Cultivation in many forms

“How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existence.”  -Benjamin Disraeli

“Plants give us oxygen for the lungs and for the soul.”  -Linda Solegato

“You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.” -Abraham Lincoln

Lately I have gotten my hands dirty with the art of gardening.  We have two huertos here at the albergue, one smaller one in which the kids and Susannah, one of the volunteers, do much of the work, and a  larger one that is handled more so by one of the workers (Marcos) and myself.  We have an assortment of plants, from tomatoes and lucuma, to lettuce, cilantro, and pepinillo!

At first gardening just bugged me because it seemed like its only component was weeding the soil; not the most exciting part of your day.  But then it revealed itself as more detailed and delicate, and I have since realized it as an intrinsically beautiful process.  Each plant has its own specific needs and requires a particular type of care.  For example, something I recently did was help set up an apparatus so that our pepinillo plants could grow vertically.  Another example:  I constructed a sort of shield for various avocado plants.  And of course, the watering must be monitored, along with fumigation, nutrient intake, and freedom from weeds.

But the benefits one reaps from gardening are numerous.  Besides from the physical and economical advantages (and not to mention the quality of the fruit and vegetables), there is an internal blossoming that occurs inside the gardener.   The process of tending to the land, caring for it, monitoring it, and seeing the joyous result of the fruit of the labor (chiefly the work of the earth) evokes a desire to continue in this inherently glorious undertaking.  Just as the plants are on their way to maturation, a seed has been planted inside of me and a love for gardening is being cultivated.

It really is a bit uncanny the process of gardening because it is a delicate, internal joy one receives, as if it unlocks something deep inside of you.   I believe that God created us as well as the plants and animals.  We were created by Him the Creator.  Therefore, perhaps when we lend our hands in growing these plants, we access another trait of the Creator who formed us.

Gardening can certainly be likened to our interaction and hearts for the children here.  We try to train them, discipline them, provide for them and love them so that they grow up well, and we see the progress bit by bit.  Recently I’ve begun to tutor an 11-year old boy named Samir.  Samir is smart kid that has some issues with exerting himself and anger.  He also is a very closed person in that he has a hard time accepting love and believing that people want the best for him.  He and I usually start things off with some sort of recreational activity, move onto his homework, occasionally do a little pleasure reading, and then close in prayer.  The first time with him was very tough, as he didn’t want to cooperate and just shut down.  However, praise God, our time together has been developing, and though my hope is that our relationship deepens, we enjoy more quality time together, he’s generally happier, his behavior has improved, and he’s been doing better in school.  Just like a plant, the fruit can be seen bit by bit.  However, there is still a long way to go, and I would appreciate keep us in your prayers.

It’s no coincidence we can learn a lot from plants.  Jesus also talks about them quite a bit, including in His explanation of the parable of the sower and abiding in Him as He is the true vine.

I’d like to share with you an anecdote that serves as another example of growing up.  Recently Marita, an energetic and rambunctious girl here, slammed a door in her casita, and Rosario, a sprightly housemate of Marita’s, happened to be right by.  Well, Rosario was left with a significant cut on the eye brow and had to go to a clinic to get stitches.  However, her brother Pedro bubbled with wrath as a result of this accident and frankly wanted to knock Marita out.  I talked with him that night and he was running on strict emotion, his anger taking the driver’s seat.  Thank God, he didn’t go after her, and the next day I got to have a good conversation with him.  He no longer wanted to hit her, and we talked about how anger can overcome you.  I empathized with him, sharing that I’ve experienced the same flooding sensation of fury, and we talked about how Jesus wants us to offer the other cheek instead of hitting back.  It was amazing to converse with him about an important subject and see the night and day change in him from less than 24 hours before.  He even expressed that this albergue is a blessing.  Pedro has a good heart that is blossoming, and it is in moments like these that you see the fruits of the labor being done here at Hogar de Esperanza.

That’s it for this post folks!  Please keep us all here in your thoughts and prayers, we are always in need of the latter!

And of course, enjoy some photos!