Gardening is a hobby that I have enjoyed from my early married years. I found it relaxing and exhilarating at the same time as I worked outside and challenged the odds for a crop. When I had three small children, I dug a spot up with a round point shovel every year after the initial plowing of the ground. The ground mostly produced moss, and it didn't look very promising; but since I love gardening, challenges, and growing things, we had a very productive garden in that spot in a couple of years. When we first moved to South Dakota, I was told that it was impossible to grow a garden there. The water would kill it, and the soil was useless. I started by digging up a couple of spots with a round point shovel and building up the ground. We grew some pretty decent plants. Our neighbor looked over the fence and felt sorry for me and brought his tractor and plowed and disked and fertilized a large plot of land for me to plant. I was happy, and we had a nice big garden. Here in Mitchell, our back yard was littered with old shingles, oil from old cars, piles of old plaster and drywall, and other undistinguishable things when we moved in. We cut the tangles of underbrush and weeds and I bought a brand-new round point shovel. It took a few extra years, but we have finally built a very productive spot for veggies. We have also planted strawberries, a couple of blueberry bushes, an apple tree, and some raspberries. We are in the height of tomato harvest, and we love picking them and popping them into our mouths and tasting the flavor oozing onto our tongue. Yummm!! We are also enjoying carrots, beets, green peppers, spaghetti squash, and cucumbers. These are special enjoyments to us; and I am convinced that the labor that brought these things to us is worth what I have expended.
Maybe the same reason that I take challenges in gardening is the driving force that helps us to keep working at the mission. I have not been holding Sunday School for a few Sundays, though I plan to pick it up again. We sometimes join the struggle that all humankind finds facing them. Daily pressures, deadlines, physical limitations, and lack of time all come into play in our lives. Hopefully, we can again pick up the Sunday School aspect at the mission next month. I am finding some things are falling back into place.
We were pleasantly surprised when Rev. Norman Cash called us to ask if the Spring Creek Camp could come to the mission for their quarterly rally. We are happy to welcome the camp there. On Saturday, October 5, we will begin the morning with a service, and we will have a fun potluck together over the lunch hour. We will come together again in the afternoon for another time of worship. We always look forward to these times, and we always leave the rallies happy and encouraged.
We pray for a good week for you, and we ask for your prayers as we go to the reservation. Thank you for your interest.
