Our community garden, The Sam H. Wright Sylacauga Grows Community Garden, came into being through the efforts of about forty eager volunteers in the early Spring of 2008. They divided into groups who “adopted” sections of the property and crops for their sections. Others performed logistical duties such as irrigation, fertilizer acquisition, etc. Around the end of June, we were joined at the garden by a group of about forty Student Life volunteers from The First Chinese Church of Cordova, Tennessee, for three days of work. I had made a four page list of “things to do” in preparation of their arrival, but had no clue as to their experience or “desire” to get their hands dirty. I needn’t have been concerned. They arrived about 8:00 A.M., and by 1:00 P.M. they had completed all four pages of “chores.” They wore me out for those three thrilling and industrious days.:) One of their jobs/opportunities was to harvest some of the crops that were beginning to come in. Now, our garden is located in the middle of a fixed-income Federal Housing Project, and a great deal of the proceeds of our garden are donated to the residents. Before beginning to harvest, I told the kids about an elderly lady that lived right across from the garden. The volunteers then proceeded to fill a large laundry basket with peas, beans, squash tomatoes, peppers, and corn. They took their harvested goods to Miss Mary, and words cannot adequately describe emotions that were induced by this opportunity. Miss Mary, of course was overwhelmed with the gift, the kids were thrilled to make such a difference FOR her, and I was awed by all of it. That, however, is not the end of this experience. The next morning, when I got to the garden, Miss Mary had tables set up in front of her apartment, and instead of using those harvested veggies for herself and her family, she had cooked ALL of it up for those Youth volunteers. They had never had a down-home Southern meal like they were feted with that day. Green beans, creamed corn, purple-hull peas, sliced tomatoes, corn bread, and fried chicken bites (donated). We were so touched by her generosity but also inspired by the simple but enormous lesson of all of this. We all have strengths AND weaknesses. I need your strengths for my weaknesses and vice versa. How much more can we accomplish together than we can accomplish by ourselves? When it was time for the First Chinese Church of Cordova, Tennessee to go back home, they didn’t want to leave, and I didn’t want them to go. The community garden continues to grow, and change, and inspire, and make a difference in all who encounter all that “in the garden.”