Let the Nations Be Glad

While Talitha was getting her hair braided (don't miss the post just previous to this one), I was attending a workshop, Farming God's Way presented by Care of Creation staff.

During the morning, twenty-one farmers first conversed about the difference in yields over the last 30 years. The farmers harvested an average of 19.6 bags of corn/acre in 1977 and in 2007 it was only an average of 6.5 bags. The land is depleted by erosion, irregular rains, pests, etc. All of these are connected in various ways to the vast deforestation--no root system to hold the water, no nesting places for birds who eat the pests, and the loss of the moisture provided by trees that contributes to rainfall.

Then they heard from Craig and his coworker, Francis, the biblical foundation for taking care of God's creation. Though farmers are considered the bottom of the heap here, they are working in God's image, God who was the first farmer (Gen. 2:8-9).

After lunch Craig and Francis gave instruction in the method of Farming God's Way. One of the first questions was this: With your dead cornstalks is it more important to feed your cow or your soil? The instinct is to feed the hungry cow. But every year your cow gets hungrier because you have fewer cornstalks. If the cornstalks become mulch to enrich the soil and hold moisture, both your cow and you eat better next year. The method involves tilling the soil only once, at the beginning. After that the farmer keeps the ground covered and just digs seed holes.

Well, I could go on. There was 3 hours of great biblical and practical information. We ended by visiting the demonstration farm, where corn and beans were just harvested. The farmers felt the coolness of the mulched soil and were amazed at the height of the corn stalks and the amount of yield.

Pray that they will be convinced to try something new. They are from 10 different churches and as many different communities, so there won't necessarily be supportive neighbors when they don't do what's always been done.

Pray that God will prosper the work of the Care of Creation staff with many "fields of dreams."

Sorry about the previous post. The internet went down last night just as I pressed "publish".

Anyway, I don't know when I've been so tired--and humbled. We left the house at 6 am to drive to the edge of the escarpment leading down to the Rift Valley, which is wide, deep, and distinct here. We waited at the top for women who would be walking down into the valley to collect fire wood. They would already have been walking 2-3 kilometers, then it was another 3-4 kilometer walk (not the right word) down rocky, dusty semi-paths to find a place where there was still wood to be found.

Hill and valley as far as you can see used to be covered with forest and rich land, maybe just 30 years ago. Now it is all eroded down to grass, rocks, scrub, and gullies. The firewood the women collect, we would call kindling. That's all that's left now.

Here's the humbling part. We went down too, but not as far as the women. Going down, Talitha was glad for a helping hand several times when the slope was steep and the rocks slippery underfoot. But she was energized on the way back--way ahead of me. By the time I was about halfway back up, I was testing the bench qualities of boulders about every 30 feet. And I was carrying nothing. I hope not to do this again for a long time, if ever. But these women, some in their 70s, carry 40-50 lbs of wood on their backs up the escarpment 2-3 times a week. Many women spend 30 hours a week collecting firewood and water. Around that they do all that a woman does to care for her household. This includes cooking over a fire, while I just turn a knob.

You could hardly ask for a more clear illustration of how much Care of Creation is needed, in particular here, for the planting of trees to renew the land and to help people live more productive lives.

On the way home we stopped at a school where one Bethlehem team helped to build a water tank where water is caught from roof rain run-off. Another Bethlehem team built a fence around the tree nursery there--very young saplings that are nurtured by water from the tank. Dozens of fruit trees are ready to be sent home with students who have been instructed how to plant these in their yards. Other types of trees will be suitable to grow for firewood.

Afterward, Craig and Tracy took us to meet with the people at NEGST (Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology) who have taught an elective theological course about caring for God's creation. They are hopeful that the course might become part of the core curriculum. We also met with people at Daystar University, where there is an environmental science course, but not yet a course that looks at creation from a biblical perspective.

Later in the afternoon, Talitha, Tracy and I hung out with MaryAnne Augustin, Bethlehem missionary with Wycliffe. She began her missionary work several years ago, planning to do Bible translation work in Congo. Revolution and later strife there has made it impossible for her to settle there. Wycliffe/SIL's Congo work has gone on "in exile." Now, finally, MaryAnne is planning to move to Congo in a few months.

We're trying for early bedtime tonight, because we leave the house at 6 am tomorrow do do something we've never done before. We'll tell you about that tomorrow.