The power of forgiveness.

On the way to the farm you pass by many donkey carts.

So much has been happening on the farm and it has been long since there has been a specific post about the happenings.  It can be difficult to explain in words all that goes on. The farm has 2 days off, Fridays and Sundays. Every working day all the plants get watered- in the beginning it was only every other day to water but the farm has tremendously expanded. Harvest days are Monday, Thursday and Saturday. There is weeding to be done as well as cleaning out the stalls and taking care of the animals. Currently there are 13 rabbits, 75 chickens, 100 plus  goats, over 900 tiny tilapia and 2 guinea fowls. Of course there are physical challenges, such as needing to plow a piece of land but before being able to do that, needing to pump up the Tractors flat tires. And then needing to spray off this nasty insect that is attacking each and every papaya tree but the sprayer carburetor is blocked and it wont start. Almost daily there is something that needs to be fixed before being able to start the normal task you had planned to do. That is life here.

Most importantly, the relationships that are made with the farm workers is what truly matters. Each is created in the image of God and even more so God loves them. Each of them have a difficult life because of the harsh environment they have been born into. All can seem hopeless at time, But then there is Jesus. There have been several problems of division with individual farm worker's relationships. Two of these issues have been between 2 different married couples, accusations of neglect, fear of taking a second wife, and unfaithfulness to name a few. Jason, Amos, Philip (our manager) and the village head man had to sit down for hours of mediation between these workers. In the first situation the husband (who is a night guard at the farm) and the wife (who cooks lunch at the farm) had time to vent out all the frustrations. The wife shared her frustrations about hearing rumors that her husband was pledged a younger woman- I will refer to this woman as Ms. M. The wife was so hurt by this which caused her to be disrespectful towards her husband. She had the opportunity to talk about her distrust towards her husband if he were to take another wife. Then it was her husbands turn to address this and admit that the pledge was offered but he turned it down and has no desire to take another wife. He realizes if he were to do so it will not bring peace to his family because the rumors and talk of it had already brought trouble into his home. Husband and wife were able to shake hands, a sign of letting the past remain in the past and move on, strengthening their marriage.


The second situation was of the husband- who is a farm worker, falling into adultery and leaving his family for a few months but currently has left the mistress and has returned home. His wife was so angry at him. When it was her turn to talk she told everyone that there was no food at the house for their children and accused the husband of misusing the salary he received from working on the farm. It was obvious she wanted to attack his character because of how hurt she was from his affair. The husband responded by asking Jason to give a report of how much money he receives at the end of each month- because money is taken out for a loan he took prior. Then he told of another loan he is slowly paying back to a neighbor. All was put on the table. Then the husband looked at his wife and told her he forgave her of all her wrongdoings and asked her for forgiveness. She grabbed his hand to shake- the sign of the past is now in the past, and there is still a future for them together. This was a powerful moment for this man has always been more religious than the other farm workers- he seems the most against Christ and more inclined to follow the ways of Islam. To witness this demonstration of forgiveness, showed the softening of his heart- which we had not seen before.

The third situation was the most recent and as a result of the first situation. The lady that was pledged, Ms. M's mother works on the farm. She was stirring up trouble with her words and finally the lady who cooks lunch at the farm, had had enough. They started verbally threatening one another and it seemed the only way for it all to end was to physically go at it. Another mediation took place airing everything out.  After many hours going back and forth finally the handsdhake took place, forgiveness was given on both sides. Jason said up until this day the lunches had not been tasting so good, but after this day, the food started tasting better. Thus goes to show us when the cook is not in a good mood- watch out! 😂

Through these farm workers I have seen a picture of how God forgives us. In each situation there was a noticeable problem that seemed to escalate with each passing day. Finally when it came out in the open and verbally confronted forgiveness was spoken and it has changed each person from that day on. They are walking lighter and a change has taken place. I am not naive to think that there will never be an issue again, but do have confidence that it can be worked out if both sides are willing to do so. What is remarkable to me is that these farm workers, who do not share the same faith as me, lived out Ephesians 5:31-32. Jesus reveals Himself from the most unlikely circumstances. Oh that we all have eyes to not overlook what He is doing.

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling, and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

Donkey carts go to town and then back to the village.

Over looking the river.

Jason opening the gate for us to come in.

Harvesting.

Canals to bring the water to the far corners.

Water valve.

Several high school boys come to work when school is on break in order to earn money to pay school fees.

Using a wheel barrel to bring in the harvested vegetables. 

The harvest is stacked up and then portioned out to the different places where it will be sold.

This remindsme of ghost busters, but it's to spray the pests away.

The interns made these for the farm workers to keep their possessions in while they work.

Jason put up a water tank outside the farm fence, for the villagers to fetch water.

Jason's Mom took all of these pictures when she was here. We had such a good time with her.