Nate heads to Maxwell Farms after school and arrives there around 8 a.m. on the weekends. The 16-year-old is responsible for feeding, tying up, washing, and drying a handful of show cows, along with assisting in general care for the roughly 100 beef cows living at the farm. He has helped out at the farm for about four years and became a student supervisor two years ago. Nate takes pride in having learned how to mend fences, move hay with the tractors, and perform some general carpentry through his role on the farm.
“A student supervisor is second in charge,” he explains. “Brad Martin, my boss, tells me what to do, then kids have to answer to me, which makes me feel like the ‘big dog.’”
Maxwell Farms Director Brad Martin uses words like “gritty,” “tough,” “bright,” and “ambitious” when he describes Nate. Martin identified something special in him early on and is mentoring Nate to take on more leadership and hands-on farming responsibilities.
“I saw something in Nate a long time ago. I recognized how good he was with animals and took more time and care teaching him. I’ve also put more expectation on him, and he’s grown to cherish that. His confidence has grown so much since he first arrived,” Martin recalls.
Nate was nine years old when he and his two younger siblings came to live at Connie Maxwell in December 2019. He was shy and terrified of living in the cottage with children he didn’t know. His father, Jacob, remembers Nate’s adjustment to “not being with his mom or talking with us much” as the hardest part for Nate during those early days, but that Connie Maxwell’s “activities and wonderful experiences for the kids helped with that.”
Nate’s first cottage parents were Russ and Kelly Holeman, and then Paul and Vilette Uhl joined them as cottage parents about four years ago. Vilette recalls how Nate struggled with anger when she first met him, and how the Holemans and Uhls worked with Nate’s father as they helped Nate process his rage. “We prayed with him and for him, and we didn’t give up.”
Vilette quickly recognized Nate’s “charisma” and describes him as charming and well-spoken. “One of his most endearing qualities is his deep love for animals,” she says, sharing how Nate once tamed a stray cat living near the cottage and named it Batman. When he was younger and struggling with anger, a therapy dog would visit the cottage and could immediately calm Nate down.
Nate’s decision to follow Jesus during a Fuge Camp in 2023 led to a dramatic change in his life. He admits not knowing what to expect after getting baptized, but “knew it was a new chapter of my life. It’s difficult because I have higher standards to meet now, but they’re good standards.”
Adults around Nate noticed a new sense of confidence emerging, too. “He’s growing in his faith and is discipling other kids, including another boy who has prayed to receive Christ. Nate has also gained so much trust through his work at Maxwell Farms,” Paul Uhl says. “It’s been phenomenal to watch him mature. He has a light about him that just shines.”
Nate is uncomfortable talking about himself, but admits he is good at sports, especially football and basketball. His cottage parents say he is outgoing when he gets comfortable around someone, but Nate is quick to disagree when his father calls him a “social butterfly.”
“I just love to work on the farm, really doing any kind of manual labor. I’ve been thinking lately about going to an agriculture college, and I’d like to raise my own farm one day,” Nate says of future dreams. “It’s one of the main things I know how to do, so what’s the point of God giving you a skill and not using it?”
According to Martin, Nate has a bright future in farming. He sees Nate as an eager, dependable worker who wants to learn new things. “I have to depend on him in this job, he has tasks that need to be done every day,” Martin says. “Nate is tough. He doesn’t quit.”
Through long hours spent together at Maxwell Farms, Martin has helped Nate identify the entrepreneurial skills he already possesses to work with the public and to own his own business one day. He is showing Nate that what he learns in school is being applied to work on the farm each day. He’s also encouraging Nate to believe that his dreams are within his reach.
“He is passionate about farming, and he will be good at it,” Martin says, adding that “Nate will be one of those ‘child legends’ at Maxwell Farms. He will be remembered by the other kids when they come here 50 years from now. They will remember showing cows with Nate and working with or for him.”
Nate’s father, Jacob, is grateful for what Connie Maxwell has done for his family. “They were there when we were hitting low times and couldn’t provide for the kids like they needed. I’m thankful that they took our kids in, they’ve basically spoiled them,” he says, adding that Nate’s siblings have chosen to return home, but he supports Nate’s decision to stay in Greenwood.
Connie Maxwell Children’s Ministries further blessed Nate’s family in November 2025 by selecting their home to receive service projects through the Cultural Services Initiative. Nate’s cottage joined another cottage to perform yard work, create a flower bed, and build a fire pit for his family. The projects were made possible by funds raised through Connie Maxwell Baptist Church.
For his part, Nate is happiest when he’s working at Maxwell Farms. “You get the rest of the world off your mind, just focused on that one task, and it’s peaceful. Especially being out there in nature. Sometimes I wish I lived back in the old days, when this is what we would’ve had to do.”
