In Genesis 47:19, the people are saying that they “don’t want to be slaves to Pharaoh,” only using their land to benefit him, but are asking instead, “Give us seed so that we can live and not die, and so that the land won’t become desolate.”

There is great freedom and liberty and victory when you can plant just a small seed then shortly reap a good harvest. This morning, our ATC staff brought in this great harvest of cabbage, lettuce, hot peppers, okra, and parsley for the Children’s Home kitchen. Each of these welcomed foods started from a mere seed. Those seeds were donated to us by the Hope Seeds International ministry, and we are so grateful to Dave and Maxine Balsbaugh for our “fruitful” partnership.

Because of the work and skill of our Agricultural Training Center staff and the wonderful seeds donated by Hope Seeds, our land is no longer desolate but instead is continuously yielding harvests like this one. The men who are now growing this food came from broken conditions but now are skilled at gardening and providing food for our kitchens. Bobby told me that the children are already excited to have this fresh cabbage and okra for lunch today. Because of our generous donors and supporters, these children get three nutritious meals a day. We will be also be taking these Hope Seeds to south Haiti where we are building the Gabion houses.

God bless, and we wish you a rich harvest as well.

Rad Hazelip, Assistant Executive Director