The month of October was a blur. It was the first full travel month since I started my position with Equipping Farmers International (EFI). As much as I miss my family while I am gone, it is heartwarming to get to expand my Christian family as I travel. The people I had the blessing of spending time with were just the most amazing people. The Lord used each one of them to touch my heart and speak to me in some way. Looking back I smile and tear up, relationship and community is a true gift from the Lord.
While in Florida I learned about the challenges of growing in sand. I was introduced to a completely different growing season. I ate star fruit off the tree for the first time, then filled my suitcase with them. The people loved the Lord and shared about different mission organizations they were apart of, reaching out across the world. They cared for their community and one another. The worship was wonderful and I was touched when our devotional time would break into a song. If you are looking for a retreat space for your session or small group with breathtaking views, (they also offer an internship program), Empower School and Farm in Umatilla, Florida.
The second half of October was spend in Alabama. I had the blessing of being a part of a Faith and Farming conference. Being on the stage with other agriculture missionaries was humbling. The Lord is at work and he is using many different people and organizations to be is hands and feet. Still the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few. There is much work to do for us all. Again, the people. What a blessing it was to fellowship with such amazing people. The Lord provided the right people at the right moment, with words of encouragement, prayer or a simple smile. After the 3 day retreat I was honored to teach with Noah Sanders at a Foundations for Farming class. Yet again, the people. There are good people in this world; wonderful people that love the Lord, love others and love gardening. One of the crops we planted at the church Well Watered Garden is strawberries. You plant strawberries in the fall for a spring harvest. I flew home with my heart full of friendships and strawberry runners for my garden. The Lord meets all our needs!
A Call to Action!
We are finalizing our schedules for next year. I would love to come to your church or small group and share about EFI and what we are doing around the world. A couple that attended a training in TN in September has already gone to their home church for approval to put in a garden. We have been contacted about doing a training as part of the relief efforts in Jamaica. Prisoners in Indonesia are learning to be able to provide for their families and hear about the love of God. In Gambia, an EFI team put in a well to serve a community that had already received the training. The church fed them watermelons from their garden throughout the day while they worked. The Lord is at work. Training in the US is just a small part of a much bigger tapestry.
If you are interested in financially supporting our ministry we are looking for partners is helping equip the church to end world hunger. Donate Here
Update from the Farm
Meanwhile, on the farm my family was busy preparing for winter. This year we are going to try to heat the house with all wood. That means a lot of splitting and chainsawing. Thankful for the gas powered wood splitters and neighbors that took down dead, dry trees.
The garden is still producing, which is just amazing. We have arugula, turnips, kale, chard, sweet potatoes, fingerling potatoes, beets, tatsoi, onions and huckleberries. Garden huckleberries were a new “vegetable” for the garden this year. They are in the nightshade family, meaning they are related to tomatoes. They have a tart flavor with floral accents. I baked it into a death star pie! The rest we used to make jam.
As we prepare for winter, we have put in low tunnels over the carrots, turnips and beets. We planted the strawberry runners and tucked them in for a long winter. The turkeys are growing well and have access to the orchard to take care of any pests before winter. The days are shorter, but there is still much to do. We are reminded that this could be our full time job and we still would not get it all done.
