Updates from the Farm

BY DARRYL HOSFORD

The variegated celosia flowers waved gently in the warm breeze. I knelt for a closer look. The plants looked healthy with leaves of vibrant green. Each row had its own drip irrigation tape to water the plants, fed by a small water tank at the edge of the field.

Beads of sweat formed on my brow as the sun rose higher and the heat grew more intense. I was visiting Living Water Farm in a closed country in Southeast Asia. (When I say a closed country, I do not mean that it is hard for Westerners to visit the country. I mean that the government has restrictions on sharing the gospel openly. Because of this delicate situation, we do not name the country, nor the farmers in print or website publications.) I spent the rest of the afternoon pulling weeds from the paths and thinking how good it was to have such a training farm available here.

ASAP encourages and helps “tentmaker projects” find ways that local gospel workers can make a living, while at the same time interfacing with the community and sharing Jesus with the unreached. The term “tentmaker” comes from Acts 18:3, where the apostle Paul sustained himself with a literal tentmaking trade while he was sharing the gospel with others. This farm is one of the “tentmaking” initiatives of ASAP, where we help fund the initial infrastructure and oversight of an income-producing project. When a pilot project is successful, we aim to replicate it in other areas across Southeast Asia.

Agriculture is a vital means of livelihood for many rural communities in Southeast Asia. This farm is growing plants to produce and save seeds for Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, located in the United States. The farm is run by Mindy and Michael Brant*, a young American couple sent by ASAP with the goal of training local workers to continue the seed-saving project, while also training church members to do similar projects in their communities. The farm employs several local workers. They grow a variety of crops for seed saving, including melons, flowers, and herbs.

I looked with satisfaction at the first crop of plants being grown for seed saving. It would soon be ready for harvest. Baker Creek will purchase the seeds from ASAP and this will generate income to support ASAP’s missionaries and projects. Also, Baker Creek has supported the project with technical advice and training, as well as providing the seeds planted at the farm.

In addition to the seed-saving project, the farm has a large banana field and goats and cattle that they raise for the market. Someday, they want to expand into a mushroom-growing facility to sell edible mushrooms to the local community. As time and resources allow, they also hope to open a farm stand for the community offering fresh organic produce. Thank you for your support of income-generating projects. We at ASAP are seeking and trying a variety of ways to multiply gospel workers, even in countries that are closed to the gospel such as where this farm is located.