“Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love.” Hosea 10:12

As we walk through George, visiting the homes of the school children, Godfridah (one of the teachers) and I speak about many things. We talk about the great need to educate the children so one day they can rise above this poverty. We talk about the children’s lack of interest in bathing, since it’s such a project to bring the water, heat the water, and most likely there is no soap. We talk about how music and dance are such an integral part of the children’s lives that they don’t even think to mention it as something they enjoy – it’s just part of them. But the other day we talked about farming and gardening. Godfridah said much of the land which was once used to raise crops of maize and other vegetables has been sold by the government. Much of the land which the community had “borrowed” for subsistence farming is no longer available. There are some who are fortunate enough to have seeds, and they may have a small garden next to their home, or a few tomatoes planted in plastic jugs. So, the problem has now become that the children are not learning the basic skills of raising vegetables. Godfridah said she has longed for the opportunity to have a garden at the school, where each child could be responsible for a row of vegetables. She wants to teach them how to turn the ground, prepare the soil, plant and care for the seeds, and harvest what they have grown. A bit of knowledge they could use their whole lives. This way, no matter what else happened, if they could find the seeds, she said they would at least have a chance for a harvest, which means they may not have to go hungry. I could scarcely believe the conversation we were having; all part of God’s most perfect plan. It was only the day before that we had received a care package from Ron’s brother Mark and his wife Carol. It was packed full of thoughtful items; nutrition bars, tuna fish, raisins, photos they had printed from the blog for us to distribute, children’s vitamins, antibiotic ointment, and… seeds! What a wonderful opportunity – a harvest of love. The next day I took packages of tomato, watermelon, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, cantaloupe and turnip seeds to a very surprised and a very happy teacher. Yesterday, as Ron was on the roof of the guard hut, one of the workers called out to him to see what was coming. It was Godfridah, walking the dirt path to the OMNI site, with a line of children in tow, carrying hoes – ready to begin the day’s lesson. Praying for an abundant harvest!