The War is Real!

“The day you put the sickle to the ripe grain…Rejoice in the presence of God…you, your son, your daughter, your servant, your maid…. the foreigner, the orphan and widow among you” (Excerpt from Deut. 16:9-11 MSG).  FCOP was preparing for a Happy Thanksgiving. We'd lost half of our second rice crop to drought but the remaining 530 acres had survived several bouts of drought and two floods in October. Miraculously it came out looking pretty good. The rains had stopped, we had plenty of standing water, we'd killed off the rats that did not drown and were happily awaiting harvest in about one month. I remember hearing about the locust attacks that hit Africa in May and were in India in July, but they had dropped off the radar. Then, on the night of November 20th, they moved in as a dark, thick cloud and mowed down almost 300 acres of the remaining rice. The only reason they left what remains is that it had ripened to the point that they would not eat it. Our Farm Manager (Paul Mok) was so sick in heart when he saw it he couldn't bring himself to call me until Sunday when I was at church. The locusts ruined the crops for over 100 miles. I was numb. In 2020 we planted 1000 acres twice, lost the first crop to drought, and now 70% of the second. It is hard enough when you lose your own money but this was money that you donors entrusted to me! "Alas, it was borrowed!" I was stunned. All I could think of was: "Everything that can be shaken will be shaken" (My distillation of Heb. 12:27). I also thought of Joel 1:4 "What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten…" I was still on my feet; I had done all I could do. I had spent myself and my staff physically and financially to the breaking point but we were still standing! I heard the Lord say, “When you've done all you can do; stand! The battle is not yours, but Mine"!

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