Spring is in full swing here on the North coast and the farm is literally bursting at the seams with the evidence of God’s provision and blessing. The three year old oil palms, once barely noticeable against the background of tall grass and brambles, have overtaken the 23 acres that make up the North farm. Their frawns stretching out to one another as if to hold hands. Presenting their first fruits, each tree displays burnt orange colored clusters of palm kernels. Each cluster providing much needed income to help maintain the physical and spiritual healing ministry of the hospital. Down the road on the East farm, the two year old palm trees are joyfully maturing through their adolescence. Joined by 200 freshly planted seedlings, this 16 acre palmera will, God willing, begin to bear fruit next year. All told the almost 40 acres of African oil palm planted over the last 3 years on Finca Loma de Luz has the potential to provide self-sustaining and significant income support and possibly even energy independence for the hospital and children’s center.

Although oil palm production is the cornerstone of the Finca Loma de Luz farm plan, each crop and animal has an important role to play, not just in providing food and income, but also in providing nutrition, protection and ecological balance. A case in point are the flocks of sheep and broiler chickens that work in concert with each other to help feed the palms, control weed competition and reduce insect and parasite problems. Our small flock of sheep has grown in the last month with the births of 6 lambs. These sheep graze the palm alleys and turn once out of control weeds into delicious and nutritious meat. Last month we butchered three nice sized lambs (about 90 lbs. each) and local demand for the meat was impressive. In fact we sold it all before yours truly got his share. Behind the sheep come our pastured boiler chickens. These amazing birds grow from fuzzy little chicks to almost 5 lb monsters in just 6 weeks. The birds spend their first 2 weeks of life in a large brooding pen and then the next 4 weeks live in bottomless pens, called “chicken tractors’. These chicken tractors are moved each day giving the birds a clean environment, which eliminates the need to use prophylactic antibiotics, and allows the birds to scratch and snack on the parasite grubs that the sheep leave behind in their manure. Thus the chickens get free protein to help them grow and our sheep enjoy less intestinal parasite problems. Every 2 weeks we travel to the bus station in La Ceiba to pick up another batch of 100 day old chicks, and every 2 weeks we butcher a mature batch of 100 broilers providing all of the hospital’s and children center’s meat needs and giving us roughly 200 lbs of healthy, hormone and antibiotic free meat to sell in the local community.

And so the symphony of life is performed on the farm. Our hearts sing along. We praise God for his provision. We worship Him along with all of creation. Like children happily calling out “De’ me un pepino” we lift our smiling faces and tug on God’s shirt tail, knowing something refreshing and wonderful is about to come from His hand.

We have much to praise God about on the farm this fall. He has blessed our efforts, protected our crops and animals and minimized the consequences of my mistakes. We have butchered over 1,500 chickens this season, harvested by hand over a ton of rice, provided eggs to the children’s center, planted our first greenhouse crops, and just last week, butchered our first lamb.  The palms are looking great and putting on bundles of fruit that, God willing, we will harvest next year.  All in all we are very grateful.

While all of these things are gratifying and give us a sense of accomplishment, on their own merit they are not the important things.

I don’t have to tell you that.  You know well that the things that are most important in our journey with Christ are not measured by the pound or balanced on a ledger and yet, when we look back at where our focus was we often see the shadows of a set of scales and a calculator.

Did I love?

Did Jesus’ love flow through me?

One of the tough lessons of the last few months has been to remember that love is not just a feeling, it is action – not just action on a grand scale, but action down to the most mundane task.

I have a choice each time I turn a compost pile, pluck a chicken or fix a fence.  I have a choice each time I talk with a co-worker, give a person a ride into town or visit a family in the sticks. I have a choice when I do school work with the girls, talk to my wife, send a note to a friend.

That choice is love.

Setting my heart in the direction of my hands.

This simple choice turns chicken plucking, long hikes to a village and chats with my wife into love. Unless these tasks become love they have no value, (See Corinthians 13) and, without value, they are not fit to offer as sacrifices of praise and worship.

Can the world tell the difference between a chicken plucked in love and one plucked out of duty to complete a task? Honestly I don’t think so. Maybe our countenance changes a bit but really … It is our Lord who knows the difference.  He sees our heart and smiles as His children bring him little treasures.

So, our ministry is refocused. Chickens still get plucked, families still learn better farming methods and children still learn history, but something bigger takes place.

Thy kingdom comes!

Father, set my heart in the direction of my hands.