What began in 2005 as a way to share the word of God with the people of Kenya has grown into a ministry that funds both domestic and international missions while supplying locals with a means to beautify their own yards.
Mission workers (front row, from left) Faye Stabler, Deloris Zeigler and Swansea pastor Terry Wilder are shown distributing Bibles in Kenya.Retired nurse Deloris Zeigler has been helping coordinate Flowers/Plants for Bibles since its inception. She has had the opportunity to see firsthand the everyday struggles of those living in the African nation, people without enough food or access to lifesaving medicine.
Zeigler said that initially the idea was to sell flowers and build churches in Kenya, but organizers settled for raising money for Bibles instead. She said it was more important to get the word of God in the hands of as many people as possible.
“There are so many needs,” Zeigler said. “God has been so good to us to allow us to work across denominations to assist the neediest of the needy.”
Not only do volunteers travel to Kenya to help in medical clinics, build orphanages and deliver Bibles – Flowers/Plants for Bibles also assists in needs closer to home, such as working with a church in West Virginia to replace its windows, paint its auditorium and install new carpet.
“We often get calls from Kenya, and they say, ‘We’re out of food for the orphanage,’ or, ‘The pastor has stepped on a rusted nail,’?” Zeigler said. “Our church in Swansea – First Baptist – is going to Virginia, to Jonesville, in July, and they’ve already identified a number of needs. We just try to supply those needs. We’ve had 55 people already volunteer. A lot of people use that as a family vacation.”
Zeigler said volunteers don’t worry about overstretching themselves or their funds. “We feel like God will take care of that,” she said. “We take it very seriously.”
Judy Bonnette, a master gardener from Orangeburg, held demonstrations on how to beautify gardens and patios with repurposed teacups as bird feeders, transform flowerpots into water fountains and convert chandeliers into outdoor solar lighting, among others.
“I just think it is a terrific effort,” said Bonnette, who has worked with Flowers/Plants for Bibles for nearly three years. “I can’t travel on a mission, but I can support them here at home by doing things.”
The group held a sale of yard flowers, plants and shrubs in May during its Walk for Missions at Swansea First Baptist Church. Zeigler said all proceeds will go to the Karen Smith Orphanage in Kenya.
“This is something God has given us: He’s given us plants. We have a product that everybody wants,” Zeigler said. “It just seems to fill a need for the people who need it and the people who can grow it.
Volunteers, including C.J. Huffman (pictured above) prepare for the annual Flowers/Plants for Bibles spring sale at the Orangeburg County Fairgrounds.“We have people from all different walks of life assisting us, and that makes it very encouraging.”
Volunteers man a greenhouse on Jim Rucker Road in Swansea on Mondays from mid-February through the end of November. They will meet individuals at other times by appointment, Zeigler said.
The group comes by its inventory through business and individual donations. Zeigler said she and other workers have gone to people’s homes to collect cuttings or bulbs to grow in greenhouses devoted to the project.
“The community has been extremely helpful in our efforts, with donations, plants, their time,” she said. “We’re grateful for what the community has done to make our project grow.
“There are a lot of people who are hurting. There are people who don’t have Bibles, they don’t have medicines, they don’t have food. There are just a lot of needs out there.
“For those of us who have health enough and wealth enough – with community support, we are able to address some of those needs.”
– A version of this story first appeared in The (Orangeburg) Times & Democrat. Reprinted with permission.