A few months ago we held a Palawano women’s retreat. As a man, I did not attend, but I hear it was a great success. Hoping to build on this success, we decided to plan a men’s retreat, and we set a date. As the date hurtled toward us, the big question was what should we do? The women’s program included a lot of touchy-feely stuff that men don’t tend to go for, so we needed fresh ideas. Complicating matters was the fact that the rice harvest time overlapped the retreat, and the rice couldn’t wait.

Then we had an epiphany: How about combining the harvest and the retreat? Palawano people love working with rice. It is an intrinsic part of their culture. And they certainly would love earning some money at our mission rice farm in the lowlands.

A plan began to come together. We would make the harvest the centerpiece of our event. We would all work together as a team, and everyone would receive the same generous wage. We would provide lots of food for the participants. Every day would start and end with a pep talk. Some might call it worship, but it would weave Bible principles into everyday life, showing in a practical way that the principles of the Bible can transform lives and make us into better people and stronger families. After the work ended each day, we would have some fun learning to ride motorcycles and drive the riding mower—a new experience for most of the guys.

So, how did it go? It was hot, grueling work, with sweat and dust and rain that came at all the wrong times. There were long days and the challenge of drying rice when there was no sun shining. But in spite of all that, it was a smashing success!

About 50 men showed up, ranging in age from 15 to over 70. Some of them would never have set foot in a church. Some were well-known troublemakers who had nothing good to say about Christianity. Others were backslidden church members. They all attended the evening and morning worship services. They worked as a team, and we heard none of the griping and complaining that sometimes takes place. Everything was permeated with a sense of family. When it was time to leave, everyone thanked us profusely for the time they had spent at the farm and the opportunity to participate. Our only real problem was that the women were upset that they had not been given the opportunity to join in. Fortunately, there is still another hectare of rice to harvest in mid December, and all are invited to come and help.

What an object lesson as we apply the principles of the scripture to everyday life and find that the end result is far better than we could imagine! I know that there are church members who may not understand some of the deeper aspects of scripture, but they very easily understand the sense of understanding and love when we work together as a family with God as our heavenly Father.

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