Why do I have staff?

Good question. When I moved here, I was determined to not hire staff to cook and clean for me although that is very common here. But, when I looked at the house I first rented, there were 3 staff there, recommended by the family who were moving back to the States. If those 3 staff didn't have jobs to earn money, it would be difficult to find work and feed their families. So...I entered into new territory, being an employer and supervisor. The second part wasn't new to me, but being responsible for payroll, determining benefits, making decisions about hiring and firing (which visibly affected people I knew) was a new area.

The positions were cook/cleaner, day guard/gardener and night guard. When I moved into that house, the guards were working 12 hour shifts, 7 days a week and the cook worked 3-4 days a week. What a shock! Coming from a time and place when work hours and conditions were prescribed by law, to this place where people needed work so badly that they would take almost any work just to take care of their families. And the conditions they had with the family before me was so much better than other places around, they were happy with what they had.

For my last 20 years in California people who had lived with me had provided cooking, cleaning and gardening services in exchange for rent. This was the first time that I'd had to pay for the work to be done. First we changed the work hours to include days off, and shortened shifts. I figured out how to budget for it and developed the habit of setting aside the wages for the next payroll as soon as I received by retirement monies. Slowly other benefits of vacation, sick time, meals during the work shift and education were added. I had to go back to 12 hour shifts for the guards when my "farm" got so big that I needed help with it. Once the animals all left, the guards went back to 8 hour work shifts for night and 6 hours for days.

Today, Grannie Mc's Ministries has 5 employees, with a payroll of close to $500 per month. In this next year there will be one more business start-up and another employee going for university level schooling. 4 people have completed their education plans. In addition, 3 others have begun their small businesses with assistance or support from GMM. Not too bad for just a short time. Wonder what else God wants to happen here?