A Fruitful Harvest

 By Vida Amor Hequilan, CLM

My family does not own a farm. The only time I was able to experience life on a farm was when my family visited the farm of my uncle who is married to my mother’s younger sister. The farm was filled with rice fields as far as my eyes could see. It also had vegetables and fruit trees. Together with my cousins, we went around the farm riding a carabao (water buffalo). We also walked along the rice paddies and greeted my uncle’s relatives and friends who were working in the fields. Before we went home, we often stopped at the stream for a swim together with the carabao.

I always looked forward to visiting the farm every summer but when I reached high school I stopped going there. Apparently, hanging out with friends was way cooler than spending summer on a farm. I worked with the Indigenous Peoples ministry in the northern part of TaiAn in Miaoli County, Taiwan. The livelihood of the Atayal (tribe) people in the area is farming of produce, mostly fruits such as persimmon, plum, mandarin orange, dragon fruit and peach. This part of Taiwan produces the best oriental persimmon.

One day a fellow lay missionary told me that a parishioner in one of the villages invited us to help her and her family staple paper bags to wrap around the persimmon fruit to keep the bugs away and make harvesting easy. I accepted the invitation because this would be the first time I could experience going to a fruit farm in the area. I was excited and made sure I had everything prepared — working boots, hat, long-sleeve shirt and water bottle container. It was quite a drive going up to the mountain and when I arrived, I was greeted with a spectacular view. Being on top of a plateau overlooking the valley was very exhilarating; I felt being embraced by God’s amazing creation.

Before we started, everyone drank Paolyta, a famous energy drink in Taiwan. After which, we were given the paper bags. Then the own-er of the farm led us in a prayer. Everyone started working in good spirits — there was a lot of chatting, laughter, and even singing. At first, I was embarrassed that I was very slow at wrapping the persimmons, but with their encouragement I was able to find my momentum and found the stapling enjoyable. At the end of the day, I was surprised that I was able to wrap 365 fruits. I helped in the wrapping on three occasions during the stapling season.

During the harvest season, around two months after wrapping the fruit, I was invited to help them out again. I was grateful for the opportunity and felt touched that they trusted me with their fruit. I enjoyed sitting under a persimmon tree with a piece of fruit in my hand looking at the valley during breaks. However, the whole experience of working in the farm — sharing laughter, songs and stories — led me to a deeper understanding of the people in the area, especially the women, most of whom work hard in the fruit farms. After a long day working in their farms, once they arrive home they have to cook for the family and then join the weekly house prayer. I’m amazed by their energy, knowledge of the land, and at the same time their faith in God. That experience taught me to be grateful for the food that I eat and to have a deep appreciation for all the farmers who work all-year round to provide nourishment to everyone. It was a very fruitful harvest and the persimmon that year had never been sweeter.