On Sunday, May 25, we went out to help a potato farm as it was a harvest season. As you can find it everywhere nationwide, farming villages are shorthanded during their busy season. So we couldn’t miss the opportunity to lend a hand.
About 30 members—male adults and students who spared their Sunday as well as female adults—gathered in Zion early in the morning. We set off for a potato farm located in Boepsong-ri, Dosan-myeon. The weather was cloudy, but we felt refreshed as if we were on a picnic.
The potato farm was on a slant at the foot of a mountain. As rain was forecast in the afternoon, we decided to finish it as soon as possible, and hurried to the farm after we got off the car.
I got out of breath as I went up, and it made me worry if the members would feel drained even before beginning the work. But they still looked so bright.
Before we start, the owner of the farm briefly explained the process of the work: removing all the potato stems and the vinyl that covered the field, plowing the soil, collecting potatoes into boxes and wrapping them up. Everything was our job to do except plowing.
It was not a tough job, but as I was unaccustomed to farming, it was not easy to separate the potatoes of merchantable quality from those that were not. As I was supposed to put aside the ones in low-quality, I had to look closely at each and every potato.
I had to check if it wasn’t worm-eaten or bruised, or if it was too small. While doing that, I came to think that God will do the same when He gathers the wheat into His heavenly barn. As only those who are spotless and mature in faith can enter the kingdom of heaven, He may feel sad when He sees His children being weak. Through the farm work, I could understand the heart of God—the Spiritual Farmer—even just a little bit.
We completed the job with great speed. When we went through the potato farm, which was around 1,000 square meters (1,200 square yards) and other small fields, everything was completed. Fortunately, there was no rain; we had a perfect condition to work as the clouds hid the sun.
When the seniors of the town saw us working, they complimented us, remembering that they were served with hair-styling service and a meal at our church in January. They felt proud of us, saying that we were respectful to the elderly and good at work. They promised to visit our church again.
The volunteer service in the potato farm gave me spiritual realization and it doubled my proudness. What I learned on that day will become spiritual nourishment that will help me strive not to lower the value of my soul, the choicest fruit. I give thanks to God for allowing me to have such a precious time, and I am looking forward to the day when I grow mature enough to enter the heavenly barn.