Author of Today’s Post is Karie
Today was the second day of our mission trip in Omaha, and the first day of working in The Big Garden. When we woke up, we enjoyed a hearty breakfast of breakfast burritos, strawberries, and banana bread before getting ready for our big day at the garden. When we arrived, the lovely people greeted us kindly spent time telling us a little bit about the history and purpose of Big Garden. We learned about food deserts, the reasons that people sometimes choose unhealthy food over healthy, fresh food because they can’t afford it, and how community gardens fill the gap for people without access. Then, we started our work in the lower garden where we planted a row of eggplants, basil, and tomatoes. We all worked together to get that done and moved quickly to pulling the weeds. We all got to work together and worked hard to get it done making sure to not pull up the vegetables they planted. We got to eat lunch at a picnic table in the shade, enjoying a little downtime from all our hard work that morning. After our lunch we did two activities that helped us understand what they do in the Big Garden. The Director explained to us how their organization works and what they are really trying to accomplish to help alleviate poverty in their city by creating sustainable food systems for those most in need. We finished our day with laying some irrigation and trellises for the small, but rapidly growing plants. Tonight during devotions we talked about how God works in our lives when we least expect it and how much he is helping us by cultivating us like we do when we cultivate a garden. We learned that we need to trust God and let Him help us in our lives.
We are excited to see what lessons we will learn through our work tomorrow!