Story by Heather Moline, Experience Mission Immersion Staff
Throughout his ministry, Jesus used simple stories to communicate deep truths. And if you read through the New Testament you'll notice that many of these stories center around agricultural principles. Which makes sense considering Jesus's audience was the working class: fishermen, farmers, carpenters, and mothers. When he spoke about weeds, soil, and the harvest, they understood him clearly. But as someone who lives in the 21st century and has spent most of my life in suburbia, farming concepts are a little foreign to me. I have tried to understand Jesus's words, but the full impact of his message has always fallen flat for me.
Then I came to South Africa and began working on a farm. Throughout our six weeks in the Western Cape, we've had the opportunity to harvest sweet potatoes, plant new vines, and prune vineyards alongside local workers. The work has been tiring. No, exhausting. We've spent whole days on our hands and knees, pulling sweet potatoes out of the earth one-by-one. The tidy rows and quiet fields that once looked so charming began to feel endless, as if you're looking into a mirror, looking into a mirror, looking into a mirror. There is so much work to be done!
And, oh, the pruning. It seems simple. Our instructions: Trim the wild branches, get rid of the loose ones without any buds. But then after a few clips, your hands begin to ache and the branches which seemed so frail and lifeless seem to cling in violent protest. They refuse to be cut off. Then you cut the wrong branch and hear a voice behind you in Afrikaans explaining that you have made a terrible mistake, at least, you think that's what they've said. The local workers chuckle at your error and continue working at their super-human pace. How do they do this job so effortlessly?
Despite the difficulties, we have learned to laugh at ourselves and have even developed some technique. And I am convinced that there is something spiritual about getting dirt underneath your fingernails. I believe that God has something to teach us when the muscles in our hands ache from pruning--muscles that we didn't even know existed before.
"I am the vine, you are the branches" Jesus said, "If you remain in me and I remain in you, you will produce much fruit. But without me, you can do nothing." (John 15:5) In the middle of our afternoon pruning, it hit me. Now I understand first-hand what he meant. Sometimes the wild, unruly or unproductive areas in our life must be cut out. And it's a difficult process. Sometimes Jesus has to humble us and remind us that without him we are nothing but dry, lifeless branches laying in the field after pruning season. But our time on the farm has done more than make Biblical principles come to life. Our mere presence in the fields is making an impact in the community.
South Africa's history of racial segregation and strife is well-known. Words like Apartheid and figures like Nelson Mandela are familiar, even to those in the U.S. who don't stay up-to-date on international affairs. And although the country has collectively made huge progress over the last two decades, there are still racial and social barriers that exist--especially in small farm towns.
The fact that our team of Americans (make that "white Americans") is working side-by-side with local people communicates something incredibly important. We are here to learn, serve, and build relationships. That's it. We don't care about the color of your skin or the size of your paycheck. We want to feel the same pain you feel from working on your hands and knees all day. We want to get the same scratches on our hands, the same cramp in our forearms. And somehow, by experiencing this kind of life together, we realize that we are the same. We all laugh and cry. We all have families and problems and dreams. We all must shake the dirt off our clothes at the end of the day.
Our local partner, Madalie, is a full-time mother and full-time farmer, overseeing the farm that has been in her family for several generations. We've learned so much from her about farming techniques and the challenges of her industry. She says that the team's presence on the farm has not only been a help and encouragement to her during this busy season, but she has noticed a visible change in the morale of the workers. Madalie works tirelessly to ensure that her farm is productive and that her workers are also treated fairly. She has a personal relationship with them and says that the team's presence has affirmed them as people, proving that the hard work they do is valuable, that they are valuable.
The team's experience on the farm is just more proof that when we live radically and intentionally, following after Jesus and loving people--he can do big things through us. So our challenge from half-way across the world is "do what he asks." Remain in him and he can do big things through you. But be ready, he may ask you to prune a few vineyards along the way!
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