...or at least she's incredibly naive. That's the word on the street these days anyway. I had this pointed out to me not once, but twice this morning. Folks in the city think I'm nuts for not having given up and walked away from Santa Barbara, while folks in Santa Barbara think I'm just plain stupid for not having solved the neighbor's fence issue with a bribe. But you know what? I think I'm ok with it. In fact, it just might be a good thing. See, when people come up to the widows in the program or to my workers and ask how things are going on the land and if the fence issue has been solved, they have to respond with the obvious truth that no, the fence that blocks our driveway is still there. That invariably leads people to ask, "Why won't the gringa just pay a bribe? She's rich! She could have solved this thing a long time ago. Obviously, she doesn't know how things work here."
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This is obviously an old picture since that building is nearly
finished, but today Rogelio cut down that matazano tree that the
arrow is pointing to for lack of good fruit. That leaves quite a
nice space available for the new greenhouse.
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And here's the beauty of that situation: it gives my widows and workers the opportunity to explain why I will not pay a bribe and what the Bible says about how Christians should be different and live with integrity. The downside is that I get to look foolish in front of a whole lot of people for a while, and I have to tell you that stings a little bit. The way I see it though, I only have two choices: I can try to fix this issue in my own strength, or I can wait on the Lord. The Bible is filled with examples of each of those scenarios: Abraham and Sarah tried to fix things themselves and created havoc and heartache for a lot of people. David waited on the Lord and was made king. Waiting on the Lord is obviously the better choice in the long run, although temporarily very difficult. In this case, it's hard on the ego. But God is gracious. He has given us joy and purpose even in the waiting. We've been kept plenty busy even with the entrance blocked. We've nearly finished a big building, and now we're starting a gardening project. Rogelio and I sat on cement blocks down by the shed today and made plans for all kinds of things that don't hinge on whether the neighbor's fence remains or not. Next week we will build a greenhouse. When that's up, I have selected three of the widows who are interested in gardening to come learn with us how to select seed, plant, care for, and harvest peanuts. The neighbors can block our driveway, but they can't stop us from working our land, hard as they try. God has always provided a way in, even if it's an odd way. In the meantime, looking stupid is a small price to pay for the opportunity to develop a good testimony in a hard community.
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This picture is also a couple of months old, but it gives the lay of the land to the new
friends we have following the Loving InDeed ministry.
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