Clay Pots ~ Gardens and Help needed

"You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God." (Lev. 19:34) "If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you.” (Lev. 23:35). I find this second passage very interesting because even though God is talking about how the Israelites were to treat their own ‘brothers’ (people from their own country); it assumes that the Israelites were supporting and caring for the stranger and sojourner (or immigrant)… and allowing them to live with them. “You shall… as though…” Wow, no segregation here, the Israelites were actually supposed to be hospitable by housing those of other cultures in their own homes, according to God’s design. I know that this does not apply to us across the board, but it is a glimpse into the all inclusive and loving heart of God for all peoples everywhere, and it gives me encouragement to think outside the box in how we as the children of God can care for the immigrant among us.

I told you in my last letter, that I would inform you of ways in which I believe God is directing his servants to trust him, live the gospel, and care for the poor and needy. Here are two ideas which we are in the process of planning and organizing for next year with the Biblical hope (confident expectation) that God will work mightily.

Community Garden Plots: (We gotta come up with a better name than that:)) As humans, we all innately have a desire to create something or tend nature. Next summer we are going to try to use this innate desire by offering free garden plots to low income families in order to meet a physical need and in order to build relationships. The concept is simple: we allow immigrants from low income housing and apartment complexes to plant a garden free of charge on our church(s) property. We provide seed and water and tools, and they commit to tending their own gardens through the summer and then they take home all the produce. I have seen this type of project hosted by a local church in Ohio (the pic of it is above)… they had at least an acre of land divided into 20 or 30 small plots which ministered to the physical needs of those who were displaced or less fortunate. What a blessing we can be by simply using our unused property! As to date we have approx 40 interested families!

English Classes: As a follow up to this, Paco and I are in the process of planning a way to spring-board off this project with winter English Classes. We would like to offer these free classes to anyone from any country (Latino or otherwise) who would need/desire it. The course would run through the winter and be followed by another summer of gardening if the idea catches on.
Of course, both of these projects require many of God’s servants to labor together for the sake of the gospel. I am praying that God will provide immensely in this way. Pray that God would open the necessary doors and that he would make this project successful. Pray for the planning. Pray for community desire. Pray for open hearts to the gospel. Pray for laborers.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?: Do you have garden tools that you would be willing to donate? Would you be willing to donate/plant seeds and/or donate seedlings? Could you give a financial gift to help pay for rain barrels, sheds, tools, seeds, hoses, etc? (see below on how to do that) Some of the people are going to need transportation..have any ideas? Would you be willing to help prepare the ground? Volunteer to help with English classes? Donate $ for materials needed for those English classes? MOVERS. There is a volunteer call list of people through James Place willing to help immigrants and low income residents move from one apartment building to another or one house to another. There were 37 families that needed help moving this past year; 11 of those had to be turned down due to the lack of volunteers. Would you be wiling to add your name to the list? E-mail us. Call us. We can't wait to hear from you!

Thank you for your prayers. His Clay Pots, Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp
FINANCIAL DONATIONS:
Send a check to:
Clay Pots,
S53 W24079 Glendale Rd.
Waukesha, WI 53189
(if you are specifically wanting to donate to the Garden Plots, attach a note specifying Community Gardens)

Clay Pots ~ Noah

Jason and Jeronimo trying to figure out English

As I have been reading through Genesis in my quiet time, I have been impressed with the fact that life is a messy vapor which is rarely characterized by white picket fences, booming economies, and harmonious relationships. The story of Noah, for instance… we often look at that story as a cool children’s tale, full of animals, a solid family, and primitive yet amazing boat architecture. But we fail to remember that God was grieved with the fact that he even created mankind because they had become so evil in their murderous actions. And we fail to remember that the point of the story is that God massacred hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of these people in one gigantic cataclysmic flood which covered the whole earth. Only Noah and his family survived by the grace of God. But…
Would you have wanted to be the only one left on the face of the planet? Talk about Post Traumatic Stress… the nightmares of screaming people, waters engulfing everything you see, death and carnage everywhere, and then the suffocating misery of waiting in an enclosed boat for almost a year. I bet there were some pretty miserable days filled with depression and little to smile about. How about loosing your home and everything you once knew and loved, being displaced, and starting over from scratch? Oh, and wait, there is no one there to help you or council you… only your wife and children (who are looking to YOU for strength and to answer their questions), because everyone else was obliterated.
How could anyone go on after that? That doesn’t sound like fun to me. Noah’s life was not one of comfort, but one of sheer survival… God purposed that Noah’s life would serve one purpose… to preserve the human race. And because Noah believed God’s promises, God rescued the human race through Noah (or as we say in Tobo: ‘on the road of Noah’)
All I am saying is that life is not always cut and dried, and even when God is blessing us or fulfilling his promises to us, it can seem as if he is really torturing us. You would think that he would work in a predictable way that would require the least amount of suffering and pain, but that is not His way. Think of Noah and Jesus and Joseph and Paul, etc. As his word says, it is through the pain and suffering that we truly find and experience Jesus who is our comfort, grace, and salvation.
I believe that he is at work here in Waukesha ‘blessing’ the church and carrying it on to maturity even though it could seem at times that there are more negatives than positives. But God can use the economy, the housing struggles, loss of jobs, poverty, injustice, illegal actions, and imperfect relationships to bring about his ultimate goal… which is to save as many people as will believe from every ethnic group, cultural background, and native language from every nation under heaven.
Sometimes I feel like I am Noah, sitting on that boat waiting… waiting for something which God could miraculously do, but chooses not to. Building relationships within a community takes time, and establishing trust within a community who normally would not trust you is even more time consuming. But God continues to open doors and we continue to see his leading and provision as we seek to reach the Latino community here in Waukesha. In my next entry, I am excited to inform you of ways in which I believe God is directing his servants to trust him, live the gospel, and watch Him as he rescues many.
His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, & Malachi Knapp