Listening to sisters discussing scriptures in Relief Society in the Ha Đòng branch today

There are thoughtful women here.

Harvesting... and tools

                                

The culture of Vietnam has such a very strong tie to the “que huong” or home town. It persists over generations even for people born in the cities, who nevertheless still maintain a fondness for their village of origin. And it is not an idle passing nostalgia. Rather, it is an on-going vibrant relationship with the land, their ancestral homes and what has been built over generations. One manifestation of this is the regular exodus from the cities back to the countryside, most especially for holidays, such as the recently passed Ngay Quoc Khanh, or National Day (commemorating a declaration of independence from French colonial rule by the Viet Minh in Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi in 1945 following the defeat of the Japanese.) But depending on the distances involved, it is not unusual to find people who travel a hundred kilometers or further each weekend, or perhaps several times a month to reconnect with parents and family in the que.

     

We took the opportunity to enjoy some time with some friends recently on such a visit to their hometown in Ben Tre, located about 120 km from Ho Chi Minh City, normally about a two hour drive. But the holiday turned that into more than four hours. But that did however give us a pause on the bridge over one of the “Nine Dragons” as the translation of the Mekong would be from the Viet term “Cuu Long.” Pausing as we did (for what must have been 45 minutes) we were able to see the river traffic, a few floating houses, perhaps shepherding herds of fish, and enjoy an elevated perspective on this otherwise quite flat landscape.

      

Any visit to the delta of this massive river reminds one of the richness of this land. It is a veritable cornucopia of agricultural and aquatic richness. And that brings me to my topic of the harvest. In addition to the rice paddies which often yield three crops a year, there are also massive amounts of fruit produced- bananas, coconuts, mangos, jackfruit, citrus, and a host of others including lychee, longan or dragon eyes, and rambutan (cham cham.) One of our stops during this visit was at the orchard of a friend who had an acre or two of rambutan and lanzones (yup, I had never heard of them either!)

Rambutan trees often have braces between branches, and supports from the ground to keep the tree from breaking under the weight of a heavy harvest.

                                   

Lanzones or in Vietnamese "bon bon" grow from the trunk, hence the species name "parasiticum" I think.

                                   

Rambutans grow on a rather tall tree, which tends to spread out broadly, with the fruit at the ends of the branches. As a result, the boughs in the fruiting season can easily become too heavy for the main branches to bear. So they require bracing and props to support them. But with this spreading habit, harvesting fruit from the tops of the 20-30 foot trees, even when they are bowed down with ripe fruit, would be a challenge. Enter human ingenuity.

                                    

The tool of the harvest for these terminal branch fruits (rambutan, dragon eyes, longans, etc.) is a long bamboo pole, with a narrow gap, perhaps 20 cm long between the two sides at one end, braced from splitting further or breaking by a wrap with poly-ties or other material that reinforce the end at the base of the gap. The harvester simply extends the pole to engage the small fruit bearing branches into the gap and then twists the pole to break the branches off and lower the fruit to the ground. Each such action might easily yield up to a dozen of the fuzzy red to yellow fruits.

The bags are quickly filled when the harvesting rod brings down a few bunches.

                                   

This is an activity not without its likeness. We see the fruit ripening all around us- it is the sweetness in the lives of young and old, the growth of wisdom and meekness that comes to accept the light of Christ's life and message and desires to follow him. To follow his example in being baptized, to follow his example and teachings in loving and serving others, and to participate in the model of feeling his love (often through others ministration), changing for the better, and partaking in a covenant promise to live his commandments (most often by participating in the sacrament each week) that they may have his spirit to be with them on the next, and each subsequent leg of this "eternal round" journey back home, to the ultimate "que huong" above.

        

We were recently impressed by the assertion that the tool for this harvest, the harvest of souls, is the Book of Mormon. We have been thinking about that a lot, and have spent considerable time teaching our missionaries how to consider it as key to their efforts to solve the problems they face. 

                                 

It first helps them to sharpen their own lives, focus their own hopes and salvation in Jesus Christ. It witnesses of him, and brings hope and understanding to cope with their own personal journey to come closer to him. So many stories of young men and women, like unto them- Nephi, Enos, Alma, Corianton, Mormon and Moroni, speak these truths of how we can be changed by coming to Christ, and by serving others.

It helps them see the motive and the method in what they should be doing as they are sent to represent him before the world. The examples of Nephi and Jacob, who "spoke of Christ, rejoiced in Christ, taught of Christ, prophesied of Christ, and wrote of Christ" or of Ammon and his brothers among the Lamanites who said, "yea, I will be thy servant," reinforce the teachings and example of the Savior himself, whose message was pure and focused, and who "went about doing good."

We were particularly impressed with some of the lessons the Book of Mormon offers as we work with others in this cause to build Zion and overcome opposition. Here the story of Captain Moroni and his Commander in Chief, Pahoran, as detailed in Alma 59-62 is so highly instructive. I sometimes hear the young missionaries complain that they are not getting the support they wish they had from this branch leader or that member. Then I think of this story- of Captain Moroni's zeal, and his mis-judgement. And I think of Pahoran's humble and wise response to being severely censured. The lesson most pertinent however, is that once they had united in understanding and jointly worked to oppose those who were thwarting the righteous work they were trying to do, not only were they once again friends and united in spirit, but they were successful.

Finally, in the stories of the Book of Mormon we find examples and answers for so many of the challenges of life that someone investigating the doctrines of Christ and his Church might encounter. Disbelief, struggles with stubbornness, weak faith, sin and bad habits, dwindling valiance in good things, opposition from family or friends, inability to keep commitments, competing demands of work, friends and finances, and so on.

For all these reasons, it is the tool suited to the harvest, the harvest of souls in preparation for his second advent. And we are so blessed to have many new missionaries, and many capable missionaries wielding that tool with greater vigor, testimony and fervor. The sweetness of a "cham cham" or a "bon bon" is one thing, but the sweetness of a soul who has and is repenting and coming unto Christ is beyond all that is sweet.