The Harvest

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." - Galatians 6:9–10

We have looked at the principles of planting and harvesting and we talked about various seeds. Now it’s time to see some of what the harvest teaches us.

1. We harvest only what has been planted. I mean, how clear is that? You can't harvest stuff if you don't plant it. Farmers never decide to skip the planting and just pray for corn! Good results spring from good choices; you know what comes from bad choices! Too often we forget that we're planting every day.

2. We harvest the same in kind as we plant. You see a person acting a certain way, treating people in a certain way, you say to yourself, "That's coming back to her or him." If we're not watchful of what we plant, we can expect to be disappointed with the results we get.

3. We harvest in a different season than we plant. Decisions take a moment; consequences and results roll out for a long time. We often tend to live through the spring time of life and we make all these shortsighted decisions: "I'm gonna act the way that I want to. I'm gonna do the things that I want to do. Who cares about results - this is my life!" And so we plant all these bad things: choices, habits, and decisions. Young people can get rebellious and make bad choices that seem to go unnoticed. By the time they reach adulthood they're like, "I beat the odds. Nothing's gonna happen to me. I got away with it." And then we get to harvest time and we're like, "How did this happen?" And it all comes down on our heads. And we're like, "Why didn’t somebody tell me?" I'm telling you right now. You harvest what you plant; but you harvest in a different season. Numbers 32:23 says, "Be sure your sin will find you out." That’s as true today as it was when God instructed the Israelites not to treat sin lightly.

These are three significant reasons why we should be continuously in prayer to the Lord of the harvest, that He will instruct our planting efforts each and every day.

James MacDonald – Walk in the Word

O Canada!

O Canada!

After five weeks ministering in the beautiful country of Canada, it is good to be back in the United States. But, oh, what an adventure we had while visiting our neighbors to the north! Allow us to share just a few things we learned about life in Canada:

• Milk does not come in a jug…it comes in a bag!
• Canadian ketchup is ridiculously sweet
• A pound of butter comes in a block, not four sticks
• Food is a lot more expensive
• There is an 18% tax on everything
• Tim Horton’s coffee/donut shops are EVERYWHERE!
• Ben loves Coffee Crisp candy bars
• Canadians do a much better job with portion control than Americans
• Conversation with Canadian immigration officers went something like this: “So you live in this trailer? Yes, sir.” “You’ve been invited to these Canadian churches? Yes, sir.” “They’re not paying you anything? No, sir.”
• You can get Oreo Double Stuff in Canada, but the package is half the size…kind of defeats the purpose, don’t you think?
• There’s an app available for the iPhone to convert everything to the metric system (ie. mph, clearance of a bridge – very important for us)
• Canadians are an extremely friendly bunch…Right? Aye!
• We have yet to find a good piece of Canadian beef…but our new friends in Wyoming, Ontario have promised us when we return in May we will have some!
• Canada is beautiful!
• Canadians know far more of what’s going on in the United States than we do about what’s going on in Canada
• Store clerks are happy to put your purchases in a plastic bag…for $.05 each!
• We now have some incredible new friends in Canada!

We also had some opportunities that gave us some incredible memories:

• Christian and Elizabeth went to a Sarnia Sting hockey game
• We took the subway into Toronto and then went to the top of the 1,815 ft. CN Tower and walked out onto the glass floor…did we mention Ben is not a fan of heights!?!
• Celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving Monday, October 10 with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with Ryan and Maryann Loveing’s family
• Celebrated Christian’s 13th birthday in Cobourg, Ontario including a surprise party thrown by the youth group of Fellowship Baptist Church
• Playing in the leaves in Cobourg
• Watched the snow come down on a Sunday morning in Barrie, Ontario
• Strolled on the shore of Lake Ontario where Jennifer, Elizabeth, and Maryann and Crista Loveing discovered milk weeds to blow into the breeze…what a beautiful time with good friends!
• Viewed the amazing Niagara Falls
• The kids spent lots of time in the indoor skate park within Fellowship Baptist Church, rollerblading and playing hockey

On the ministry front, we saw God’s hand move mightily in all three churches. During our three conferences, God’s Word was faithfully taught, and people responded humbly and obediently which resulted in an overwhelming number of people experiencing personal revival. Consciences were cleared, relationships were reconciled and rebuilt, and the Spirit of God was wonderfully evident. On one Sunday, the morning and evening services included a combined five hours worth of people testifying to what the Lord was doing in their lives! Our two Summits in Canada were also the first opportunities for Ben to begin teaching marriage and family principles during the first 30 minutes of each service as well as during the Home Life Cafe’ on Saturdays. Jennifer is continuing to enjoy teaching Ladies’ Luncheons with Maryann. We had a packed gym of 370+ women at one church! God is continuing to stretch us, yet He has been so faithful to give us just what we need to do exactly what He calls us to do.
O Canada, how we enjoyed our time with you…see you in the spring!

Family Update November 2010

We have finished our five week tour in Canada and have just begun our last Thirst Conference in Mt. Gilead, Ohio (Mansfield, OH) before we head home for Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving, we will be headed to Angola, LA for a conference that we will be facilitating at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, the largest maximum security prison in the United States (5,000 inmates).




We have seen so much over the past ten weeks in regards to God working in the lives of His people. Marriages restored; relationships with parents and children recovered; years of hidden secret sin revealed, repented of, and confessed; deep seeded issues of bitterness and unforgiveness dealt with; a divided church body that has humbled itself and begun the process of reconciliation; all of which have allowed individuals to be set free from the bondage that had held them for so long in order that their lives and relationships would reflect and honor the image of God.



Written below are just a couple of the testimonies regarding what individuals have been experiencing over the last several weeks (more to come)….



“Before the summit, God found me as a man who had been hurt, and caused hurt because of it. When I was 18, nearly 13 years ago, my mother was killed. What is worse is that she was murdered by my father. Almost two years later, my father was convicted of first-degree murder. My mother was the most significant Christian influence in my life, where my father reviled the church, did not walk in Christ, was having an adulterous affair, and denied all wrongdoing in her murder. Growing up I never felt good enough for him, and to lose both parents at once hurt me deeply in so many ways. I carried that hurt with me for many years, and it showed itself in anger, frustration, anxiety, an overwhelming need to succeed and “matter,” times of alcohol abuse, and other sins. I hated my father and everything he put me and my siblings through. I was a deeply wounded and broken man.

However, by the grace of God, I can now say I am ready, willing, and able to forgive my father. I earnestly desire for him to come to Christ, be broken, repent, believe, and be saved. I am willing to take more of a step in faith to pray for him, put input into his life, and give forgiveness. I praise my heavenly Father, whose perfection can completely fill and heal the painful void caused by my fleshly father. Praise God for all He has done! With God, ALL things are possible!”



“Before the summit, God found me comfortable with my faith, self-reliant and living a mediocre life. During the summit I was asked to extend forgiveness to my husband for something that would change our lives forever. In that moment I could feel my flesh crying out to be hurtful, bitter, and angry. But I could hear God telling me “Forgive. Forgive. Forgive as I have forgiven you.” Before the summit, I know that I would have acted in the flesh and my marriage would remain broken. However, through God’s grace and in only a few days I feel like we are making strides toward a better marriage than we ever had before. I am so thankful that I know how to choose forgiveness and be obedient to God.”



Please continue to keep our family in your prayers, for safety, health, and strength to press on and glorify Him in all we do. You can continue to stay updated on our travels by visiting our blog at www.slenkfamily.blogspot.com where you can find information as to where we are, what we have been experiencing as a family, experiences in the churches, and other miscellaneous information regarding “road life”. We have also added a new option to the blog where you can subscribe and receive a copy of each new blog post in your inbox if you would like.



Again, thank you for all your support and encouragement. It would not be possible for us to be out here doing this without all of you.