Can you survive on less than $1.25 a day?
Nearly 1.3 billion people live in extreme poverty—less than $1.25 a day. With such limited resources, families become vulnerable to exploitation as they are forced to make difficult and often unthinkable decisions just to survive.
Experience what it feels like to walk in their shoes with Live 58’s challenging new game: Survive125.
We invite you to take 5 minutes to step out of your comfortable life and into the life of hardworking mother or father around the globe.
After you’ve played, let us know how it went! Did you survive? What decisions did you make?
The Goodness, Glory, and Goal of Creation
During the week following Earth Day, a group of passionate believers gathered together at the Global Day of Prayer for Creation Care and the Poor. Dr. Chris Wright presented the keynote address, which has been posted on the Evangelical Environmental Network’s Creation Care Blog.
In his address, Dr. Wright explains the Biblical reasoning that provides “the foundation and the motivation for earth keeping and our responsible use of and our godly care for the earth.”
Grab a cup of coffee, a notebook, and thirty minutes to engage your mind to be better versed in the creation care conversation as Dr. Wright presents:
- The Goodness of Creation - looking back to the start of a good creation by a good God
- The Glory of Creation – creation’s continuing role and function of giving praise and glory to God
- The Goal of Creation - looking forward to God’s redemptive plan and purpose for the whole of creation in and through Jesus
“Our ecological work now is based on both: past, as we see the goodness of creation and prophetic, anticipation and sign of what will be our status and our responsibility in the new creation. So, we should behave now as we were created to do and one day will be fully redeemed to do.” -Dr. Chris Wright
Introducing our new Vision Trip & Executive Assistant Intern!
By Lucy Busby
Hi to all those involved with Plant With Purpose! My name is Lucy Busby, and I am beyond thrilled to be a part of the Plant With Purpose team for the summer as the Vision Trip and Executive Assistant Intern. I just finished up my first year at Indiana University, and am thankful to be back home in sunny, San Diego before I continue on with my college education. I am currently working towards a major in International Studies, with a certificate in African Studies and potentially a minor in the lovely language of Swahili.
If you cannot already tell, Africa is one of my favorite places in the world, and one of the main reasons I am here at Plant With Purpose today! Last summer I was able to take my second trip to the Plant With Purpose program in Tanzania, Africa, where I was able to experience the work that Plant With Purpose is facilitating and witness the growth the villages are undergoing as a result of their partnership. My passion for Africa, and third-world community development in general, has not only translated into my personal and educational goals, but also led me to want to be a part of the positive change that Plant With Purpose brings forth in all aspects of its programs.
I am excited to start my work here in the office, and also to have the opportunity to help organize the upcoming July Vision Trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, where I hope to share my love for God and the rural poor through sustainable international development.
The Stock and The Scion
By Becky Rosaler
Graft (noun): a piece of plant tissue (the scion), normally a stem, that is made to unite with an established plant (the stock) which supports and nourishes it.
The art of grafting is a technique that our farmers learn through seminars and hands on trial and error. Many in the US are familiar with the grafting of citrus plants or rose bushes. On Amazon, you can purchase one tree that produces oranges, lemons, and limes. The purpose behind grafting is to combine two plants for greater success: the stock often has a more established root system and is able to support the growth of the more desirable scion.
Pastor Luis has a plot of land in the Dominican Republic. His ingenuity led him to a grafting project that is having a great return on his efforts. A vine known as granadilla is very susceptible to disease, making it a hard crop to grow but bringing in $3 US per fruit. Pastor Luis realized that the granadilla could be grafted into passion fruit vines, which tend to be heartier and provide the necessary stock to successfully produce healthy fruit.
Seamlessly, Carlos (our Dominican Republic Country Director) shared an object lesson with the group of visiting Americans, correlating the relationship between the passion fruit stock and the granadilla scion to our lives being grafted into the stock of Christ.
John 15:5-8
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Our leaders are rooted in Christ, cultivating fruit in our pastors and farmers, implementing life changes, and creating teachable moments.
Reflecting upon this today, I am reminded that we are grafted into the body of Christ, capable of bearing fruit through Jesus’ strong stock, and that all I have to do is remain as I grow into Him.
Upgrade Your Commute, Downgrade to 2 Wheels!
This month we take to 2 wheels in celebration of National Bike Month. May showcases the bicycle, the world’s most widely used and economical mode of transportation. Riding your bike doesn’t have to be a thing of the past, use tomorrow to make cycling a bigger part of your future.
Friday, May 18th is Bike to Work Day, so inflate your tires, polish those rims and hit the streets! Rides and events are taking place all across the country to embrace a collaborative environmental consciousness that promotes wellness and social awareness. Since the largest source of air pollution in the U.S. comes from automobiles, consider adopting cycling into your commute and reduce the 3.6 pounds of pollutants per mile emitted to the atmosphere by cars. Charles M. Shulz said, “Life is like a 10 speed bicycle, most of us have gears we’ve never used.” Plant With Purpose wants to encourage all of us to explore the “gears” not used, and together we can support a healthier environment.
Be safe. Have fun. Check out these links:
Bike safety and maintenance:
ABC Quick Check
Make sure you’re following the law:
Rules of the Road
San Diego Resources:
Register and be entered for raffle prizes, check out businesses that are hosting Pit Stops, learn about taking public transportation for free at iCommute.
If you have to drive tomorrow, off-set your carbon emission by planting a tree or purchasing a fuel-efficient stove. And drive with caution as you might see more cyclists on the roads!
Happy riding!
**images of bike riders in Burundi
(More Than) Word To Your Mother
Looking for the perfect gift to honor your mom this Mother’s Day? Want to back up your love with more than words? Don’t just tell her you love her—SHOW your love: honor your mother by empowering another!
Just like your mom, the mothers Plant With Purpose works with want nothing more than health, happiness, and a bright future for their families. But for most of them, providing their children with nutritious food, clean water, a safe place to live, and a good education isn’t such an easy gift to give.
A large proportion of the world’s poor and hungry are children; it is the mothers of these children that Plant With Purpose serves. Plant With Purpose empowers these women to overcome poverty and provide for their families by restoring their land, fostering economic opportunity, and encouraging spiritual growth.
So this Mother’s Day, show your mama she taught you well by giving a lasting gift to a mother in need. Check out the following life-giving projects in our Mother’s Day Gift Catalog:
A breeding pair of rabbits: Show your mom that some bunny loves her by donating a pair of rabbits to a family in need.
A brood of 10 chicks: Give your mom a gift she’ll remember from her favorite chickadee.
Fuel-efficient Stove: Thank your mom for all the meals she’s cooked you by giving another mother a fuel-efficient stove.
Empowering women through business & financial training: Being a mother is serious business. Show your appreciation by supporting a mother around the world in her small business endeavors.
Your gift will equip and empower women to follow their dreams and give their families the gift of health, happiness, and hope for a brighter future.
When you check out, don’t forget to download and print out the Mother’s Day greeting card to give your mother so she knows that your gift will make a world of difference for a mother in a developing country.
We love you mom!
Eyes Not to See
By Becky Rosaler
In Genesis, we find that humans are created in the image and likeness of God. Ex nihilo, it was out of nothing that God spoke the world into existence and continued on to the pinnacle of creation, you and I. If we are made in His likeness, then we are made to create as well.
It has been said that artists are often the prophets of a culture. I am constantly amazed at the way they express what is happening around them, the details of life that most are too busy to pick up on, they hit sentiments that strike our nerves or spark further contemplation.
During a recent Vision Trip to the Dominican Republic, we had the opportunity to visit the Candido Bido Museum in his hometown of Bonao. Candido Bido is one of Dominican’s most important contemporary artists. Immediately, we noticed characteristics that signify his work: a pointillistic style, hues of blues, reds, orange and yellow, the Dominican sun, and dark holes where eyes should have been that made his pieces look incomplete. We soon learned that the omission was intentional.
As a Dominican, Bido had seen through the tropical turquoise waters, the bright sun, and the lush growth on the hillsides that most see as portraying this Caribbean nation. He saw pain. He saw suffering. He saw injustice. He saw things that he didn’t want his creations to see. So, he did what was kind and he didn’t give them eyes.
Bido’s proclamation hit a nerve in us. Over the next couple of days, our eyes were open. We were that much more intentional about taking in what was happening under the tropical, green growth, the streets we walked, the villages we visited.
Unlike Bido’s creations, we were also able to see the good that Plant With Purpose is accomplishing in the Dominican Republic. We saw an appreciation and deep friendships between rural farmers and the Plant With Purpose staff. We saw individuals caring for one another. We saw a community that worked together and gave generously.
And one set of eyes at a time, the sights of injustice under the Dominican sun became scenes of joy, hope, friendship, laughter, and a future.
Pray With Purpose this May
Thursday, May 3 is the National Day of Prayer. Today we are posting our monthly prayer letter so you can lift-up the work in which God has called us to participate in through prayer. Or join us tomorrow, the first Friday of the month, as the international family prays in unity for our programs.
BURUNDI
We praise God for:
- The training on “Theology of Work” in the District of Vyanda, Bururi. It was excellent! We have been invited to teach there again. Initial plans were made for 60 participants, but about 90 people participated, including local administrative personnel, chiefs, pastors, headmasters, and teachers. This district is known for having wildfires every dry season. Now a commitment has been made to protect the forest and multiply tree planting this coming fall.
The Other Other Percent
By Jimmy Lee, Development Associate
Today marks International Workers’ Day and in many parts of the world May Day rallies are being held where workers and laborers‑”the 99%”‑are gathering together to have their voices heard in large numbers. Here at Plant With Purpose, we support workers’ rights and greater inclusion of citizens in their country’s own political processes. But we also want to highlight “the 70%”‑the world’s rural poor‑who work their land each and every day to provide for themselves and their families. Plant With Purpose partners with these rural farmers around the world to equip them with the tools and knowledge to not only improve their economic situation, but to also restore the land and the environment.
Still Celebrating the Earth
By Shannon Pavell, Grant Writing Intern
As we reflect on Earth Day, we want to take a moment to congratulate and thank all those involved in making the San Diego Balboa Park EarthFair such a success. Even the San Diego gloom could not prevent the 60,000 people from joining together in Balboa Park on Sunday to celebrate God’s creation. The event included 350 booths featuring all things green: there were art exhibits, crafts, games, food (vegetarian, of course), and lots of local environmental organizations, including yours truly!
