“Your conference blew me away!”

“Your conference blew me away!”

This was coming from a Professor of Pastoral Studies at Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST) during a visit over lunch about 10 days ago in the school cafeteria. He was telling us of his own longstanding concern for the environment in Kenya. He has land – a family farm, we would say – a couple of hours east of Nairobi, and he has been planting trees there for many years. As with many of his generation (I would guess he is in his fifties), he has watched the population explode and creation collapse throughout his homeland. An academic with a Ph. D. from a western university, he is as aware and knowledgeable as anyone of theology, economics and environmental issues.

But when he attended a Care of Creation conference several years ago – one of the first events our young organization sponsored – he found himself thinking about God, his creation and our responsibility in entirely new ways. The result has been a transformation in his own thinking, and importantly, a conviction on his part that this message, that God’s people must care for God’s creation, needs to be heard and understood by every student attending NEGST. His students are the future leaders of the church in Africa – tomorrow’s pastors, professors, bishops and archbishops.

We’ve been telling you that we are trying to mobilize the Church to respond to the environmental crisis – and my recent trip to Kenya showed me in a variety of ways that it’s happening. From key leaders like my friend at NEGST to ordinary Christian farmers, the message is getting across: If we care for God’s creation – as he told us to – God’s creation will care for us.

Some brief highlights from Kenya…

Among the many encouraging things I saw on this brief stay were a number of visits to places where tree planting has been remarkably successful. I’ve been telling people that tree planting is a slow process; we’re going to need years to show concrete results. But I found some trees a year old that were fifteen feet tall. A seedling I planted myself with great ceremony in front of a couple of hundred school children in January 2007 is now taller than I am. A church in Limuru, not far from our project headquarters, has a small forest of trees where before there was nothing. A school’s playground, formerly just a dusty square, now has several dozen trees and has been pleasantly divided by walkways and enhanced with flowers.

Our harvesting God’s water installation (gutters and a concrete storage tank installed about two years ago by friends from Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis) is functioning well. It captures water from less than 20% of the available roof area, but still provides water for the school’s tree nursery and for the students through much of the dry season. Rainfall in this area continues to be unpredictable and erratic, and this extra water is an important cushion in uncertain times.

Farming God’s way has, once again, given us a record harvest of some 14 times the average measured in tons per hectare on one of our test plots. Disappointingly, in several other plots the seeds planted were discovered by some of God’s creatures (spring hares, a large local rodent) before they had a chance to germinate and grow. We are discovering what farmers in Africa have known for generations – it is not easy to coax the tired African soil into producing food, even with promising new ideas like the FGW program. And it takes time – a loss of a batch of seed like this means a loss of an entire year, since this particular neighborhood only has enough rain to produce one crop every 12 months. For us, this means the frustration of having to wait a year to try again. For our farmer friends in this community, loss of a field of seed means 12 months of being very, very hungry.

Our Kenya team has been augmented in recent weeks. Dorcas Mburu has joined the office staff as Administrator and will be providing important office and logistical support to Craig and Francis, while Jan Korbel has just finished a language course in Tanzania and assumes several key roles nicely lumped together under the title of Special Projects Coordinator. Tracey Sorley continues to function as part time accountant and business manager while also homeschooling Nathan and Aaron. Thank you for your continued prayers for this team as they learn to work together and continue to expand their collective vision.

Meanwhile, back in Madison…

We’re also about to expand our team on this side of the world. As I write to you, Fred and Stacey Gluck are enroute to the upper Midwest from Vermont, with all of their worldly possessions following close behind. This wonderful couple, coming at their own expense, will provide vital administrative and business support to free me to do more of what God has called me to do in terms of speaking, writing and developing a strategic plan for carrying our message [ You’ve got it, now, right? …mobilizing the church…] forward to as many places as quickly as possible.

And that includes the UK, where Jason and Nancy Goodden will be opening a Care of Creation office in September in close partnership with A Rocha UK. We’ll have more on this exciting development in the near future.

What would you have said?

You may recall this headline from our letter last month. We were intrigued by the replies we got. A number of you did take the time to share with us what you would have said to the person who expressed such a sense of despair over the state of the environment, and the lack of involvement by God’s people. Here is a sample of your comments:

Thank you for your letter of May 6. I’ve never heard of despair that deep, at least not from a scientist. What would I say to him? “Too late for what? Humanity and the rest of life will suffer but not end. The degree to which we suffer depends on the action we take now. Rejoin us and get to work.”
Best wishes, Ed Wilson

One thing that could have been pointed out to the despairing gentleman is that his despair stems from a point of view, not a “factual” knowledge. As a pragmatic optimist, I see the problems besetting the world, our environment, and it is very troubling, but hope has not been snuffed out nor should it ever be. Just as Moses parted the Red Sea and saved his tribe when many felt all was lost, it is possible that we may have a confluence of events and personalities which will start to change peoples hearts and dissipate the violence which springs from our nature. So the gentleman could have been told, “I understand your grief brother and you make some good points, but neither you nor I know the ending, so let us work for a better world and see what happens. Giving up is not an option. Hope is not a false choice.
Bill Sumner

I would have said don’t give up. I see things changing in our country for the better. I see people getting out of driving giant cars and trucks, I see the families (like mine) switching to low energy bulbs, I see more bikes on campus in just the last few weeks, I saw a rail yard filled with wind turbine parts. Don’t Give Up.
Tom Lee

So, no – we’re not giving up, and we hope you aren’t, either. Whether in Kenya, the US or anywhere else you find yourself, let’s remember Paul’s encouraging words: “always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (I Corinthians 15:15) Let’s keep the conversation going: Send us your thoughts.

And don’t forget – we can use your support. Our US office in particular (that’s me) is in a serious deficit situation. Any gift helps – but regular, monthly giving partners are the lifeblood of our work. Thank you for praying with us, partnering with us – and for carrying the message forward in your own place!

With anticipation of all God is doing and is going to do, and with great joy,

Ed Brown,
for the rest of the Care of Creation family