Bet you would have never guessed it but I used to love to climb trees when I was young. Hey, I was raised with 6 brothers and sometimes we would climb trees to see how far off we could see into the distance, China maybe...; other times we ventured up to pluck some (sour!) apples that we thought were just the best tasting fruit ever; and on some nights we would climb trees and shine flashlights into cars as they passed by (I know, I know...who woulda' thunk she'd grow up to be a pastor!)
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This morning I was once again greeted with a unique Haitian sound: kerplunk! Our landlady's nephew had climbed one of our neighbor's trees and was chopping coconuts off of the tree and tossing them to the ground surrounding our house. Who knows what our friends will make of these tropical fruits? They could use them for their "milk" or they could chew the hard inner white fruit as a sweet treat or they could even use the outer husks to weave a "Welcome mat".
As the young fellow continued in his task i could not help but to remember Sri Lanka after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Tim and I had lived in this island nation when we first moved to Asia and Tim later went back to help with the country's rebuilding following the devastation caused by the tsunami. We knew that the coconut was a staple of the island and that people used every part of the unique fruit in their everyday living. We were most impressed by the "King Coconut" which is large in size and orange in color and encouraged overheated mission team members to drink its liquid to help cool their body temps. Additionally, we encouraged mission team members to drink the liquid as it would also help to settle their upset stomachs.
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During one of our return visits to Sri Lanka we met a young woman with two very young children who had lost her husband in the tsunami. With her limited education and her inability to find someone to care for her little ones so she could look for work, this young woman was dependent upon her 82-year-old grandfather to bring in some source of income. The way he earned a living for the family was by climbing 80-ft. coconut trees and cutting the coconuts down and selling them.
So, you see, Tim and I have great respect for this particular tree which provides a source of income for families of limited means. I also like it because it is a reminder of childhood days and a reminder that God's provision surrounds us in the most amazing ways.
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This morning I was once again greeted with a unique Haitian sound: kerplunk! Our landlady's nephew had climbed one of our neighbor's trees and was chopping coconuts off of the tree and tossing them to the ground surrounding our house. Who knows what our friends will make of these tropical fruits? They could use them for their "milk" or they could chew the hard inner white fruit as a sweet treat or they could even use the outer husks to weave a "Welcome mat".As the young fellow continued in his task i could not help but to remember Sri Lanka after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Tim and I had lived in this island nation when we first moved to Asia and Tim later went back to help with the country's rebuilding following the devastation caused by the tsunami. We knew that the coconut was a staple of the island and that people used every part of the unique fruit in their everyday living. We were most impressed by the "King Coconut" which is large in size and orange in color and encouraged overheated mission team members to drink its liquid to help cool their body temps. Additionally, we encouraged mission team members to drink the liquid as it would also help to settle their upset stomachs.
.JPG)
During one of our return visits to Sri Lanka we met a young woman with two very young children who had lost her husband in the tsunami. With her limited education and her inability to find someone to care for her little ones so she could look for work, this young woman was dependent upon her 82-year-old grandfather to bring in some source of income. The way he earned a living for the family was by climbing 80-ft. coconut trees and cutting the coconuts down and selling them. So, you see, Tim and I have great respect for this particular tree which provides a source of income for families of limited means. I also like it because it is a reminder of childhood days and a reminder that God's provision surrounds us in the most amazing ways.
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