Sep 22 2007
In My Neighbor’s Garden–Friday Fotos
Technically this is still Friday on my clock, although much of the world has already passed over to Saturday. I still have a few minutes in which to post my "Friday Fotos" pick. Let me tell you a bit about this shot.
I took this picture yesterday in my neighbor's garden. Since we moved in almost two months ago, I have been appreciating the huge sunflowers our neighbor has cultivated. I have no problem with coveting in this case. I don't like to garden enough so I can appreciate the beauty of another's hard work without becoming jealous. Anyway, I saw our neighbor working the soil and beginning to harvest his many sunflowers yesterday afternoon. It is that time of year and these gorgeous flowers are near the end of the season. My neighbor must have over a hundred of these fascinating flowers. I was a little curious why he had so many. I have wanted to both introduce myself to him and also ask if I could photograph his specimens since we moved in. Yesterday was the day.
My neighbor is from Zambia. That is a little country in sub-Sahara Africa. Maybin, my neighbor, has been in the US for about 10 years and has five children. He uses his yard, both back and front, as a "lab" for his agricultural experiments. He began to tell me the story of how he has established a non-profit organization to help experiment, discover ways to develop high yields of agricultural products for small plots of land and then teach others how to employ his discoveries.
He asked me what I did and I immediately told him I was a pastor and have lived and worked overseas for a good part of my adult life. Actually, I am a quasi-pastor but in light of having been a pastor in the states this often is an easy way to start a conversation with a stranger. Mission work takes a long time to explain and the uninitiated sometimes stop the conversation after I tell them that little piece of information. Anyway, as I told him who I was he began to beam, flashing me a huge smile. He then proceeded to tell me that his goal with his projects was to help the church and others who need what he has to offer. Interesting. Very interesting I thought.
God has placed us in a unique neighborhood and guided our steps even down to this kind of detail. One of my other neighbors is from Iran and we have struck up some interesting conversations already. So, as I sit here tonight in my couch, I continue to be amazed at how God leads and the way he weaves the tapestry of our lives together with his Kingdom work. I hope to have my new neighbor over for coffee sometime. He used to grow Arabica beans back in Zambia. He didn't know they were so treasured until he came to the US and found Starbucks!
What a joy and adventure to serve and follow God, most days anyway. So, have a great weekend. My clock tells me it is now Saturday.
