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Today I am speaking with an 84-year-old woman who became a natural healer out of necessity when she was a young child. Today, she teaches people how to have more control over their bodies and their health.
Ada Robinson grew up in Arkansas during an era that wasn’t a good environment for black people to live.
She was the first-born of 11 children. Her father was relatively old, and her mother was relatively young when she died at age 39. As a result, Ada became the surrogate mother for all her siblings.
Her father worked for the railroad until the Great Depression took away his job and forced him and Ada’s mother into the cotton fields every day. That left Ada in charge of the household and all her siblings before she turned 10 years old herself. She had to feed them, clean them and clothe them. She was so young that Ada had to use a step-stool to reach the sink and stove.
Because money was tight, that meant there wasn’t any money available for doctors. So, when someone got sick, Ada learned to apply natural remedies to bring about healing.
After moving to Michigan as an adult, Ada opened the Village of Natural Teaching to bring hope and healing to others, as well as to teach them about natural remedies.
I loved Ada’s story about overcoming a tough childhood, and how that experienced open the door for her to improve the lives of other people.
She was really prompted to launch the Village of Natural Teaching after Ada saw what happened to her brother. The man was seriously overweight with sky-high blood pressure who had to take so many medicines that he used a shopping bag to carry them around.
He stopped to visit Ada before moving to Portland, Ore. When he left, Ada started praying for her brother. While he was in Portland, the man encountered some herbalists who nursed him back to health. When Ada saw him a few years later, she could not believe the transformation.
That prompted Ada to change lives by sharing what she knew about natural health and healing with others. She started by teaching people how to prepare healthy meals using what she calls “living foods.”
Then she started expanding her teaching to encompass the whole concept of natural living. Ada discovered the health benefits of ingesting wheat grass, and sharing information to help people overcome chronic pain using natural methods.
Ada is in the process of writing a book about natural healing that she hopes to release next year. In the meantime, she conducts classes and workshops either in person or via Zoom to help people jumpstart a healthier lifestyle.
However, she released a memoir about her own life earlier this year.
Titled “Climbing Out of Fear,” it describes her life and how she relied on God to overcome her own fear. The book highlights Biblical characters who also had to confront and overcome their own fear to complete the mission God had given them.
It was her experience as a scared child basically raising her siblings on her own that forced Ada to rely on God for advice, direction, comfort and strength.
Ada’s book is available on Amazon an at other bookstores. People can connect with her by visiting www.villageofnaturalteaching.com, or emailing her at village.of.natural.teaching@gmail.com.
I wish Ada the best of luck as she works on her next book. I am super-impressed that, at age 84, Ada is still actively teaching others and learning new skills herself.
That’s all I have for this week’s show. If you’d like help in identifying a purpose for your life or to get help planning your next steps, I’m offering a complimentary brainstorming session to members of the Forward From 50 Facebook community. For details, connect with me on Facebook or visit www.forwardfrom50.com.
I’ll have another inspirational interview on the next episode of the Forward From 50 podcast. Thanks for listening. If you like this show, please consider leaving a review wherever you download the episodes.
After closing his business and enduring several painful years of uncertainty regarding what to do with his life, Greg founded Forward From 50 to help men and women over 50 to live more purposeful lives by pursuing things they are passionate about. A Wisconsin native, Greg currently lives in Arizona.