By Rick Burnette Rick and his wife Ellen are CBF field personnel in Florida. They founded Cultivate Abundance in Immokalee in 2017. “There are few places in America more beloved than the Blue Ridge, rising like an ancient Great Wall across a third of the breadth of the nation. It has the burnished beauty of … Continue reading
By Rick Burnette “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24). In the Misión Peniel kitchen at 3:00 p.m. June 1, I’m alone, sorting eggs donated by an area farm. The building is typically buzzing on Thursday afternoons when the Cultivate Abundance staff and Misión Peniel team organize … Continue reading
By Grayson Hester Grace can be manifested in many forms, often appearing in the unlikeliest people and the most unexpected places. It can even show up in a plant. Just ask Lupita Vazquez Reyes, the Community Gardens and Outreach Manager for Cultivate Abundance in Immokalee, Fla. For someone who has spent her entire life around … Continue reading
By Rick Burnette “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (II Corinthians 9:6-7) One Saturday morning in February at Misión … Continue reading
By Grayson Hester It’s no secret to any American in any corner of this country that we’re enduring a seemingly endless housing crisis. Rent, from coast to coast, rises like sea levels while wages stagnate. This presents a problem to almost everyone, except for those rich enough to be insulated with their money. To the … Continue reading
By Grayson Hester Often, we only speak of South Florida when it relates to Miami, national elections or hurricanes. The southernmost tip of the United States sits as distantly from our minds as it does most of our churches. This is sadly ironic because we literally could not, and do not, live without it. Across … Continue reading
By Marv Knox Imagine going hungry in a desert while surrounded by a tropical garden. That’s Ellen and Rick Burnette’s ministry paradox. They serve migrant farmworkers in Immokalee, Fla., where industrial farms yield 14 million pounds of fruit and vegetables per day during harvest season. But the people who pick that produce can’t afford it … Continue reading
By CBF field personnel Rick Burnette Matthew 7:17-18 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. When we moved to our subtropical North Ft. Myers property in late 2013, we began planting various types … Continue reading
By Bekah Rhea COVID-19 is spurring us on to take up a wide variety of hobbies. Gardening is one of the most popular, presenting the opportunity to spend time outdoors and away from Netflix. In fact, so many people are starting their “COVID gardens” that seasoned community gardeners like CBF’s Rick Burnette are having some … Continue reading
By Rick Burnette Friday, June 12 Friday afternoon, June 12, was scorching hot in Immokalee, Florida. Practicing social distancing, we were sharing food with a few hundred residents in the parking lot of Misión Peniel – a food pantry ministry supported by Southwest Florida PC(USA) congregations. Off to the side, a few staff from Doctors … Continue reading