Razack in Burkina Faso

We can learn to care for God’s creation.

Ask:

What is your favourite fruit and vegetable? Do you know if they come from a tree or the ground?
Do you like to take care of plants? What can people do to take care of plants and help them grow?

Did you know that the Bible tells us that it’s our job to take care of the land around us? Yes! It was one of the first things God asked of His people in the Garden of Eden. Our friend, Razack from West Africa, is very excited about caring for the land around him. In his home country of Burkina Faso, he spends much of his time caring for plants.

Burkina Faso is a country with a lot of amazing wildlife, including some unique animals! Elephants, hippopotamuses, crocodiles, and giraffes are just a few you might see there. It also has a capital city that is lots of fun to say—Ouagadougou. Try to say that three times fast!

Plants are difficult to grow in Burkina Faso, but it’s possible. Razack knows this to be true! He’s always loved plants, and when his church started a community garden, he was excited to help and learn. Fresh fruit and vegetables are hard to get where he lives because of the hot and dry weather.

Still, Razack and his friends worked in the garden and didn’t give up! They looked for a new and better way to grow plants when the ground was too hard and didn’t hold water. Razack’s teacher at the church did some research and learned about other ways to grow plants. One of these ways was to reuse old car tires as a pot for each plant. This way, even trees could grow above the ground!

So, Razack and his friends filled used car tires with wood chips, dry leaves, and good soil. And guess what? It worked! Many plants could be grown this way in a very small garden. Also, reusing the tires was good for cleaning up garbage in his village, too!

Razack loves to learn to care for the environment because it is the world God made. His church taught him how God made the world and how he can care for it. Caring about our environment is a good way to say ‘thank you’ to God for all He has given us and a good way to love other people, too!

Razack hopes that when he grows up, he can have a big garden to feed his village delicious food. It takes patience and creativity to solve problems and help things grow!

Read the Bible verses for today together.

Ask and Discuss:

What can we do to help care for the world God gave us?
Many jobs need people who can solve problems and do things in a new way like Razack and his friends did! Can you think of jobs like this?

Pray:

God, thank You for friends like Razack, who are learning to care for Your creation and make things grow, especially where food doesn’t grow well. Please help them to feed their village so people will be healthy and have enough to eat. Help us find ways to solve problems and care for our world, as You commanded us to in the Garden of Eden. Amen.