The words to an old song go “Getting to know you, getting to know all about you.” I guess I’m an idealist. Through the letters and e-mails we send out, plus when you write to us, our goal is getting to know each other. We’re so thankful for your growing connection with Fields of Wheat. But do you know the back story? Because you, too, have responded to Yeshua’s call to join His harvest, I’d like to share the story of how He captured my heart for the “lost sheep” of this world.

Sitting in a hay field in 1974, I opened the Bible for my morning reading. As a new believer, I knew the importance of hearing from God through His book, but I was not ready for what was about to happen.

We were living in the high mountains of northern New Mexico in the United States. We’d sought refuge there from the “corruption of civilization” a few years earlier. Those years were formative—without electricity or indoor plumbing, we constructed our own one-room cabins out of rocks, logs, and mud while coaxing vegetables out of the earth.

My reading that day took me to Matthew 9:36-38. Here’s what I read:

But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

A Hippie Farmer Called to Another Harvest

What stood out to me was the word “harvest.” You see, I had dedicated my life to growing our own food. To me, the harvest represented everything I was working for, day in and day out. Having grown up in the suburbs of Southern California, I was not exactly Orville, the Organic Farmer. Yet, by the time I read those verses we were actually growing a large portion of what we needed to survive.

I knew Yeshua was not talking about my vegetable harvest. He directed the disciples’attention (and mine) to the people. They were like sheep with no shepherd, i.e., no direction, no protection. I stopped. “Lord, if you’re calling me to look beyond the modest success I’ve finally achieved as a subsistence farmer, to go all the way down there, back to the city, I’m listening.” In the next instant, I knew. Yeshua was calling me to leave the mountains I loved, give up the peace of being separated from the helter-skelter world, and devote my life to helping others find Him.

That was 50 years ago, my friend! I have never regretted moving back to civilization. God has blown me away with what He can do with a hippie retread, born anew through the love of Messiah. I responded to His call to join “The Harvest.” And that’s why I’m writing to you.

You are Equipping and Sending Harvesters

I was a young man (24) troubled by the condition of the world when Yeshua saved me. That’s why I know that youth are ripe for encountering the Savior who is Lord of the Harvest.

You, too, have responded to that call. Every Field of Wheat update you read, every prayer you pray for the youth of Israel, and every gift you send to support the equipping of these young people to become harvesters themselves shows that your response to Yeshua is like mine. You are harvesters; and you are sending harvesters into His harvest fields.

So, it’s time to acknowledge the importance of our shared role in the harvest. Paul the apostle asked…

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Romans 10:14,15

His point is clear. This is a cooperative effort. It is a sacred, shared calling. Thank you for hearing his voice and heeding His call. That we are living in momentous times is no hyperbole. Yeshua said “…the harvest is the end of the age.” His prime concern is to reach lost sheep. I’m reminded that He once spoke of “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” While the Lord surely wants all to be saved, He will not return until He hears this cry from Jerusalem, “Baruch haBa baShem Adonai—Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (Matthew 23:39).

As a gift for your participation in Yeshua’s harvest, we’ve included a fridge magnet to signify our gratitude. Your role is no less essential than those “in the field” who are being prepared to gather in the harvest.

I want you to know that we treasure your friendship and anticipate the adventure of harvesting with you in the years to come.

Eitan Shishkoff
Founder

P.S. Please be on the lookout in the weeks ahead. In light of the rapidly unfolding events in our part of the world, we’ll have more to share about the ever-ripening harvest