Bob Clark Harvests Corn with the Locals

Good Shepherd attendees heard sermons on soil, seeding, and weeds the last few weeks.  Here in El Salvador today we were reminded of how God’s people tend their crops, faced the challenges of growing and harvesting their bounty, and finally how they gladly shared the produce they cared for and nurtured during the last growing season.

  

It was with pleasure I had the privilege of visiting neighbor of Francisco, Jackie, and their son as they harvested the yearly corn crop.  Maize, or corn as we call it, in the Midwest is planted in the spring, grows and matures during the summer, and is harvested in early fall.  Illinois farmers talk of hybrid seed, 24 row planters, and large green combines with the capacity to harvest grain almost faster than the eye can follow.

Today we saw two women (one with a small child) and a young boy harvesting grain manually.  The stalks were cut by hand and left on the hillside to protect the soil over winter and provide some minimal fertilizer. The sacks of corn were carried up the hill on the women’s backs. The crop harvested today looked a lot like what we call Indian corn, the cob smaller than ours, and the plant population similar to what we might have planted when I was growing up and watching my Dad plant corn with horses. 

Saying that, the crop today was harvested by noon, boiled and served in the husk and a portion brought out to the construction site this afternoon to share with the workers (our Thrivent Build team) who were constructing a new dwelling for their neighbors.

There have been a lot of highlights to consider as this El Salvador trip draws to an end; the worship and love we shared at Christo Rey church, the joy of meeting and getting to know our faith partners, Francisco, Jackie, and Josua as we all worked on their new home, and so many other people we’ve interacted with this week.  A key remembrance for me will be the chance opportunity to visit in a cornfield, to share common stories of a simple corn plant, and realizing that that farm family was not only willing but happy to share a part of their crop (in the bag above) in the with strangers from a faraway land.  The parables our Lord told as recorded in Matthew seemed a lot closer today.