Plant a garden; spiritual;

Life is made up of small things.
Everything you do matters.

Africa is a big continent. It is a block of land that captures you. Whether you are in the north or in the south of it it will lay claim to a corner of your heart. I have heard of South Africans who leave Africa for more appealing shores, but often, very often have the yearning to come home again. Its challenges, its diversities and its humanities, is like a magnet that draws all kinds of human emotions from the heart that has at its roots the most scary and at the same time the most amazing appeal. Or perhaps, for me, its just home.
Famous words of Thabo Mbeki, former president of South Africa : “I am an African”
brings with it many connotations, because Africa has many connotations – anybody can be anybody in Africa. Its diversity creates space for this, yet it also creates fragmentation, for diversity does not necessarily mean unity. The trick is to bring diversity into a patchwork for unity. I am not an African. But I am a South African. A white South African, does that make me an African ?

Nevertheless, Africa is a place for expression. Africa will find you out ! There is room for everyone, for every kind under the sun in Africa – the good, the very good, the bad and the very bad, the place where humanity is at war with itself, and mirrors that for the world to see and to watch.

Love it or hate it Africa is the place that calls for attention. And at the same time offers opportunity to express that humanity one way or another.

Many years ago now, I came across MAF and signed up for their newsletter. What is MAF ?
An extract from their 2015 Annual Report sums it up consicely .
“Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is an international Christian organisation bringing help and hope to some of the poorest and most remote communities in the world….
We work with hundred of missions, churches, local groups, relief & development organisations and national government agencies. Together we deliver practical medical and spiritual care in places with the deepest human needs ” – Prof. Polla Roux.

Furthermore to this is a very brief snippet of its history, supplied by the MAF office in South Africa:
“In 1945 Murray Kendon, a New Zealander flying with the RAF Coastal Command during World War 2, wondered if the power and versatility of aircraft would only be used for conflict and carnage. After realizing this dream was indeed God-given, he accepted the challenge and Mission Aviation Fellowship was born.
In 1970 David and Beryl Luke developed the MAF SA programme in the Transkei and it then moved to Johannesburg in the late ’70s. In 2011 MAF saw the need to develop a programme in South Africa and the Flying for Life project was developed.
We currently work in the Vhembe District in Limpopo, taking in missionaries, churches, medical professionals and other organisations to help sustainably uplift the community.
Looking ahead, we are wanting to expand our eye doctor clinic to an additional hospital,
and extend into other provinces in South Africa. “

The Care Africa project is a small random project that encourages people to “grow a garden in your yard, grow a garden in your heart”, and encourages growing vegetables for food, and reading the Bible for growing the soul. Both very necessary for human growth and sustainability – social development in an wholistic sense.
Recently I met up with Maxine Holman from MAFSA, and could give her two care bags to grow the concept of Care Africa.
Big or little deeds of kindness, whether a Flying Mission or a packet of spinach seeds, can make a difference in Africa.

I reckon poverty’s first priority is to combat hunger, and the growing of vegetables whether in a car tyre, an individual yard, or a community garden, will go a long way to addressing hunger, so prevalent in Africa today.

In today’s shaky economic climate it makes sense to save cents by growing your own vegetable garden – and together with reading the Word of God everyday you will begin to create a healthy, survival, sustainable and a good life.

Life is made up of small things. What you do matters.

Grow a garden in your yard, Grow a garden in your heart, and so join the Care Africa project.
Start today, and let CareSA know how your gardens grow. Grow well, eat well, share well
Happy gardening !

The Garden of my Heart As one of my projects in the CareSA Foundation is the Care Africa Movement, – which includes Care Gardens, with the catch phrase ”Plant a garden in your yard, Plant a garden in your heart” – I thought I’d tell you of the garden in my own heart. Planting a garden in your yard or on a window-sill or in an old car tyre is the easiest of the two gardens required to take the Care Africa movement forward. It is easy when the Will is motivated to do this. Take good seeds plant them in good soil, water, nourish well and weed occasionally. Then harvest the fruit of your labors with fresh food from your garden for your table. All good, all physical. But on the spiritual side – for that is where the “heart” is – planting a garden in your heart may not be so easy to do. First of all, you will need a good gardener. I am in a season in life where it’s hard for me to do things for myself. So I need help. But I have a good gardener that helps me on a regular basis. He knows everything there is to know, and I mean everything, about nature, the environment, and the garden – from what is in the soil to the sky, weather patterns and pathogens. It is strange how the memory works in the garden of one’s heart. When I was a little girl I remember looking up into a black velvet sky and seeing the stars suspended like tiny diamonds in an African sky. The overwhelming feeling of awe. It was so very very beautiful. Still is ! I remember, as a young women travelling on a tourist boat in an Aegean sea, feeling the wind on my face, and an aloneness not felt before, but also the flood of a thankfulness of just being there, and “seeing” the sea the colour of dark blue ink, with the ripple of splashy white waves, lapping at the boat. Divine moments of being able to ”see” and appreciate the world around me. When you begin to “see” the world, and its created beauty around you, something comes alive in your heart. Look around you, what do You “see” ? I had a brief encounter with my gardener when I was young. I thought he looked very serious, even a little stern. But I had heard that he was an intently caring person, which made me feel comfortable. It was only much later in my life when he invited me to “come to the garden” that I got to know him a little better. In fact it was in those years that I had to tend, what I now call, the garden of my tears. It was a hard time then. But I believe the tears helped to soften the hard ground intended for the planting of some good seed. He did a splendid job, and I had to work with him alot to root out strong weeds and undesirables that were growing unchecked. It did not happen all at once, and took a long time to get the basic foundation of my garden laid. In fact there is always on-going maintenance, and a clearing away for new expansion. My gardener loves new ground and new growth. He has been my live-in gardener ever since, and I would not trade him for any other. I highly recommend you to make him the gardener of your heart too. He’s name is Jesus Christ. Only you can appoint Him as the Gardener of your heart. It will not take a letter of appointment, only a prayer of faith to invite Him into your heart. He will root out all your weeds, plant beautiful seeds of destiny and purpose, and can grow you from a sapling tree to a forest. He not only is your Gardener, but that of many. He is the Divine Intelligence of creation that has created everything, I mean everything, from cosmic dust to the minerals of the earth, from microbes of fungi, virus and bacteria to soil, seed, rain and stars. He knows about things, big and small. And He knows about me, and He knows about you, and cares for the whole earth and the whole human race ! Most beautifully, He is known as the Redeemer of the human soul – and therein lies the more story to tell – but for another time. When I look into the garden of my heart, I can only say this : “He makes everything beautiful in His time.” What does the garden of your heart look like ? Ready for some gardening ? Ready for some transformation ? – then join the Care Africa movement, and plant your Care Gardens “ in your yard and in your heart.”