August 2008: the garden

Dear Family,  

 

The garden is growing!  This past summer, my roommate Rebecca Barr, some friends, and I began to cultivate the land in our back yard creating a beautiful urban garden.  We also had the privilege of leading ten 6th to 12th graders in a summer learning experience.  We taught them and learned with them about worm composting, positive and negative human impact on the environment, the water cycle, habitats, loving our neighbors, and God’s intent for creation.  Working with urban youth in a garden is very exciting.  At first, they hate it and pretend not to enjoy it, but eventually they love it, getting their hands dirty in the soil, picking up red wigglers, and eating fresh spinach.  The opportunity to introduce teens to nature in my back yard has been glorious.  

 

Our first week, we focused on red wigglers.  They are worms that break down organic materials into amazing compost.  The teens were able to participate in several activities focusing around God’s intent for soil.  First, we opened a pound of worms, holding them, passing them around, and placing them safely in a container for future use.  Then we went down into the basement of our house and began the process of harvesting ready compost.  When the teens saw the worm castings in the worm bin, they were a bit grossed out.  Then Kanti, a worm-composting expert, explained that God made worms for this purpose; the teens were enthralled.  Soon after that we built an outdoor bin, or as we named it, the Worm Hostel.  We converted an old tool chest into a four-story habitat for our precious little worms.  Throughout the summer the teens collected organic matter to bring with them every week and feed to the worms.  These worms eat half their weight in a week, so the teens see almost immediate results!  

 

Being with teens when they get a glimpse of the Creator while working in His creation is amazing!  Please pray that the teens (and the grown ups) continue to see God in creation.  Also pray that the relationships that have been established in the neighborhood continue to grow in the cold winter months.