The Story Of A Miracle At Tate High’s Ag Department

January 11, 2018

Tate High School Ag Teacher Leanne Jenkins tells the story of ‘Miracle” a calf born at the school during our extreme January cold. It’s a story of survival, the story of an emergency van ride for the calf, and the story of a miracle.

Do you believe in miracles? I truly have witnessed a miracle this past week.

I am sure some of you have seen or heard about my coworkers and I driving my minivan to the vet with a calf in the back. I would love to share the entire story with you because I feel like the Lord is up to something with this small life.

Last Thursday, I took my 5th period class out to the land lab to check on the animals. Another ag teacher had mentioned one of the cows was showing signs of labor. We walked to the back pasture and got close enough to see that momma had just delivered a baby. We could tell the baby was breathing, but it was not moving and had not lifted its head. This was not alarming to us, since it had just been delivered.

We checked on the momma and baby again the next class period and baby was still not moving. We came out again an hour later and begin to be concerned when we saw the baby shivering and still not lifting its head. My coworkers and I quickly got a truck and brought the calf to the barnyard. It was unusually cold in Florida – the school even cancelled after school activities because of the freezing temperatures and 16 MPH winds. We got the baby under heat lamps and blankets and began rubbing it hoping to get the blood circulating. We thought it would die any second. Being too weak to stand, there was no way for this baby to nurse. We ran to the store, purchased colostrum and fed the calf. Within about an hour, it was trying to stand and seemed to be perking up. We attempted another bottle a few hours later with no success. I said a prayer for the sweet baby and my coworker said, “we’re going to go ahead and name him Miracle.”

The next day, Miracle continued to get weaker. We got the momma-cow in the shoot and milked her. We tried to feed Miracle and he was too weak to suck. I called my husband, Zach, and told him, “will you please bring the minivan to the school with a tarp so we can take Miracle to the vet.” He hurried over and we rushed to the Animal Hospital. By the time we got there, his eyes were rolled back in his head and he had very little pulse. The vet used a piece of equipment to feed a tube down his throat to fill his stomach with his momma’s colostrum we had collected. Within minutes he seemed to be feeling better. We later brought him back to school and locked him in a pen with his momma.

The next morning, with coaching, we were able to get him hooked up to his momma and he has continued to get healthier ever since. Today, I took my class out to check on him and he was acting especially frisky – we talked about how he was truly living up to his name.

THEN, the craziest thing happened. I took out my phone to take a picture of Miracle to send to my mother (she has been worried about him). She responded with “did you cause the brightness around him, or is that just his miracle self?” I thought, “huh??” I looked back at the picture and saw Miracle GLOWING! Y’all, I cannot explain this picture, but I can tell you the Lord has had his hands on this little life. We did not expect this little guy to live, but we refused to give up hope or stop trying to help. I loved sharing his story with all of my students and showing how every life is meaningful and precious. He has put a smile on the face of so many students and I am thankful we have been privileged to have him born on our farm. We typically sell all males born on our farm, but we decided today, Miracle is here to stay!

You’ll hear people say, “Let nature take its course,” but our new motto is, “do everything you can and believe in Miracles.”

Comments

20 Responses to “The Story Of A Miracle At Tate High’s Ag Department”

  1. Camden on November 8th, 2018 3:59 pm

    Great story I still wonder how he survived. God was truly working in him.

  2. B'Zetz Tamir on November 7th, 2018 5:52 pm

    I’m in your class at Beulah middle school astonishing story

  3. Sam Taylor on January 20th, 2018 9:29 am

    This is why I love Tate High School so much ! The heart and caring of the teachers and students ! Bless your sweet hearts ! Leanne, hats off to you and your team !!
    Through your efforts Miracle is alive and kicking !!! There is a greater story here that need not be ignored ! It is the story of the power of prayer!!! God definitely showed up and showed out with this “Miracle”!! How blessed for those students to have a teacher who is vested as a believer !!! This is such a heartwarming story and such a witness of what faith in God can do !!! Thank you, Leanne for sharing this story !!

    Continued Blessings for Tate’s Miracle !!!
    Sam Taylor

  4. Theresa on January 12th, 2018 1:42 pm

    Thanks for spoiling it for us Micah and Mike. I’m glad my kids didn’t know you in December! Santa may have not stopped by!

  5. Patsy on January 11th, 2018 9:09 pm

    What a wonderful story. In a time of turmoil and trouble every where, God sends us a reminder of how wonderful he is and that he cares for even the small. Thank you for sharing.

  6. Mike on January 11th, 2018 9:04 pm

    This is not a miracle, this a halo which is an HDR (high dynamic range) photography artifact. Micah is absolutely right. Try Google Image search using “HDR halo”. You’ll find a lot of pictures with light around people, animals or buildings.

  7. Jcellops on January 11th, 2018 1:47 pm

    Absolutely-a wonderful story…valued, dedicated teachers! Thanks for sharing such a moving story.

  8. Tamara mitchell on January 11th, 2018 12:59 pm

    Love this!!!! And I love miracles!!

  9. Sage2 on January 11th, 2018 12:39 pm

    A great example of the hand of God at work. Such an uplifting story too. If you should not believe in miracles…you are one!

  10. Micah on January 11th, 2018 10:11 am

    The glowing is an HDR artifact. Most cell phone cameras will do that.

  11. Sonya Williamson on January 11th, 2018 9:36 am

    What a miracle indeed!! Thank you for sharing this precious story. We all need to hear more stories that lift up our hopes that miracles do exist! God bless you all for caring enough to fight for him! Keep us posted on how he continues to thrive!!

  12. Carolyn Bramblett on January 11th, 2018 9:14 am

    What a great story and loved reading the follow-up about the pigs. It was such a shocking change in temperature you do wonder how all the animals survive without having a good winter coat to suddenly living in 20 degree weather.

  13. anne 1of2 on January 11th, 2018 9:01 am

    I need to look for that glowing Miracle every day. It happens every day. I just fail to pay attention. Thank You northescambia.com for this story.

  14. Robin venettozzi on January 11th, 2018 8:58 am

    If I might add to the story…what Leanne didn’t share is that she, her dad, and another ag teacher had already spent the entire day completely cleaning, sanitizing, and reconfiguring the FFA pig pens in Molino. Many of the pigs had gotten sick because of conditions brought on by the cold temps. So after working until dark at the pig facility, they went back to Tate to take care of the calf, and then headed out to the vet. A day in the life of an ag teacher…for our children.

  15. Suzanne on January 11th, 2018 8:09 am

    I loved reading this story. Yes, a true miracle. And how nice the students were able to witness it.

  16. Bama Girl on January 11th, 2018 7:59 am

    What a MOOving story! Miracle is beautiful and I’m sure will be a welcome addition to the Ag program at Tate.

  17. Concerned on January 11th, 2018 7:46 am

    There are miracles everyday. Praise God.

  18. THE DOER on January 11th, 2018 6:18 am

    What a great story, Ms. Jenkins! Thank you for your dedication, your faith, and your willingness to share God’s miracles indeed! These are the kinds of teachers I pray will continue to shine in our school system!

  19. Animallvr on January 11th, 2018 6:09 am

    Love this story! God is all around!

  20. Honest John on January 11th, 2018 6:05 am

    Thank you so much Leanne for sharing this awesome story . I believe Miracles happen and they come from our Lord and Savior. Thank you Lord Jesus.