A desire of mine for the last year or so was to have a garden in my backyard. Not necessarily because I need food, but because it can become a future ministry opportunity for those in the community. With rising food prices it’s becoming harder and harder for individuals to feed themselves.
This desire led me to order some seeds from America and put them in my barrel, hoping they would eventually grow…..
I was shocked by the results!
On a Tuesday a friend and I planted some lettuce seeds in a small plastic box. By Thursday morning sprouts had already shot up, and by Saturday it was filled with growth!
Obviously, it will be a while before we have lettuce, but it is still exciting!
The excitement isn’t really about the garden though…….
It is about ministering to the physical needs of people in Barrouallie.
There is an incredibly important balance in ministry (particularly missions) between meeting spiritual, and physical needs. The temptation is sometimes to focus only on physical needs because so many people are hungry, but that doesn’t meet their heart need. At the same time, ignoring their physical needs does a great injustice to the Gospel.
To be honest I sometimes fall on the side that emphasizes their spiritual need since that’s the one that impacts eternity. But the Lord has reminded me the Gospel must be paired with an act of love.
It is one thing to tell them that God loves them…..it’s another to tell them God loves them along with an act of love.
It’s my prayer that this vegetable garden will allow others to not only hear about the love of God, but experience it through me.
Johnhwilburn.org 