Harvesting longan fruit sounds fun & adventurous until you realize there’s triple the amount of trees you expected, 90 degree weather with 60% humidity, not enough workers & a crazy amount of ants. But, the harvest is ready now so we can’t wait. The fruit will be sold to contribute to the provision for a family of 14 towards food, clothes, clean water, school supplies, instruments & car maintenance. There comes a point where you can choose to watch the money (longan fruit) grow on your trees & shrivel up or choose to harvest the fruit with the limited resources you have that will provide in abundance.
Our team of five joined แม่ (mom) & ยาย (grandma) in the backyard our first two days with our new ministry host. You can imagine how hype we were to conquer these trees, gather all the fruit they needed & enjoy every moment. But, as any difficult job usually goes, exhaustion hit quicker than expected, the trees felt never ending & the amount of ants we were working through was more than our first world comfort of “cleanliness” desired to handle. But, the harvest was ready now so we couldn’t wait. If I was back home with a choice to harvest longan fruit all day long or not, I probably wouldn’t even think twice about my choice. Why was it different here? What made the work worth it?
Theres a story in the book of Matthew that explains the travels of Jesus. Jesus lived a life on mission, sharing the Good News about the Kingdom & healing the sick. He was constantly faced with crowds He described as “lost sheep without a shepherd”. They were confused & helpless. Today, these people would be those with no ambition, a misunderstanding of their purpose on earth, living by the world’s standards & not aware of the spiritual realm around them. This is a description of man without God. We have all been overcome by at least 1 of these characteristics at some point in our life or may currently be walking through all of them which remind us of our need for a great shepherd like God! In this story, Matthew 9:37-38 says, “He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”
There are so many lost sheep. We look around & see this everyday of our lives. There are unbelievers, people who haven’t been able to comprehend their meaning for life & struggle to love themselves. Jesus portrays an image in my head of a huge field of trees that are ready for harvesting. If we wait, we may pass up the opportunity to receive the fruit that God blessed us with. The fruit will dry up, lose its taste & be good for nothing because it won’t get to be used for its purpose. As this image is portrayed in my mind, I see the seven of us standing while looking out into the field. I first see the cost. I see the sacrifice it will take: the tiredness that will soon overcome me, the level of dirt i’m comfortable with, the heat & the amount of trees versus harvesters. The harvest really is great & it’s true, the workers are few.
What moves me from a place of despair to hope is what is on the other side. It’s the purpose or meaning behind the harvest. It wasn’t to just teach me discipline, perseverance & service. God used us as workers in the field for impact in the bigger picture. I could’ve been distracted & solely focused on my needs, only able to see the tangible but instead, I invited the Lord into my work. I postured myself to understand how the Lord would use this sacrifice for His good. It was finally worth it. In reality, after tucking away pride, the sacrifice was small & insignificant though it felt big in the moment.
What I was able to give up, made room to invite others to the table. It created a way to provide for the needs of an entire family who are creating disciples of Jesus. Without clothes, they wouldn’t be able to go to school & learn for their future selves, without the instruments, some may miss out on the intimacy they get to have with God through worship & we all know what happens without food on the table.
I didn’t physically get much out of harvesting longan besides an occasional snack while working. Was it still worth it? Yes. What I got out of harvesting was a deeper understanding of the importance of the few workers in our world. The question isn’t, “Is the sacrifice of a worker worth it?” Instead, the question is, “Are you willing to be a worker in His field no matter the cost?”
This is all for the sake of the world knowing Jesus. Like I said before, this isn’t to teach a lesson about discipline & perseverance. Sure, you may takeaway a few pointers but the main focus here is relationship with our Father. It’s about bringing people to the feet of God for the purpose of reconciliation.
Last Monday, I prayed God would send more workers into the field after finding out we had more days of harvesting ahead of us. God answered that prayer by sending the son of our host to chop down all of the super high up branches & also provided us ant killer spray. But more than that, God gave me revelation of the appreciation that He has for those who wake up & say “yes” to Him every morning. It’s a joy to say “yes” & I will continue to do so until the day I pass away, no matter the cost.
Just like we needed more hands to harvest longan fruit, we need more willing sons & daughters of Christ who desire to see others experience God for themselves! The harvest is ready. People are ready to hear the gospel NOW & there’s SO many who have yet to hear. The evidence is shown through generations of identity crisis, depression, suicide rates, loneliness, divorce rates & so much more. There are so many who are even completely unaware of the gifts that they carry that will make a huge impact in this world. We need YOU to help boldly reveal who God created those people to be. Being a worker in the harvest is bound to change the world for generations to come.
Please pray with me that God would continue to send more workers into His field. Pray that He would continue revealing His heart for His people & that we would choose to adopt it. Pray that He would awaken you & I to bringing His gospel with us everywhere we go, saying “yes” to everything He asks of us.
With love,
P
