the $1,000 farmhouse

Remember when I told you my friend Benny bought this old house for $1,000?

Well last week, he moved it to his property — and it’s about to become one of the most unique farm hospitality destinations in Mexico.

Benny lives in a Mennonite colony in rural Chihuahua, Mexico. The area is a desert both in rainfall (<6” data-preserve-html-node="true" a year) and in beauty of the built environment.

But Benny’s place is an oasis.

He and his family carved out a lush garden on the back part of their lot, lined by huge trees they wisely planted years ago when they first moved there. It feels a world apart from its surroundings.

When Benny happened to hear me speak on farm hospitality this spring, something clicked. Within weeks, he resigned from his fundraising job, launched a guided tour service for the local area, and started a search. He wanted something unique for his garden. Some way to harness the beauty and build a livelihood from it.

beauty in the bulldozer’s path

One afternoon not long after that, Benny spotted a crumbling old farmhouse a few miles from his home. This was one of the very first houses built in the colony over 100 years ago.

Remarkably, the wood was still in good shape thanks to the parched climate.

But the owner was just days away from tearing it down. He’d held off while the elderly couple who’d lived there their whole lives were still alive. They’d just passed, and he was ready to clear it for more commercial farming.

The house was supposed to have been demolished weeks earlier, but the bulldozer broke down and delayed the job.

“Can I take it off your hands for you?” Benny asked.

For $1,000, the deal was done.

Funny story: a few days later, the owner had second thoughts and asked for another $1,000. Benny paid, but this time they signed another contract stating that this was final and he could never ask for more money. 😂

greener pastures

While my family was in Mexico last week for another missions trip, crews moved the house several miles and set it down in Benny’s garden.

For less than the price of a junky used car, Benny now owns a piece of history that will be worth a hundred times that when he’s through with it.

It now rests on a fresh foundation. The original mud bricks that lined the inside of the exterior walls (used as insulation) have been carefully stacked aside, soon to line an underground cellar steps away from the farmhouse that will store the garden’s harvest for guests.

Just imagine the wonder they’ll feel…

A couple months ago, I helped Benny sketch up a site plan for the farm experience.

*Before and after of the lot with the garden and farmhouse stay*

This trip, we walked through the floor plan together, dreaming up and laying out the “juiciest” little moments and details that will welcome guests one day soon.

eyes to see & faith to act

Benny held off documenting the journey to avoid the chance of any third thoughts from the old owner 😂. But now that it’s safely on his land, he’ll be sharing updates here. (I plan to make a youtube video out of the whole thing once it’s done, so make sure you’re subscribed.)

That old farmhouse was days from the dozer. To most, just scrap wood and mud.

But Benny saw something else. And most importantly, he had the courage to do something.

Here’s the lesson: beauty rarely begins perfect. It begins when someone has the eyes to see and faith to act.

Start where you are. Use what you have. Share it with others.

That’s how ordinary things — an old farmhouse, a garden, even a barren patch of land in the middle of nowhere — become extraordinary.

So go make your corner of the world an oasis.

—Isaac

The $1,000 Farmhouse That Almost Got Bulldozed