Smoking the Mango Trees
£ 3.99
Product Description
One day sitting on our balcony in Batangan with Buhid friends, I happened to remark that since it was mango season, why were there so few mangoes on a large tree that grew near the house. ‘It hasn’t been worked!’ said an old man with a staccato laugh, revealing the one front tooth that remained in his mouth. ‘What do you mean by "working" a tree?’ I asked him. ‘You see,’ the old man explained, eager to inform the ignorant missionary, ‘from the time the new fruit appears on the tree, we gather dry leaves under the tree and make a bonfire. Once it is lit, we put some wet leaves on top and that makes smoke that goes up into the tree’s branches. All the grubs that are feeding on the tree and on its fruit either drop off or fly away because of the choking smoke.’ ‘And how often do you have to do that?’ ‘Every day until the fruit is ready for picking!’ Smoking the Mango Trees is about a church. You probably know one just like it: established, big and branching out. And like the mango tree in the title, this church can also be a welcome resting place on Sunday mornings. But a tree can’t be all shade, and our story begins with a farmer’s concern with the lack of fruitfulness within his Christian community. Backsliding, arguments between fellow Christians, the reality of spiritual warfare; like the grubs that stop a mango tree from producing fruit, these problems were eating away at the heart of the Buhid tribal people’s spiritual growth. Smoking the Mango Trees may be set in the jungle highlands of Mindoro, Philippines, but the experiences of the Buhid Christians aren’t a million miles from our own. Sure, the Christian community was well established, and the Bible was preached every week. But what happened once Sunday was over? The Bible remained in the pulpit and the weekly distraction that was church was forgotten in the daily routine. Keeping your faith to yourself and leaving God behind after church isn’t just a Western phenomenon! Through dramatic stories and sharply drawn personalities, Martin Haworth shows how a church is ‘worked’ through prayer and the move of the Holy Spirit. Haworth’s entrancing narrative style, coupled with careful teaching on developing a strong church, gives Smoking the Mango Trees a parable-like quality, which is delightful to read and an encouragement to our own church experience. Buhid Christians are now reaching out to other communities with a fresh confidence in their Saviour. How will their example affect your community?Eydie L. from United States of America****
Covet to be with people who know God-this is one
If you want to hear about God from one of his children who live today, this is one book that will tell you. Real life, real questions, real warfare with God's enemy, real God intervention. Martin doesn't have all the answers, but he is walking the life God sent him on....... Leon from London****
Humility towards God and His Word
"Smoking the Mango Trees" has struck me as a book that is written to glorify God and not just to tell the author's story of his missionary work among the tribal people in the highlands of Mindoro, Philippines. Martin Howarth testifies to the fact that "All Scripture is Godbreathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work"-2 Tim. 3:16-17. As Martin Howarth works hard to teach the Buhid people God's Word, he also relies on the many promises in the Bible and submits to the authority of God's Word himself. This helps him to teach with integrity and to walk more in step with God, and to overcome the many spiritual struggles faced by him and the tribal people. This is an entertaining book that teaches the practical aspects of submitting to God's Word, the utmost importance of doing so and the fruitfulness that follows it. Back