Spiritual Harvest

2009 Dominican Republic Mission Trip 

When I chose the name "Bringing in the Harvest" for my blog I was not only talking about my impending return to the farm but of a spiritual harvest, one of an eternal nature. God has given me a passion for missions and reaching the lost for Christ. He has blessed me with two opportunities to participate in missions trips and they were very unique and challenging trips.

In 2009, I along with four men from my church traveled to the Dominican Republic. While there we helped to construct and paint an addition to the Neuva Luz (New Light) Church of the Nazarene. This church is a partner with Concern International and they provide food, education, and spiritual training for local children. The assistance that we provided helped them more than double their capacity. It was an incredible experience and I pray that the children that they help will be fed physically and spiritually, yielding a great harvest.

I also had a second chance to serve in missions. During the summer of 2010 a group of seven adults and six youth from our church made the long drive to Arizona where we served on the Navajo and Hopi Reservations. We did a project with Encounter Missions International an organization that assists the Navajo and Hopi peoples. We completed several projects on and around the facility that serves at the mission base and the attached church and we spent one day in a Hopi village working on a woman's home. On the way home we took a detour to the Grand Canyon and enjoyed the wonderful scenery that God created. It to was a wonderful trip and I know that the youth that went along grew tremendously.

Paul is quoted in the Bible saying, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do no give up" (Galatians 6:9).  I have thoroughly enjoyed my trips and it is my hope and prayer that God will open more doors for me to participate in missions and ultimately in "bringing in a spiritual harvest."

2010 Youth Mission Trip to the Navajo Reservation in Arizona

Returning to the farm

Every year when I was a kid before the wheat harvest my dad would start to get antsy. He would wonder if the custom harvesters that we hire to cut our wheat would arrive on time or if a massive hail storm was going to destroy the crop. There was always an uncertainty about the quality of the wheat and how the harvest would go that would keep him set on edge. He would remain "amped up" until after the harvest was brought in.

I also remember riding in the combine. The combine had a large window in front. The combine driver had placed a small chair on the floor in front of it. I would set there for hours with wonder in my eyes watching all of the action as the combines harvested the wheat. From my vantage point I could see not only everything that was going on in the combine I was in but the other combines, tractors and trucks that were busily working as well. It was a magical experience.

One might wonder why I want to return to the farm and spend the rest of my life farming. The hours are long, the work is hard and the pay isn't that good. The answer is simple. I want to continue the legacy that my father, his father and many generations before that created. I want to feel those bugs in my stomach when the harvest approaches and want to look up in the cab of a combine and see that same starry eyed look in Zachary that I once had. I want to feel the pure joy of "bringing in the harvest."