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Dear Blessed Earth family and friends, When Reforesting Faith was published nearly six years ago, the first letter we received was from a forester. He wrote that he had been waiting his entire life for a book like Reforesting Faith. He lauded the book for bringing together his two great loves: planting trees and serving Jesus. With joy and passion, this reader thanked Matthew, adding that Reforesting Faith was the last book he would ever read, as he had a terminal diagnosis and was in his final days of hospice care. One of the first calls we received was equally inspiring. It was from the only licensed forester serving in Congress. He called Matthew to say thank you for the book, and he shared about introducing a bipartisan bill to plant hundreds of thousands of trees throughout the country. The calls, letters, and stories from Reforesting Faith have never stopped. Matthew has been asked to speak about trees in Evangelical, Mainline Protestant, and Catholic churches across the country. The book has inspired tree plantings from California to Florida to Maine—in schools, churches, public spaces, and low income neighborhoods. And we have heard from both individuals and groups that have set aside thousands of acres of forests for conservation purposes. Matthew has been honored to witness tree plantings at dozens of Christian schools and seminaries, from Australia to Washington, D.C., to Wilmore, Kentucky. After Reforesting Faith was translated into German, a group in Europe wrote several times to tell us about gathering people in their largely secular region to plant trees and talk about Jesus. We’ve heard stories of tree experts who have become Christians after reading Reforesting Faith and from lifelong Christians who have had their love for Scripture brought back to life. Just recently, we heard that The Bible Project’s series on Trees (in which they credit Reforesting Faith) is one of their top five most popular podcasts ever. (Our grandkids in Africa are big fans of The Bible Project!) Tim Mackie and Jon Collins were as surprised as we have been by the popularity and unifying power of trees! Even six years after publication, the calls and letters from Reforesting Faith readers continue. Over the past few months, we have heard from: ——A delightful “small group of gals" in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who said that Reforesting Faith has been one of the “absolute best books for their Bible study.” —A pastor in Alabama who has been reading Reforesting Faith aloud with his 10-year-old son. His son is planning to do a book project on it for school. —The Evangelical Environmental Network, which is leading a 6-week study of Reforesting Faith for staff and members. They asked Matthew to speak at their first and last sessions. —A Board Certified Master Arborist and Church Elder in New Hampshire, who is writing a sermon on trees in the Bible for his congregation. —The Chair of the Shortleaf Pine Initiative, who invited Matthew to speak about trees and Scripture with his board. —A partner organization in California, Alliance Redwoods, which orders 75 to 100 copies of Reforesting Faith at a time to share with their visitors. —The Executive Director of The National Foundation of Patriotism, who credits a small grove of trees for bringing her closer to God in a childhood of poverty and despair. —A reader who shared her thanks and the delightful song, Good Tree, by The Hillbilly Thomists. Click below to listen—I promise it will make you smile! In short, Matthew and the Blessed Earth team want to thank YOU for inspiring US! Your letters and calls are a huge encouragement, day in and day out. Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time to share your stories. We could not do the work we do without you. Love, Nancy Sleeth P.S.— Read on below for more photos and letter excerpts, edited for length and clarity. :)
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