Gathering Grapes - The Lord of the Vineyard
Dan and Betsy's vineyard.
Our friends, Dan and Betsy, who live down the street from our home here in Santa Rosa own a vineyard about 10 miles away. Because of the heat wave over the last few weeks their grapes were delayed being picked and they needed some extra help harvesting their grapes this past week. We told our friends we could offer some missionaries to help out.
Betsy and Dan
Missionaries are encouraged to serve in their communities for up to 2 hours a week. They serve in many ways such as lifting boxes at food banks, serving at soup kitchens, helping with yard work, moving heavy furniture, aiding with a community emergency etc.
On Wednesday morning the two Santa Rosa Zone districts (12 missionaries each) went to the vineyard and took turns for two - two-hour time periods to help cut and gather the grapes. President Quinn and I joined them.
Missionaries in the Santa Rosa Zone
It was fun to see the vines up close and to clip off the grapes that grow together in large bunches! I love how the ripe grapes get heavy so they drop down when ready to be harvested. Dan and Betsy offered for everyone to taste the grapes and gave me a large bucket of grapes to make grape juice out of. The juice I made tasted wonderful. It was thick and sweet. Although I did meet some earwigs in the mix of grapes. Ugg! I’m a city girl so it surprised and frightened me!
Grapes dropping down, ready to be harvested!
Crushing the grapes and making grape juice
The vineyards are a wonder to see and there are miles and miles of them here. In Northern California it is estimated there are 615,000 acres of vineyards. I am fascinated with vineyards and have wanted to learn more about them.
Dan and Betsy have owned their vineyard for over 35 years. Their grapes are organically grown. They go to great efforts to plant good grapevines, prune the vines, keep them watered, harvest the grapes, and sell them to the winery.
I think I am drawn to vineyards because I love the parable of the Lord of the vineyard in the book of Isaiah in the Bible. We see there how the Lord pictures His people as a vineyard. The Savior shows us how he goes to painstaking measures to save the vines and get good fruit from them. “He fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine…” Isaiah 5:2. It is a beautiful and detailed reminder to me how much the Lord loves me, will care for me and not give up on me. You can also read the full allegory in the Book of Mormon in Jacob chapter 5.
Lord of the Vineyard - art by Rose Datoc Dall
The time went by fast as we worked in the vineyard. Dan told us that we harvested 4.5 tons of good quality grapes! Here are some photos of our missionaries working in the vineyard this past week. Thanks for reading. Have a good week!
Elder Searls, Hermana Chase, Sister Smart
Elder Bauer and Elder Hall
Elder Myers
Elder Jensen
Elder Young
Elder Hall
Elder Lee
Elder Wiley and Elder Chandler with Dan
President and Sister Quinn
Buckets to be filled!
Buckets to be picked up.
