Our Garden

Our garden is doing well even though a cow got in last week-end and chewed the tops off about half of our sweet corn.  We are already harvesting zucchini, squash, lettuce, cucumbers and green beans. We thank the Lord for the privilege of gardening.  We enjoy it and we also really like the fresh produce.

Farming

We spent New Year's Eve and January 1st on a farm with my brother's in-laws.  Since it is summer here there is a lot of work to do on the farm so we were able to help out a little.  The boys enjoyed riding in the combine and on the tractor. 

When you don't have a grain wagon an old truck with sides will work!

Birds

It seems we have a bird sanctuary at our farm.  Presently I have a list of about 15 different kinds of birds that we have seen on the farm and there are several others that I haven't been able to identify yet.  I forgot to bring the list with me to town, but maybe next time I'll post the names of the different birds on our farm.

Here are a couple of pictures of different bird's nests on the farm.  This first one is from a weaver bird.

This next one is from a weaver-sparrow.

This one, of course, is from the swallow.

Bible Study Group

For the past few months I, Steve, have been teaching a Bible Study using the book Loving God.  We really had some good discussions and I enjoyed watching God work in the lives of these people.  Some of them really gained ground spiritually.  This picture was taken on the last day of class.  I gave certificates to the two who never missed a class and also a few rewards for different things.  I hope to start another class in January.

Sunset at Arizona

The farm house we now rent is called "Arizona".  So the picture below is a sunset over a small pond at Arizona.

Moving

I want to go back a couple of weeks and share a few pictures of the not so favorite task of moving.  The first thing we moved from our house here in town was our garden!  Yes, that's right. Because we knew we would be moving a bit late in the planting season we decided to go ahead and start our garden in town and then move it when it came time.  We bought a few seedlings and a lot of other plants we started in containers, but a few things like corn and green beans we planted right in the ground and then we transplanted them when it came time to move.  The green beans were really set back by the move, but the corn did very well.  What do you think about our garden on wheels?

We are very thankful for those who came to help us on moving day.  It was a mammoth undertaking.  The house we moved to was about twenty-five minutes out of town on a dirt road and we were not only moving our belongings but also many of my brother's things, and the belongings of another missionary who is in the States right now.  Thankfully not all those things went out to our new rental but to another house here in town.  So in reality we basically moved three households.

Farm House

Here is a picture of the house we are now renting.  We are thankful that God has provided it for us.  We are now paying less then 1/4 of the rent we were paying in town.  Of course there is the extra cost of driving back and forth from town, but in the end I think this place will be better in a lot of ways. 

Mulberry Jam

Anyone ever make or eat mulberry jam?  We have a mulberry tree in our yard so we thought we would try making jam before we move out of this house.  The jam turned out good.  We like it.  (Notice the variety of jars we used.  Here in South Africa the people use any jars you buy food in from the store; mayo, peanut butter, etc. All you need to do is make sure the jars and lids are hot and the food is boiling. Fill the jars; screw on the lids and you're all done.)

Sober-Minded

It is appalling to me the amount of empty, silly, foolishness that characterizes the western world and no where is this drivel so prevalent than on blogs, sites, and other means of communications. Our culture as a whole worships at the altar of entertainment and sacrifices to the god of humor. But what is even more shocking is the nonsense that is regurgitated by those who name the Name of Christ.

My mind turns to Titus 2:6 where young men are exhorted to be sober-minded. When we see an individual with red eyes, slurred speech, and a staggering gate we clearly understand what it means to be drunk and what it means to be sober. But it seems that when it comes to entertainment somehow the word “sober” is confusing and difficult to understand. Christians have become intoxicated with frivolity and lightness, and think nothing of it.

It seems we have joined those of “Higher Criticism” and thrown out the Word of God. Truth is no longer relevant but relative. A very elementary perusal of the New Testament reveals eleven passages where we find the injunction to be “SOBER”. (I Thessalonians 5:6, 8; I Timothy 3:2, 11; Titus 1:8; 2:2, 4, 6; I Peter 1:13, 4:7, 5:8) What are we to do with these commands? Are we going to foolishly fritter away our lives feasting on the swill of those who are spiritually famished? On what do you feed your soul? (Isaiah 55:1-3) Let me share the words of a song by E.A. Hoffman which echo the longings of my soul.

Lord, I am fondly, earnestly longing

Into Thy holy likeness to grow;

Thirsting for more and deeper communion,

Yearning Thy love more fully to know.

Dead to the world would I be, O Father!

Dead unto sin, alive unto Thee;

Crucify all the earthly within me,

Emptied of sin and self may I be.

I would be Thine, and serve Thee forever,

Filled with Thy Spirit, lost in Thy love;

Come to my heart, Lord, come with anointing,

Showers of grace send down from above.

Chorus:

Open the wells of grace and salvation,

Pour the rich streams deep into my heart;

Cleanse and refine my tho’t and affection,

Seal me and make me pure as Thou art.

Moving

Since we will be moving during these next few weeks you probably won't hear much from us.  But when we connect again I plan to show you some pictures of our "new" place.  Phil and Amrie flew out yesterday for the States. With their leaving those of us that stay behind will have a few extra responsibilities added to our to-do lists. Pray for us over the next few, very full months.