It’s interesting to think of how God leads us throughout our lives so that we can participate in the ways that HE is working in the world to reveal His love and His plan for His entire creation. If you had asked me 10 years ago what I thought I might be doing with my life, there is no way I could have predicted the things that I (we, because I definitely include my wife Leslee here!) would be doing in far away Nicaragua today! But it’s a wonderful thing when God’s takes a passion to serve, combines it with certain knowledge and talent, and puts the puzzle pieces together. We’re using everything God has provided to help the rural poor of Carazo, Nicaragua.
There are a lot of details in how exactly we put action to the idea of long-term agriculture development. One of the training tools we use is a mandatory 3 day seminar that a producer must attend to be able to be considered for our crop input financing. In one of the sessions during this seminar we share: WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO.
- To faithfully serve Jesus Christ
- To share Jesus in a practical way
- All around the world Agriculture is a valid and worthy lifestyle. Including in Nicaragua, it has much potential to provide economic stability
- We want to help make decisions which lead to actions which eventually will help aleve the adverse living conditions that we encounter in rural Nicaragua.
- To help create financially sustainable living and environmentally sustainable farms.
In our Western culture we are blessed & entrusted with many resources. You can’t imagine the daily difficulty that exists in rural Nicaragua. On one hand, there’s some beauty in the generations’ old practices and slow pace of life that are rather refreshing. But compared to where technology and industrialization have taken Western culture, Nicaragua is being left in the dust! It doesn’t seem fair that Nicaraguans expect so little and don’t have a clear vision for advancement in their lives, in their communities, and in their country. In Nicaragua 6 of every 10 persons live in rural areas. Of those, 2/3 live in poverty defined by living on less than $1.90/day. That means not having access to and not being able to afford to meet their daily basic needs.
So that is WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO. Because something has to change! Nicaraguans SHOULD expect, and they do deserve a helping hand to be able to become equal citizens in the 21st century! Daily we execute a plan. We’ve seen succeses, encountered hurdles, we press on. To God be the glory!
