Bearing much fruit

One of Hiragishi's claims to fame is that it used to be an apple growing area. Yesterday we were driving along when suddenly we noticed a long row of apple trees stretching about half a mile along the central reservation. And they were laden with all sorts of apples. Each tree was carefully named. Some apples had numbers stamped on them. Others bore the name 'Fighters' - the local pro baseball team. Some looked ripe to eat - though of course no one was taking any, this being Japan. In fact the fumes from the passing cars surely would not help the taste. Others had fallen from the tree or were rotten (no doubt attacked by the ever-present crows). As we live and work here in Hiragishi and seek to build up a church here, our desire is simply to bear fruit, good fruit, everlasting fruit.