuable to the insurance company. They are giving us a settlement but it’s not that much, and definitely not enough to cover the cost of a new (to us) van. If you know of someone who has a used minivan they’re willing to sell, please let us know. (We are ideally looking for a Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna in the late 2000s range.) If it is far from Virginia, we can arrange for transportation to get it here. If you have a van that you think that would be suitable for us, please contact us at service@seedsforgenerations.com. Please pray with us to find the right vehicle quickly.
Thank you again for your care, concerns, offers of help, donations, prayers and seed orders. We appreciate you sharing our company and story with your friends and allowing us to serve you.
May you turn to the one true God who can make beauty of your ashes.
“He has sent me to…
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
Isaiah 61:3
With Gratitude,
The Matyas Family
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