Week: July 23 – July 29 | Gleanings for the Hungry

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.”