The Lord of the Harvest

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.  Luke 10:2

This year we decided to try out our own square foot garden, and despite getting a late start, it's growing up nicely with minimal space and work.  We've already enjoyed some homemade pesto pizza from our basil, but this week we got our first real harvest of vegetables, some yummy green and yellow wax beans.

Harvesting is no easy business.  Sure, when you just have a few plants (and a toddler-sized helper) it goes pretty quickly.  But when you think about picking most vegetables on a larger scale it is incredibly tedious.  Gently lifting up the leaves, taking only that fruit which is ripe and carefully leaving the rest to grow and mature.  In many cases it must be done by hand.  It's no wonder that in the US and throughout the world, this task of harvesting lends itself toward some terrible abuse, where farms enslave vulnerable adults and children to work such difficult jobs, with little or no pay and dangerous working conditions.  (This is just one of many compelling reasons to grow your own food or buy food locally from farmers with whom you can build relationships.)

God also has a challenging harvest waiting for us.  And unlike our typical American way of doing things, it cannot be outsourced, automated, or forced upon the poor.  We, the people of God, are called by him to go out into his fields and get our hands dirty with the needs of people, the gospel, and the sacrificial work of pouring out grace to the world.  It is not easy work, but it promises real joy, the kind that sustains you in all circumstances.  This is God's purpose for your life, and it is not only his plan to draw all people close to him, but to draw you close to him as well.

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Do you want to do something about human trafficking and slavery in modern agriculture?  Dagbé is an organization founded by a friend of ours that is making a difference in the lives of children, especially in regard to agricultural slavery.  Dagbé serves primarily in Benin, Africa (a region prone to human trafficking) and they are presently trying to raise funds for an anti-human trafficking training program for members of the community.  Their fundraising project only has 10 days left, so please consider making a donation today and pray for God to work through Dagbé to prevent the tragedy of slavery among these children and families.

Generosity on a Budget

When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this. Deuteronomy 24:19-22

We have always been fairly good at setting aside a tithe (10%) of our income to the church. This is the standard amount commanded throughout scripture, and most Christian bodies agree that it is really the minimum we should devote to the God who in fact saved us from "slavery in Egypt." We have on occasion decided to give more than the 10%, usually in response to a pressing need in the world (natural disasters), an organization we hear about, or a fellow believer needing funding for a mission trip. Because we are not very intentional about giving above the minimum, it tends to not happen very often.

In the U.S., the holidays seem to invoke a spirit of giving in people. This happens with us too, although part of me wonders if the reality is that we are reminded how little we have given of ourselves in the past year, and we scramble to somehow "make up" for it before that new year comes around and the resolutions start all over again (or repeat, as the case may be).

So... here we are. It is November, and while we have tithed this year, we find ourselves wanting to create more of a habit out of this charity thing. The biggest thing in our way of course, is money (imagine that). We are on a strict budget, and barely making ends meet - I know we are not the only ones, and it seems we have cut a lot in order to make day-to-day life work. But I know that in the scripture passage above, these farmers, these winemakers - they were likely a little strapped for cash too. But God, remember, didn't decide to hoard for himself or spare any expense when it came to you. He gave it all. And although slavery in Egypt sounds pretty horrible, it is not even comparable with the havoc that the power of sin can have on a person's life, not just here on earth but for all eternity.

We have a budgeted amount of money set aside for food every month. So starting in November, we are going to take whatever is left over in our food budget (our sheaves overlooked, if you will) and give that money to someone who needs food. Sometimes it might be $5, or sometimes $20, maybe more. I'm sure we might have times where we will be lazy and eat out a few more times, look over our vine a second or even third time, and use it all, but I hope we can do better. Our prayer is that we continue to be creative about how we spend our money and conserve it in the direct interests of others. We want to eat out less, make more from scratch, waste less, and give more. We are no longer going to take the residual of our budget, and allow it to give us permission to spend more than we need. Instead, we can rejoice in spirit with those who will benefit from our overlooked sheaves.

This doesn't sound like too much for God to ask of us, and I think as we witness the poor and hungry coming into our vineyard to gather what is left over, our hearts will open to them and our desire will be to leave them with more and more of our abundance.

Hunger in Haiti

The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same. Luke 3:11

Haiti is one of the most hungry nations in the world today. Undernutrition occurs in over 30% of children and more than 2.4 million people in Haiti are considered to be food-insecure.*

Each year, the International Food Policy Research Institute develops a Global Hunger Index for each country that considers the percentage of people who are undernourished, the percentage of children underweight, and the mortality rate of children under the age of five. Using this index, in 2009 Haiti ranked 9th among the world's most hungry nations, termed by the IFPR as "alarming." This country is without a doubt considered the most hungry in the Americas.** Haiti is also considered a "food deficit" country, requiring about half of their food to be imported due to its inability to self-sustain.*

This was all before the earthquake.

After the earthquake, it was estimated that an additional 2 million people would need immediate food assistance.* This number does not include the more lasting effects of the earthquake, including loss of trade and agriculture infrastructures.

Haiti has been in the news a lot lately, and many organizations continue to offer much needed support to this devastated area. Whether you have already given to this cause or have yet to do so, we encourage you to offer support in whatever way possible. Some organizations are offering strictly food support, such as the World Food Programme of the UN.

* World Food Programme: Haiti
** International Food Policy Research Group - 2009 Global Hunger Index