I love tomatoes!

I planted a tomato plant in a vase that I keep next to my kitchen door. It grew and was full of beautiful green leaves. I had some flowers and it looked very good! After a while, some of the leaves and branches didn’t look as nice, but the flowers had become little green tomatoes!

A friend of mine came around a day and said I should cut a few of the little branches off, take out some of the excess leaves and leave only the productive branches. I followed his advice, and harvested a nice little bunch of tomatoes.

I was about to take the whole plant out and plant something else when I saw what looked like the beginning of little new flowers! I thought it wouldn’t do any harm to just leave the plant for a little longer to see what happened. I cut off a few more branches and pruned the extra leaves of others and after a few weeks I had a new little bunch of tomatoes!

“Well, now it has given enough”, I thought to myself again! But a few days ago I saw it had even more little flowers! So, again, I pruned some branches, cleared off the excess leaves and today I was surprised to see 3 or 4 more little green tomatoes growing!

What I learned: THE POWER AND NEED OF PRUNNING!

It reminded me of what Jesus said in John 15: “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”

On a Mission - by Ellie Hein

Dear Friends,

We are on a mission! The mission field is full of adventure, opportunities to reach souls in hidden places, church planting, ministering to the poor and hungry.

Praying for the sick, casting out demons, compassion, tears, laughter, frustrations, anger, sorrows and great joy with fun thrown in between.

Missions is people. Sometimes more people than you feel able to cope with, and sometimes you are so very alone.

Missions is much more than can be listed here. It is a call, a desire, a fire, a passion and a love mixed with periodic exclamations of ‘I can’t stand it any longer. I want to go home!’ So yes, sometimes it is a love/hate relationship.

Then when you really want to run away, you realise this actually has become home, you know there is nowhere else to go. So you stay, for you have become a love slave. ‘Cos in the end, it’s just between you and Jesus and He says, “Will you also go away?” and like the disciples you say. “Lord, where would we go,? (John 6:67,68)

Now, that old serpent the devil in on a mission too. His mission is to remove us from our call.

He is so afraid of us, so afraid of the love that burns a blazing trail of light and salvation through

the darkness that holds people captive.

Beloved, hold fast to your mission, keep the vision ever before your face. Be not moved by your circumstances and do not stumble at the obstacles. Do not trip up over the trap he has set before you. Be watchful, be alert. Keep your life pure, keep your mouth in line with the Word of God. We are running a race, we are running to win.

For those of you who are at home, at the workplace and not on the foreign mission field, remember you are on a mission too. Your field simply happens to be where you are. The same opportunities, trials and victories are right there in your midst. The same urgency is compelling you to give yourself, to run. Jesus is coming soon!

Thank you for running with us through your prayers and giving,

Your reward is with you.

In His Love!

Rod & Ellie and Team