MIDLAND, Texas — NewsWest 9 spoke with the co-founders of The Field's Edge and a resident of The Field's Edge to talk about a specific part of the non-profit organization.
"The mission of The Field’s Edge is to cultivate homes for the homeless and empower a lifestyle of service for the glory of Christ," said John-Mark Echols, co-founder of The Field's Edge. "And that's what we're doing out here and we're looking forward to doing."
One of those ways the non-profit organization kept with their mission is by allowing their neighbors to find themselves through several ways, including through some barnyard friends.
"The animals at The Field’s Edge started with our llamas," said Briana Echols, co-founder of The Field's Edge. "We got them about almost six years ago."
"Once we moved out here to the village, we started adding more animals. We have six goats, at least two on the way and we have about 28 baby chicks that are growing out and about 21 chickens that provide fresh eggs for our neighbors. We also have a couple of rabbits that we use for petting zoos," Briana Echols said. "And yeah, this is our crew."
The crew that’s been the glue for this community.
When you’re having a bad day, you can always go outside and breathe in the fresh air, with some lovable company.
"For Dave and I, it's kind of a therapy session," Briana Echols said. "We come out and we sit out here with the animals. And yeah, they just come and love on us and it means a lot."
"It's real peaceful," said Dave Koehn, one of the residents of The Field's Edge and a neighbor to the animals. "It settles you down and I don't know. They're just-- they're neat to hang out with."
And these neighbors would do anything for these animals.
"There was a coyote that just ran over here, and he had a chicken in his mouth and he was looking at me like, what are you gonna do about it?" Koehn said.
"It was really interesting how much our residents came out and unified together to chase away coyotes," Briana Echols said. "They would see them and they would start chasing them and screaming at them and running them off and they would come and knock on our door and tell us 'there's coyotes! There's coyotes!' It was just a really kind of strange and sweet thing for our people to bond over. They just wanted to protect all the animals."
And nobody does more for the animals than Dave.
"From the beginning we knew that he was hard working and honest and kind and just a really fun person," John-Mark Echols said.
"Dave has been our resident that takes care of all the animals," Briana Echols said. "He took over care for them last summer."
"Next thing you know I got a job," said Koehn.
"When we can connect our neighbors with meaningful, dignified work so that they can earn their income and pay their rent and their necessities. That's empowerment. And that's what we're all about here," John-Marks Echols said. "We're not about handouts. We're really about showing people that they have gifts and talents and capacity to do great things."
And ever since, Koehn has earned a living by making sure these animals are safe and sound. Not a bad gig.
"I come out here and I hang out with these guys, feed them, make sure everybody's okay," Koehn said. "But just hang out with them. Feed them, pat them."
And every so often, save their lives.
"I came out here and this thing's [the shed] on fire," Koehn said. "Well, the llamas had knocked off the heat lamp and it landed in the hay and it went up probably another five more minutes and they wouldn't have been here."
The way he came about this job was exactly what The Field’s Edge is all about.
"One of the cool things that happened was early last year," John-Mark Echols said. "I took some time off of work to deal with some health things and we left town for a while, and Dave was here caring for the animals. And when we came back, it was like he had come home and realized that this was a place where he could do things, [...] he had this realization that 'this is my home and I have ownership here and I can contribute.' And we were just so thankful to come home and for him to have done all that and so grateful that he feels that comfortable here, [...] that this is the place where he belongs and that he's our neighbor and that this is exactly what we had hoped would happen."
Showing that over a year and a half in, The Field’s Edge has accomplished at least one of their goals going into this experience: giving someone not just a house, but a home and a purpose.
To learn more about The Field's Edge, visit their website.