Faith and Farming Gathering

The “new bit of perspective” I mentioned in the last post came when we attended a “Faith and Farming Gathering” in October, hosted by Noah Sanders, of RedeemingtheDirt.com, in partnership with Foundations for Farming! We took a drive into the heart of Alabama, through some really pretty country and enjoyed our stay in a beautifully-situated Airbnb home.

Going into the weekend, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was excited about it! As the Gathering unfolded, it was part gardening/composting workshop, part opportunity to meet and connect with other Christians interested in agriculture, and part recharge in our pursuit to glorify God in every area of life, not just farming!

We got to hear the story of Mr. Brian Oldreive in Zimbabwe who started as a successful tobacco farmer, then became convicted about growing tobacco after he met Jesus! After a struggle with his conscience, he gave up his success, even though it meant humiliation and financial ruin. Then, as he struggled to build a new livelihood in agriculture on a farm nearing bankruptcy, he finally went into the woods and humbly asked God how to grow things.

He observed that in the Master Gardener’s forest there was minimal soil disturbance/tillage and maximum soil coverage. He took these principles and prayer into his farming and went from managing about 5 acres in 1983 to managing about 8648 acres in 1995! God gave him a heart for “the last, the least, and the lost,” and he started Foundations for Farmers (FfF), which teaches people about gardening, but more importantly about the GOOD NEWS of Jesus!

Because food scarcity is a very well-known reality to many, the soil-transforming methods attract a lot of attention in Africa and other countries, then they hear about Jesus, the Bread of Life. It was sobering to hear of the conditions of these brothers and sisters, and also amazing to see the door this poverty opens up in their lives – to see whole villages turn to Jesus through the witness of His gardeners!

And, then to hear about how few people in the US are really interested, without this poverty and hunger to spur them on. We may be physically full, but truly this people is just as spiritually famished as any other!

Noah Sanders, his lovely wife, and their eight children live nearby where the training was held. We were excited to tour their farm!

We got to see the “Well-Watered Garden” in action, which is one of the FfF’s teaching tools. It’s a 20×20 plot, laid out in four beds. Basically the idea is that this space is small enough to be managed to a high standard, while being big enough that it can potentially feed several people by implementing intensive crop replacement throughout the season. You can put several together to create a larger plot, according to your need.

This model can be used in a small backyard, or in a public setting to promote interest and community involvement – you can put a “Well-Watered Garden” almost anywhere!

“The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”

Isaiah 58:11

There was also a larger garden area, with outstanding greens… this was October and quite warm! Beautiful!

We also got to help make a compost pile in FfF-fashion – using a determined ratio of nitrogen, carbon, and green material. This pile is then monitored and turned until ready for use in a total of about 8 weeks or so. It was a lot of fun singing while we worked!

I loved getting to meet other Christians and fellowship around the sessions and hands-on time! There were worship times together. There were reports from several representatives of operations and organizations who are putting these methods into practice. There were some very entertaining, yet sometimes very serious, presentations by Mr. David Goodman of The Survival Gardener. There were soil demonstrations (with amazing see-it-to-believe-it results regarding the benefits of mulching and reducing tillage). The camp where the event was held also served up some really yummy lunches!

It was so refreshing to be encouraged not only in the practical, hands-on methods, but also in the most important eternal focus…in doing all to the glory of God. We learned the simple, but transformative principles of operating with humility, doing excellent work for the glory of God, being on time, keeping waste to a minimum and maximizing the resources you have, and doing all these with JOY!

A few more nuggets I gleaned from our time there…

-It’s not about us! Everything we do should be founded on Christ and in obedience to God’s way, God’s plan! It’s not about a method, but a relationship with Him.

-It’s so easy to try to compartmentalize our lives, but, truly, to those who are in Christ – we ARE Christ’s, first and foremost. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20). If we can’t glorify God and reach people for Jesus while we are doing our day job, taking in entertainment, working on hobbies, whatever fills our time…then it is time to humbly reevaluate how our precious hours and days are being spent. As C.T. Studd put it: “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

-Joy was also a definite theme of the weekend and this has come home with our family, helping us remember to try to do our tasks with joy (which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit – see Galatians 5:22-25!). One thing Noah advised was to not work so long on a project that you lose your joy…take a break while you still have it and then you’ll be more ready to come back to it with joy! It is a humbling, but encouraging reminder that we can’t do it all at once, but our call is to be faithful and do it as unto the Lord! And in His presence is fullness of joy! “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

This coming year, we’re excited to implement some of what we learned in our garden, Lord willing!

Over the fall and winter, we’ve been amassing quite a mountain of compost material ready to build into a pile and I’m so excited to put it together!

We are hoping to (at least slightly?) downsize a bit, to be more able to focus on the area we’re working.

So far, we’ve marked off our initial 20×40 plot (essentially two “Well-Watered Garden” plots) and have been skimming the vegetation off the top of the soil, keeping soil disturbance to a minimum, marking beds, and mulching with hay and leaves.

Laying out a bed full of onion slips in our Well-Watered Garden plot! 

We’ve used mulch, but hope to be more vigilant with it this year. Just noting the happy, healthy earthworm population as we work in areas that have been mulched over the fall/winter is enough to see positive progress, where just a couple years ago we had hard, rough cotton land! And the little garlic and onion plants are looking happy planted in their tidy rows, too. To God be the glory!

If you have opportunity to learn at a Foundation for Farmers training, I encourage you to go for it! The time was packed with information and encouragement! Noah Sanders also has a great handbook, available for purchase online, called, “The Well-Watered Garden Handbook: How to Grow Simple Gardens That Bring Lasting Hope.” (I don’t receive any compensation for recommending his book…it’s just a fantastic resource for anyone who’s interested!)

So, I’d love to hear… What ways have you been encouraged to live fully for God’s glory lately? How do you maintain an attitude of joy while you’re working? Are you planning to grow a garden this season?

Thank you for reading!

Because of Jesus,
Maggie ♥