Year-End Farm Update
Thank you!
By the grace of the Lord, the farm is continuing to flourish! It has taken hard work and perseverance, but God has been so gracious to both our farmers and our Ag Team as we all seek to learn and grow. As we become more knowledgeable about producing profitable crops and livestock in Liberia, we are constantly amazed at how the Lord provides the right people in the right place at the right time. And that includes our donors. Without your generous contributions to the AVDC farm, we would not be where we are today. We are so grateful for your faithful partnership, and especially for your commitment to spreading the gospel in Liberia in one of the most practical and impactful ways possible: by feeding God's people. A simple thank you does not feel like enough. Please know that our Ag Team, board, and our friends and partners in Liberia pray that the Lord will continue to bless the work of your hands. And, with all our hearts: THANK YOU.
We all (both the One Body One Hope family and the Abide in the Vine Disciples' Church congregations) hold fast to the original vision we had for the farm: We want this piece of ground to be profitable and sustainable so that our churches, children's homes, and schools will be empowered and equipped to proclaim the true gospel of Jesus Christ across all of Liberia. Everything comes back to this ultimate goal when we make decisions on the farm. Evangelism and outreach is heavy on the AVDC family’s heart, and we all have an incredible passion to carry out the task Jesus gave to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28). We believe that as we come alongside our Liberian friends and help them develop everything from healthy working relationships between the men who run the farm, to a sound, honorable business model, we are living into God's promise of "rebuilding the ancient ruins" (Isaiah 61:4). It is so exciting--and often humbling--to watch how God moves and works in this incredible project. We know we are not up to the task on our own, but through prayer, petition, and partnership, we join with Christ in ushering in the Kingdom in small ways here and now.
Crops & Future Plans
Palm & Cocoa
We are so encouraged to see the palm and cocoa trees bearing fruit. Both crops are in their fourth year of growth, and production is beginning to increase. We are still about three years away from getting close to peak production of these crops. Thankfully, we are seeing great marketability with some of the first fruits from both palm and cocoa.
Rice & Plantain
The rice and plantain are growing well, and we are currently using these as both a way to bless the workers on the farm and for distribution in the AVDC churches. Our Liberian friends are so proud (and rightfully so!) to eat AVDC rice. We do not have plans to sell the rice, but will continue to use it to feed our farmers, their families, and the larger church community.
Smaller Crops & Livestock
The farm continues to grow corn as well as smaller crops like okra, bitter ball, and peppers. We're still learning how best to raise hogs, but the goats have been both fertile and profitable. Goats remain in high demand and we have a built-in, ever-ready market. We have high hopes for their long-term profitability.
Vision for the Future
As we hold to our original vision for this farm to be profitable and sustainable, we are truly beginning to see glimpses of attaining that goal. Through these next three years, we will know more about long term goals for revenue and this time period will be crucial. We believe it will take $180,000 during that time to keep the farm operating. We will challenge AVDC to come up with $30,000 of this total through farm product sales of their produce and livestock. The Ag Team has already pledged to provide $75,000 of this balance over the next three years. We are asking for your support to meet this need and get the farm on its way to prosperity.
God is truly blessing this farm in so many ways. We are doing everything that we can up to this point, but, of course, we don't know what the next couple years will bring. A global pandemic has certainly put that into perspective for us, and made this year especially difficult as we were unable to travel to Liberia to connect with our friends and see firsthand the progress on the farm. Instead, we have relied on pictures and videos each month. Some of that footage is on our website: we invite you to take a look at how things have changed!
We continue to pray and hope that the farm will be self-sustainable! However, no matter what the years ahead bring, we have already seen fruit from the blessing of the Lord on all of these workers, their families, and their way of living--and fruit in our communities as we learn to spend ourselves on behalf of the kingdom. We continue to trust that the Lord is carrying out a beautiful plan!