God’s Active Love in Earth HOW A GARDEN BECOMES MUCH MORE THAN FOOD IN ARGENTINA BY KEILA RADI
In Argentina, a garden has become a place where young people can share life together.
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en years ago, I got together with a small group from our local church in Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina. We did not have a specific purpose for the meeting, but we were feeling restless. We were eager to see what God had in store for us next—beyond the daily church ministry where we were all active. We knew we wanted to be part of a neighborhoodbased project by loving God and loving others. Enter Fátima.
THE BEGINNING
Even though the city of Fátima is only a 20-minute drive from my hometown, it was a new place for me. I did not know the neighborhood or the people, and I certainly did not know that 10 years later we would have a community garden in a public lot (provided by the local government), a strong family engagement, and regular activities during the week. I was yet to encounter a similar life-changing experience and witness it in others; in 2012, a new ministry looked like a new adventure to me. In 2022,
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that ministry is a visible space of God's love on earth. My husband, David McKeithen, and I have been leading this ministry over these years. We have been designing different spaces with our local team in response to the needs that we identified: home-based Bible studies, children’s activities, teen compassion trips and retreats, food assistance, house repairs, monthly family gatherings, and the development of our public lot. The public lot now contains a plant nursery, a food forest with more than 60 fruiting trees, a covered space for gatherings, and two bathrooms.
THE PANDEMIC
Argentina went through a tough time, just as many other countries did. We were in full lockdown for eight months, and we still have plenty of restrictions into 2022. The health system collapsed and schools were closed during 2020 and part of 2021. Most of our kids in Fátima were unable to access remote learning from their homes. Not everyone had access to the internet, and often families of
