One banana, two banana, three banana, floor

“How many do you think they will have done?” I asked Moses, as we rattled our way along the bone shaking, pot holed road towards Kibos.

“About five” Moses replied, “they can’t have done more, it is really hard work”

Moses and I had gone to town to do some jobs and, amongst other things, to buy a large water tank to site on our land close to the pump. The tank will be linked up to irrigation pipes and provide a steady stream of vital nutrients to all of the plants in the new greenhouse, which arrives tomorrow (African time**), along with the water tank.

We had left Ackworth Boys Brigade digging holes.

It seemed a little unfair to be honest, setting off in the heat of the day back to town, leaving the Ackworth group slaving away over a hot garden, but we have fifty banana stems to get in and they are very particular about the conditions in which they are planted.

Joseph, the gardener at Kibos, carefully measured each hole that needed to be dug. 3 feet wide by 3 feet long by 2.5 feet deep. It sounded easy. The 3 ft x 3 ft was pretty straight forward, but the x 2.5ft down was to prove more than a little challenging.

The banana stems themselves are small little things, but the conditions they need have to be precise or else the crop will not flourish. Once planted they send out suckers sideways into the ground and in order for them to grow well the ground needs to be soft and full of nutrients – too hard and the suckers will not be able to feed the plant and the banana stems will be small. As a result, a suitable hole needs to be dug, then the banana stems inserted, then the hole is filled in with manure and fertiliser.

There are many parallels between growing bananas and working with street children. Both need space to be themselves, to push out when they need to and to find that there is the support and the help they need to grow. If the conditions aren’t right, then the fruit will not grow well, but when everything comes together there is a wonderful harvest.

My day had started early, as I had been invited to preach at the Nakumatt  staff pre-work 

worship. I was here on Saturday with Moses and really enjoyed it and today we returned with a full worship team.

We arrived at the goods in entrance at 7:25 and went through the shutters to get set up. Amps, microphones, keyboards and guitars in place Moses and the team led an energising morning praise time as workers drifted in to the store. By 8:15 the whole of goods in and the warehouse were clapping, singing and dancing.

Teaching here is a challenge for a Methodist trained preacher used to a 20 minute slot on a Sunday as I had 5 minutes to share something before the warehouse shutters were opened and the lorries queuing patiently outside began unloading their deliveries.

It will be a surprise to many of my Wheatley Lane friends to learn that I managed a very brief illustration of the power of God’s spirit in our lives before we were warmly greeted by all of the staff as they made their way to their assigned stations.

We shared tea and bread with the store manager and reflected on what a difference it makes to the performance of the store when the staff feel like a team and are energised and happy before work begins.

We headed back to St Anna’s to pick up the Ackworth team before setting off down the busy roads to Kibos and their engagement with picks and shovels.

“I think they might have done more than five” I said to Moses confidently, “possibly as many as six”.

The skies blackened overhead and spots of rain on the windscreen told of an impending downpour. We weaved our way in between the matatus that gather on what remains of the road through Kibos market. Once it was a reasonably smooth road, but now it has become a jumble of holes, ruts and crevices, only negotiated with patience and low gears.

We pulled in through the blue metal gates guarding the entrance to our land as the rain fell heavily onto the deep red earth, to find that the Ackworth team were dispersed to the four corners of the field, taking shelter from the elements.

We waited a moment and as the rain eased Moses, Pam and I walked down the land to where the digging had begun with some enthusiasm a few hours earlier.

“It’s been hard”, said Colin, echoing Moses thoughts to me, “but we have managed to do twelve holes”.

Moses looked shocked

“Oh, have you really done twelve holes?” he said, with a hint of disbelief, “Let me see” and he walked off to inspect them.

He looked into each one carefully, inspecting the sides to make sure they were straight, ready to receive a full allocation of bananas and mulch.

“That’s really great” he said, looking up at the group, “I always knew you could do it”.

** the calculation of “African time” is an inexact science, but it is generally accepted that it lies somewhere between one hour and three days after any specific time agreed between two parties for the purposes of a meeting or a delivery.