Over the past two years, I've tried on several occasions to plant and grow different types of fruits and vegetables. In Bangkok, I met with some less that desirable results when I spent 4 months growing some great looking tomato plants on the porch of our apartment. I worked hard to get those babies to have some fruit. I watched over them every day and even bought a special sprayer to put "mist"on the leaves to help them grow. I rarely even allowed the kids to water them. I had about 8 plants with about 10-15 tomatoes on each plant. One weekend we took a trip to Surin for three days. I returned eagerly to check on the condition of my beloved tomatoes. (We had still not been able to eat one yet.) I rushed in the door, turned on the porch light and much to my sheer horror, the plants had been DESTROYED! Not just hurt but destroyed. A specialized team of assassins had crawled down an A/C pipe and devoured every single tomato on the vines. Rats! Literally and figuratively. (I caught them later that week and I'll spare you the details of what I did to them to get my revenge.)
Once we moved to Surin, I plowed up a nice patch for a garden. I made nice rows added in some good dirt that I bought. I was totally excited because about a week after there were rows and rows of little plants popping through the soil. Then, they just stopped growing. After a few weeks, they all died. I later planted watermelons on the other side of the yard. After a promising start, they to just stopped growing and died.
But, there are those rare success stories. I planted some passion fruit that a friend gave me. There were two small 4 inch plants that have grown and grown and grown. They are actually a vine and have grown to almost 12 feet long on some of the vines. Maybe we'll see some fruit after all.
As I think about these things, I'm reminded that ministry here in Thailand bares a striking resemblance. We work and work and work and just when it seems like we'll see some fruit, it's stolen right out from under us. Then at other times we labor and do everything right but nothing comes from it. But, the best times are when we sow and water and suddenly a tiny little plant begins racing from the ground. Without any human explanation, it just grows and grows and grows. We don't treat it any different than all the other plants, but it just takes root and grows.
The "fruit" of converts and disciples of Christ here in Thailand is rare. But when it comes, it's very precious.
