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Motivated by the vision of spreading the gospel worldwide and, thanks to great team work, the churches in La Réunion produce all sorts of foodstuffs for sale to the public. They have even created a non-profit ‘Association’, which markets their ‘country’ products nation-wide. It has two branches, one in the North making mainly sweet things; the second, situated in the South, produces savoury foods.
The work that takes place in the heart of the individual as he performs this task is enough of an encouragement by itself. For instance, in order to reduce costs, the brothers and sisters from St Denis have decided to call on anyone they see who has good crops of fruit in their garden regardless of whether they know them or not. One brother shares how, through this approach, many of them have had to conquer their shyness and step out of their comfort zones… “Once we spot a tree, we have to take courage and knock on the owner’s door; we explain why we’re there and then ask if they would be generous enough to give us their fruits. We have to be prepared for rejection, and this really works our hearts. We need to overcome all feelings of embarrassment and bear in mind why we’re doing this.” In fact, the Lord has, in most cases, prepared the hearts of these people; those who refuse and close their door are rare indeed. Most owners usually give us free access to their orchards. Where possible, we just climb the trees or more often use our stepladders to pick the fruits.
As the jams are prepared on wood-fires, a second team sets off to look for the wood needed for fuel. In their truck, they cover fields and forest to pick up the logs and branches which they chop up themselves. When the fruits are brought in, another team, made up mainly of sisters, wash, peel, and chop the papayas, guavas, pineapples, grapefruits, etc. The fruits are then placed in huge preheated pots and left to simmer in sugar which has been judiciously measured to cater for diabetic requirements. Animated by the same vision, during vacation time, the youth roll up their sleeves, put on their aprons, don their caps, and lend a hand in the proceedings. Even the elderly help out.
In the South at St Pierre, the project was started by a sister who passed on her skills and recipes to a small group that she put together. They have created a real cottage industry, with an outside area for washing and cooking. The team has also planted a garden full of the produce needed to make the ‘samoosas’ and other savoury snacks.
Month after month, bonds have been forged in the midst of these two teams. At first, far too many responsibilities were shouldered by too few. There were many situations where a lot of patience was required, in order to keep one’s heart pure; they have had to manage labour shortages, rotten fruits, shoddy material, accidents, forgetfulness, and to keep encouraging each other without putting pressure; to have faith in the Lord for firm commitments from everyone. As a result, brothers and sisters have revealed hidden talents; others have persevered in their training. Some have accepted to take on things they’d never done before, whilst others have taken on new responsibilities within the fundraising projects so as to release the brothers and sisters who are called to spiritual tasks in church. Today, they see everyone taking the place that the Lord has reserved for them.
“At first it was the vision to finance the missionary work in Africa that was on our hearts… now we’ve all come to see that by creating in us a spirit of unity, the Lord is also giving us an amazing opportunity to be worked, moulded, and for our hearts to be united, in order that we may serve Him better!”
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