[Sustainability, eco-friendly, organic, going green, naturally living]
Those terms aren’t new to me.
In college, I worked for a non-profit that plants community gardens in food deserts. [food desert: a place where fresh, healthy, and affordable food is not easily accessible].
We as a non-profit are activists that teach people how to grow their own food. “Damayan’s mission [the non-profit] enables pragmatic change toward a sustainable future”. Truth is, food deserts are all around the world. Unfortunately- organic, seasonal food is not an everyday privilege for all. [& even when, it’s expensive]
This heavy knowledge sparked a passion in me years ago and still does today.
How does this relate to Draganesti-Olt, Romania?
The unemployment rate is at 50%. Due to the lack of jobs, people are leaving the city and/or country to find work just so they can provide for their families.
Hope Church in Romania has created a sustainable project [A Fishing Rod Not a Fish]. This project provides training and resources for families to start their own self- sustaining micro businesses. [this includes: honeybee hives, greenhouses and goat/cow farms].
“We exist as a Christ center community outreach seeking to develop self-sustaining communities starting in Romania and reaching out to all nations”- Hope Church
It is safe to say, I fell in love with this project. [it was a piece of home]
To give a man a fish is to nourish him for a moment, which leaves him hungry for more. To give a man a fishing rod is giving him the skills, resources, and the support he needs to sustain overtime. The fishing rod represents abundant life.
[Let me go on a hippie rant:] The Earth is our gift from God. Yes, we are called to be in the world and not of the world. [In other words: don’t let the world pollute your thoughts and behaviors]. BUT I believe the land we live on is God’s gift to us so we can support [love] our family and neighbors.
A sunrise can support someone through a bad day, the smell of pine trees can heal someone’s negative thoughts, and the rich soil can produce a harvest that feeds a hungry family. God is creative in His creation.
“You cause the grass to grow for livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth” Psalms 104:14
As children of God, we inherit the land. All that is His is ours. “He rewards the meek with inheritance of the earth” [Psalm 37:11]
[that’s crazy!]
Each sunset you see, that is yours.
Each mountain you climb, that is yours.
Each strawberry you grow, that is yours.
The land you walk on, that is yours.
LET’S USE OUR INHERITANCE FOR GOOD!
[end of rant].
There is joy when you harvest the fruits of your labor. It is so much more than eating a vegetable. It is the idea that you are capable of providing life off the land you have been given. It’s acknowledging that you won’t run dry.
“A garden requires patient labor and attention, plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expanded effort on them.” – Liberty Hyde Bailey
God is growing my passion into a deeper love.
[A lot can happen in a garden.]
Check out: https://www.facebook.com/HOPEafishingrod
PHOTOS: https://HannahMenzies.exposure.co/give-a-man-a-fishing-rod
