It's the Small Things

Harvesting Kunde leaves for the Supermarket

Many of you know me I am not a farmer, Although I grew up surrounded by farms my family doesn't farm. Its just not what we do. However God uses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise has never been more relevant to me. He has seen fit to give me a farm to use to train and help people in His name to communicate His love and passion for them through the tools of farming. A thing I know very little about or knew very little about I should say. He has been very gracious to me allowing me to learn and be surrounded by many who could teach me the ropes. This week God taught me an important lesson in  the little things. There are opportunities that He gives us to make an impact for Him. Many times we fail to recognize those opportunities because they seem inconvenient. 

Opportunity number 1 there was a woman who went into labor in the village this week No I did not deliver another baby! I had been at the farm earlier in the day and had come home in the afternoon I laid down with Samara to get here to take a nap and fell asleep myself. I am not the best after waking up from naps especially abruptly. I got a call from a villager and friend that a woman was in labor and it seemed serious could I please come and take her to the hospital. The village is 10 miles from the hospital on a bad road where you need 4 wheel drive. Groggy I said let me call you right back. I quickly prayed for clarity of mind and then God said you are always telling these people you are here because you love them and to help them now I am giving you a direct situation where you can be a blessing GO! SO I went I picked the momma and her  sisters and husband and carried them to the hospital.  She gave birth to the baby hours after arriving at the hospital. The baby boy was premature his lungs had not fully developed he was kept on a breathing machine for  days and eventually passed away. I don't pretend to understand why the baby passed I actually find myself asking God why didn't you save Him? But really who am I to ask God He knows and understands far more than I can comprehend. When they told me the baby passed I was visibly upset and they tried to comfort me and told me you did everything you could do thank you. Amazing the way God uses every situation to teach us.

Samara greeting the cows

Ribeye posing for a selfie

Current Maize crop 

The Second small thing I say small because the things I did were small not because they did not have meaning.The village had been given a water pump from the Kenya Redcross and thankfully they have been using it. The machine is quite nice and can deliver large amounts of water so they have farmed areas nearby the river and it was really improving the health and quality of life of the villagers. A friend that had been farming there came and he looked down cast I asked whats wrong he explained to me the pump wasn't working. I asked a few questions and thought I had figured out what was wrong. I told him tomorrow I will bring a mechanic who is a friend and we will go and look at the pump. H e immediately changed his demeanor. The next day I brought the mechanic  to look at the pump. I had carried what I thought would be the solution to the problem in my pocket It was a roll of thread seal it costs about 25 cents When we reached and the mechanic assessed the problem the mechanic told me one of the copper washers for the injector pump return pipes had been damaged . He said if we had thread seal we could fix it. So I removed it from my pocket and he smiled and made the repair it took us less than 15 minutes to repairs and no money. The beauty of it was that God used the situation to carry His good name forth and to build the faith even more of the Christian mechanic with me. After I told him the story he really praised God for being able to play a role. As we were leaving villagers were happy laughing and smiling because of the pump working again and several tried to thank me. I told them thank God because He sent me here and one of them shouted Bwana Asifiwe which means Praise the Lord in Swahili. This is very significant because that is only used in Christian circles not among Muslims. So from my perspective he was praising the one true God not Allah.  And I replied to him with an Amen!

God really does accomplish His will all He wants from us is obedience. What obedience looks like is different in many situations. Sometimes its inconvenient and uncomfortable but the results are amazing.  A conversation followed these events this week where someone was asking me how long I would be here. I told them I will stay until God tells me to go and as long as He tells me to stay nothing will make me leave to which one of them replied "We never want you to leave us". I almost cried there on the spot all these years of feeling like I haven't done anything just hitting you like a truck emotions wanted to take over. I kept them in check and for those of you who know me well that is an accomplishment for me! God knows what we need when we need it and He will give it to us if we are obedient. So keep pushing on people keep trudging through. Be faithful in what He has called you to and He will show Himself faithful to you !

Machine for cutting grass and maize stalks into bite size peices for cows

Children of the corn.....

Spraying the Honey Dew and Canteloupe for Caterpillar problems

Things on the farm finacially have been progressing and getting better each month. For the last 5 months we have seen a gradual increase in generated income. Last moth we were 30 % sustainable. Which may not sound like a lot but going from 0 % to 30 % in 4 months to me is a large victory.  Currently we are in the midst on a fundraising campaign to give us the final boost to reach sustainability.. Please let me know it you would like to be involved. We still have our eyes on the prize of opening the training school but we also understand you have to walk before you can run! We currently have many proposals out to large donors and small alike please pray for favor with us and if you are interested or know anyone who would be please send them our way.

Nevaeh showing the caterpillar damage those things are the devil

Beginning of Fish food

Maggot farming Barrel over the fish tank

R and N with villagers in the Clinic

This is a new endeavor called Maggot farming yeah I know it sounds gross but it smells worse trust me.  I had 2 problems my dogs are very territorial and they kill any other animal that comes into our yard so disposing of the many dead civets cats, and mongoose can sometimes be annoying. Problem number 2 I have fish at the farm that need to be fed and that costs money that we are not currently making.

Solution= Maggot farming gets rid of dead animals and feeds fish a rich source of fats and proteins!

Basically we put the dead animals in a barrel above the fish tanks with holes drilled in the bottom. The fly come and lay their eggs and the maggots follow then crawl to the holes dropping into the fish tanks becoming a wonderful and nutritious snack for the fish.

























Love you all thanks for all you do for us blessings, grace, and peace!

Love,
Jason and Girlz