We are trekking through the Chitwan National Park. Literally, it’s the jungle of Nepal. People pay for guides to come hike to this remote area, known for its tiger population and hiking. We aren’t here for the tigers though, we are here for the people who live in this jungle-land.
I haven’t been so far out from society….ever really. Even when I was living in Africa, we could get to civilization quicker and easier then this wilderness region. Its crazy to imagine people live Out here. The process to get here was…..intense. It was a 20 hour bus ride over the mountains and into this wilderness valley…we drove off rode for a good two hours and I thought I would not get out of that bus alive, and that we would plummit off the cliff with the way they drive here.
We were dropped off at a “settlement.” From there, Buffalo carts took out packs, and we followed for another 2 hours through streams and tiny paths. To a small village. This was our base. From there, we trekked up to 4 hours distance into even more rural areas and tribes.
I have never seen real tribal people before, but here was this witch doctor, with only a loin cloth on. He welcomed us to his home. His wife was sitting on top of a wooden table outside, and He proceeded to sit underneath the table. It was an odd, but beautiful sight and opportunity.
We were told this was the first time they ever heard the gospel. What a privilage it was to share. The witch doctor listened and asked questions. With our translator, we shared why we came and who Jesus is. Please pray that That God will speak to them through dreams and his creation and that they will grow dissastified with their own gods.
The next day; we hiked to visit a former witch doctor. A few years ago he converted to Christianity, and has since changed his life and impacted his village for Christ.
As we walked up the winding pathway way to his hut perched on top of the hill, I surveyed the land and surrounding bushes. But these were no ordinary bushes, but pineapple plants! There were Thousands of them, each displaying 2 or 3 pineapples nestled in the middle.
I’ve never seen pineapples on the plants before, it fascinated me. I immediately knew what I was going to encourage this witch doctor-turned pineapple farmer with.
The pineapple story.
I heard this story years ago from a missionary named Otto Koning. His stories of life on the field and biblical truth impacts me. I randomly had downloaded his talks last month and listened to them all on that crazy bus ride to this place. The pineapple story is about trusting God with our lives.
I was invited to speak to this transformed witch doctor and his family. I told him that I had a story to share with him, and then proceeded to tell the pineapple story. He listened with intent, It was amazing to be able to connect with him and his family through the story, and the truth behind the verse in Matt 10:39 “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”
I want to share the pineapple story with you now!
“Otto Koning was a missionary in New Guinea. He worked among a native tribe that had known only their village ways. One of those village ways was stealing from others. When Otto and his wife arrived and moved into a hut, the natives often came by to visit. The Konings would notice that after the natives left the missionaries’ home, various household items had disappeared. They saw these items again when they went to preach in the natives’ village.
The only fruit Otto could grow on the island was pineapples. Otto loved pineapples, and he took pride in the pineapples he was able to grow. However, whenever the pineapples began to ripen, the natives would steal them. Otto could never keep a ripe pineapple for himself. This was a frustration, and he became angry with the natives. All during the seven-year period in which this took place, Otto preached the gospel to these natives, but never had a conversion.
The more the natives stole, the angrier Otto became. Finally, one day Otto had a German Shepherd dog flown in from another missionary to protect his pineapple garden after other frustrated efforts failed. This only further alienated the natives from him.
Otto took a furlough to the United States and attended a conference on personal rights. At this conference, he discovered that he was frustrated over this situation because he had taken personal ownership of his pineapple garden. After much soul searching, he gave his garden to God. Soon the natives started having problems among their tribe. They discovered that Otto was the reason for their problems because he gave his garden to his God. The natives saw a correlation between what Otto had done and their own lives being affected by calamities in their village. When Otto gave his garden to God, he no longer got angry and was free from worry. The natives started bringing him fruit from the garden because they didn’t want any more calamities to come into their village.
The light came on one day when a native said to Otto, “You must have become a Christian, Otto. You don’t get angry anymore. We always wondered if we would ever meet a Christian.” They had never associated Otto with the kind of person he was preaching about because his message did not line up with his life. Otto was broken in spirit when he realized he had been such a failure.
At the end of seven years, he witnessed his first conversion, and many began coming to Christ once he fully gave his garden to God. The fruit grew so abundant that Otto began exporting it and growing other types of fruit, such as bananas. His village became the most evangelized in the whole region, yet for seven years he had not one convert.
Otto realized something each of us must realize: To gain your life you must lose it, along with your possessions. It was only when he gave all his possessions to God that he became free from them. God measured back to him manifold once He had complete ownership.
I’ve realized Each area of life and everything we own must be wholly yielded to Christ before we can effectively make disciples for the kingdom of God. Recalling the immortal words of martyred missionary Jim Elliot, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
Do you have some ”pineapples” that you need to give up to God? Let Him have all that you have. Become a steward, not an owner. You will be surprised at how well God can take care of His possessions.
us with the pineapple farmer!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, take a minute to listen to this story. I promise you, you won’t be the same after.
