Laying the foundation, Part Three

This event happened on a weekday evening in early Spring in my first church. We were hosting a guest speaker– a missionary from Cameroon, West Africa. As was customary in these meetings, we sang an opening hymn, the missionary gave his presentation and then we adjourned for lunch.

During the lunch, our guest shared some details of his latest assignment.

“Eighteen months ago,” he began, “the mission board decided that since I was from western Canada, I was the perfect person to teach Cameroonians how to raise beef and dairy cattle.

Imagine that! Me! A city slicker; suddenly an expert on raising cattle.”

He thought we would laugh. No one did. What actually happened was something that only God could have arranged. Roughly half a dozen of those in attendance that night were either beef or dairy farmers. They moved to his table and listened as he shared some of the challenges he was facing. They offered him

Neil Strohschein

several suggestions, fielded additional questions from him and answered them as best they could.

Two hours later, after everyone had gone home, I knew that I had witnessed something very special–something I might never witness again. That night, I saw a small group of men working together to help people they would never meet learn how to care for their farmland, rotate crops and avoid overgrazing of pastures so that they could have high quality feed and grass for the cattle that provided them with milk and meat.

The most intriguing part of that night’s conversation came when the missionary asked how the Cameroonians could restore nutrients to the soil without the use of chemical fertilizers– which they could not afford. The answer came from two elderly gentlemen. They might never have thought that they were “organic” farmers; but on this night, they gave all of us a lesson in identifying and using natural fertilizers to replenish the soil.

That night I learned an important lesson. Every person on this earth was a person of value when born and will remain that way until death. Even in our advancing years, we still have some knowledge, insights or ideas we can offer that will help make our world a better place for everyone. No one should be pushed into the background and ignored just because he or she is getting old and might be considered “behind the times.”

The same applies to those whose education and experience are not the same as yours or mine. I have high respect for Canada’s indigenous people, especially for their close ties to Mother Earth. They have much to teach us about respect for the planet and care for the environment-if the rest of us would care to take some time and listen.

We can also learn much from those who have recently moved to Canada. They place high value on rights and freedoms that you and I take for granted. They can (and often will) warn us if they feel these things are in danger of being taken away. We may not agree with their views or appreciate the fervency with which they are expressed, but we need to listen and learn from them.

We need each other. We must give people the freedom to share their insights and ideas with the world so that we all can learn from them. You never know. One of those radical ideas just might prove to be the answer to a persistent problem and will open the door to the hope, help and healing that so many in our society desperately need.