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The Least Of These

The Least Of These

by | Mar 29, 2018 | Gleanings Stories

Matthew 25:40  “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Gleanings is so happy to have so many wonderful partner ministries distributing food with the hope of the good news.  We also are thrilled to have smaller ministries.  Mission Builders Dan and MaryLou Barthold recently took a couple trips to Mexico.  They were able to take food, and quilts into Mexico, to ministries that otherwise, might not have received any aid.  One ministry they visited is called “The Least Of These”, where women and children that have been abused and marginalized are able to get some help and find the dignity and love they need.  Pray for The Least Of These Ministries in Vicente Guerero, Mexico.

Well, now THAT’s a deep subject!

Well, now THAT’s a deep subject!

by | Mar 12, 2018 | Gleanings Stories

What a big job!  I’m going to try and describe what we did, otherwise even looking at the pictures wouldn’t make much sense.  One of our wells is located on the Southeast corner of the property.  We cleaned and serviced the pump and put it back down in the well.  The challenge comes when you realize this well is over one thousand feet deep!  We are using a special water hose instead of metal pipe, to make the job easier.  When you look at the close-up pictures you can see we have banded the rubber hose together with the heavily insulated power cord.  The power cord alone weighs over a pound per foot.  In order to control the pump, hose, and cord as they descend into the well, we used a couple tractors, chains, a pulley, and a whole lot of people power!  First, we laid it all out – along the entire length of the property.  Then, when all was ready, the signal was given, and we began to slowly walk the pipe toward the well.  Special power washer sprayers were rigged up to wash the mud off the hose for its descent into the well.  A special thank you to all who worked on this special project!

Week: Feb 25 – March 3 Blessings of the Lord

Week: Feb 25 – March 3 Blessings of the Lord

by | Mar 5, 2018 | Gleanings Stories

“Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. 7“The LORD shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways.  Deuteronomy 28:6

We started the week off celebrating the official turning on of our Solar field – a dream come true!  would you believe we ended up making about 2.5 million servings of soup along with dozens of quilts and all the other things that go on around here?  What a great place of blessing that we should be able to a part of God’s Plan.  We truly are blessed coming and blessed going!  Here are a few pictures from the week,

Week: July 23 – July 29

Week: July 23 – July 29

by | Jul 31, 2017 | Gleanings Stories

563,000 pounds of fresh peaches and nectarines are processed.
222 new stacks of halved peaches and nectarines are drying on the field.
32,929 pounds of dried peaches and nectarines are in buckets, ready to go!
 
WHAT’S IN A PEACH?
It’s a good question. How much nutrition does a dried, sulfured peach provide? One volunteer looked it up for us this week. (Source: SELF Nutrition Data)
One cup (160 g) of dried peach halves has:
5.8 grams of protein
98.1 grams of carbohydrates
382 calories
Every peach matters.
MANY THANKS

Dear God, you are so good to take our five loaves and two fish and multiply them for the masses! 

We want to thank our volunteers for their hard work making this whole process happen: Calvary Chapel Modesto (Modesto, CA), Calvary Chapel Oxnard (Oxnard, CA), Philobos Group (Corona, CA), all short and long-term volunteers, backpackers, staff, summer staff, and family members! Thank you so much for dedicating your time and attention to this ministry!

“Jesus replied, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’ . . . Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.” Matthew 14:16-21

LOVE FEAST SPEAKER:  Alexey Wagner

Even though Alexey grew up serving the Lord as a missionary kid, she did not have a personal connection with her savior, Jesus, until she came to the States and pursued a relationship with Christ that was genuine, coming from a true desire in her heart to know God.   “I began to taste something that I couldn’t get enough of,” Alexey said, describing her early mornings before high school when she first began to pursue Jesus.  She got up at 7:30 a.m. to spend time with God; then 7:00 a.m. Then 6:30 a.m. Then 6:00 a.m. and then 5:30 a.m. 
“People began to notice something about me. I was spending time with the Prince of Peace, and it was rubbing off on me,” Alexey said.
Soon after high school, Alexey traveled to Africa with YWAM. In South Sudan, she and her group were dropped off at a site where they were to minister to a group of girls who lived in a graveyard. The girls had been so abused that they hid behind gravestones and fought viciously with one another in order to survive.
Alexey and her team simply sang and played guitar, worshipping Jesus and inviting him to meet them there. One night, Jesus showed up, and the girls stopped fighting and started crying. They said they could literally see him. Suddenly, one of the girls made up her own song, and sang out loud for all the other girls to hear: “I love you, Jesus, with all my heart.”
“The fruit is too valuable for us to waste time,” Alexey said. “Take a pen and write His story. He empowers you to do things you never thought possible.”
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19

SHARE THE LOVE

  • We love to hear how God works in the hearts of our volunteers!
  • “I feel like I got connected, and I know God wants that for all of us.”
  • “Don’t be afraid of people. Don’t be afraid to love them and be loved by them.”
  • “I am his; that’s what he’s been showing me this week. I feel so much closer to him.”
  • “Take this family, this connection, with you.”
  • “God didn’t have to do the same thing twice—this week was something special.”
  • “I’m humbled every time I come here.”
  • “Jesus was right there next to me.”
  • “This was all rad.”
  • “Who cares about the plan! Just keep God first.”
  • “It’s his righteousness that makes us worthy.”
  • “Thank you for showing me the love of God.”

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:18

Week: July 16 – July 22

Week: July 16 – July 22

by | Jul 24, 2017 | Gleanings Stories

Volunteers always cheer with excitement when they hear the numbers: 

504,000 pounds of peaches were processed this week!

207 new stacks of peaches are drying on the field!

27,668 pounds of dried peaches are packed up and ready to ship!

Thank you so much for your dedication to feed the poor and needy! We are so grateful for all our volunteers: Dunlap Baptist Church (Dunlap, CA), Eagle Point Church on the Hill (Eagle Point, OR), San Ramon Valley UMC (Alamo, CA), Young Nak Presbyterian Church (Los Angeles, CA), Visalia Christian Reformed (Visalia, CA), the Lopez family, the Peachey group, the Antonellies, Summer Staff, full-time staff, and all our wonderful volunteers from Switzerland, Peru, Japan, Spain, China, France, Columbia, France, and Canada! 

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” Psalm 28:7

LOVE FEAST SPEAKER:  ISABEL MONJE

“I went through many seasons of pain. There was a reason why. The Lord will always use that pain, that experience, because of that great testimony.”

Until age 12, Isabel only knew life in the orphanage in Bolivia. She was happy there, but she wondered why her friends were adopted and she wasn’t. When, at age 12, her father finally picked her up, she found out why she was never adopted: she had a dad, a stepmom, and brothers. But in their home, she was shunned—none of them loved or accepted her. Her dad only took her home because he was running for mayor. 

“I lived in my father’s house seven years. It was the worst seven years of my life. I experienced all the abuses you can imagine. I tried to take my life.” 

Finally, at age 19, Isabel came to the United States with her aunt. However, Isabel had to work two jobs, all hours of the day, and never saw a penny. 

At that time, a co-worker saw that Isabel was depressed, and she told her about a heavenly father who loved her. “From the moment she started praying for me, God changed everything!” Isabel said. 

The first time Isabel attended church, a missionary was preaching, explaining the freedom and peace that we find when we forgive those who have hurt us: “Forgiveness is not the benefit for them; forgiveness is the benefit for you to have the peace and joy in your heart.”

Once Isabel found Jesus, she forgave all her family members who abused her, and brought them one by one from Bolivia to the United States. She cared for her stepmother, who continued to show her rejection and hatred, up to her stepmother’s dying day.

“God created us to ask, ‘What can I do for you, Lord?’ When I learned that, the Lord opened doors for me.”

Isabel had a vision to help the poor and needy around the world. She started an organization called Transformacion Mundial. She and her husband John serve in that organization, opening the doors of orphanages and speaking on behalf of the poor.

Isabel’s life has come full circle, as she was once an orphan and is now caring for orphaned children—even calling one of the orphanages in Mexico “My Father’s House.”

“The Lord always has a plan for us to bless us!” Isabel said. “The Lord is looking for us to have the desire to say, ‘Here I am.’ No matter how old you are, God can use you, because God is seeking willing hearts.”

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” Matthew 6:14

SHARE THE LOVE

  • “Why don’t I sense God’s presence at home? . . . We can’t escape God’s presence. We have to take time to connect with God at home. God is wherever you go.”
  • “He wants you more than you want him.”
  • “The rejected [peaches] may be gooey, but they have so much flavor.”
  • “God is weaving things within what we are doing, and we don’t even realize it. I just want to give him glory for it.”
  • “I’m leaving here full of the spirit.”
  • “When we show up, God shows up.” 

Exodus 14:21-22 “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.”