This year, in Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia (to name a few of the hardest hit), the rains have not come. The farmers are confounded by the weather patterns, or rather, the lack thereof. Rains came early, and so a few risk takers planted in November and may get a bit of a harvest from the early planting. Typically, planting takes place in early December and so the traditionalists planted then. Those seeds did not germinate, as no rain came to water them until almost Christmas. Some sowed their seed in late December when a few rains moistened the soil. Those seeds had varying degrees of germination, resulting in fields that are mostly dry earth with a smattering of small plants here and there.

This year, in Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia the rains have not come. 

Three attempts to sow and one desperate hope for harvest. I say desperate because the people of Western Zambia have not had a good harvest for a couple of years and now this year will be even worse than the two previous.

I grew up in Western Michigan and spent almost every Saturday at my grandparent's farm in Hamilton, near Drenthe, Overisel, and Burnips. I grew up hearing, “knee high by Fourth of July” in reference to how tall the corn needed to be for a good harvest. It always was more than knee high. Always.

As we traveled throughout the Mwandi region, Ruairidh Waddell (Program Consultant) kept saying how nothing looked as it should. The grass should be taller than the cows, not the four or five inches it was. The maize should be taller than any of us, not the knee-height we observed. The maize also should not be tasseling at that height, the plants were not mature enough to produce a harvest. Even the road on which we traveled should not be there; it should be underwater at this time of year, as it is part of the riverbed. Nothing was as it should be. Nothing.

As we pulled into the community of Adonsi, people were walking away from the village center towards their homes. When they saw the World Renew vehicles coming, they changed course and returned to greet us. What happened next will forever remain in my heart. The people began to sing a song of welcome and thanks to World Renew for bringing them food in their time of need. (World Renew is currently feeding about 18,000 people in Western Zambia through funding from Canadian Foodgrains Bank.) The song was so joyful, it had nowhere to go but into dance. The dance was lively and full of laughter as the men raced in from one side and the women from the other. My husband, Theo, could not resist joining into the fray, and he added to the fun as he got caught up in the middle of all the feet.

With the greetings taken care of, the people began a new song. The deaconess of the United Church of Zambia stood next to me and translated the words. They were singing about the all encompassing, never failing love of God. “Just as God has His eye on the sparrow, He will watch over me. As God clothes and cares for the flowers of the field, He also will provide for us. Do not worry about what you will eat; God will take care of you. Do not worry about anything; He will provide for all your needs.”

I am not a worrier. Certainly, I have had times when things have unsettled me and I have tried to think my way through them. God has taught me through those times to trust Him and to set any anxiety and worry aside. Yet, as I heard the people of Adonsi sing the words of this verse to me, a verse that I fully believe in, I was humbled in my faith. I have suffered and walked through the valley of the shadow of death, but never through a valley of imminent starvation. How much faith would it take for my house to be empty of food, my field to be failing, and yet testify to the faithfulness of God and not worry? I will probably never have to find out. 

The people began to sing a song of welcome and thanks to World Renew for bringing them food in their time of need.

As we pulled out of Adonsi, I admit that I wanted the people to choose a different verse. Not worrying about tomorrow, not worrying about what you will eat or what you will wear did not seem like a good verse for this community. Isn’t there a verse that says plan for tomorrow, work extra hard today, so that you may save up, stockpile, and have a surplus for your family? That would be a better verse.

In fact, those of you who know the books of Matthew and Luke, will recall that in the sections immediately before the sparrow and the flowers teaching, Jesus warns us not to stockpile for ourselves. We are called to give to the needy. We are called not to worry about tomorrow, in the midst of our wealth and abundance; we are called to give it away. Do not be afraid. In your need, do not worry. In your abundance, do not fear. If we all lived out Jesus’ teachings, all would have their needs met through each other. That is the fullness of Jesus’ message — I am blessed that the people of Adonsi showed me Jesus in this way.

In Christ,

Carol Bremer-Bennett

Director
World Renew US