Dear Friends,
The rains have returned and the villagers are busy planting.
I'd like to tell you a story that has been unfolding over the past year or so. I have a garden in the village of Butagaya, near the original Bible class that I began teaching. Last year at this time, I was going there every Monday to teach. Following the training each week, I would go to the garden and work before coming back to town.
One day a neighbor near the garden asked if he could do some work for me during the week and get paid on Monday when I came to the garden. I hired him. His name was Daniel. I was happy with what he'd accomplished during the week, so I kept him on. As time passed, I began to notice that produce was disappearing from the garden. A pineapple, several acorn squash. One day when I came to work all the coffee had been harvested. Several avocado trees I had transplanted also went missing. One Monday I transplanted two pomegranate trees. Daniel was there at the time and I explained to him the kind of fruit that they give (it was new to him). The following week the two trees were gone. There are many people around the area of the garden, so I could not be sure who was stealing, but I was fairly certain it was Daniel.
I eventually decided to address the issue of stealing with him. I spoke in general terms about how God views a thief. I quoted from 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 which says that the thieves will not inherit the kingdom of God. I told him that the garden had been given to God and that anyone who stole from it would have to deal with Him. After listening, Daniel assured me that he was not a thief and we went on with our work of planting beans. When the work for the day was done, I gave Daniel a ride to the nearby trading center. As Daniel opened the car door and climbed out of the car, the side of his pants slid against the edge of the seat and beans came spraying out of his pocket in full view of everyone in the car. They were the same beans that we had planted just minutes before. He muttered something hastily about having been planting the same beans in his garden that morning and took off.
Do you believe in miracles? I bet you could climb out of a car one thousand times with beans in your pocket and never lose one, but on that day, the beans that Daniel had stolen in secret were exposed for everyone to see. I'm sure that Daniel was awed by the power of God. I had just told him that morning how God views stealing and he had decided to steal anyway. More than six months have passed now, and nothing has gone missing from the garden.
Daniel no longer works in my garden, but I continue to see him from time to time. This past Saturday I passed his place and I noticed that his tomato plants were dried and withered. It had not rained in the area for 3 weeks. I told him that I was praying for rain. On Monday I was on the way to my garden when Daniel saw me and came running through his garden. "God heard your prayers!" It had rained heavily the night before.
God wants Daniel. He is calling him to Himself. Will you pray that Daniel will respond?
The training is continuing well. The new classes have just completed their first term of studies and have covered the stories from Creation through the Exodus from Egypt and the Golden Calf. Term 2 will begin next week. We would appreciate your prayers for continued spiritual growth and hunger for the Lord amongst the students.
We are excited to have two young men join the work here beginning the end of June. Hans Tanner and Micah Berger will be coming to join us, and they plan to stay for a year. We are really looking forward to their partnership. Please be in prayer for them as they make preparations to come.
We are grateful for your prayers and your partnership.
All because of Him,
Nate Jore and family
