Gardening in Africa (in 95-100 degree weather)

One of the ways we were able to minister to the people in South Africa AND Mozambique was, as the title so cleverly insinuates, was gardening:)

Now, I'm a landscaper. So gardening is a bit like breathing for me. So when I heard we were going to be gardening I thought to myself "sure, no problem".

Right?

WRONG. Let's start with the weather.

Check that. Let's start with me being stupid and not thinking about packing sunscreen for Africa. I am so dumb sometimes I swear......

Anyways. Turns out that it's hot in Africa. Go figure. Like 90 degrees in the shade kind of hot.

It gets better.

I didn't have gloves so my hands blistered after the first half hour.

Now, in Mozambique? We quit working before it got too hot. But for some reason in South Africa we worked into the heat of the day. But maybe it just felt like the heat of the day to a skinny white guy from cold, rainy Oregon. Who knows.

Then the tools we had were bordering on primitive since, obviously, there wasn't enough money to buy good ones. As a result, all the handles on the tools were two or three feet too short so we were bent over most of the time.

Now I'm a pretty lean guy and my back's in good shape but that was pushing the proverbial envelope as they say.

Then the clean water runs out so we're all sharing.

Needless to say, this was not an enjoyable experience. I was fortunate enough to beg some sunscreen off of an actual smart person who put some thought into her packing, thank goodness, otherwise i would've fried alive.

But the suffering we endured in the heat isn't the primary explanation for the reason why these memories have stuck fast in my head.

It was the way we were able to take a plot of land in South Africa that was nothing but a field full of tough grass and overrun with weeds and weed it, plow it by hand, plant it with all kinds of fruits and vegetables, and water it. Make it into something beautiful.

It was the was we took a dry, dusty, nutrition-starved yard enclosed in a compound with walls that had razor wire on top and broke it up one shovel full at a time, mixed in manure one shovel full at a time, raised up the beds and planted more food by which these people could sustain themselves.

And it was the gratitude that stood out to me. The man we gardened for in South Africa was in a wheelchair and couldn't sustain himself. The people we gardened for in Mozambique planned on using that garden to feed the community around them.

And we had the wonderful opportunity to be a part of that.

Two thoughts:

1) I learned that God doesn't get to be a part of what I'M doing. It's HIM who lets ME take a part in what HE'S doing.

2) I learned the value of not simply giving a man a fish, but rather teaching him how to fish. We didn't give them money or food in this particular instance. We gave them something that would sustain them and provide for them.

I feel like I was more blessed than they were.