Happy Chinese New Year! China is one of the great loves of the Graham household. We have a very special place very near to our hearts for this great land and its vast population. For a while, our family lived and worked in Beijing and Shanghai, and we have so many fun memories of our time there. Our children, especially, speak with great fondness of China.
While we lived in China, our television options were very limited. We basically could watch Discovery Channel or National Geographic Channel, but we didn't mind very much because it afforded the opportunity to learn many interesting things, mostly targeted on Asia. One of the more fascinating stories we watched was about China's agriculture. We learned that back in the 1960's, during the Cultural Revolution, the agricultural region surrounding the city of Chengdu was blanketed with enormous amounts of pesticides. This area produces not only almost all of China's produce but also the produce for much of Asia. They are well know for their fruit trees, including Asian pears, apples and citrus. The thinking behind the pesticide was that, once and for all, they would rid China of pesky little bugs that ate the crops. It worked. But in so doing, they also killed all of the beneficial bugs, including the honey bees.
To this day, there are no bees in China. The amazing program that we watched followed farmers in the Chengdu area as they worked to pollinate the fruit trees. Thousands and thousand of acres of land in this area must be pollinated. How do they do it? When the fruit trees blossom, they lay tarps around the base of the trees, and then they daily knock the pollen off until all the pollen has been collected. They then take the dry pollen and put it in glass jars and label the location of collection. Next, workers get bamboo poles and tie a few rooster feathers on the end. They use these poles to dip into the glass jars and, by hand, pollinate hundreds of thousands of trees, each having thousand of blossoms. If you could see the vastness of the land and the uncountable trees thereon, you would be incredibly impressed. A taxi driver told us once that China may not have much but they do have people so they can accomplish anything.
From the moment that we watched this program, I admired the farmers and appreciated the fruit so much more. The task is incredible. It seems too great to accomplish, yet, every year, China feeds their own people and surrounding countries.
It puts me in mind of Matthew 9:38 which says, "Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field." If we look at the task of taking the Gospel to every person on the planet, the task seems great, indeed. But when I think of how a few little farmers outside of Chengdu can pollinate innumerable trees by hand, I think, there is no thing too great for our God to accomplish through us! A great man of God, Loren Cunningham, loves to ask this question: Do you believe that God can do anything? Without fail, we all answer, "Yes!" He then follows with this question: Do you believe that God can do anything through you? This is where our faith waivers. But we should jump to the same conclusion of a resounding, "Yes!"
We are workers in the fields of God's harvest! He created the trees, He knows the blossoms, the fruit is His, indeed! I am excited to be a part of the Great Commission! It is the most exciting thing on the planet! To the naked eye, it seems impossible, but we have a mighty God, and He has a mighty plan for harvest!
Today, please pray that the Lord of the harvest would continue to send His laborers into such places as China so that the Great Commission can be accomplished. And be sure to pick up your own bamboo poles wherever you are to help pollinate blossoms around you so that the fruit will be plentiful.
Menu suggestion: Buy a jar of local honey today, and make something wonderful. I love honey chicken. You can look up a good recipe online. It is a warm, buttery blend of honey and curry. Even kids love it!
Very good post - I had no idea China had no bees! We may have to learn how to do that here in the U.S., as I heard something about bees dying off??? Honey chicken sounds good, I'll have to look up the recipe.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, I'm praying this will be a very fruitful year for my household! But your post reminds me that the fruit doesn't come without some effort. My job is to be obedient.