How can we possibly turn this wild tract of land into a farm? I doubt anyone’s even walked through it for 100 years. Its’ covered with wild grasses firmly rooted in the soil. There’s not even a footpath through it.
Where are we going to get water to run the farm? Especially in the middle of the dry season? Sure, there’s a little stream nearby, but it’s barely flowing in the dry season.
How are we going to make bricks to build the foundation for the new chicken coop if we don’t have water? We’ve got lots of sand and cement, but no water….. it’s the dry season.
How will these little seedlings– all crowded together in barely enough soil to take root—grow to mature plants in this blistering heat? (In fact, it was so hot today, that we didn’t even start working until 3 in the afternoon!) How are they going to make it?
As we waited for the afternoon breeze to kick in, I prayed. How would we do it? How would we set up this farm so we might teach others in Togo sustainable agriculture?
The answer: We just had to dig deeper.
We had to dig deeper into the soil, past the grassland roots, past the thick layer of leaves and organic matter, to overturn the thick, rich fertile soil.
We had to dig deeper — 150 meters deeper— to find enough water for a well that would nourish our farm in every season.
We had to dig deeper into the sand to release the water it held to make the bricks.
We had to dig deeper into the soil to replant our seedlings to let them grow into full sized plants.
And we had to dig deeper into our faith to believe that our needs on the farm have already been met by God’s gifts of land, water and sunshine.
