For those that missed a blog post last weekend, I apologize for that. Ronda and I traveled to Columbus, Ohio, where we got to see Ahmed and others we love dearly, and it didn't work out for me to do a post.
We got the picture I used today from a Zambian leader earlier this week. Let me emphasize: this picture is NOT an Iowa cornfield. This field is in Zambia. They are so grateful for the training and support they have been receiving!! As I type this, four of our guys are in the east - somewhere within the Mambwe or Chipata area - meeting with leaders and growers to really get the harvest acquisition season under way. The logistics of acquiring as much maize as possible, starting with 400 specific small growers, is pretty challenging, and I am grateful to all six of the guys on our team for their efforts to follow my crazy directions - all with a goal of impacting as many Zambian brothers and sisters as possible by filling just a little bit of the deficit they experience related to food. Still a long several weeks ahead for that effort!!
Over the last 2 weeks we have collected additional funds for the harvest effort so that we now have around $115,000 in the bank (or already sent to Zambia). We also think we have maybe another $15,000 coming shortly. That will put us at a total of around $130,000. That is AMAZING, considering that last year we sent over right at $140,000, with $80,000 of that coming from one non-recurring source. THANK YOU to all who have participated, and all who are still keeping an eye on us with a potential for jumping in when the time is right for you.
Besides thinking about the Zambian harvest, this week I attended both a funeral and a wedding. Last weekend in Columbus I was able to spend time with two boys less than a year old and another just a bit older. Friday, I attended both a baseball game and a birthday party for a 13-year-old grandson. Life. It is long or short, depending upon your perspective. Life on this planet as a human is a finite term, and we don't know what will come next. I had no idea five years ago the direction my life has taken since. Ten years ago, there was ZERO indication we might wind up traveling to Africa ever in this lifetime. Yet here we are. Life. What is the purpose? What does it all mean?
There are many ideas about that. You may think you KNOW the answer to that question. I have given up on that kind of certainty. I don't think it serves me or anyone else well.
Here is what I believe about that: LOVE IS the answer. LOVE is always the answer. Now that doesn't mean the application of love is always easy to figure out!!
In the case of this work in Zambia, however, it is pretty simple for my mind to wrap around: We in American have varying degrees of "way more than we need." Our brothers and sisters in Africa are struggling to eat. LOVE directs us to feed them. So that is what we will continue to do.
I will continue to keep you posted on how the harvest effort is working to accomplish that love application.
