The Growing Price of Rice

Dear Friends,

In this week's message I would like to talk about rice which is the stable food of much of Asia. Just as Western societies eat a form of bread at almost every meal, people here in Asia eat rice morning, noon and night. Rice is the main source of their strength, the backbone of their nutritional heritage.

But there is a problem with rice. It is hard to grow, needs lots of water and is very labor intensive. And lately the price of rice has skyrocketed almost 40% in the last two months. Because of this, the poorest are starting to go hungry, it has made constant front page news and there has even been social unrest and demonstration over the growing price of rise.

The recent devastating cyclone in Myanmar which is the 6th largest rice growing region in the world has not helped the supply side and there is every indication that the price of rice will go higher. Speculators have already started to hoard it, hoping for a higher price tomorrow and there is a growing cloud of despair among the desperate poor.

But at the extreme of human need begins God's opportunity.

This week our ministry here is adding a food growing component in order to meet the oncoming crisis. The fact of the matter is, the soil in the Philippines is good, they have almost daily rain and the sunshine is abundant. In addition there is lots of vacant land, the unemployment is high and the time to do something is now.

We are consulting both nutritional and agricultural experts to see which crops we can grow here in our region in order to provide a family with a balanced diet. Truth is, white, milled rice is not the best nutrition and I know the Lord can provide in almost every place the means to survive and even prosper.

God will not like a mama bird drop food like manna from heaven to feed our hunger. He has given us the means and intelligence to cooperate with Him in the great work of saving souls and saving lives. It is His work. It is His mission. These are His people. May we all seek to cooperate with Him in blessing others.

Pastor Jim Park, PhD
Assistant Professor of Discipleship and Church Growth
Adventist Theological Seminary, Philippines
MDiv Program Director

May 12, 2008