Week: June 18 – June 24

by Mark Ragains | Jun 26, 2017 | Gleanings Stories

In one week, we processed 617,000 pounds of fresh fruit and 700,000 servings of soup!

Let’s be honest—it’s difficult to sit in 110-degree weather, crouching in the field to make sure each half-peach is face-up so it will dry properly in the sun.

It’s difficult to have a good attitude and a servant’s heart when you are inspecting a batch of rotten peaches in order to find the good fruit.

It’s difficult to find the energy to mop floors after hours of working in the extreme heat.

This work, and so much more, is what our teams did this week. Why? Because God called them to serve the poor and needy. Because God did miraculous work in their hearts to make them so ready to do whatever it takes to give back.

Thank you, Gateway Bible Church, from Scotts Valley, CA!
Thank you, Global Passion Ministries groups!
Thank you, Sutherlin Family Church, all the way from Oregon!
Thank you, Pekary, Wilson, and Thornquest families!
Thank you, Israel Food Outreach!
Thank you, backpackers, short and long-term volunteers, staff, summer staff, and every single person who gave their time energy to serve with us this week!

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

VOLUNTEER HIGHLIGHT: KEKE WANG

A former professional volleyball player in China, Keke Wang came to Gleanings because she decided it was time stop living a selfish life.

“I was a cheap person,” Keke said. “I finally asked God to change me. I didn’t like myself … I always asked [God] to do things for me … maybe it’s time for me to ask him what I can do for him,” Keke said.

After checking out helpx.net, Keke chose organizations that would challenge her. “I can do that!” she thought. “I will spend three weeks at Gleanings for the Hungry, then three weeks at an organic farm. Now, this is something that will completely not benefit me at all, I thought. I really wanted to practice to give without return.”

But before she got here, during her half-year trip in South America, her bag was stolen, and Keke was stranded in Peru for three weeks. Finally, she got her passport replaced. But it did not have her precious stamps she had been collecting, which was her most prized possession, representing all her travels and adventures around the world.

It was after this loss that she showed up at Gleanings and began to serve with truly no intent to gain anything in return. “Now I like myself more. I know God more. God is so good to me. It’s like the woman who gave all she had. It doesn’t matter how much it is. God really just cares about our heart.”

Keke joined us for three weeks, served at the organic farm, and then came back to Gleanings to serve for a longer period of time. We are so overjoyed to have her here—her smile and energy is such a blessing to everyone she meets!

God bless you Keke! We love you! – “They gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” Mark 12:44

SHARE THE LOVE

The theme this week seemed to be a call to leadership, authenticity, and hope after losing loved ones.

“I have learned that God was protecting me and I accepted Christ as my savior!”

“I realized I want to be a leader. I want to help other people that are going through stuff.”

“I am blessed because of all of you.”

“I feel like it’s a huge family here.”

“All my life I have wanted to give back to others. I think I’ve found my calling—I want to do missions.”

“It’s a miracle, what goes on here.”

“I’m shaking cuz I’m scared to give myself to someone.”

“I heard the words, ‘Thank you for feeding my children.’”

“Every year I come here, it just gets better and better.”

What an awesome God we serve!

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

Week: June 11 – June 17

by Mark Ragains | Jun 17, 2017 | Gleanings Stories

With 580,000 pounds of fresh fruit processed, and 6,273 pounds of dried fruit ready to ship, our first full week of peach production was a success, thanks to the hard work of many volunteers from Big Valley Grace Community Church (Modesto, CA), Messiah Lutheran Church (Lincoln, NE), and Pacific Christian Center (Santa Maria, CA)—not to mention the Gleanings staff and their families, Summer Staff, long-term volunteers, and backpackers from Singapore, India, Taiwan, Germany, Peru, Columbia, Japan, and China!

We accomplish great things with the generosity of so many wonderful people–food donors, volunteers, staff–and of course, with the love and strength that comes from our good, good Father in heaven!

“The joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8:10

LOVE FEAST MESSAGE: God Chooses the Rejected One

“What you have experienced in your life was not meant to take you out, but it was meant to push you forward.” —Chris Scoz

Chris Scoz’s energy and insight was powerful at Gleanings for the Hungry’s “Love Feast” Friday night! Chris shared the story of David, an unlovely and unworthy shepherd boy, either forgotten or dismissed by his earthly father, yet chosen by God to be king of Israel.

David went from being a nobody, a disregarded shepherd boy who no one wanted, to a champion over Goliath, to king of God’s people, to Bible-famous King David—in the family lineage of Jesus himself.

Chris shared how he, the son of two poor, drug addicted parents from East LA gang life, was just as unlikely as David to be chosen by God to serve as a leader of God’s people. However, “God does not care where you come from. God cares about the calling he has put on your life,” Chris said.

“When no one knows you exist, God knows where you are. When God says Yes, that’s all you need,” Chris said. “ … God can do something with your life. God can do amazing things with people who you didn’t think he could do amazing things with. It doesn’t matter what your present circumstance is. God will not let you stay stuck if you go after him!”

Truth!

Thank you, Chris, for your humility and honesty, and for paving the path for so many young people to encounter Jesus, even when they are feeling overcome with burdens or discouraged by their circumstances.

“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  1 Samuel 16:7

SHARE THE LOVE

Today’s share time went overtime, but God was working overtime in our hearts this week. Here are some of the sweet moments from devotions:

“God has changed my life completely [this week]. I can’t even explain the peace and the calmness. I’m coming back to Gleanings.” 

“All of this week has been a big God-moment.”

“Thank you, Lord, for the air I breathe.” 

“It’s OK to be yourself.” 

“When I sing, I finally get the lyrics.”

“I felt something powerful change. It hit me Monday night.”

“When you are comfortable with who you are—man, you’ve been healed.”

“Who is my Father? My father is a good, good Father, and he’s living right up there.”

“The guy or girl to your right or your left—don’t be them. Just be you.” 

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Romans 5:8

Week: June 4th – June 10th

by Mark Ragains | Jun 10, 2017 | Gleanings Stories

This was the first week of peach production for Summer 2017!  As with all first weeks, there were a lot of milestones along the way.  Helping lead the way was a team from the Salem, Oregon area called “Fired Up”.  They truly were “fired up” too!  Our staff and summer staff were excited too!  some notable firsts for the week include: first summer staff meeting, first truckload of fruit bins, first bin dumped into the hopper, first peaches stacked on trays, first treating stacks of fruit in the Sulfur tunnels, and the first laying the fruit out to dry!

Week: May 29th – June 3rd

by Souper | Jun 3, 2017 | Gleanings Stories

Three truckloads of food went out this week, carrying over 122,000 pounds of dried soup to hungry people in Guatemala and Ukraine.

In addition to soup, 2,219 pounds of donated raisins and 391 pounds of water filters are headed to Eric and Lisa Rivera in Guatemala! Eric and Lisa used to be on staff here at Gleanings for the Hungry, and now they are living in Guatemala, distributing Gleanings food to starving children every day. It is such a privilege to be a part of worldwide food relief—all in the name of Jesus Christ.

PREPARING for PEACH SEASON

Gleanings had two weeks off before the summer season started, but a lot of projects were completed during that time: the field is now prepared for the first trays of fruit to be laid out, bunkbeds are in the dorm rooms, the kitchen freezer is re-built, the kitchen has a new coat of paint, and summer staff interns have arrived.

If it were not for the hard work of many full-time Gleanings staff and Mission Builders, we would not have been able to get so many projects completed. Thank you so much for all of your faithful service to us, the ministry, and the Lord!

WELCOMING SUMMER STAFF

The Summer Staff program, led by new staff member Andy Rotunno, began with worship and devotions in the peach plant, a trip to the Hume Lake high ropes course, and Strengths Finder team training. It has been a week of bonding, planning, and preparing, as we look ahead to the first week of peach production. The first teams arrive on June 4.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Thank you so much for your faithfulness to pray for us in our full-time ministry to the poor and needy. Please continue to pray for:

• Summer Staff to grow in their talents and leadership skills, and to grow closer to the Lord
• Safety for all the teams as they travel here this summer, and safety for everyone working to process the peaches
• Blessings over all volunteers and all donors
• Food that is en route to hungry people—customs, delivery, distribution
• People receiving the food to receive nourishment, rejuvenation, and hope in Christ
• Discipleship Training School (DTS) starting in the fall
• The Holy Spirit to guide us and cover us in all we do
• Gleanings staff and their families—provision, strength, peace

“Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?” Job 38:41

Week: May 8th-12th

by Souper | May 12, 2017 | Gleanings Stories

When every volunteer you meet at Gleanings is brimming with the joy of the Lord, you know it’s a good week!

We packed up 1,230,075 servings of soup this week, thanks to amazing volunteers from Crossroads Calvary Chapel (Grass Valley, CA), HEART homeschoolers (Redwood City, CA), a full-time RV family of seven, and our dependable short and long-term volunteers. Thank you so much for taking the time to serve with us!

“For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” Psalm 107:9

Even though the quilt room is now closed for the summer, we are excited to share our numbers for the quilt season, October 2016 through May 2017:

641 new quilts done

127 finished quilts sent from outside sources

126 children’s quilts finished

925 sent to refugees in Israel (some were made last year)

40 sent to refugees in Greece

214 adult size and 126 child size sent to Haiti

10 sent to Mexico

a few miscellaneous sent to bless individuals

144 boxed and waiting to go out

ARTISTIC SURPRISE

A few volunteers helped build and paint wooden boards for upcoming bean-bag toss tournaments for the summer staff. We were pleasantly surprised by the artistic beauty the volunteers added to the front of the boards, including murals of the peach field, ornate peach designs, and Bible verses. How amazing to watch them minister with gifts and talents we never expected, and to receive the blessing of those gifts in our community. We are looking forward to meeting our summer staff and using our new sets in just a few weeks.

VOLUNTEER HIGHLIGHT

Trent and Siobhan Walker left full-time church ministry over a year ago, packed up their five young boys and some cameras in an RV, and began a family adventure across the United States—a ministry they like to call Everyday Family Adventure, spreading the gospel via a YouTube channel.

“We are an ordinary family doing extraordinary things, through the power of God,” Trent said at Love Feast Thursday night, explaining how God called them to resign from leading a worship ministry at church, sell their home in Michigan along with all their belongings, purchase an RV, and take their kids roadschooling.

“We want our children to see the God of miracles,” Siobhan said.

Trent explained how they came to a decision to live in a RV and document their journey on YouTube: “I was the provider, I was the pastor, and I didn’t even need God. At the same time, my awesome job started to unravel, and unrest came into every place,” Trent said.

But it was not an easy transition, and Trent and Siobhan did not know what they were going to do next. Trent became overwhelmed with fear and rage, thinking, “What did I just do?”

“I got on my knees, so broken, and I wrote some music. It was a deep, concentrated pursuit of God. And God just showed up in the most spectacular way.”

Trent told his wife he would be open to the idea of an RV life, which she had already felt called to. And that was when their unconventional journey began.

“Jesus was a storyteller,” Siobhan added. “We need to be storytellers too. We need to bring stories to YouTube and the world.”

The Walkers found out about Gleanings For the Hungry from one of their YouTube subscribers. They were able to come stay here in their RV, lead worship in chapel in the mornings, serve in the soup plant all week, and share their testimony at Love Feast.

We wish them the best on their family mission and can’t wait for them to return when the Lord leads them to serve the poor with us again.

SHARE THE LOVE

Even though many people come to the microphone with hands shaking, the volunteers who share on the open mic on Friday mornings speak bold truth and tender encouragement; the full-time staff like to call it “payday.”

“He’s restored my joy [this week].”

“This great place just builds family.”

“What happens here on the base is so special to those who come.”

“The volunteers that come—we get to be fed.”

“If it weren’t for Christ, we’d never get the blessing of meeting each other.”

“I thought, ‘I’m going to bless people.’ But I’ve been blessed.”

“There’s something different here, and it’s a heart thing.”

PRAYER REQUEST and PRAISE REPORT

Solar power will save the Gleanings ministry about $100,000 annually. Praise the Lord! We need less than $40,000 to get our solar panel project completed. We have been patient to finish without any debt. Please continue to pray and give as you feel led. We know the project will be finished soon.

“Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars.” Psalm 148:3

Week: May 1st-5th

by Souper | May 5, 2017 | Gleanings Stories

Why not start the month of May with beautiful people and beautiful weather, serving the Lord at Gleanings? We were so blessed to have Wilshire Avenue Community Church (Anaheim, CA) and short and long-term volunteers from Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Arizona, Idaho, British Colombia, India, Taiwan, and Switzerland.

Over 1,360,000 servings of soup packed, and 10 quilts completed just this week! Thank you Jesus!

QUILTING STORY

Although she has been blind for 10 years, Shirley Kroeze was determined to use her artistic gifts to help the needy. She completed ten quilt tops on her sewing machine at home and brought them here to assemble, finish, and tie. She came all the way from Nebraska to work in the quilt room with her sister, and she had a very special gift to give.

How do you sew quilts if you cannot see? Shirley made the quilts by touch, carefully adding safety pins to know when to stop sewing. 

The finished quilts were on display at the Love Feast, and it was a very special moment to see her express the love that she put into the beautiful quilts. 

LOVE FEAST

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

This week at Love Feast, our weekly thank-you dinner for our volunteers, guest speaker Tony Gschwend reminded us that even though we want an immediate answer to prayer and we want to feel better after we pray, we might not get what we want. The Lord knows what we need even more than we do. 

“Don’t say, ‘Lord, give me the goods. Lord, give me the gifts.’ But go to the one who is the giver of good gifts. Cling to the person—that person is Jesus Christ our Lord. Then we will have great satisfaction in this life and the life to come.”

Tony pointed to volunteer Russell Rigg, who still comes to serve at Gleanings at age 99, and said, “Isn’t it a great quality of life to serve the Lord Jesus for many years of life?” 

Later, when asked to share a word of wisdom with a younger generation, Russell Rigg said, “God is there all the time, in every need that we have. He’s done that for me my whole life. It’s so precious to have complete dependency on the Lord. The Lord has taken care of us all along, and he will continue to do so.”

Even at age 99, Russell comes to Gleanings with his wife, Carole, to serve in the soup plant twice a year, and they plan to return in October to serve again. 

“[Gleanings] is a great place to fly up like an eagle on higher spheres,” Tony said. “Problems look much smaller as we connect with our God.”

VOLUNTEER HIGHLIGHT

El Roy and Joyce Pankow brought a team of 47 people from the Fullerton area to volunteer at Gleanings this week. El Roy’s vision is to have as many people as possible experience the blessing of volunteering with family members—what he calls intergenerational mission trips. 

“I was a peach picker as a kid,” El Roy said. “We had a ring to measure the fruit, and we threw away the peaches that were too big or too small.” 

When El Roy heard about the Gleanings ministry, he was immediately drawn to it because those same peaches he had seen wasted were now being put to good use to feed the hungry of the world.

El Roy is a pastor and a professional musician. He played piano on Christian cruise ships for many years and accompanied Bob Shepherd for many years. His first trip to Gleanings was 10 years ago, and now he comes as many times as he can, bringing people of all ages to serve the Lord together.

SHARE THE LOVE

What did our volunteers have to say this week?

“Thank you, God, for getting me here.” 

“I’ve learned that there is so much to share and so much to learn about each other.”

“We might say we are ordinary, but we are not. We are extraordinary in our love of God.”

“God has given his spirit here in such an unusual way.”

“I felt [peace] right when I made that left turn in here.”

“A place like Gleanings is different because you are here truly for the Lord.”

“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeing you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 8:3