To Dream the Impossible Dream!

Just as the sun bursts over the mountain to light our day, inspiration can burst into our heart and mind to  guide our day.

Throughout my adult life I have felt a yearning desire to accomplish something great. It has eluded me but is always there lurking in the shadows of my thoughts. Occasionally the fog would thin and I would get a feeling more than a view of what it was. As I have gone through the various experiences of my life, I have had “tuning fork” moments. These are moments that what I have been doing has felt in tune with this PURPOSE that is before me. 

My life has taken many unexpected turns, some of these have been self directed, and others have been thrust upon us. As I have gone through this confusing maze, I have felt a sense of peace from God. My mind may have been confused with the direction that my life has taken but my heart has usually been calm and assured that all was well, or at least it would be. 

This morning as I talked with Erika, I likened it to one of those quest type video games where you have to go through collecting items that allow you to pass to the next level or conquer a challenge. Without those items you cannot go forward. In searching for those items you often feel that you are going away from the end goal, but you come to realize that you couldn’t get to the end goal without obtaining those necessary keys or tools.

I have always prayed fervently that God would guide me in the paths that He would have me take, and have committed to Him that I would be willing to go wherever I needed to go, and do whatever I needed to do. Recently, due to our financial and work situation, I have prayed much more earnestly. I have focused my prayers on asking God to enlighten my mind, to lift the fog, to open the eyes of my understanding, so that I may have a clearer picture of what He would have me do. Today, after a frustrating night and morning, I was discussing our situation with Erika and the fog cleared, I understood what my PURPOSE was. The Spirit bore witness to me that it was my mission as I explained it to Erika. I do not know the path that will take me to my goal but I do know what the general goal is.

My PURPOSE is to bring prosperity, especially food, to developing countries like Ethiopia and Kenya so that the people can be physically prepared for the next step in their lives. This is a Herculean task that I cannot even hope to accomplish by myself. That being said, with the help of God, I can bring large corporations together to accomplish that goal. In order to have a successful agricultural industry in these poor rural areas, there needs to be a cooperative effort with many large companies. 

We need seed and fertilizer companies like Monsanto or Dow to help raise the crops. We need genetic companies like World Wide Sires to help with animal genetics. We need companies like John Deere to provide equipment and training to the farmers so that they can more efficiently produce the food and feed necessary for their villages. We need feed companies like Cargil to help store, process, and deliver grain to the farmers and to teach them proper animal nutrition. We need companies like Elanco and Pfizer to provide supplements and medications for the animlas.  We need companies like Delaval and Land O Lakes to bring in animal product harvesting and handling equipment and teach the farmers the importance of proper harvesting and handling of the product. We need companies like Ford and Freightliner to provide transportation equipment that will carry the farm produce to the populated areas and goods from the cities back to these areas. 

We need city planners that can help design roads and infrastructure for the villages. We need construction companies that can teach new and better methods of building. We need health professionals teaching sanitation, simple first aid, and good nutrition. We need statesmen like  Dr. James B. Mayfield to help teach the local villages how to work together as a community, how to work with other communities, and how to work with the regional and federal government officials.

With all of these groups we need people that will go in and listen to the villagers, assess their needs, identify their resources and help them come up with their own vision of what can be accomplished. There needs to be a long term plan with short term goals. The villagers themselves have to "own" these programs and they need to become self-sustaining, revenue-generating programs.

This is my QUEST…

To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go

To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far

To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause

And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star