Volunteers Milla & Viola 24.5.

It was a full moon when Millas mom Dorothee (namesister! *g*) and her life partner Peter contacted us via Skype. Peter Lüttge is a quite well-known German-Finnish journalist who visited Jan in Gran Canaria (article) and here on Graciosa (article) for interviews about his exodus from Finland into a new life.

They needed our support: Dorothee´s teenage daughter Milla and her lifelong friend Viola had suffered a lot during the Corona-situation in Berlin. She felt, the girl´s bodyminds could really benefit from a change of surroundings. It coincided with the girls needing a place for an agricultural/ecological internship from their Waldorfschool and so a plan was settled to send the girls here for supporting us on Quinta Cheia, as well as a few days on our friend´s Sónias Spirulinafarm. We would provide them with a safe and peaceful place and contact with animals and nature, where they can also do some work on their school projects, as well as some health- and nutritional coaching (I would call it more „inspiration by having fun with us in the garden and the kitchen“).

It was just meant to be. It was like a calling and it felt very meaningful to me. And soon the day had come that we picked Milla and Viola up from the airport. They were immediately in love with the beauty of the Azores, and it seemed that some heavy weight was dropping of their shoulders arriving in calm little Graciosa.

We had a good time together, Jan and me just sharing our day-to-day life as it came. We enjoyed being „parents“ for „our“ girls for the weeks, and here on little Graciosa the world still felt so normal for the girls. And they did great on our farm as city girls! For us it was a great first training to have retreat-guests and we had a chance to more deeply feel in where spirit is calling us.

I personally must say, that our time together touched something deeply in me, softening parts that had become dark and hard after a bad break with my family a year ago and the separation in general due to the crazy world situation. Fears and feelings of flight were coming, which is normal when love´s sun shines her first rays on hurt and damaged corners in our heart. But I endured and could see and find my way behind it. I have tears in my eyes as I´m writing this. It was heaven sent and it prepared me, made space, to receive the greatest gift of love, not even one month later, I could have had imagined…

This message we received after our time together from Dorothee, Millas mom (translated from German):

„Dear Dorothee, dear Jan,
Time is racing: now Milla and Viola have been here again for ten days and it is almost as if they had never been away. But only almost, because a changed Milla has come back. […] it’s as if all the worries, all the corona and other stress have fallen away from her: she is happy and relaxed, confident and full of energy. It is exciting what she reports about her stay and the positive effect is really tangible in many small and large areas. We saw a lot of great photos, heard enthusiastic reports and stories. Peter is also happy because someone can finally understand his Graciosa stories about the wonderful places and people from their own experience. In all the stories you can clearly feel how comfortable both of you felt on Graciosa. Thank you very much for taking them in and making this experience possible!“

Are you also interested in living and working with us for some weeks and becoming part of the Quinta Cheia family? Read more here…