I just reached the half way point on this 11 month journey! I am currently in Latvia this month and am staying at a Christian Rehabilitation Centre. We do a Bible study in the morning with the men and women in the program. Then we we do various work projects with them throughout the day. I have picked potatoes, picked and cleaned vegetables, chopped wood, worked in the garden, took dogs for a walk, weed whacked the lawn, played with kids, and helped in the kitchen. Latvia reminds me so much of Canada and more specifically, my home. We used to raise Alaskan Malamutes and here at the center they have a whack load of huskies (and lots of puppies). Also, the country side is similar and has the same vegetables and berries. I chop wood (which I did a lot at home) and work in the garden (which I did a lot of too).
Since I left in January, I’ve had this thought in the back of my head that I would be moving to Calgary after the World Race. It was just a thought though. That thought has been growing stronger and stronger as each month goes by. I came to a conclusion that this must be God leading me to move there. I didn’t know what I was going to be doing in Calgary, I was just feeling led by the Holy Spirit to go to Calgary.
That brings me to this month. One day as I was working in the garden, a thought popped into my head that I will go to school in Calgary for agriculture and business. “HUH???” I knew this thought had to be of God because I wouldn’t have thought of this myself. I didn’t hear words, but it was one of those “Know it in your knower” kind of moments.
You see, the past 6 months God has been doing some interesting stuff in me. I’ve been having this growing passion for agriculture (no pun intended ). I have seen many ministries now that support themselves with food by planting gardens. They grow their own food and if there is overflow, they feed others as well. Some ministries feed multiple orphans with the food they grow.
When I was hearing this from God to go to school for it, I said to Him something like, “What? Where did this come from? Me? A farmer?” Over the next few days He began to show me. It began before I was born. My Grandpa on my moms side was a dairy farmer. He had many cows and lots of wheat fields. My mom grew up a farmer and had a big garden on the farm. So naturally, when we moved out to the country when I was 4 years old, my mom planted a big ol’ garden. I’m not sure how old I was when I began helping her plant stuff, but I remember always helping her. My favorite plant was sunflowers. I would love going outside each day and seeing it grow taller and taller until it outgrew me. We then moved to a bigger house with a bigger garden. There we grew potatoes, peas, beans, carrots, dill, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, beets, rhubarb, raspberries, crab apples, goose berries, saskatoons, black currents, and choke cherries. I’m sure I’m missing some and my mom will probably correct me later.
We also raised chickens and collected their eggs. We had turkeys at one point to. Also bunnies (not for eating though). I always thought how I was raised was quite a normal thing. I have been learning that it’s not quite normal, at least for the average North American.
So since I left for this crazy journey back in January, God has been igniting this passion in me to use agriculture in the future for ministry. I’m not sure what it will look like (or even know what agriculture is), but I’m taking it one step at a time. I believe one of the next steps is to go to school for agriculture when I get back home. If this is not what God wants for me, I am positive He will make that clear to me. I am keeping my eyes and ears open to His leading. Pray that God makes this clear to me in the weeks and months to come. Maybe I will be farmer one day…
I am currently $3431 away from meeting my final deadline. I have just less than two weeks to raise that amount. Two huge ways you can help is to pray and donate. Any little amount helps. This trip has not been funded by people giving huge sums, but by many people giving what they can. My encouragement is to be a cheerful giver. If you aren’t giving in joy, don’t bother donating. I ask for you to join me in fulfilling the great commission Jesus set forth for us.
My church, Christian Fellowship Assembly is still accepting donations for me. Through this you will get a Canadian tax receipt.
You can also donate online with a credit card through this blog. Find the “Support Me” button and follow the instructions from there.
Thank you for your love and support. Message me at [email protected] or FaceBook if you have any questions.
