User:Retirewithsteve2day

Being the first progeny of my parents and grandparents my arrival on June 30, 1951 was cause for celebration by both families. My earliest memory is of a New Mexico dust storm. At two years the red dust suspended in the motel room made a lasting impression on this trip to visit an aunt.

My vocational roots are in agriculture. Dad and both grandfathers farmed in the Pipestone, Minnesota area. Dairying, raising hogs, and horses were standards in our family. Raising and harvesting the feed for our animals was paramount on our “to do” list.

From my youth I learned to enjoy work on our farm. Being the oldest of five children gave me a sense of responsibility helping dad meet the demands of his responsibilities. Some of my best memories relate to working with my dad and brothers. The conversations and camaraderie which resulted remain precious to this day.

Life was not always work related. Our extended family would meet at a nearby lake for potluck picnics, swimming and water skiing on summer Sunday afternoons and summer Holidays. Local bullhead or northern pike fishing were special occurrences usually after a rain when our fields were too wet to work. Opening day of fishing season in May 1963 found dad, grandpa, and my male siblings fishing at Dead Coon Lake.

It was a drizzly, windy, 55 degree day and the northern pike were not cooperating. The only fish caught was by yours truly and remains my personal record – a 40 inch fifteen pound northern. We didn't go home cold that day.

Fall pheasant hunting was another enjoyable family interlude with aunts, uncles and youngsters walking corn fields alternating persons old enough to carry a gun with those who weren't. We usually enjoyed a meal of roast pheasant within a few days.

My maternal grandpa was an avid horseman. He judged local horse shows and his equine opinions were well respected. When I was six he told my dad about a horse that was looking for a new home. We visited “Tommy” and brought him home.

Tommy was a black gelding about 600 pounds. He was a little more than I could handle at first. We both learned and grew to like each other. He always would run back to the barn and required considerable coaxing to get him started away from his stable. Several times he “spooked” and stopped abruptly when a rabbit would dart in front of him. When he braked from a gallop during these episodes I would fly over his head and find myself on my back side in front of him. I don't recall ever dropping the reins during these episodes.

After several years my brothers rode Tommy. I graduated to “Prince”. He was twice Tommy's size, faster and stronger being part Thoroughbred. I really loved Prince. I was very disheartened when dad sold him to help pay planting expenses. I'm sure this was not easy for dad.

Farmer's plant a seed, water, weed and fertilize and a crop is produced. This is a great analogy to the Christian’s growth in his obedience to the Lord. My parents devotion to The Lord planted, watered and weeded my personal faith in my Creator. At ten years of age I responded to the Holy Spirit's call and surrendered my life to my Lord. My obedience to Him is not yet perfected but continues to grow through this life awaiting the glorious Consummation of our relationship.

During high school I participated in church youth group teachings and activities; played football, fast pitch softball, Crops judge at the state level contests in FFA (Future Farmer's of America). Graduated from Pipestone High School in 1969.

Entered the University of Minnesota Pre-Veterinary Medicine Program that fall. Entered Veterinary Medical School in the fall of 1971. Graduated U of MN College of Veterinary Medicine in the spring of 1975 with a Mixed Practice Major. Passed the Veterinary State Board Exams in Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota.

As a senior in Vet School I inherited a Liver and White Springer Spaniel puppy. He had a minor congenital defect in his urinary system so the owner didn't desire to use him in his breeding program. “Zip” and I were good buddies for his lifetime.

In Aug. 1975 I began my veterinary career in Pine City, MN. I worked primarily with dairy cows. Pets and other large animal species comprised 30% of this practice.

In Feb. 1976 I began courting my wife, Cheryl. We were married in Aug. 1976. She is the woman I often asked God to reveal to me at the right time. With our mutual faith and rural backgrounds we share many insights and goals in our life. We have disagreements but our courtship has continued for 34 years.

We were blessed with three daughters and one son while residing in the Pine City area. We lost another daughter at birth which caused us to question God as we worked through our grief. Our faith was strengthened knowing that Charity Ann was surrounded by God's love when she was with us and she still is in His intimate presence. We will be reunited with her to share His Glory.

In 1986 our family moved to western South Dakota. Cheryl's family located a farm to rent. We prayed separately about a rental fee. The Lord gave each of us the same figure. Our offer for a three year lease was accepted. We sold our acreage and practice share and returned to our roots. This move gave our children the rich opportunity to develop family relationships living only seven miles from Cheryl's parents and two brothers. Cheryl continued home schooling and caught up on her youthful friendships. I raised hay and sheep with vet practice as a side venture. This was a refreshing time for our family.

However, shortly after our move Cheryl delivered our second son two months early. Timothy Steven was stillborn. Doctors were unsure as to the cause. Another period of questioning. Mourning. Acceptance. Life is dear.

The next year, 1987, our fourth daughter entered our family.

Our lease expired in the spring of 1989. We rejected the purchase option and moved to a nearby down. We continued home schooling, practicing and seeking the Lord's will for direction.

In the fall of 1989 Christian Veterinary Mission contacted me about a two week mission trip to Haiti. My wife encouraged me to go. She could handle affairs at home for two weeks in December. Participating in this mission involved vaccinating various species for anthrax and worming with Ivomec paste at per-arranged clinic sites along Haiti's southwestern coastline. This was the first mission that required a token payment for the service in an attempt to encourage Haitians' monetary responsibility. This experience deepened my understanding of the dilemma of third world countries.

With my practice unable to sustain us for the long term I accepted an offer to practice in southwest Minnesota. We purchased an acreage west of Lake Benton and moved there in September, 1990. This situated us only 30 miles from my parents. Our family was able to develop relationships with my family as they had my wife's.

We continued home schooling.

The practice here had more balance of dairy, beef, swine and sheep with a good component of horses and pets.

We found a good church family as we had in all our locales. We had a large garden and canned 1000 quarts of produce two years.

One of my wife's brothers had a dog who was a hindrance in moving cows so we brought him with us on returning from a visit to South Dakota. “Nikki”was a black terrier type about 25 pounds. He was friendly to everyone and kept the raccoons out of our sweet corn. He ate corn on the cob and dill pickles.

Another memory of ours was Nikki capturing our younger daughters Banty chickens. He would catch them in his mouth without hurting them; place them on his front legs and lay his head across their back and just lie for a while looking around. He might have been seeking more attention.

Then I developed retinal bleeding caused by diabetes which required a series of laser surgeries. The bleeding stopped but scar tissue formed which pulled on my right retina. In March,1993 surgery removed the scar tissue. My 7 day post surgery exam revealed a detached retina which was corrected the next day. The detached retina surgery required one month's rest to heal. By August I could read newsprint which was great. I awoke one morning in late August and had no vision in my right eye. I had no health insurance at this time so I opted to function with one eye.

My diminished vision made practice more challenging. Without the ability to gauge distance (and speed) even going down stairs requires more care. I am thankful for one functioning eye.

I began praying about less demanding work. In February of 1998 I overheard two friends speaking about a large dairy in Missouri which was being used by God to minister to “hurting” people. Before they finished their conversation the Lord was speaking to me. “That's where I want you.” I responded, “Yes, Lord. It will take a couple of months to sell our acreage and move.”

The last weekend of March we made arrangements to visit Heartland Dairy with another interested couple. We toured the facilities, attended church services, and confirmed in our spirits this was our direction. The founder flew our family down two weeks later so they could tour also.

We moved to Heartland Dairy the last week of May, 1998. I worked as a veterinarian and Cheryl taught at their Christian school. She has served various positions there throughout our twelve years here.

In June of 2000 I was invited to teach in the high school. I accepted. For three years I taught Algebra, Physical Science and Biology.

In 2003 our ministry decided to have a 25 acre garden to help defray food expenses and teach the young people how to work. Guess who was asked to be the garden director? I opted in but resigned the teaching position because of time demands. For eight years we've been raising potatoes, tomatoes, sweet corn, peppers, onions, broccoli, sweet potatoes, green beans, watermelon and cantaloupe. When we have an abundant potato crop I make french fries for our food services during the winter.

In 2004 I bought my son-in-law's computer to access the weather forecast on the internet. Having done my formal schooling before the computer age I had stated several years before that I would never use a computer. Now I recognize that the “net” is here to stay and a means to communicate with people around the world.

I have a good friend and mentor who has developed a system to dramatically drop the ranking of blogs even without content. A great way to receive free organic search engine leads for online promotions just as I'm doing.

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God Bless, Steve Gilmore